Saturday, Father's Day, Last Day

It was a good weekend for pictures. So why didn't I take any? Or many? Well, Saturday I was too busy chasing my kids around the beach making sure no one got hurt or fell in the water while Mr. T. hung out with his family members during one of their many family get-togethers. He comes from a huge clan, many of whom live right here in this state with us, so they see each other as much as they can.

I had just had a discussion the day before with a friend of mine about my independence and how much I protect it. She's like me so she's see no problem with it. I told her sometimes I listen to other people in relationships and I feel like I should want to spend all my time with dear hubby, but guess what? I don't. I told her it seemed like we should be talking about everything under the sun but we don't because we don't choose to. (Mind you, there ARE a few things we DO need to work on discussing but that fierce independence in both us gets in the way.) Mr. T., like many men, goes off into his cave sometimes and acts like no one else is there. Sometimes it bugs me when I want to say something to him right then but mostly, I really don't care. I have no need to be under him all the time. I have no need to tell him every little thing. I have no desire to share every thought in my head. But it's not because of him. He'll listen to anything I say and pops up with presents and trips to places every now and again that proves it. But me? I've ALWAYS been this way and I'm glad to have found someone who accepts that and doesn't ask me a zillion questions. I've never liked to be asked a lot of questions, for reasons I don't even fully understand myself. Some days I can take it. Other days, it just feels nosey. But it's how I am. Moody. So, we come and go as we please, making sure each other knows when we're doing something not routine, but we like to do the same things for fun when it's time to not be so busy so it just works for us. It's nice to have someone there when I want it but who also knows how to leave me to myself and not take it personally.

So spending Saturday with his close family was a little hard because I was feeling especially anti-social that day and they - the ones who don't know me - probably found me stand-offish but I was really just wanting to read the book my critique group and I are reading, and keep my kids from burying each other in that icky old sand. I don't like beaches. Sand is dirt to me. My daughter wanting to walk on it with her bare feet gave me shivers but in that case it was because of the unknown. You never knows what's buried in that shifty, seeping sand.

Most of the time, I like it to just be the four of us. And that's what we did on Father's Day. A trip to see Fantastic 4 - for Son's sake - dinner at Outback and then a Sunday drive to no where in particular. Daughter informed us along the way that she needed new clothes, and could we please go somewhere because dinner, a movie, and a stop at the store to get her Pull-ups was not enough of an outing for her. So we drove along the water in one town and then we drove through the park in another town. That's where we stopped to watch a family feeding ducks and geese.



As you can see, Daughter is practically fearless, but somehow still can't take off her own shirt unless she's having a sudden bout of independence. (Fiercely independent mommies try to make fiercely independent children and when one even utters, "I can't!" when really that child means, "I won't!" regarding the simplest of tasks, FIM simply goes nuts.)

So now we are going to have to make another trip with a loaf of bread one day because I promise you, Daughter will not forget that we said we would - one day.

In the end, we all came home somewhat tired, though we did nothing particularly physical. And we got ready for this special week. Because today is...


SON'S LAST DAY AS A FIRST-GRADER!

I didn't get a chance to take a picture of him waiting for the bus but I'll do like I did last year and have Mr. T. take a picture of him coming home.

Where did the time go? The start of school does feel a million years ago but 2nd grade is looming and I'm not sure yet if I feel anything about that. I'm too busy thinking about the busy summer ahead. (We slow down for nothing in my house.) He's got a math packet to complete for 2nd grade, and the reading one too. We got 5 books from the library last night to tide him over between the end of school and the start of his summer literacy program but he's already read 3 of them. Guess we'll have to go back Wednesday. The literacy camp WILL be work - remember the scrapbook? - so he'll be occupied. Then it's August. Sweet August. My month of childlessness. It's gonna be a tight one, taking them down one day and coming back home the next, but it'll be worth it.

I do love this time of the year when everyone has done the hard work of completing another school year and routines can relax a bit. And this summer, I am in my own home to boot. It's gonna be simply marvelous.