Bball Boy

We took Parker to basketball camp this week.
We loaded his sleeping bag, suitcase full of shorts and white Hanes tshirts, and brand new hi-tops into the trunk and headed for Springfield.
We had just turned onto the main road when I said, "oh man! I forgot my camera."
To which Mr. Reflective Sunglasses, Jr. replied dryly, "That's a shame."
He is actually pretty tolerant when I flit around him and his friends while they do whatever it is they do...snapping away and sometimes even asking them to pause so I can get the perfect shot to augment my next blog post.  He just rolls his eyes and treats me like an annoying but harmless fly.
But this time, he had managed to catch me camera-less.
We arrived at the campus and lugged his stuff up to his room...where we discovered they were staying on what must normally be a girl's floor.  There were huge pink and purple flowers painted down the hall walls.
"See," I joked.  "If I had my camera, I could take your picture in front of these flowers!  But I don't."
He looked at his 6ft 3in roommate and said, "Thank God!"
And after taking care of the "Non-working Key" snafu and going over the camp rules, it was time to go.
We hugged him...well, I hugged him.  His dad slapped him on the back.  And we drove away.
And Mr. Reflective Sunglasses, Sr. said, "You realize this is the first time he's gone to stay away somewhere without a family member."
And we rode in silence for a min.
But I knew he'd be fine.  He'd be busy.  He'd have fun.  And he probably wouldn't even think of us until it was time to go home.
As I lay down in bed that night, my phone chirped.  It was a text from Parker.
"Night mommy. i love u."
I smiled in the dark and replied,
"Goodnight Bball boy.  I love you too!"

Driven

Parker has had a driving desire lately...
As his 15th birthday creeps closer, he has been focused on getting his permit.  He wants to be ready.  So he uses any uncommitted 15 min time slot in our collective day to try to convince me to take him driving.
I finally gave in.

We got gas and I took him to the local park...lots of pavement...no people...a perfect place to stop and start abruptly.  I even let him practice parallel parking.  Nothing like using your mother as a parking cone to make you careful ;)

He seemed cool and confident...driving with one hand and playing the music LOUD.

And then....a couple of days later, after a fun family picnic at the nearby state park, Parker convinced his Dad to let him drive.  This was no "drive slowly around this circle."  This was "let's drive down 14 country roads for an hour."

And this time both Parker's hands were firmly on the wheel...

And Dad's was on what we like to call "the 'oh shoot!' handle".

But we finally made it home, safe and sound.  Parker was beaming and Dad was expounding on what a good driver Parker was turning out to be.  

I'd say we have a long and beautiful road ahead of us!

And I'm glad to be along for the ride.

Homing Pigeon

Our Little Bird has flitted here and there since school ended.  But her most recent and most exciting trip was a 10 day trek out west...taking her from Texas to New Mexico to Arizona to Colorado and many places in between.
I missed her, but I was glad she was getting to have these cool experiences...camping and cooking...hiking...seeing the grand canyon...climbing up pueblo ladders...
And every now and then I would get a text from her:
"You should see the sky out here!  Everything is so beautiful"
"Went on a hike today and saw a rattlesnake."
"This town is like Pleasantville!  They have a Whole Foods here and everyone walks wherever they need to go.  Mom, you BELONG here!"
And with every text, I smiled and felt connected to her even though she was far away.
Finally, it was Coming Home day.  Her dad and I waited up til 10 pm.  But when she texted and said she was still a whole state away, we went on to bed.
In the wee hours of the next morning I heard my bedroom door creak open.  Soft tiptoes...and then she was in bed beside me...snuggling under the covers and falling asleep.
Little Bird was home.
The next day we looked at the 600 pictures she had taken, and listened as she narrated details about each one.  We were happy to see the world through her eyes.
I know there will come a day when she will build her own nest somewhere other than in my tree.  And that will be ok.  Because even then I know she will occasionally find her way home for a visit.

Even More Favorite Summer Things...

Days that stay up longer than I do...

Feeling the heat of the sun soak into my skin...

The drive in movie theatre...

Coffee on the porch swing...

Time to think....

Bare feet...

And most of all, time with my Man...

More Favorite Summer Things...

Impromptu picnics in the park...

especially when my boys let me read to them while they cook...

Favorite Things about Summer...

  Short pony tails and long novels...

The view from my hammock...

The smell of hot asphalt and sunscreen...

Forgetting what day it is because every day feels like Saturday...

