So Keri left a comment on my last entry encouraging me to write every day, even just a little bit. I've actually considered doing that nanowrimo types of things but to be honest, after sitting at a PC all dang day sometimes the last thing I want to do is sit at one here at home. But for Keri, I will write. And for Bree too, who sends similar goadings in my direction. "You need to update your blog, woman." Yes, I do.
The past couple of weeks since Gordon's passing have been busy. I feel sad when I come in and he isn't there to greet me, standing up in the cage and chewing on the bars to get me to come over and give him some love. Geoff is starting a merit badge in Boy Scouts that focuses on pet care... but we don't want to do dogs as the pet he's caring for because there is a Dog Care badge as well, and you can't overlap the requirements. It is against the rules.
We may end up getting another small furry friend sooner than later...stand by for more details on that.
Doug and I are going to his cousin's wedding in Western PA in early November.
The kids weren't invited to the wedding, which posed a problem for us as to what we were going to do with them.
And the dogs.
There were a number of scenarios... If the kids were coming with us, we'd have to pay $90 a day to kennel three dogs. So that didn't fit in our life's budget for sure. We could pay our dogsitter $60 a day, but still that is too rich for our blood right now.
Bringing said kids with us meant that we'd have to stay at a hotel. Leaving them to hang out somewhere unfamiliar while we go out to a family function isn't my idea of fun or fair. Jess said she didn't care, she'd be glad to go and just sit in a hotel room and watch cartoon network and read books, but I think there may be some rules and laws about leaving a 16 and 11 year old alone in a hotel room... and I had visions of Geoff disobeying her, her screaming at him, and him running out into the hallways and lobby all higgledy piggledy crazy like. That wasn't going to have the opportunity to happen. Nope. No kids alone at hotel room.
We offered to have Jess babysit for Doug's sister. Which would guarantee they were in a house, safe, and Geoff would have fun with his cousins and Jess would get climbed on by the two little ones who absolutely adore her. But my sister in law wasn't sure that her 4 year old would be comfortable being left with Jess, because he doesn't know her. So she made arrangements for her kids to go to their other grandparents' house. I couldn't just say "hey, can MY kids go there too?" because I don't know these folks at all... so that got dashed.
Which brought us to scenarios of leaving them here. Jess is old enough that I'd leave her here solo to watch the dogs if there were something we could do with Geoff out in Western PA... (and Nance -- it's just a little too far from where you live for us to drop him off and chillax and play with Felina for the evening, not that I'd force ya to take him or nothing... heh). But I wouldn't leave her alone with Geoff. She's a little too cruel, a little too mean, and a little too ignorey towards him (not to other kids, just him...) so I don't like the idea of her being in charge of him longer than a few hours in the evening. Four days would be impossible.
I don't think she'd hurt him or neglect him, but she would bitch about it all the live long day and I'd never ever hear the end of it. So I couldn't even deal with that noise.
Plus, Geoff needs a ride to school on Friday and Monday, and she doesn't drive. So ...
Long and the short of it is, we're having my mom come up and stay with the kids for a couple of days.
Football season is over that weekend, and Jess got her rehearsal schedule and thankfully she doesn't need to be anywhere on Saturday or Sunday.
So it all works out. Thank you mom.
I don't even necessarily want to go to the wedding, and my laundry list of reasons beyond the fact that we're leaving the kids home is long.
We have no money for hotel, gas, gift, clothes (for me, Doug got a brand new suit for the last wedding we went to in September 2007). I don't really know Doug's cousin, I think she was like 8 when Doug and I got married, and in 20 years I've seen her a handful of times... so I don't know her adult personality, what to give as a gift, what her friends are like. It's an evening wedding and all y'all know I can't hang like I used to and I like to be curled up in bed at 10pm. And because it is just the two of us, I think we're staying with Doug's parents. At their house. Not at a hotel with a pool and hot tub. So I feel sad that I don't get to soak and swim and relax.
But we're going for Doug's family. I know his grandma wants to see us, and she'll be disappointed that the kids aren't there but that's what happens sometimes. They're not invited because it is a kid-free wedding (to save money, and because it is at night, and stuff) so it's something that we're just gonna have to do. Sigh.
Geoff's football team is has 2 wins under their belts so far in an 8 game season. Two games are left. Geoff tells me he doesn't want to play again next year because it hurts too much. I didn't know he could be such a softie. But the thing is, the kids like him. They really like him. They get excited when he shows up, they rally around him when he can't run as fast and they cheer for him. I noticed this last year. And this is the kind of thing I think he needs... because Lord knows in other situations in life he isn't going to be surrounded by such fraternal love and support. I told him that he can't make the decision to quit during the season. At the beginning of the summer next year when registration time rolls around, that's when we can make the call. And I'm hoping he'll choose to stick with it.
He tells me "I've got so much going on. There is so much stress. I'm thinking about next summer with Shakespeare and Boy Scout Camp and then football starts and it is way too much."
I kind of had to laugh a little.
I compare what he's got going on with other kids in his grade and he's got nuthin' comparatively. There's one boy in his class who is playing football, is on 2 travel hockey teams, is doing CCD at his church twice a week and Boy Scouts ... When does that kid have time to do his homework?
Geoff's got it easy. I think we've got him involved in just enough. Boy Scouts is once a week and occasional weekends. Football is seasonal with two practices a week and one game on a Saturday or Sunday. Shakespeare runs for four weeks in the summer (eight if you do both sessions) and that's a world away right now so he can't really factor that into what he's doing as "stressful..."
Kid needs to get over it.
And if he wants to talk about stress, let's look at my life. There ya go.
Speakin' of stress -- I'm now late for work. Gotta jet. More later.
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