Saturdays

Friday nights we go to bed with so many expectations of what needs to be done. We have become the quintessential soccer family this year. Our oldest daughter Olivia plays top level soccer and has three practices plus two games every weekend. This weekend she doesn't have any games, it is a break week in the schedule. Mark our ten year old plays one game on Mondays and practice on Wednesday nights. Nathan who is eight, plays on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Little Paige the four year old, plays on Monday night with her Dad as her coach. Jason plays softball on Friday nights and sometimes after his double header, he umps for another double header. (It helps to pay for indoor soccer in the winter) All of this soccer takes place in the evening hours somewhere in the middle of suppertime and bedtime. Right after a long work day. All this being said we land on Saturdays completely exhausted from the week. We are supposed to be revitalizing ourselves, but instead we are changing beds linens, weed whacking, vacuuming and all of the other things all people around the world are doing on Saturdays. One week I would love to have all of the work done so that on one of the two Saturdays we have free this summer we can just get up and say "let's go somewhere for the day!" Those were the good ol' days when Daddy didn't have his own business, and mommy didn't babysit kids. I have got to say though, life is pretty good. We are together and we are going to go out for a family bike ride in between our Saturday chores. I just hope I can make it up those hills...

Someone save me

I think if anyone had really told me what having four children entailed, I would have given up before I started. I remember specifically praying that time would hurry up and my first three kids would be 12, 10 and 8. At that time, they were 4,2 and under 6 months. My prayer was not answered, but time did go quickly and I have learned one major thing. Little children, little problems. Big children, big problems. Cherish the poopy diaper and the mess in the kitchen. Sooner than you know, it will be menstrual cramps broken bones. My children who are now 12,10,8 and 4 have a lot more to say than I do most of the time. What they have to say is not always intelligent or always kind, but you can't pay for that kind of entertainment. Hollywood can't make up this kind of "real life" stuff. My dear little Paige who is 4 and is really pretty sheltered from the world I guess, was talking with her great Aunt at the Family Reunion last weekend. Auntie M, we will call her proceeded to light her cigarette. Paige asked her dear Auntie M what she had in her mouth. She sheepishly told her it was yucky and dirty, but didn't give her the answer she was looking for. Paige's curiosity was not curtailed so she asked her Grammy Clara if she was lighting a candle! I don't know if Paige really got her answer, but I am not heartbroken my sweet girl doesn't know what a cigarette is. I want to celebrate that my kids still have some innocence. They will be inducted to this world at some point, but for now, I want to keep this little cocoon that we are in even if the ones I share it with drive me crazy.