An Awfully Good One

I want to wrap Saturday up and put it in a pretty little box and pull it out to remember from time to time.  It was lovely.

First, the weather was perfect.  Perfect weather is always a good place to start.  Sunny days around here are like the first day you realize you're feeling great when you've been sick for...months.

We also had our first (and last for Braeden whose summer is escalatingly busy...I am pretty sure  escalatingly isn't a word but it really ought to be) swim meet.

It was thrilling!

For years we've watched our kids doggedly struggle along.  This year, Braeden and Emma at least, have seemed to come alive with their swimming.  They are not going to set any speed records but they shaved substantial time off their personal bests from last year.  I could not be happier.  It is exhilarating to watch your kids work hard and improve, no matter the outcome.

Mark is still in the doggedly struggling stage but that's OK too.

Especially when the sun is shining.

We took our hungry kids home and fed them such culinary delights as Bagel Bites and carrot sticks (don't be jealous) and Adam and I went out to lunch.

If I'm going to be married to someone forever, I'm glad it's Adam.

We chatted about how dazzled we were by our kids' progress.  We chatted about healthcare/national debt/education/politics.  We chatted about how dazzled we were by our shrimp tacos.

Then we went and bought our iphones.  Ever since there were iphones, Adam has been wanting an iphone.  But Adam is not a person to rush into a purchase.  He waits until the stars align and his current anemic phone won't hold a charge longer than 15 seconds (perhaps an exaggeration).

I felt giddy during the purchase.

"Will I be able to text?"

yes

"Will I be able to get...apps?"

yes

I got in a time machine and ended up in the present.

I need a lot of sleep like my dad does.  I hold sandwiches like my dad does.  And sometimes I name inanimate objects like my dad does.

Meet Pinkie Pie.

complete with a picture of my beloved on the lock screen

Even lovely days must have a downside and we went to Walmart next.  We needed to get our oil changed.  We sat in the garden center at a bistro table that was for sale and played with our phones.  I started texting everyone I could think of.

Just because I could.  Adam told me I was turning into an urban zombie.

Jill and Stephanie texted back, wondering if I wanted to take a walk.  When I confessed about the whole Walmart thing, Jill declared I deserved a treat after such hardship and Stephanie wondered who I was and what I had done with Thelma.

Maybe we all hate Walmart just a little bit.

When we got home I went to the open house for the brand new house across the street and critiqued it with Jill and Stephanie.  (I think the Realtor probably appreciated our input.)  Also, I tried to ignore the urchin children on our lawn who were selling Crystal Light for $1 per cup (Emma, Hannah and Paisley) and who were dressed up like a hobo and playing a guitar (Braeden).  He even had a sign that said "Anything helps."

I should have just stayed at Walmart.

Luckily no one really drives on our street.

Geri joined us for a summer dinner (frittata packed with fresh vegetables and then peach crisp).  I let Mark pick a game for us to play and he selected Creationary.  Pictionary with legos.  He's really good at it.  What he's not great at is knowing what the pictures are.

We made him do all the hardest cards and the rest of us did the very easiest cards.  For his first turn, he built a little spray can...complete with a projectile spray.  We guessed spray paint.  He said, "Close."  Someone said Pam cooking spray.  "Yes!"  Really?  We looked at the picture.  It was a thermos.  Mark didn't know what a thermos was.

Next he built a building and said I should be able to get it.  That clued me in that it was something we had studied in school.  There was a dome in the middle and he started adding towers at the corners.  "Hagia Sophia?"I guessed.

"Yes!"

It was really the Taj Mahal.

You can't have everything.

But sometimes you can have an awfully good day.