Sleepover!

Since the grandchildren did not go to Daddy's this weekend, Meg and I had to shift gears. She has homework that she normally does on the weekends while the kids are gone. I do laundry and cleaning, and somewhere in there is grocery shopping. We'll get it done, but just on a different schedule.

Tonight, Robin's school had Family Fun Night...a fund-raiser for the PTO. It started at 6:00. Meg doesn't get home until 5:45, so we were rushed a bit...and we threatened murder and mayhem if the kids misbehaved. (Last fall, Ryan had to be taken home from a game night by Grandma Judy because he was still in the "throwing fits" stage of his development. It left a sour taste in our mouths for another venture of its kind.) The big draw tonight was a movie (that we have at home) to be shown in the gym. The children were encouraged to bring blankets and pillows. We did that. Meg let me go just as the movie was starting so I could do the week's grocery shopping. When they all finally got home, the children were raving that Mommy said they were the best behaved kids there! It is ever thus. I have taught elementary school, high school, and now middle school, so I have seen it all. When I was at the elementary level, I never ceased to be amazed that we'd have some evening meeting or other and parents would just turn their kids loose for someone else to supervise. It happened tonight, even here in Plainfield. Kids running all over the gym in spite of a zillion people in attendance. Parents? Where were they??

Meg mentioned that there have been a couple of comments made to her in recent months that other parents have made re: she doesn't let her kids run amok, so it is easier for them to keep theirs in line when we are all together (soccer games, fun nights, etc.). It reminded me of a time when we first moved to Plainfield and knew no one. (Meg was a potential middle-schooler.) We lived right down the street from the library. Meg had met a few kids there and asked if I could drive them "home"...at 9:00 PM. I took one to a laundromat where Mom was, at least a mile from the library, and took another one home to the north end of town...also distant from there, since they were all on foot. When it was all over, I told Meg that she needed to understand that she wouldn't have that kind of freedom. I will never forget her response: I know, Mom...and I prefer it that way. Hallelujah!

Meg apparently promised Ryan a sleepover on the futon in the living room. Robin followed suit by asking to sleep with me. It seems that everyone is now asleep but me! We also have a new development for tomorrow. Friend Mariah will be coming to play with Robin in the afternoon. Mariah is Robin's Girl Scout leader's daughter. Having neighborhood friends has been a missing element in the children's tenure here. They need to be "socialized". Working on that.

At least one of my ham friends has expressed boredom at reading my blogs all about my grandchildren. After looking at the posts, I am, too! Dayton approaches. I need to get serious about my weight loss program again. Meg is working hard at it. God bless us, every one!