Boys and Toys

We cleaned out the basement.  It was an ALL day job.  And as I sifted through broken furniture, Christmas decorations, and outgrown clothes I couldn't help but marvel at the tiny shorts Parker had worn just last year.  It seems like we've been picking out man-sized clothes and shoes forever now.  I shook my head and folded them into the Giveaway box.
When we got to the boxes of old toys that Parker had culled from his bedroom during his last Big Clean Spree, I called him in.  He began to sort...Out went the GI Joe doll, the rubber track that fit together like puzzle pieces, and the various toy guns he had "modified" with string and duct tape.  He graciously agreed to donate his magnetic construction set, toy motorcycles, and matchbox cars of every shape and size to my first graders for indoor recess play.  Although he did keep three of his favorite metal jets for old time's sake.
The garage filled up...trash on one side...things to haul to Goodwill on the other, and we took a break. (I had collapsed on the couch prompting Parker to sense trouble like a well-trained seizure dog saying, "Mom, you need to eat.  Go eat something before you get grouchy.")  Hubby presented Parker and the neighbor boy with an old non-working tv set and instructions to take it apart piece by piece.
This new "toy" occupied them for hours...

And by the time they were finished they had rigged the speakers from the old tv together with another old speaker Neighbor Boy had gotten from his dad.

And finally....hooked it to the ipod touch...producing their own Redneck Speaker System.

After dinner, Hubby and I made a run to the local home improvement store for a few last minute organizational tools..leaving Parker and Neighbor Boy at home throwing the now-empty plastic tv frame from the upstairs deck over and over again in order to complete the tv demolition.  As I walked down the chain and "S hook" aisle my phone rang.  "Ms. Fonda..." came the plaintive little boy voice of Neighbor Boy's 5 year old brother.  "You know that stuff in your garage?"
"Which stuff?" I replied.
"Those toys...?" he said.
"Yeah."
"Can I have them?"
"Of course!" I exclaimed.  "You take whatever you can find!"
And he did.
And "everything old is new again"...

In The Beginning...

In the beginning, I didn't know...

I knew he loved his baby girl, but would he love her mama as much?

I knew he was the kind of daddy who would come straight to the hospital...after football practice.  And even spend the night there so Hillary wouldn't be alone during her prolonged stay while I had to go home and stay there (due to my c-section).

And I knew he was playful...throwing our toddler into the air causing her to squeal, and chucking her under the chin to make her chuckle.

But I didn't know he'd be the kind of daddy who would give Parker baths in the sink.

Or wrestle Gumby Baby into his snowsuit while I was frantically putting final touches on my make-up.

But I always had this feeling he would be the kind of man we could all rest our head on when we needed to.  Whose shoulders...growing broader year by year...would carry us with gentle, patient strength.

I had a feeling.

But I didn't know.

After all, how much can a teenage girl really know?

But 17 years later I know all this and more.  As do you if you've read many of these blog posts.

So today, on our anniversary I want to honor the young Warrior who was asked to be King and stepped valiantly up to the challenge.

I love you.

We all do.

Movin' on Up...Errr Down

My baby girl is moving. 

She starts college classes in the fall.  So it's time for her to move on...

And she has found a great place.  

It's very close to home, extremely reasonably priced (all utilities as well as phone, cable tv, food, and laundry included), and the landlords are really cool people.  

All that was left was to pack her things.

All those High School t-shirts were set aside to go into a storage box.  They will soon be replaced with college t-shirts.  

Luckily her new place has a large walk-in closet.

We tore Dad away from ESPN to hang mirrors and coathooks, and move furniture around and around til she decided it was in Just the Right place.  

And finally, she was moved in enough to be able to sleep there that night.  

Of course I had to tuck her in.

I gave her a hug and kiss and said, "Goodnight, Hillary.  Don't forget to come visit us often."

Then I left.

And went up 13 steps, turned right and took the second door on the right to my own bedroom.  

Gosh, I will miss her.

But she'll always be close to my heart.

Which for now, is about 10 feet below my bed...

Bank Rollin'

Today I chauffeured my eldest further into Adult Land.
We went to the Bank.
Since she is 18, they don't let me cash checks for her anymore.  And she had a wad of graduation congratulations that needed some looking after.
I reminded her to bring her ID (which she is famous for NOT carrying with her) and her SSN (which she does NOT have memorized, but keeps stored in...a secret place).  Before we got out of the car I said, "I'm not talking.  Just go in there and tell them you want to open an account."
And she did.
She strolled in there and answered questions and signed here and there and everywhere.  She picked out the cheap economy checks (funny how they become so frugal when the money is coming out of THEIR account!).  The helpful bank lady clicked and tapped at her computer.  And what must have been at least half a ream of paper printed out of the printer.  "That's all about your account," Mrs. Bankteller said.
"Welcome to the sound of Adulthood." I muttered.
Back in the car I couldn't keep quiet any longer.  I opened my mouth and Advice came out.
"Be sure to write EVERYTHING down."
Hillary just nodded.  She knew already.
And then we found one check she had left in the car.
What a perfect opportunity for me to teach her how to fill out a deposit slip.
She patiently tolerated my step by step instructions.
"And be SURE to write that down." I repeated.
As a total NON-checkbook balancer/statement reconciler, I know from experience what happens when you stuff receipts in the checkbook...or throw them in the trash...thinking "I'll write that down later, or I'll check it online..."
And like any parent, I hope to save my child from making the same mistakes I did.
Classic "do as I SAY and not as I DO"
Time will tell.  But for now, we are definitely rollin' in the right direction!