Life's Treasures

Like all mothers before me, the kids Christmas presents were hidden in my closet until I could have a chance to wrap them. This also meant the the closet was off limits to the kids but I also made sure that they wouldn't see their stuff even if they walked in. As I'm helping Ryles clean her room the other night, I handed her a purse that needed to go in my closet. A couple of minutes after she came back, she says to me, "Wouldn't it be neat if they had a Spongebob Memory game?" The bells in my head instantly went off and I realized that my little mess was trying to be sneaky. You see, there is such thing as a Spongebob Memory game and I know this because we bought one for our nephew Alex and it was in our closet. Apparently, this sneak had seen it and was trying to see what my reaction would be or what I would say. Oh, you should have seen the defeated look on her face when I called her out on it. I tell ya, this one definitely keeps me on my toes but oh I love her so.

As I was packing Ryleigh's lunch this morning, she comes up to me and says, "Mama, do you know what the kids at school do?" (Now before I go any further, you need to read the rest of this keeping in mind that she has her hand on her hip and is extremely annoyed) I of course said, "No, but I'm sure you're about to tell me.." This was followed by, "Ugh, they try to get you to spell up so that then you say U P (roll of the eyeballs and flip of the wrist), I just don't even know why they think that is so funny...you are just spelling a word..I mean, I know that then you are saying U P but, it's just not funny" She then walks away leaving me smiling and knowing that in her mind, she is wondering why I make her socialize with these people that are obviously below her maturity level. I am so in for it but at least I'll have plenty to laugh about along the way.

This is my life this morning: Brent - "Guess what? Ryleigh has a CRUSH on someone!" Me - "Oh really? Who?", B - "Jackson...and Jackson also has a crush on her..." (Of course this is all in a very exaggerated voice). As I walk to my closet, he shakes his head and says, "That girl...she's not old enough to have a boyfriend...(slight pause), now, I can date, I mean, I'm 10!" Hmmm, I quickly correct him and remind him that if Mama is still fixing your hair, you are definitely not in a position to date. So glad this child has a sense of humor ;-)

This year we tried a new walk/run that we had never done before. Ivy thought it would be the perfect way to be motivated a few months back and the original plan was to jog it if we could. Unfortunately, Mother Nature and everyday life had other plans. We never quite got to the point of being able to do an entire 3 miles so we ended up walking it (although we did run the last couple blocks or so ;-) but I figure just getting out there and supporting a cause is better than nothing, right?!?! The plan next year is to do what the team behind us was doing, which was to run from bar to bar, have a quick drink, then head back out...obviously, this wasn't their first time! We are also going to bring a stroller to push Lisa in because according to her she has "midget legs" and I refuse to even post what our finishing time was. All in all I am very glad we did it though and I'm so thankful for my Harte-Hanks sistas. Even though I haven't worked with them in 5 years, they have always left my spot open and I've always been able to slip right back in.

Brent's big field trip this year is a day trip to Austin...now for some of you, that may sound really neat and educational and like no big deal. For me, on the other hand, I have dreaded this event since I heard about it when Brent was in 2nd grade. For the last two years I have crossed my fingers and sent multiple requests to the man upstairs that they would change it when Brent got to 4th grade and I would never have to deal with it. Well, I guess it just wasn't meant to happen that way. I have this horrible fear of my kids riding on buses for extended periods of time and I know logically that it's ridiculous but I just can't help it. Any time they have ever had to get on a bus, even to just go 10 miles, I experience moments of panic. I'm not sure where this comes from or how to deal with it so I just try to breathe through and pray that everything is ok. This, however, is a whole new ball game. They are taking my baby and putting him on a bus for 3+ hours to somewhere that I can't get to him immediately. And to make it worse, parents are not allowed to ride on the bus or even drive in their own cars and join once they are down there which I think is complete BS. My initial answer to this was just that Brent would not be allowed to go and we would maybe keep him out of school that day and just do something fun (the trip isn't until April 1st). However, there was a slight (and I mean miniscule) part of me that also didn't want to take this chance away from him if it was something he really wanted to do. After a lot of internal back and forth, I finally turned to the one person I knew would tell me exactly what I needed to do and help me be ok with the decision. Of course, I didn't initially like her response but I think deep down I also knew that it was the right answer all along. Once she helped me to see this, we then proceeded to come up with the most fantabulous plan that makes it all ok! On the morning of the trip, Ivy and I will follow the bus, unbeknownst to them, and once we know it has made it safely, we are taking the day to ourselves to do some shopping! We will either hit the outlets in Round Rock or head down to San Marcos (or maybe even both!) and then be back in Austin before the buses return to follow them back up. This may seem a bit neurotic but for me, it is a win-win situation. I love that Ivy and I can always come up with some way to work the system to our advantage, that's why we are us.



The funny part of the story comes into play that night when after EVERYTHING I have put myself through, I ask Brent about it again. He looks at me and thinks about it for a sec and then says, "Nah, I don't think I want to go.." WHAT? Seriously? I politely ask him why not because, of course, now I selfishly WANT him to go. He then responds, "Well, it just doesn't sound very fun to have to sit on a bus for 3 hours to get to Austin, then walk around looking at stuff, only to have to get back on the bus for another 3 hours to drive back. Also, what if they sit me next to some girl that just wants to talk the whole way and I just want to lean back and relax?!?!" This is the part where I start telling him that it is a once in a lifetime chance to get to do this with his classmates and what a neat memory it will be. I tell him to just hold off on making his decision until the next day when he can talk to the teacher and to ask her if they can choose who they want to sit next to. As I hear all of this coming out of my mouth my brain is wondering when I suddenly became an advocate for this Austin trip only to finally catch up and realize, oh yeah, it was when you decided you could get something out of it for yourself ;-). We end the night like this and off to school he goes the next morning. When I pick him up that afternoon he jumps into the car and proclaims that now he wants to go on the trip. What changed his mind you might be wondering? Oh, just the simple fact that he found out they are actually taking a chartered bus, not a school bus, and that there will be tv's and video game systems. Yup, technology has won out yet again but it looks like Austin, here we come!