Lost a Heathen - Sorta

Yesterday, I "lost" my oldest Heathen for about an hour. And it was all my own fault!

About two weeks ago, the Asst. Zookeeper and I decided that Heathen #1 was old enough to ride the transit bus from the middle school down to the YMCA for swim team practice. We found the schedule and the route and the time schedule and we got him a youth pass.

Heathen #1 was very excited about this. I was not. Although I knew he was capable of doing this, as the Momma I could just imagine all sorts of things going wrong.

I spent yesterday morning quizzing him on exactly what he was supposed to do after school let out. I quizzed him constantly. To the point that he was really getting annoyed with me.

He gets out of school around 3:10. At 3:15, I pulled into the little corner store next to the bus stop and hid in my van with Heathen #3 (who thought this was a HUGE game of spying on his older brother). The bus was supposed to come at 3:40. I watched the buses pull away from the school. No Heathen. I watched kids walk back and forth across the street for snacks. No Heathen.

I watched the bus arrive and depart at 3:40. No Heathen.

Figuring that he got side tracked in the school, I drove over looking for him. No Heathen. Stopped in the school office and checked with the secretary (assuming that he would need to get to a phone to call me and let me know that he missed the bus). No Heathen. I called home. No Heathen. The secretary called the bus company, who then radioed the bus driver. No Heathen.

I started to drive through the various streets between our zoo and the middle school thinking that maybe he started walking home. No Heathen. My cell phone rings and it is the asst. superintendent (the secretary called him). He had various personal checking the halls in the middle school.

He asked me if I had called the Heathen's cell phone to see where he was. At which point, I had to tell him that I wouldn't let my child have a cell phone because I thought he was too young. Talk about feeling stupid.

I finally decided to call the YMCA and see if he was there. I thought he might have caught a ride down with one of the other team members parents. Turns out, he had arrived at the YMCA about the time that I pulled into the corner store to hide!

When I picked him up after practice, I asked how he had gotten to the YMCA. He gave me the confused puppy look (where they wrinkle their brow and tilt their head to one side) and said, "On the bus."

He had gotten out of the middle school so fast (in fear of missing his bus) that he had caught the bus on the loop BEFORE I pulled in. I had to just have missed him.

If I had trusted him to do as I had told him and believed that he was capable of it, I would have avoided the entire situation. I haven't told him that I was hiding and watching for him to get on the bus.

Coffee With An Old Friend

Friday morning of last week, I saw an old friend for the first time in more than 8 years. It's hard to imagine that I use to see her every day and it has been that long since we spent time together.

Kristin was in town from Colorado for a few days. I haven't seen her since she stood with me at my wedding. Not long afterward, she moved to Denver. We've been in touch a few times over the years, maybe one or twice. The Asst. Zookeeper spoke to her father the other day and heard she was coming into town.

God bless Facebook! I messaged her and we found time for coffee together. Our cup of coffee lasted for two hours or more and could have lasted longer. It's strange. I was worried before I met up with her that our conversation would be stilted and difficult because of the years apart. It couldn't have been more opposite. As we talked, I could imagine us sitting in lunch at the high school having the same conversation. She's still Kristin. She's older and more grown up, but she's still the same person at heart.

It was the best two hours I've had in a while. I hadn't realized I missed her and our conversations that much until after I was leaving the coffee shop. She invited the Heathens and I to Colorado next summer. I'll get us there somehow. I can't wait to see her again.

Momma's Taxi Service

Something dawned on me this evening on the way home to the zoo. I've become one of those mothers that spends her evenings and weekends shuttling her Heathens around to multiple activities. How did I reach this point? How did I allow this to happen after I swore when they were little that I wasn't going to do this?

Let's take a look through the schedule for Monday thru Friday. All these events are taking place after school. And between the end of school and going to bed, I require three additional things from my Heathens. 1. They WILL sit at the dinner table with the rest of the family for the evening meal. 2. They WILL take a bath. 3. They WILL do their homework. Keep in mind that bedtime is 8 pm for everyone.

Mondays
4-6 Tristan has swim team or
5:30-7:30 Tristan has football
4:30-6 Gavin has ballet
6:30-8 Tristan has scouts
6:30-7:15 Landon has swimming
7:15-8 Gavin has swimming

Tuesdays
4-6 Tristan has swim team
6:30-7 Tristan has drum lessons

Wednesdays
4-6 Tristan has swim team or
5:30-7:30 Tristan has football
3:30-5:30 Gavin has youth club
4-5 the Asst. Zookeeper and I have dance lessons

Thursdays
4-6 Tristan has swim team
7-8 Gavin has cub scouts

Fridays
4-6 Tristan has swim team or
5:30-7:30 Tristan has football

Now, the weekends...

Saturdays
2-3:30 Gavin has ballet
Tristan has swim meets these days

Sundays
Sunday School & church for all 3 Heathens
Lunch with the Asst. Zookeeper's family
Tristan has football games

I don't think that I've over scheduled the Heathens, despite what it looks like on paper. It is a lot of running here and there, no question about it. But the Heathens have all asked to participate in these things specifically. They only thing we required them to do is take swimming lessons until they are competent swimmers. Heathen #1 chose to add swim team after he finished with lessons.

