School bells will be ringing in T-minus 48 hours and counting. 2 DAYS! I can't think about it. Heart palpitations begin when I think about being home. Alone. For the 1st time. All day. BORING! It sounds selfish and I don't care!
As part of my Fun-Year-Of-Freebies, I gathered up the July envelope and headed out. Because I'm lame and don't have a smartphone, I missed out on a message confirming my last night inquiry for a morning playdate. Someday I will dig us out of the dinosaur age. Hopefully before the skin gets all hard and leathery and stuff. Someday.
FUN DAY Stop 1: COSTA VIDA. Holy burritos can there be any happier kids than the ones I was standing next to in line? I mean, Ethan and Kiana can't keep their hands off of each other play dog-slapping, hugging/pinching noses, poking each other, giggling, smack-talking. More giggling. Kiana reminded Maiya of how she wanted to be a surfer girl when she grew up,"But how are you going to be a surfer girl if you don't ever surf?" I had to remind Kiana to let dreams be dreams. If Maiya wants to be a surfer girl, she can be a surfer girl. Maiya did a fantastic job talking loud to the sweet taco makers, ordering her meal herself beaming like the sunshine the entire time. The girl never stops smiling. Ethan and I shared the daily special. At least that was the plan. Ethan ate his little bit and I was still chewing on a bite when I felt this sly smile watching me from across the table, "Are you going to eat the rest?" I guess not. I can always count on Kiana to be a hearty eater.
FUN DAY Stop 2: SEVEN PEAKS. Please be open. That was my prayer driving there. Ethan had been talking about the last time he drove out there for a friends' birthday party last summer, only to find that they were closed. Thankfully, they were open. Yeah! Unthankfully, I ended up paying full-price ($55) for the Pass of All Passes I'd heard about (later story) to avoid the $30/day entry fee. Boo! First time to the park, not the cleanest, but hey, hello FUN already! Rented a double tube, took turns; Ethan and Kiana had it while Maiya and I enjoyed the smaller pools and then we traded. Except Maiya didn't want to go down any rides with mom; she just wanted to pull me around the lazy river several times. If she's happy, I'm happy. So that's what we did. I just laid in this rubber tube, watching her smile and thought to myself, how is it that she can be so content just pulling this thing around and around and around? And asking to do it again? How wonderful it must be to be 6. When we were done being 'lazy' - or at least I was - we found Ethan and Kiana racing each other on this little slide. I think it was meant for little kids, but they were all smiles. We'd only planned on staying for a few hours because Ethan had violin lessons, and the timing was great.
(Insert Stop 3: Ethan's Violin Lessons. His 1st since June?! I asked him afterwards how it went. "It went good. I played better than I thought I would." Good to hear from him. Good to hear such beautiful music from his strings.)
FUN DAY Stop 4: OLD SPAGHETTI FACTORY. As we walked in, Kiana offered a flashback storyline,"Hey, I remember coming here one time and I didn't have my shoes on." Oh, I remembered that time too,"Yep. Somebody didn't listen to their mom!" I remembered that I was pretty upset at the time, mainly because she didn't care and was she was mad at me that she didn't have her shoes. It's always mom's fault.
They seated us near the trolley, which reminded me that next time we come I'm going to ask for us to sit INSIDE the trolley. The kids would get a kick out of that. Maiya was coloring, Ethan and Kiana were checking out the menu and I was just having a moment watching all three of them in their own worlds. A 'Mommy Moment' reflecting on the fun times and good memories made today, "Wow! What a fabulous day!" I thought how maybe someday we'd be seated around another dinner table, laughing about more recent memories, when one of them will pipe up and say, "Hey, remember when mom took us to Costa Vida and Seven Peaks? That was so much fun!" Maybe they'd even say I was a nice mom. Maybe.
Ethan interrupted my thoughts a little bit, when he looked across the table and looked all serious. He squinted his eyes the way he does when he's contemplating some deep thought. I'm thinking, he's going to say something inspiring! Then he let it roll out, "Mom, you know those bags under your eyes? (circling for emphasis) They make you look.......old."
I'd waited for it. Waited for it...and I got Old. OLD! Time stood still for about 5 seconds. It's a rare moment when I'm speechless and this - this was one of those moments! OLD! My quickest and only comeback was a sassy,"You're gonna die clown!" I think the girls could feel my pain. Ethan knew he'd done some damage and laughed, "Hey, aren't you like, 38?" Kiana, "More like 98," who then leaned over to put him in a necksqueeze.
Score: 2 to 1.
Crash. Burn. Singe. Throw away the match.
That little punk kid may never get a date if he doesn't start thinking before he opens his mouth! Crazy!
Leave it to my sweet Maiya, sitting next to me, who hugged me while we all started chuckling,"Mom, you're only 20." She looked up at me, arms still around my mid-section, grinning with her oversized, crooked teeth. Now there is a bandaid when you need one! She'll stick to anyone and hug you into happiness! Thank you Maiya!
To top it all off, when the dinners came...guess who all wanted mom's dinner? With 3 extra forks in my plate I should have just settled for bread and water. Maiya, through chomping teeth and a full mouth of my meal, "Mmmmmm, mom, this is weally good." Yeah, I wish I knew what it tasted like. Oh well. It's just food. Old people don't need to eat.
Chalk on up for one fabulously funny day in my book. We were together, had an amazing time and added some memories. My kids may not remember today, but I will...even when I finally get OLD!
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