I can remember counting down the minutes for summer vacation
as a kid and just about hour into it proclaiming to my mom that I was
“bored”. That used to just about kill
her, she would eventually get so sick of hearing us say it that she would
threaten to give us chores to do so we wouldn’t be “bored” anymore; we would
inevitably find something to do in order to avoid that sentence. And so I would like to pat myself on the back
because one week into my summer vacation and I have not been bored a single minute. In fact, I’m a little tired. But I’ll take busy, chaotic days with my girl
and the people I love over just about anything else.
We started the week off with a day in the park with one of
our littlest buddies where Kennedy did her best to lure Zoe to climb things
with her but settled for being able to push her on the swings. I love to be around these kiddos but I’d be
lying if I said it didn’t make my heart call out of Jack when I watch her
learning to walk and smile those big, beautiful one-year-old smiles.
Sean left for the annual golf/fishing/man trip that the men in my
family take in honor of my grandpa early Thursday morning and so that began a
girl’s weekend for Kennedy and me. It
also was her last day of her first year of preschool-and that just about killed
me. As I dropped her off and she hopped
out of the car in the drop-off lane and waved and said over her shoulder, “have
a good day, Mama,” it dawned on me how fast this year flew and how fast the rest
are going to go; so I did what any mother in her right mind does: I had a good cry as I pulled out of the
parking lot and then I called my mom.
First day of Preschool
Last day of Preschool
After I picked her up my sister and I drove the kids up to Lake
George to the Great Escape amusement park for the day. My sister and I took turns riding with Mason
who is still too little to ride the kiddie rides alone, each of us taking one
for the team with the nausea in the heat.
I hit a low point as an adult when they wanted to go on this hot-air
balloon ride that spun around pretty good because when Kennedy and Cooper got
on and got themselves settled in the seat of their choosing I decided to pull
rank and proclaim that I needed that seat with Mason so “he didn’t get sick
moving backwards.” They begrudgingly
switched and we all got settled in just in time for the ride to start…moving in
the opposite direction that I thought it would so that Mason and I were the one
riding backwards to which he yelled, “this is fun!” and Auntie Tri held the
vomit down as best she could. I lied to children to get my way and Karma took
over. It was a long but fun day that
ended with my little lady curling up next to me in bed-something she had been
looking forward to doing since we told her Daddy was going away (our bed is a
strict no toddlers-unless-your-sick-zone).
Friday was an errands day that we managed to squeeze
manicures into.
Yesterday we made our way to the country with my mom where my sister
lives and into the local strawberry patch. I seemed to keep finding all of the strawberries that must have had a "little extra genetic material" and maybe its that I look for them subconsciously or maybe it's my little guy's way of reminding me he is with me wherever I go. We picked, no exaggeration, ten pounds, and headed back to my sister’s
for a dip in the pool and to make some homemade jam. I ate all of that up (seriously, I’m still
sticky I think after washing my hands at least a dozen times and showering that
night). I have decided that, like Olivia
Pope, I may just live out my days making jam.
Kennedy and I woke up early this morning to clean the house
and make some Father’s Day paintings for her grandpa’s, a few guys that make
her one lucky little granddaughter, and waited for our favorite guy to come
home. I asked her what she loves about
her daddy while she was swinging and quickly switched my phone into video mode
and the results were priceless. She
loves when he kisses her, and tickles her, and scares her, and beeps his horn
at her. It’s funny because all of the
small things that probably come through so effortlessly are the things she
loves about him. And I know what she
means because those are the same kinds of things I love about him too and they
are the same kinds of things I love about my own dad too.
So after a week of enjoyable
chaos we will wind down and celebrate the daddies in our lives we loves so
much and I will continue to to my best to make sure none of use are "bored" this summer.
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