Okay, camping troubles aside, it was beyond thrilling to watch last Friday as our oldest child took the commissioning oath to be an Army officer. And, as a bonus? There was a professional photographer available afterwards who took pictures of all of us together. So, for what will probably be an exorbitant sum, we will finally have a fancy family photo. We haven't managed to get our act together to do that for over a decade.
Also, there were cookies and lemonade at the commissioning reception. The 3 younger children were very pleased.
The graduation ceremony was another story. The program irritated me because it spelled "Ressessional" incorrectly (4 times!). The main speaker's speech needed improvement, so I edited it in my head as she went along. And each of the 500 students' names was read out individually, which is really a bit much. I would gladly have sacrificed seeing Theo go up to receive his (not even really there) diploma if I could have avoided watching the other 499 students do the same.
Theo called me on Mother's Day (be still, my heart!) and mentioned how strange it felt not to have to be doing something every minute - no papers due, no tests to study for. "I'm just sitting around," he said. "I think I need a hobby."
I am trying to remember the last time I felt that way. I think it may have been the day before he was born.
We've just returned, from a camping trip that really wasn't. I had planned 4 nights of camping, plus 2 in a hotel (because I was NOT going to try to get dressed up in a campground bathroom for my oldest's graduation and commissioning). We ended up with 1 night of camping, plus 3 in a hotel, and I am not sure why those numbers don't even out. And we still had to pay for the campgrounds.
Camping myth #2 - Kids love camping.
The one night we camped, we got to the campground just before dark and hurried to set up the trailer between rainstorms. "Hang on, kids," we said. "We'll go get pizza as soon as this is done." So, once everything was in place, we hopped in the car and gaily drove down the long winding hill toward the campground entrance. Which was gated shut. We ended up dining on leftovers from the lunch cooler while sitting in the car (that we had already been in for 10 hours that day) at the wet campsite. This did not go over well. As I recall, Brian actually wept and refused to eat anything.
Do NOT be fooled by this idyllic image.
Camping myth #3 - Camping relieves stress.
Our last night in the hotel, Rachel suffered croup, plus a high fever that made her throw up. The possibility of a repeat performance in our camping trailer -- plus the threat of yet more rain and the mere thought of having to set up the trailer again -- gave us the incentive to drive straight home the next day, without stopping at our planned campground. You see, driving 12 straight hours with 4 kids in the car seemed less stressful than the alternative.
So long, folks! We head out tomorrow morning to see Theo graduate from college. I'm not exactly looking forward to 8 hours in the car tomorrow and 3 more the next day; but, considering the day I've had, at least I'll get to sit still and rest in the car. Today was a tad hectic, in the way a hurricane is a tad wet. Packing, laundry, cleaning, etc., have taken their toll on my sanity; and I'm not sure I will ever recover.
Mine didn't have flowers, though...
Yet, despite the busyness, I managed to squeeze in my very first professional pedicure today. It was a bit of an uncomfortable experience for a person like myself, who needs her personal space; but I am thrilled with the results. It looks way better than when I paint my nails myself, plus the manicurist (pedicurist?) got rid of all the callouses and other weirdnesses that tend to manifest themselves on a pair of almost 50-year-old feet.
Guess I'll just admire my toes while I'm trapped in the car tomorrow...
We leave Tuesday, EARLY. Until approximately an hour ago, I believed that preparations were moving along, right on schedule; and then I started tallying up what exactly I have to accomplish tomorrow. Laundry, packing, finding something amusing for the girls to do in the car, laundry, cleaning out the refrigerator (Lord help me), and some minor housecleaning in case we all perish while on the road...
It doesn't look like this on me.
You know, I would have gotten some of that done today, if I hadn't had to waste 3 HOURS exploring the depressing world of shapewear, in my search for something - anything - that would immobilize my belly fat underneath the dress I am wearing for Theo's graduation. Where has all this floppy belly fat even come from? It's not the pregnancies - I looked GREAT after all the babies (if I do say so myself). I'm thinking it must be yet another present from the menopause fairy.
I ended up buying that device pictured to the right. I feel positively 19th-century in it. All that is missing are the whalebone and laces, I believe.
Whoops! Don't Google for images of "corsets" - it gets weird pretty quickly.
I bet I could do these exercises, too, if I didn't have this spare tire around my middle. Who does this chick think she is, anyway, showing off like that?
After a couple of days? The camper feels about this big.
We leave this coming Tuesday for a 12-hour trek to watch Theo graduate from college and be commissioned into the US Army. Maybe I should be getting ready for that? Like, packing or at least making lists? Instead, I took the evening off to attend the live Cinecast of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. It was my Mother's Day present to myself, since I will be spending the real Mother's Day surrounded by my loved ones in a 20 x 6 foot camping trailer. Cozy.
In related news, I need to lose 10 pounds by next week. Any ideas? Please share them in the comments. Feeling a tad desperate here...I'm sure the popcorn and soda tonight didn't help matters any.
Time for bed - I need to grab a few hours shuteye before Susie wakes up barking. Yes, the croup fairy is back in town. But, hey - Susie has a well-child visit scheduled for tomorrow morning anyway, so at least that's convenient. Then there is tennis and park day tomorrow afternoon (we homeschoolers are nothing if not social), and I guess people might want something for dinner around here after that.
Oh, yeah, and that getting ready for a major road trip thing...I should squeeze that into the schedule somewhere, too. Right.
