Weather Permitting

We had a crazy day planned yesterday and the hardest part is for mom to go to work and have to leave earlier than she'd like to because we need to do child transport. The way it was slated to work out, N had LAX practice, A had to be a party, mom was at work, and I had to be at work, as well. The plan was for me to bring A back home from school, have lunch, then take N to LAX while A got ready for her party. N's LAX was in the early afternoon but I had to be at work in the early evening, so I was going to have to drop him off and then head out. That meant mom was going to have to leave work earlier than she wanted to, drive across town to get N, then get A and take her to her party. I was going to pick up A after work and bring her home. That's a significant amount of back and forth.

The easier plan would have been for me to take both A&N with me to work in the big city, drop them off with mom, then head to work. Mom would then take A to her party, which was nearby her work, then bring N home, which all in all is a much more streamlined and efficient approach. The biggest setback was having to be at LAX. I was thinking N could simply skip practice, but he enjoys it and I like to watch his team. The thing going against it was that all the older kids (N's age) were away on a school excursion so half the team was absent. They were all returning that day, but in the afternoon, so there was a good chance they would be too tired to head straight to a LAX practice, or more to the point, their parents were too tired to deal with it. Then, I heard on the weather that morning that there was a 90% chance of rain, and while LAX players are hardcore and will practice or play in a hurricane, it was another reason to stay at home.

As the hour approached to head to practice, I really didn't want to go, but N was still keen on attending. I was scrambling to find an excuse to skip out and started calling around. I learned from EP that her husband, who is the coach, was out of town, and that the other coach was out of town, as well. The third coach's son was on the school excursion, so he probably wouldn't be there, so that meant half the team gone and three coaches missing (there are four). Even still, I called the rec center and they said that practice was still a go, and N was still into it, so we headed out to practice. For the record, I went begrudgingly.

Then, as luck would have it, the rain that was forecast starting coming with full force. It was pouring when we hit the road, and all the while I was thinking how stupid this was to be going to practice. Half the team wouldn't be there, probably none of the coaches would be there, and anyone who showed up was going to get soaked. Even N said he didn't realize it was raining so hard, and about two miles into the drive we decided this just wasn't going to happen, so we turned around. I was so stoked, and even N seemed a bit relieved, not so much about missing LAX, which he loves, but because he didn't want to get soaked. For the record, when we got home, I checked my email and the rec center had in fact canceled practice, albeit at the zero hour. At least we made the right decision.

This also meant our plan was going to be simplified. I called mom and we revised our plan. I would take the kids with me, mom would meet us, and it meant one single round trip versus a lot of back and forth. Happy planning, happy family, happy home. I love when that happens.

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