1. I had a Plan: do prep work at home so lake life would be easier, food-wise. Baking? Check. Make dip? Check. Create lists out the wazoo so I remember all the things? Check check.
2. Fast forward to Friday. We’re ten minutes from our destination when I realize the brownies and muffins are still at home, tucked away safely from Gracie’s prying snout. And my packing skills. Plus the guacamole. Also the homemade dip. And the gluten free chips. For.The.Love.
3. So I’m sitting at the table Saturday morning when Bear plops into the chair next to me and announces she had a “really weird” dream.
“There were people with guns at school. They were North Koreans and they came in shooting. So then they gave us all guns and we were running around trying not to get shot.”
Lawd, y’all.
Sometimes my kids catch me so off guard I fumble the parenting ball. I’d blame it on not-enough-coffee, but really…guns? North Koreans? School? My brain shorted out.
4. We circled back around to it that afternoon. At first Bear tried to blow it off as just another dream, but we talked about how dreams are the way we work through things on our mind and it clicked. It seems our 12-year-old worries about a nuclear showdown with North Koreans and, less surprising, someone shooting up her school.
5. It’s tough to admit I have none of the words. To share with Bear what I tell myself when I’m worried Trump’s a breath away from driving us off a cliff, but that in the end there’s no crystal ball and I don’t know what’s going to happen. To acknowledge that yes, the majority of families in her school own guns and yes, they teach their kids to shoot and…the end. There are no tied-up-with-a-pretty-ribbon promises that “it won’t happen at your school” because no one can say that anymore. How am I supposed to help her sit with that threat?
6. Lest you think the weekend was all doom and gloom, fear not! There was good food (even without all the stuff I forgot) and late nights and a popcorn filled Mama Mia! viewing. Plus a pool tournament. Can’t forget the pool tournament.
7. And the deer. And the heron. And the cardinals that came every morning.
8. But my brain wouldn’t be mine if it didn’t shift into high gear sometime on Sunday, crunching upcoming obligations and making mental to do lists. I’m just stubborn enough to refuse to put those lists on paper, though, which means I’ll spend the next week trying to remember that thing I’m forgetting to do. Bless.
9. I have officially become my mother now that I find an inordinate amount of pleasure in cooking yummy food for other people. Because who doesn’t love taco meat and mojo shredded chicken and zucchini fries (even without the dip). Amen.
10. The kennel is closed so we have another night before we can pick up the fur babies. This means sadness because no dog snuggles today. On the upside it does give Gracie’s bed another 24 hours to dry since I had to hose dog vomit off it right before leaving town on Friday. Turns out half a tube of mascara didn’t settle so well on our Gracie girl’s stomach. Sheesh.
Last year Sassy baked and I iced 72 vanilla cupcakes for the family reunion and my husband did not put them in the car.
The shooting last week in Noblesville, Indiana was far too close to home. We lived there 15 years ago. My mother graduated there and her mother lived there 30+ years. It’s only two districts away. I can’t believe the things we have to worry about these days.
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It’s almost unspeakable. The news broke right before we left town & I was telling hubby about it in the car. A *middle* school. I wonder if that’s why it sat so heavy on Bear’s heart Friday night.
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I’d think so. Yeah. I mean, if WE have trouble processing this — what must it be like for those who attend?!? I hate it, Laura. I hate it for Bear and I hate it for all of us.
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With so much insanity in the world and a complete lack of sane leadership – is there anyone in our government that has a working brain? – it’s hard to feel good about the direction we’re going. I cannot imagine being a teen nowadays – where no public place is a safe place.
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It’s a tough pill to swallow. My brain knows no parent has ever been able to promise safety but my heart struggles with it.
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I am impressed. You made your own dip?? You planned ahead so well. I always try to do that and fall short. Forgetting all of it at home is a minor setback…lol.
I’m sorry about Bear’s fears. I am honestly feeling afraid to send my son to school. She’s right and so are you. It’s a scary time. We cannot promise our children that they will be safe. 😔
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Hope springs eternal. Maybe next time it’ll make it into the car. 😂
These are tough times and she’s particularly attuned to the world. I guess we just keep doing the best we can, right?
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Sounds like a good time, even with the heavy talk. It’s a sad day when we switch from standardized testing debates to school shooting debates. Makes the test not seem all that bad. I HAVE to make a written list of things not to forget. Sometime I include the kids on the list!
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This is quite a year, isn’t it? Bear mentioned the Thursday EOG this morning almost as an afterthought.
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I guess Gracie’s Advil adventure didn’t leave a lasting impression. At least you had muffins to come home to.
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Yep. Hard to argue with a stash of yummy blueberry muffins!
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