While in Washington, DC last week, Deanna, Dane, and I caught the Metro back to my niece's house from the Air and Space Museum. We had to change lines at the next station. Deanna and I were sitting facing each other, while Dane stood near us. The Conductor came over the P.A. System.
"Next stop - Pentagon. Exit on the left, please."
Deanna, confused by my facing her in the car, looked at me with a quizzical expression and asked,
"Which left?"
Monday, August 22, 2011
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Eventful Week
I'm absolutely exhausted. Daelyn has been in Horse Camp all week. I have to rise at 6:30 to get him up, fed and dressed, dress myself, make his lunch, and get him out the door. Camp is on the military base and it takes 20 minutes to get there, if they wave us through, up to 50 or 60 if they decide we look suspicious and need to have our car searched. Camp starts at 8 a.m., but the kids get to brush their horses and mess around in the stables if they arrive before 8, so there's always a push to arrive early.
We try to get out the door by 7:10, arriving at camp by 7:30 (when the Gate Guards are merciful). I drop Daelyn off, sign him in, kiss him goodbye, then linger for a few minutes and watch him lovingly brushing his strawberry rone mare, Shortcake, or Shorty, for short. She's the Alpha Female and, as Dane lovingly commented, when the Camp Director told us that she follows behind all the horses when they take their trail rides so she can run up and bite any of the horses that get out of line, she's a lot like our little Daelyn.
Then I have to rush home to pick up Deanna and head to Volleyball practice at the school. Twice this week, I've had appointments right after dropping her off, which has added a little extra pressure to my morning. Then it's home again until 10:30, when she needs to be picked up.
You know, I'm accustomed to rising early and taking the children to all their appointments. I guess the reason this is so exhausting for me is trying to keep up with everyone's schedules. I'm grabbing 15 minutes here to start dinner, 10 here for loading a few dishes in the dishwasher. I haven't eaten breakfast or lunch all week (except for our lunch date with the girl and her mother who will be Dane's dance partner in Social this year). The only wash that's gotten done are the loads essential to make sure Daelyn had blue jeans for camp and Deanna had work-out clothes for volleyball practice. I feel like I've absolutely met myself coming all week.
Add to that the possibility that the sizeable amount of money Don and I invested in a property might have been a Scam, this rash on my arm is itching constantly after a full 5 weeks of dealing with it and seeing two separate doctors about it, the emergency run to a Podiatrist when Deanna's big toe turned blue and they had to drill a hole in the nail and she fell apart when blood spurted out the holes, Dane and Daelyn have been miserable apart from each other but can't stop fighting when they're finally together at the end of the day, and the fact that all of us have had about as much activity as any group of people can stand, I consider it quite a feat that we're still living together and on speaking terms, even it the word "speaking" might be code for "yelling".
I have, however, appreciated watching my children this week. Deanna explained to me that Dane had a bad attitude because he was over-tired. Dane appealed to me to let Daelyn play with the ipod he had just gotten in the mail, even though I had told him no and he was making me pay for it. And all of the children have, at one time or other, intervened in a fight to bring calm and reason. When Deanna made us late today to pick up Daelyn because she didn't hear me and thought we were going shopping and we were both angry and yelling, Dane hollered at both of us to "back off and cool down". Usually, I'm the voice of reason. This week, all of us have been.
At times like these, it occurs to me that my children might actually make it to adulthood without me taking them out early. Despite the stress.
We try to get out the door by 7:10, arriving at camp by 7:30 (when the Gate Guards are merciful). I drop Daelyn off, sign him in, kiss him goodbye, then linger for a few minutes and watch him lovingly brushing his strawberry rone mare, Shortcake, or Shorty, for short. She's the Alpha Female and, as Dane lovingly commented, when the Camp Director told us that she follows behind all the horses when they take their trail rides so she can run up and bite any of the horses that get out of line, she's a lot like our little Daelyn.
Then I have to rush home to pick up Deanna and head to Volleyball practice at the school. Twice this week, I've had appointments right after dropping her off, which has added a little extra pressure to my morning. Then it's home again until 10:30, when she needs to be picked up.
You know, I'm accustomed to rising early and taking the children to all their appointments. I guess the reason this is so exhausting for me is trying to keep up with everyone's schedules. I'm grabbing 15 minutes here to start dinner, 10 here for loading a few dishes in the dishwasher. I haven't eaten breakfast or lunch all week (except for our lunch date with the girl and her mother who will be Dane's dance partner in Social this year). The only wash that's gotten done are the loads essential to make sure Daelyn had blue jeans for camp and Deanna had work-out clothes for volleyball practice. I feel like I've absolutely met myself coming all week.
Add to that the possibility that the sizeable amount of money Don and I invested in a property might have been a Scam, this rash on my arm is itching constantly after a full 5 weeks of dealing with it and seeing two separate doctors about it, the emergency run to a Podiatrist when Deanna's big toe turned blue and they had to drill a hole in the nail and she fell apart when blood spurted out the holes, Dane and Daelyn have been miserable apart from each other but can't stop fighting when they're finally together at the end of the day, and the fact that all of us have had about as much activity as any group of people can stand, I consider it quite a feat that we're still living together and on speaking terms, even it the word "speaking" might be code for "yelling".
I have, however, appreciated watching my children this week. Deanna explained to me that Dane had a bad attitude because he was over-tired. Dane appealed to me to let Daelyn play with the ipod he had just gotten in the mail, even though I had told him no and he was making me pay for it. And all of the children have, at one time or other, intervened in a fight to bring calm and reason. When Deanna made us late today to pick up Daelyn because she didn't hear me and thought we were going shopping and we were both angry and yelling, Dane hollered at both of us to "back off and cool down". Usually, I'm the voice of reason. This week, all of us have been.
At times like these, it occurs to me that my children might actually make it to adulthood without me taking them out early. Despite the stress.
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