Letting go

Usually Fred drops Rion off at school and I pick him up, but today I had the morning off from work so I dropped him off. Fred has been telling me for weeks how hard it is to drop him off. "They just want us to drop him off at the playground and let him play until the bell rings," he told me. "I'm just not sure about that." Oh, he's fine I told him. Then the other day Fred was going to walk him to the playground, but Rion told him, "I know where to go," and was off. "See," I told Fred, "he's fine." This morning we arrived at school and I got out of the car to give Rion a hug before he ran off. I told him to have a good day and he bolted for the playground. Halfway there, he turned, smiled big and gave me one last wave. I waved back and my heart melted. Every time I thought about that moment today I got a big smile on my face. My little boy has gotten so big.

A different world

Over the weekend we had a rummage sale. While setting up my mom came across some Smurf glasses we had as kids. She asked me if I wanted them and of course I said yes. Tonight at dinner I had the Smurf glasses out and Rion was looking at one of them. Jokey Smurf was on it and he was laughing because another Smurf had opened his exploding present. I told Rion that the Smurfs was a cartoon that was on when I was little. I told him Jokey Smurf was always giving Smurfs exploding presents as a joke. Then I thought about what I just said and quickly added that exploding presents weren't funny at all. Every once in awhile Fred and I will come across something like that from our youth. Things, like an exploding animated present, were never given a second thought by my generation when we were young. Now I don't think something like that would even make it to television. All of our children were born after 9/11 and the world they will grow up in is undoubtedly different than the one I grew up in. For as long as my kids have been alive we have been at war. Wouldn't it be nice if they could know a world at peace?

TGIF-almost

Today was just one of those days. We had our first MOPS meeting of the year and I was on fruit duty. I have a fabulous recipe for a fruit dip and got up early to make it. And also to cut all the fruit I forgot to do the night before. As soon as I got up so did the kids so my early rise became not early enough. I cut up the fruit and then started on the dip. Cordelia cried every time the beaters were turned on. Then I started to get anxious about time since this is the first time I've had to worry about getting a kid off to school before MOPS. With all this going on, I botched the dip and arrived with fruit only. MOPS was the most relaxing part of my day. I wish it would have lasted longer. After MOPS I ran home to get ready for work. I could have taken the day off, but decided with our short staff right now that I should go in. When I arrived I was handed a piece of paper filled with messages. I got to my office and suddenly realized I didn't put the stew in the crockpot this morning. The five o'clock bell finally rang and I was out. Since dinner wasn't waiting at home I decided just to pick McDonalds up on the way home. Not my ideal dinner, but heck, the kids will love me. I paid for the meal at the first window and started to drive away. I was looking at a parked car's license plate, trying to figure out what it said, when I suddenly remembered I just paid for food and I'm about to drive right past the pickup window. I had to jerked the car back to the left before I overshot the window. The young girl gave me a weird look. My car was at an angle and I could barely reach the bag she was handing me. It is truly amazing that I haven't been in any car wrecks. My mind is always someplace else and I'm usually thinking about three (minimum) things at once. After dinner I took the kids outside so I could start getting things set up for our rummage sale this weekend. Cordelia lasted about 20 minutes before she could no longer stand not being held. I am really glad today is done and I'm ready for bed.

Are you ready for some football?

Today is the first day of college football and Fred is of course glued to the TV. I have already had enough and it's not enough halftime yet. I love football, but prefer the NFL over college. Fred, having grown up in Tennessee, believes the only real football is played in college, in the south. I have already yelled at him for having the TV too loud. Torii was two feet away from me, yet I had to yell at him so he could hear me. Fred finally turned the TV down and he heard the last ring from a phone call. Then I finally got the boys settled down and off to bed and started to get Cordelia ready for bed. She probably would have fallen asleep except for the loud "Oh!'s" after big hits. So I am annoyed and looking forward to mid-January. Florida hasn't played yet and don't get me started on that. Fred takes out all the fun of watching a football game when they play. On another note, I find it so funny that Fred's southern accent comes on strong during SEC games. I don't notice it much anymore, but I think he has lost some of it since living up here for awhile now. But when he is talking to friends down home or watching SEC games, the accent returns.

Dear Kelly,

Congratulations! You're going to be a mom! Now you don't have to answer that question anymore: when are you going to have kids? Although there is a new crop of questions you'll have to answer.

When is the baby due?
Do you know if it is a boy or a girl?
Are you going to bottle feed or breast feed?
Do you have any names picked out?
Can I touch your belly? (Although this one is rarely asked. Women just do it).

Not only will you be asked these questions repeatedly, but whether you like it or not you will get to hear pregnancy stories from other moms. Apparently, not only does a pregnant woman "glow" she also gives off a vibe that says, "I want to hear your pregnancy story even though I have no idea who are and I did not ask."

The good news is that you only have nine months of this. The bad news is that when the baby is born you have a new set of questions and stories to deal with.

Learning all kinds of things

Two days into the school year and Rion has learned his first swear word. Yesterday Torii wanted to play on the playground after school and we did for a little while. There were two older boys there and I heard a couple of swear words, but thankfully Rion didn't hear them. Today we drove so instead of sitting in a long line of cars, we played until the traffic was gone. The two older boys arrived at the playground shortly after we did. Thirty seconds later, Rion ran up to tell me the boy had said, "there's a f***in baby." I told Rion that is not a nice word to use and thankfully the boy's mother showed up shortly after. I knew Rion would learn swear words at school, but I just didn't think it would happen so soon. Now I am thinking about all the things I learned on the playground and I'm wincing. It was on the playground I learned the truth about Santa and what grown-ups did in bed at night. Hopefully it's a long long time before I have to deal with those subjects.

So many choices

I was looking at Rion's school lunch menu and was quite impressed. It certainly is different from when I was in school. One day they get Shrimp Poppers. I'm not sure what that is or if they're any good, but that was something we never had in school. Students also get to choose between three main dishes: a hot meal, a sandwich or a chef salad. We had that choice in high school, but never before that. At least now I don't have to pack a lunch for him ever because I would pack a sandwich and that is offered everyday. The school system also participates in "offer versus serve" in their school lunches. Students are offered at least five different items and although they are encouraged to take all five, they can refuse two things. I don't think we were ever allowed to refuse something at lunch. And if we did, I'm pretty sure we got a double serving of that food. And if there was one thing you didn't want, it was a double serving of a school lunch.