Five dollars worth of fun

Parker has been scheming lately. He's trying to find ways to make money. He tried to sell his bike to his friend...but that didn't work. So he asked me if there was anything around the house he could do to earn extra money. (He does get an allowance, but apparently it's not enough.) I told him my car needed to be cleaned inside and out. He agreed and the fee was set at five dollars. This morning he got up, looked out the window, and said, "Yup. Perfect day for washing the car!"

Tom Sawyer always manages to get his friends to help with chores. Maybe he'll be a manager someday.

Parker is very thourough...just like his dad. I personally couldn't care less if there was dirt between the car's toes. But he made sure to get in all the cracks of all four tires.

And there it is. The tongue. It always comes out during times of intense concentration.

And the Master of Clean declares, "That was an easy five dollars!"

Golf

I LOVE being at home for the summer. It means I can do things like take Parker and his next-door friend to the golf clinic at the country club on Monday mornings. This week was their first time. They were excited enough to set their own alarm, get themselves up and dressed, and make sure their clubs were at the front door, waiting. When Nate rang the doorbell and I ushered him in, I could smell the trail of cologne and his hair was slicked down. A dapper guy with a glint in his eye. Parker came up the stairs with his clubs and the two immediately started inspecting the dirt in the cracks of the putter, and comparing clubs. Parker had swiped two from his dad's bag and slid the biggest driver into his bag, saying with that swagger guys get, "When you can't swing very hard...that's when you let the big dog hunt." A Yancey-ism if I ever heard one. Nate looked impressed. Then he looked at me and said, "My mom made me bring PRETZELS in my bag!" His face was indignant. "I told her...MOM, professional golfers do NOT have PRETZELS in their bag!"

We loaded up and headed out. When we got there, the lot was filled with kids of all ages and golf bags of all sizes. Parker said, "I'm nervous." I registered the boys, while they hung back at the edge of the crowd. But soon, they spotted a couple of other guys they knew and they were off.

I left two nervous boys...I picked up two confident golfers. They strode to the car, swinging their clubs into the trunk with little effort, talking about how great they had done that day. (And...I found out there was a GIRL in their group! I'm sure that made them play all the better!) When we got home, the boys graciously posed for me.

Then they spent another hour walking around my yard, hitting golf balls around. I didn't mind...because at least they weren't shooting bottle rockets into the siding (yes...there is a story there!). We may get some gentleman golfers yet.

Best Man

I went to a wedding yesterday. It was a very sweet event with lots of unique, personal touches. The girls were dressed in simple summer dresses in citrus colors, and the guys wore light suits with sandals. Lemons and limes were tucked among daisies to decorate the church. And the bride wore a simple, lacy, spaghetti strap dress down the aisle to meet her groom...who cried as soon as he saw her. He sang a song to her (in a scratchy, tear-streaked voice) and she put her forehead to his and then joined in to sing with him. I couldn't help but think that, as fast as time has flown so far, it could be our turn to plan a wedding in just a few short years. And I thought about Hillary's personality and imagined a fun, creative wedding with lots of music...and maybe even some acting thrown in. And there would have to be big black and white photos involved in some way.
But of course, the most important thing at the wedding is the man she'll be marrying. And I hope she chooses someone like her dad. Someone who used his break between basketball games to swing by the church where I was helping with an event and surprise me. Someone who says, "hey beautiful!" when I walk into the room on Thursday afternoon in nothing special. Someone who came to the wedding reception where I was helping serve and jumped right in, arranging strawberries on a platter, making lemonade, and lighting candles, even though the bride's mom was my friend, not his, and he wasn't required to help. And he didn't even grumble about it. A man who exudes calm strength and puts others first. A man who gives strong hugs and gentle backrubs.
It won't matter when or how she gets married, as long as she finds a man like that.
So even though my husband wasn't even in the wedding yesterday...I think he is definitely the Best Man!

Hold that pose

At the end of a busy, away-from-home day, I decided to unwind on my new front yard swing with my coffee and a good book. The kids followed me and climbed into the hammock. My heart immediately screamed "Get the camera!" But my head said, "Don't you ever get tired of living your life through your camera lens? Can't you just sit and enjoy the moment without documenting it?" So I sipped, and I read.

The kids laughed and jostled and swung.

I resisited.

They fell out of the hammock and onto the ground in a heap like a couple of puppies. I haven't seen them play like this since they were little.

