The Mellow Weekend That Never Was

As if I’m ever going to get a break. Last weekend was Memorial Day weekend, and the official kick-off of summer, filled with all the classic images of relaxation and fun. I will admit, it was fun, but not much in the way of relaxation. If anything, it seemed like constant work, which is often the case when you’re a parent and your kids are having a good time. It’s nice because many of the structured activities are winding down, so our level of engagement is largely up to us. Of course, with young kids, that choice is usually being active.

On Saturday, my original intention was to mow the lawn and cut firewood. The morning started out muggy and hot, and I was not looking forward to the day’s heat, but some sort of front moved in bringing drier weather with a breeze, so it ended up being beautiful. The first thing we did was head over to the Garden Club plant sale (see Plant Extravaganza for more), though the selection was a little disappointing. I was really looking for vegetable plants, and they had some, but mostly decorative stuff that was really nice. I got a couple of tomatoes, but had to visit the farmstand to get more.

The kids also wanted to ride their bikes on the special track that the rec center designed. It’s got all sorts of lumps and turns, making it more interesting than just going in circles. They rode around while I practiced karate in the shade, so it worked out beautifully (see new karate plan for more). After riding, we went home and I had to go to the store to get vittles. Then I managed to cut some wood and mow the lawn, though it was late, and we wanted to barbecue.

Before supper, A&R wanted to take a walk, so N and I went to practice some lacrosse and check out the garden, which has nothing in it. Afterward, we got the grill going (using our killer charcoal starter) and barbecued fish, burgers, and asparagus, along with corn on the cob. What a feast, though it was a bit of a challenge cooking the fish this time around because it really stuck to the rack. Plus, it was tilapia, and tilapia is not the miracle fish that we thought it was, which tempered our enjoyment a big.

The next day was Farm Fest, and even though I’m getting too old for these sort of things, the kids were excited about going. So much so that they wanted to get there first thing in the AM. We rode our bikes over and when we got there, it was clear that we were too darn early, because not that many people were there. Fortunately, the wonderful MD, director of the library, had jobs for the kids to do, and they went right to work. We were at FF from about 10:00AM until they closed down, which was well after 3:00. Talk about a long day. Then the kids went to play ultimate frisbee, but due to my back issues, I sat this one out.

On Monday, Memorial Day, we had nice weather again, so I cut wood and mowed the lawn. I also managed to plant our tomatoes, though it’s clear that I’ll need more because they only took up about 2/3 of the garden. I have space for maybe 4 more plants, and I gave them lots of space. At some point in the afternoon, the kid’s buddies called and wanted to go swimming, and then as usual, A&N managed to cajole us into having a dinner party. It was another long day to cap off a long weekend, but I’m not complaining because we really like HH and her kids, and enjoy having them over. We barbecued again, this time with more veggies, but were exhausted by the end. That’s what happens when you parent the hard way.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to acceber26 for the pic.