Funs

Owen was supposed to start school yesterday along with every other kid in Wilson county. There was a sad circumstance involving the death of a staff member at the school and her funeral delayed school starting until today. Owen did not know her so he wasn’t affected by this other than being disappointed by the delay itself. I told him that as we have one more surprise day of summer vacation that we would do something fun.

We went to Krispy Kreme and they each had a doughnut and shared a chocolate milk. they sampled the ice cream in their tiny cones, wore Krispy Kreme hats, got balloons and watched doughnuts swim in hot oil.

Then they joined my agenda for a trip to a nearby kitchen and bath showroom where I could drool over faucets. My kitchen faucet has been broken (still usable but barely) for some time and I need to replace it. The staff there was super sweet and offered the boys juice boxes while they sat at a show room kitchen counter and watched HGTV. Awesome.

Next was back to Mt. Juliet for a Target run. Owen and I concocted a plan to organize his dresser drawer to accommodate five clothing selections, one for each day of the school week. We bought four drawer dividers, allowing for five sections of drawer space and we filled them with the shirts, shorts, socks and unders for the rest of the week. He loves it and I think I do too. We were pretty tired after finishing at Target so Chick-Fil-A was almost a necessity. I took them through the drive through and they ate the treasured chicken around our own table which is much closer to our own beds. Nap time was fruitful for Aron at least and I was able to rest before jumping into the less glamorous part of the day. Laundry.

When Aron got up we took some time to sit on the back porch and read together. It was hot but with the fans on us it was bearable. I was so delighted in that moment. I was reading “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. The book itself has a simplicity with depth that is hard to describe, but I could feel my little boys on my arms, the sun was hitting the pages and Aron’s bright green balloon was floating near enough that it filled my peripheral with it’s blowing and dancing. That little intake of where I was left a mark inside that spoke of how fleeting it all is and how precious our quiet and still moments together are. Stories and books are such a gift to parents…there are few other sources of such quiet devotion to what is being said by a mom or dad. I hope I will remember that when I’m too tired or too busy the next time.