Compliment
At the dinner table yesterday, it struck me that the older five children were so settled. I thought back to our meals in the first few years, and yesterday's supper was completely different. Conversations, manners, smiles, waiting to be served . . . . I was so pleased that I complimented them on their behavior. Paul outwardly bristled at the comment, but deep inside he may have been happy.
Postscript: SCHOOL STARTED!
The rages and hoarding leading up to the first day of school told us how stressful such transitions are for the kids. They are more settled now that the first week is done. Whew!
SCHOOL STARTED!!!
I'm alternating between exhaustion and hallelujahs!
Ships Passing in the Night
Summer ends and fall begins--on the same day.
Last Saturday morning, I left Paul and Adam's first football scrimmage to pick up David at his last summer karate session. Not only was it his last class, but it was also the final summer event for all of the children.
Then David and I returned to the high school to watch the remainder of the football game.
More Anniversary
Since our wedding and adoption anniversaries fall on the same day (August 18), we carefully plan how to celebrate both. Concordia had their day-long faculty retreat on August 18, so we took the kids out on the 17th. That way we'd return home before it got too late in the evening for Kola.
The children began our 20th wedding anniversary celebration by making breakfast for us on Tuesday morning. Any meal prepared by the children is great, but this one actually tasted good, too. It reminded me of the breakfasts we had eaten in Ukrainian hotels, which included lots of protein (two eggs, cold cuts, cheese) but no milk!
Jonathan and I planned to eat at a nice restaurant on Wednesday, August 18; the provost even gave him a pass on the evening dinner of the faculty retreat "as long as [Jonathan] took [me] to a nicer restaurant than the one for the faculty." Unfortunately, Kola got a fever that day, so we had to cancel our babysitter and therefore the outing. Surprise gifts, including an ice cream cake in our wedding colors(!), helped me feel better.
Jonathan and I rescheduled for Thursday night, and we had a quiet evening dinner together. We managed to talk about the kids only part of the time!
Anniversary
Tomorrow (August 18) is our five-year anniversary with the older five children. We're going out tonight as a family to celebrate. There's an outdoor game place near our church that has go-carts, miniature golf, batting cages, arcades, and a water balloon pit. We'll use the last of those activities as our closer for the evening!
Scents
About a week ago, we returned from our yearly trip to Texas. Much of Jonathan's family resides in Austin, and my parents also lived there for many years (they moved to Virginia in June). We had a good trip, with lots of fun activities. My favorites were a day at Mustang Island near Corpus Christi, and an afternoon in Hannibal, Missouri visiting Mark Twain sites.
While we were away from Chicago, a storm blew through and flooded almost every basement in Forest Park. Our 3-1/2 inches of water were actually less than many other people suffered. I've heard about depths of three to four feet in some homes.
Our basement has been wet for years, but certain areas had always remained dry. Therefore, many of our belongings that I thought were safely stored received damage in the flood. Then they sat for two weeks until we returned from vacation. It couldn't be helped, and the items weren't worth enough money to hire someone to clean for us.
I am, however, sifting through clothing, rugs, and other items that have been wet with storm water for two weeks. The clothing is coming clean with bleach, and all of the wet paper items are in the recycle bin. The metal collector has taken several items, and so far I've managed to limit the actual garbage to three large bags.
The hardest task has been sorting through the children's trash bags, which had been stored in the basement and all got wet. When the kids clean their rooms, the "rubbish" often contains tools, jewelry, and other valuable items. In addition, I always look among the papers for school essays, since the historian in me saves the interesting ones as keepsakes. For example, "Rachel's Story" that I posted in January 2010 was found among discarded school papers.
A few days ago, I said goodnight to Kola. He told me, "Mom, you smell like 'basement'." Hoping that the odor he smelled was bleach, I asked what he meant. "Mold."
New School Year
In the summer of 2007, David had finished first grade and was entering second. He was quite worried that second grade would be more difficult. He didn't realize that first grade had prepared him for moving up to the next level, and even though second grade WAS more difficult, he did just fine.
This summer, Kola is looking ahead to second grade. He figured that since first grade had lasted for one year, second grade would be two years long, third grade would go for three, etc. He seemed relieved that only one year of second grade was necessary!
Music Game
I remember that as a young child someone played "horse" with me. They bumped me on their knee as they hummed the theme from the William Tell overture, better known today as the "Lone Ranger" theme. At the high note, I would "fly" off the horse into the air.
Kola loves this game, and we have played it since the first week I met him. We gave it a new twist recently, however. While swmimming, and as we waited for waves to approach, he and I both changed the tempo of the song so that the high note would land as the wave broke. Sometimes, the song broadened to a crawl, but it was more fun to speed it up as fast as possible.
It's a good thing I was singing and not attempting ricochet bowing on my violin!
