There Aren't Enough Days in the Weekend

When you have kids, it's funny how much of your happiness is dependant on their happiness. This past weekend was just terrific....

Big Sister and SIL are on a fun-filled trip to NYC. They took off Saturday morning and she has kept me entertained with pictures and e-mails of where they are. I am living vicariously through them, since it has been much too long since my last trip there. In my previous life, I spent a lot of time working in NYC, and sometimes Big Sis would come with me. During that time, she enjoyed visiting, but when I would talk about how much fun it would be to live there, she would disagree, feeling it was "too much". Funny how time and age change things....yesterday, she said that she and SIL were trying to come up with a "5 year plan" to move there...meanwhile, they are eating, shopping and celebrity-stalking their way through the City....

The Senior spent all of last week working on a major research paper. She was totally stressed and unhappy until 4:00 on Friday when she turned it in. Thursday night around 11:00 I got a call..."Mom, can you read my paper and edit for me?".....Well, I asked, could it wait until the morning? I had just finished studying with The Boy and wasn't sure I had the energy to edit. (The Husband might have also suggested that it was too late for editing).....Well no...she needed it done "now" because she would be up all night working on it. .....I had to give in and do it, because a) she works very hard and b) after the last few edits she has done on my work...payback was in order.....However, after I plowed through an engrossing paper on Irish literature, there was very little editing to be done...so congrats to The Senior for finishing her paper and good luck on mid-terms...

The Boy had a spend-the-night with a good friend on Friday night. I dropped off his bag after school and wished him a good time. We decided to attend the high school football game that night, and The Boy was there too. He was sweet enough to come over and give me a hug and say good night. Without breaking down and crying, I am once again reminded that The Boy is growing up and I have to let go just a bit....but I'll still take the hugs anytime.

Little One had the BFF over for a couple of nights. It was girl-time in the house-hold, full of stuffed animals, Disney channel and nail polish. Without The Boy around to argue with, they had a blissful time. If truth be told, I think she missed him though. Because the house if awfully quiet without The Boy around to keep us informed of his every move...("Going out to throw the ball....going up to read...going over to C.J.'s house"....The Boy likes to give us the ESPN analysis of his daily life)

And that's it for the weekend. The Yankees won, the Vikings won, UT won.....and the Husband won all of his "bets" for the weekend too...

So until tomorrow...here's hoping it's a good week for everyone....

"Monday. In Christian Countries, the Day After the Ballgame."

The moods matched the weather this morning. The weekend went by much too quickly, since most of it was spent at the ball park. The Boy played 4 games this weekend...Friday night, Saturday morning and afternoon....and then 8:00 Sunday morning. Now this final game meant we would have to rise at 6:30 to get there in time. Upon hearing this news Saturday evening, I literally felt like crying. I haven't missed one of The Boy's games since last summer when the doctor forbid me to go due to pneumonia. Wait, I take that back...I did miss a few games this past summer when I had to take Little One to her softball tournament...but you get the picture. I just felt exhausted. The Husband kindly suggested that I sleep in and come to a later game, but I was worried about The Boy's reaction. He is very good at guilting me out...and I was braced for his comments. But when The Husband told him it would only be the 2 of them going at 6:30, his only question was "Can we stop for breakfast?" I was so relieved...and at 6:30 the next morning, I barely heard them leave. Little One , who was still suffering due to that orthodontic appliance (of which I have been told not to call by name), slept peacefully through the departure too.

Little One has been in tears since last Wednesday. This horrid appliance, which looks like some kind of torture device out of the middle ages, has her in a lot of pain. Now The Boy has this too, and I remember him being sore for a few days when he first got it on...but he mainly used it as an excuse to have 3 milkshakes a day. I've tried this with Little One, but it doesn't help much. She had tears falling on the way to school. I offered for her to stay home..but she may have a softball game tonight, and she didn't want to take a chance on missing it. I offered to bring her a milkshake for lunch, and she took me up on it. I hate seeing her in so much discomfort....I told her "I wish it were me and not you." Being Little One, she replied "Oh no you don't. You don't have any idea what this feels like. You didn't have these in the old days..."....

The Boy has a big science test today. He talked about it all weekend. "Gee, I hope I do ok on that test.... Gosh, hope I don't fail that test.... Ok, getting ready to study for that test.....But somehow, all of the worry and talk never manifests into truly studying. Finally, at bedtime last night, he was ready to be quizzed over it. After stumbling through it, he asked "Well, what do you think?..B+?" This is the thing about The Boy...he is an optimist. Last night, I was thinking C-, but he must have put in a little more time after he went to bed, because this morning on the way to school, I upgraded him to a B+...

A couple last notes...I had a terrific dinner with Big Sister and a good friend Saturday night. One of those glorious "girl" dates where you sit down at your table and the waitress has to come back 6 times before you hush and figure out what you are going to order. During the course of 90 minutes, we covered everything from vegetarianism to computer technology to 'Dancing with the Stars'. ...Now, during this conversation, I happened to mention that I was rooting for Donny Osmond to win 'Dancing'. I like how he is so upbeat, plus I think he is good. When I mentioned this, Big Sister informed me that the SIL, upon hearing this, had said "Big surprise. Of course she would go for the 50's cheesy crooner.".....Excuse me? ...I immediately had her call him and ask why on earth he would say this. I absolutely HATE being a forgone conclusion. But all he would say is "These are questions you just have to ask yourself..."...That is the SIL for you...Mr. Zen. My guess is he's rooting the Boy band guy...

So until tomorrow, when hopefully the weather will be better, Little One will be feeling better, and Donny Osmond will be in the lead on 'Dancing'...