Maybe I am crazy. But I keep looking at my neighbor's kids who just graduated the last two years. Her children do nothing but play video games and talk on the phone. They were involved with nothing. Their house is/was much calmer than my zoo - I never saw them dash out the door on the way to something. But, in six years of living next to them, I don't ever recall them being excited to do something when you talked to them. They were just "blah."

Oh, well. So I'm crazy for having the Heathens involved in things. I was at their age and so was the Asst. Zookeeper. And we both loved it. The Heathens are happy - in the end, that is all that matters.

Another First Day

This morning was Heathen #3's first day of 4-Year-Old Preschool. He started asking last night at 8:30 if it was time for him to get dressed yet. And he continued asking every half hour until he fell asleep around 11:30.

He was very excited this morning and was certain to make sure we had his nap mat and his bag of extra clothes ("Just in case I puke everywhere.")

He also made sure I got out the camera and took several pictures of him with his stuff. It was sort of sad. Today was the first day of his last year of being little. Next year, I throw him to the wolves at the elementary school!

Labor Day Weekend - Monday

And Monday morning, we were up, bathed, and in the car on the way to Grove City at 8:30 am! Woo hoo!

After dropping the Asst. Zookeeper at ground school, the Heathens and I headed out for our own adventures. The previous weekend, we had seen a forge that offered tours but we had run out of time before it closed for the day. That was our first stop!

Wendell August Forge was amazing! Although it was a holiday and the craftsmen were not working, we were still able to get a tour. The Heathens were able to walk through the work benches and touch the tools. It was awesome. Everything they make is completely made by hand. The boys were able to make their own hammering art project, similar to the way the craftsmen do. Heathen #1 made a fox, Heathen #2 made a dog, and Heathen #3 made an airplane since the Asst. Zookeeper was at jump school. The Heathens have all asked if we can go back next time we're in Grove City!

After we left Wendell August Forge, we headed for Eat-N-Park for lunch. And after that, it was off to Living Treasures Animal Park in Moraine. We had visited the one in Donegal last summer and the Heathens loved feeding all the animals.

Moraine's park isn't nearly as big as the one in Donegal, but I thought it was much nicer. We spent a good two hours feeding every animal imaginable. And, of course, I had to make the boys stop at the picture spots. At least Heathen #1 still plays along!

Of all the animals we saw, this guy below had to be my favorite. He was just watching people walk past and watching all the children in the area. Seems like a no-nonsense kind of guy!

Labor Day Weekend - Sunday

Sunday morning, I had a date that requires some explanation.

Saturday morning, my phone rang. It was Skinny Minnie wanting to know if I needed a date for the craft festival this weekend. I had borrowed her to go last year since I don't have any little girls of my own. She wanted to know if I would borrow her again. How do you say no to that?

I picked her up on Sunday morning around 11 am. We trooped over to the festival and spent three hours happily poking through the craft booths. She bought two purses, a ring, and a pin for her teacher for Christmas. She's a serious shopper - those purchases were made with a good bit of thought!

After a slice of pizza and some orange soda, I took her back home. I had a really good time with her. She's fun to spend time with and we always enjoy it.

At home, it was time to round up the Heathens to head for the family holiday picnic. My oldest brother-in-law borrowed a soft serve ice cream machine from a company for the weekend. My Heathens ate themselves sick on ice cream all evening. But who could blame them!

Labor Day Weekend - Saturday

We had such a busy weekend (as always), that I'm going to make this entry as individual days!

Saturday, we rolled out of bed at the crack of 10:30 am. :) It was a holiday after all! But then we remembered that we were following the Asst. Zookeeper's father to Chambersburg for a family wedding. Which meant bathing and dressing the five of us and being at the meeting place at noon. Lovely!

Believe it or not - we pulled out of the Zoo at 11:40 am. We are never early for anything. Ever. Just doesn't happen. We're never horribly late - but usually a minute or two behind schedule. We pulled into Nana's driveway (the meeting place) at 11:50! We were very excited to make it somewhere early. And then I realized we had left the card at home. The Asst. Zookeeper offered to run us home to get it - which would make us late getting back. We decided to mail the card and stick with being early!

Now, traveling with the Asst. Zookeeper's father is always a treat. The man travels for a living, frequently driving to New Mexico or Canada and back every week. He's a horrible driver and is the world's worst tailgater. Between Johnstown and Windber, we counted 5 partial lane changes where he started to change lanes and then changed his mind. He also had is turn signal blinking on one side and then would turn the other. It amazes me that no one has killed him in a fit of road rage yet!

The wedding was actually a renewal of wedding vows for a cousin and her husband. They were married in March, but it was a civil service. This time, they wanted to have a religious ceremony. It was very simply and nice. The dresses were beautiful and of course, the bride was breathtaking. The church was beautiful as well!

The rest of our day is in my previous entry.