Back to school night

Tonight was back to school night. A night where the parents go to the kids' classrooms to hear their teacher talk about the year and see a sampling of their work so far. On my youngest son's desk there was a worksheet titled "In the Spotlight." The first thing on the worksheet read "The thing I like best about me is...." He wrote "that I'm nice." Okay, that's pretty good. His favorite color is red. His favorite food is apples. His favorite book is anything with the Time Warp Trio. His favorite sport is soccer. When he grows up he wants to have a family. That made me smile. The thing he likes best about his family is that they love him. Another smile and a pull at the heartstrings. After that I was hopeful about the last question.
"If I could have one wish come true I would wish....... to be rich." So much for playing the heartstrings. That child just hears "ca--ching!"

We were then rushed via intercom to get to the next classroom. "Parents, you have 2 minutes to get to your next classroom." I felt like I was in school all over again! I went to my oldest son's class and listened to his teacher. Looked around his classroom. Left a note in his desk. Nothing to mushy. Just an 'I love you and have a wonderful day' note. I left his classroom and drove home. When I got home, he was waiting for me.

"Did you see my poem?"
"What poem?"
"The one in the hall outside of my classroom."
"No."
(look of disappointment from him) "Why not?"
"Because I only had 2 minutes to get to your classroom and I must have rushed by it. I am so sorry, buddy."
(another look of disappointment with those big, brown eyes)
"I am so sorry I missed it. Maybe I will try to come by your class in the next day or two to see it."
"Okay." (Still disappointed)
I feel bad. Maybe I will go in tomorrow morning when I drop them off.

I blame the parental rushing over the intercom for my negligience. I don't think he does.

Messages from above or just Ben Stein?

"The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want."- Ben Stein

Back to school

Endless summer is over. No more late nights and late mornings. No more swimming in the morning or matinees in the afternoon. No more tan little boys who wear swim trunks and flip flops all day long. It's back to school. Back to routine. Back to homework and assignment notebooks and early bedtimes. Back to uniforms and tennis shoes. It's exciting for them and I think they both enjoy school. They love seeing their friends and learning new things. They love lunch in the cafeteria and the funny things that go on at recess. I am lucky that they look forward to school. Cooper was up at 6:30 this morning and was dressed and ready to go by 6:50. I was making mac and cheese for Grayson to take for lunch and here came Coop, raring to go with his hair slicked down. Grayson loaded up his backpack and talked about his friends and the latest with them. We loaded into the car at 7:30 and I drove them to school. Love you. Have a good day. Be good. Listen.

I miss you.

It's been too long....

It's been too long since I have written. It's been a whirlwind during the month of July. We went to South Dakota for a long weekend to visit with my aunt, uncle and cousins. It started out rough. We left on a Thursday night. A late Thursday night, almost very early Friday morning. We drove to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Checked into a Super 8 at 3am. At 8am I woke up, looked out the window and saw glass on the ground of the parking lot. Glass from our back passenger window. I screamed. Ken and I ran out and realized that some punks broke into our car, ravaged through the contents and then took nothing. Nothing but our feeling of security. So the hotel maintenance guy helped us when we realized that no glass shops were open on this weekend. He hooked us up with plastic sheeting and duck tape. We left for our trip to SD in our trashy mobile. A rough start.

But when we reached our destination it was great. A beautiful lake with a loving family waiting for us. The boys rode sea doos and a pontoon. They watched their Nonnie and great Auntie Annie ride sea doos (and scream the whole time!). We ate and ate and ate--this is what happens when my mom and aunt who are phenomenal cooks get together. We talked and laughed and reacquainted ourselves with each other. It was a long drive with an unfortunate occurence but it was worth it in the end.