All of my kids have been in band so far except for one, Joe, and he plays guitar and piano at home. So, all these years we've hustled to town early on Memorial Day for the parade...due to budget cuts, the high school no longer has a marching band, but the middle school does....so, Molly on clarinet, Sam on trumpet and Margaret on Saxophone....then a little visit to Gramma and Grampa, Paul's parents, and home by 1:15....lunch, and outside to play for the kids....then at 2:15, Abigail notices it's time to get ready for the bigger, wonderful parade a few towns over....scramble, brush, re-dress a bunch of kids, and out the door with eight of them I go....Abigail, Sam, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, Jonathan, and Charlotte Claire...Camille stayed home sleeping....(with daddy and some of the other kids)....Anyway, as we secure a place to watch this parade, a lady said to her friend, while looking at us, "Oh yeah, when they're little like that, it's easy....just wait 'til they grow up.." She probably didn't realize Abigail was with me....anyhow, I just don't get that attitude. Sure, it's not always easy to deal with the teenagers, but just being around them is magnificent....they are so young and fresh and beautiful...and hopeful, and what is that word for innocent? It starts with v I think....not gullible, oh, I don't know....right now a herd of them are in the kitchen, doing what they do best - snacking. And doing homework, and talking. My boys are getting huge, and they eat like monsters. I don't mean fat-huge, just growing into young men. They need lots of food and lots of sleep. The girls less so, they are more health conscious. But these kids of mine, these big kids, they are so funny. They like to mock mommy. Not mean spiritedly, but I certainly hear what I sound like through them: Aah, don't spill that! ( I tend to panic and scream about these things), Get your fanny over here!!!(which Emily says I shouldn't say, because it is a bad word in England, but to me it just means rear end...)....anyway, when I went to cut up the watermelon this afternoon, it was decorated with hundreds of little holes, and a very cool pattern, compliments of Aaron's pen. The fun wasn't in the lovely design however, it was in imagining what mom was going to say.....and laughing their heads off about it....and who am I to disapoint them?
We didn't put Charlotte Claire's new crib together yet. But we did put the new mattress here in the living room with a sheet on it, and a nice fuzzy blanket....two year olds like to play ni-night....and we don't have quite enough stuff to trip over in here yet..
Life is good when you believe with all your heart that God sends everything for your best. My days are full of trials, kids aren't always agreeable, I get tired, things get messy, piles get bigger, I forget things, like the white t-shirt that Sonja-the-kindergartener was supposed to have in by last Friday....but such is life. I can either take it right, and be happy, or complain about everything and be miserable. I've noticed that when I fight the good fight of faith, the ones around me are much happier. When I'm longsuffering and patient, it has a good effect. Thankfulness is contagious....It is a huge responsibility to know that actions speak louder than words, and my kids are watching....Jon has said a few times today, "What the hell is that?" I'm 99% sure he didn't hear that from me....although now that I think about it, I may have used that word when Ben put Abigail's car in the ditch.....not on purpose.....oops.
I am tired tonight, because I went to two parades today....and basically accomplished nothing around here. Just routine basic maintenence...I'll never get ahead, because I just like doing fun things with the kids....our pool is almost ready to open....I can't wait!
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"Oh yeah, when they're little like that, it's easy....just wait 'til they grow up.." I never thought the little people years were all that easy. Some teenagers are a hassle and others are just plain amusing. I've had both. Right now I suppose I have it easy compared to how things used to be. I love having big kids!
"....and we don't have quite enough stuff to trip over in here yet.." I love your sense of humor. I wish I could have worried less about the mess when my kids were little.
Sounds like you had a great day, full but wonderful. I wish we had taken the time to go to a parade instead of using the day to put the garden in. Next year I need to purpose to really remember Memorial Day in a more thoughtful manner.
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