Still I sat.

They got back in the hammock with a new plan to see how high they could swing while lying sideways.

And I gave up...I gave in...I said, "Hold that pose!" And I ran in the house and grabbed my camera while the blood ran to the top of their heads.

So much for just enjoying the moment. But this way I get to re-live it...and share it!

Alone

One of the perks of your children getting older is the surprise spurts of "alone" time. It's not really planned...it's just suddenly laid upon you like a gift on a Tuesday afternoon. So today, when my husband went to teach summer school, and my daughter drove herself to a church youth activity, and my son got an invitation to spend the day and night with his friend, I found myself with several empty hours.
What to do?
There are so many things on my imaginary "list" for moments like this, that I almost get paralyzed with indecision. Should I take a walk...lie in the hammock and read a book...take a long bath...call someone on the phone and have an actual non-interrupted conversation...drive to the city and browse the stores I want to go to that my family hates...surf the internet...grab my camera and experiment....write...
Then my Demon of Practicality cuts in. I could always clean out a closet...scrutinize the budget (yet again) to find a few more pennies...get ALL the laundry done...get ahead by planning next week's meals and making a grocery list. My Guilt says "if you get it all done while they're not here, you can spend more time with them when they get back."
So what did I do?
Actually, a little of both worlds. I paid a couple of bills, threw in a load of laundry, enjoyed a silent cup of coffee on my back porch swing, and spent some wonderfully frivolous time reading other people's blogs and puttering with my camera.
Tell me...what would you do?

Funkytown

My family just HATES long car rides. When the kids were little, they usually fell asleep as soon as we took off and slept most of the way. And they were strapped into their car seats, which created a natural space boundary between them, keeping them from fighting over which side of the back seat someone's pinky was on. As they got older, a kind of natural seat selection came about. Parker always sat behind Yancey, and Hillary sat behind me. Our legs were in proportion (Yancey long and Parker short...Hillary long and me short). Now that BOTH kids are daddy-long-legs, the fight over who gets to sit behind mom is on. I scoot the seat up as far as it will go (and my knees are still not quite touching the dashboard). With all those arms and legs crammed in the car, it's like riding with a family of spiders. Cranky spiders.

So to pass the time, I become Mama DJ...a human juke box...playing various songs from various cds...a little something for everyone. And when this becomes boring, we sing. When I say we, I mean me and the kids. 007 is usually stone-faced and silent...reflective-sunglass-covered eyes never wavering from the road ahead...taking every car that passes us as a personal challenge...determined to beat our own best time for this trip...while the kids and I sing at the top of our lungs, dancing and making silly pantomines of the words. Because we love him, we try to include him...by getting close to his face and making weird faces, or squeezing the sides of his lips to make him "sing". This is great fun for us, but his steely concentration is never broken...which of course makes us laugh even harder. It's kind of like playing with a toy, or pestering the dog.

Anyway, this weekend, as we traveled "over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go" the kids said, "Mom, let's sing!" At first we tried to sing songs from Disney movies and Broadway musicals. But none of us ever knew all the words and we ended up going "hmm, hm hm...da, da dum." So I popped in the Shrek 2 soundtrack and we belted out song after song. We sang about being "accidentally in love" and how "people just ain't no good". And then, the familiar techno-beat intro of Funkytown...a song special to the three of us. You see, about 4 years ago, when we knew we were leaving our familiar town for foreign territory...moving from the only place our kids had ever known to a place we had never even known existed...we were a little sad. It was summertime...our stuff was in boxes...and my husband was away for a week at a basketball camp. I had to do something. So I played Funkytown over and over...the kids and I memorized the words...and made up a dance routine. "Gotta make a move to a town that's right for me..." It was cute and choreographed. And it made us laugh. And it eased the pain.
So even though it's now "home" and we've grown to love it. This town will always be a little "Funky".
Sing it with me now..."Won't you take me to....Funkytooooowwnn!"

Hello. My name is Fonda, and I am a coke-a-holic.

My family knows of my obsession and loves to tease me about it. I started drinking coffee a few years ago, thinking that I could replace a sugar addiction with a caffeine addiction...So now I drink coffee AND coke. Anyway, when I got home from bible study last night, I found this in the fridge.

In case you can't read that last line..."PS this is the last coke." Sweet gesture....or self preservation? Hmmm.....