It's late, I need to get to bed because we are supposed to get up at the crack of dawn to finish loading the car and hit the road, I'm tired as all get-out - but I need to blog RIGHT NOW so that I remember just how hellish this day-before-vacation was. Errands, Anna leaving for college (and God bless the friend who helped drive her things down, no way I could have done it today), Larry being called in to work unexpectedly, the girls apparently having
none of the right clothes to pack, my realizing after dinner that I still had to EMPTY THE REFRIGERATOR....
Let's just say it wasn't pretty. I was tossing out plastic containers full of food, left and right, without even
stopping to photograph them. What a tragic waste, both of comestibles and of a decent blog post, right?
Larry the workaholic redeemed himself by dealing with the 3-week-old fettucine. I
knew there was a reason I married that man.
Has anyone noticed? Rachel turned 13 last week. THIRTEEN. That means that she wasn't all that enthusiastic about having to help with a million things all day, ranging from cutting up the watermelon to going outside to pull the recycling and trash cans around front. Granted, all 3 kids are still adjusting to
David's being gone; they are still in the process of figuring out that his absence means more work for everyone left behind.
Rachel is thirteen. You know, Larry and I have been dreading that particular milestone for 9 years, ever since Anna was apparently kidnapped by extraterrestrials on her 13th birthday and replaced for several years with an alienated teen clone. The special day itself passed undramatically, but there has been a definite uptick in attitude around here. You would think I would be immune to it, but no. No one is immune to the disgust emanating from a put-upon teen girl. NO ONE.
By the way, Rachel's cake wasn't this fancy. In fact, I forgot to buy candles, so she had to settle for a numeral 5 and a numeral 4 paired up with 4 individual candles. Get it? It adds up to 13.
Yup, we made her do math on her birthday.
So yeah, today was a mess. I'm exhausted, Larry's exhausted, and we still have to load the car, attach the camper, close up the house, and drive at least 9 1/2 hours tomorrow.
Pray for us - we'll need it.
[Cake image: Pinterest]
Explain to me one more time why family vacations, particularly when anyone has shingles, are fun. I was mostly too poor to take vacations when the kids were young and now I realize what an unexpected blessing that turned out to be. You folks enjoy yourselves, though!
ReplyDeleteThis is why I go nowhere. BUT I'M SURE YOU'LL HAVE A GREAT TIME AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT!!!!
ReplyDeletePeter is almost 13 and I have been getting an assload of attitude from him all summer. Please don't tell me that this last for SEVERAL YEARS???!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your clean bathrooms and morning pastries!
And by "dealt wtih" the three week old fettuccine, did you mean he ATE IT???
I am in favor of people doing math on their birthdays. It's just addition. We do that frequently, for the same reason as you did it.
ReplyDeleteI will pray for you to have a truckload of fun on your vacation.
I will sincerely hope that you are even now in the car, snoozing peacefully while Larry drives.
ReplyDeleteSending kids off to college PLUS getting packed for vacation? This seems like adding insult to injury.
ReplyDeleteMay your fears of hostile female takeovers be completely unfounded (I was going for alliteration but it's after midnight now and my brain is fried) and may your vacation be completely worth the effort required!
You are beyond busy with the packing. I hope your vacation was all sorts of fun to make up for the hassle.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how happy I am that you did a 13th bday cake with a 5, a 4, and 4 individual candles. This is something I would do, without even the excuse of a camping trip to plan. I hope someday our kids find each other and can commiserate with someone else who gets it ;)
ReplyDelete