Friday, September 5, 2014

The Update That Never Upped

Here We Go, Again

I will skip past the proverbial, "It's been a while since my last post..." and get right to the meat of what's happening.  It is finally summer--FINALLY!  This means I get to sleep in late if I want, workout in the morning if I feel like it, or just be lazy and slump on the couch while watching reruns of Golden Girls.

It also means it's getting closer and closer to football season.  Yep, Zeke will be playing tackle football this year and I am only slightly scared to death--just a tad, that he will suffer some life altering injury.  I am a worry wart. My first instinct was to say NO to tackle but what kind of mother would I be to diminish the raging fire that fuels his passion for football?

Allow me to be that parent who cannot stop gushing about how great her son is for just a moment.  When I see my son on the football field making split second decisions, running as if taking flight and leaving his opposition in the dust, when I see him make touchdown after touchdown, when he celebrates after a tough win, and anguishes after a tough loss only to make him stronger, more competitive and hungry for his next win.  When I see my son's eyes light up, I know there is no way I can say no.  I am living on the edge and letting my son make decisions. I am getting to know what it is like to parent a person who was once a part of me, then, an extension of me, but is now a separate person.  It's complicated--and for goodness sake Chi Chi, it's just football!

A while back I'd posted about our summer "to do" list.  Well, here is an update!  So far we have made homemade ice cream (strawberry, strawberry-buttermilk sherbet, and probiotic fruity popsicles), booked our family vacation in Maui, and visited the American Girl store in SF (not really in SF but Palo Alto).  Next on the list?  We will make it up to SF and kill two birds with one stone by hiking the Muir Woods off HWY 1 in Mill Valley.  We have done this once before when Zeke and Naomi were little and they absolutely LOVED it!  We also have in the works a museum crawl--from Sacramento to SF including an African American exhibit at Crocker and The Museum of the African Diaspora in SF.  Lots of other stuff in the works, fitting it all in will be the real challenge.  

Um...

So, the blog above never actually got published in real life--only in fake life.  You know, that imaginary life you live out in your head on a daily basis?  Yeah, the one where everything always works out at the end of the day.  The one where instead of the same boring dinner, you are whipping up fantastical meals that wow the socks off even your pickiest eater.  The life where diapers are never sagging from too many pee-pees and that one ridiculously stinky poop that you (ahem) forgot about.  What?  You don't have that imaginary life?  Well, okay--awkward.

Let me bring you up to date--give you an update on the update.  It's an upUPdate.  Say that five times fast.

Not only is it no longer summer, but it is the fourth day of school.  I did sleep in late a couple times but once again took up running with a good friend of mine three days a week.  This actually worked out for the better, as it helped my to maintain my energy level for my kids who DROVE me insane kept me very busy this summer. Unfortunately I was not able to watch any GG reruns, but I was able to watch a gazillion episodes of Fixer Upper, House Hunters, House Hunters Renovation, Flip or Flop, and Property Brothers on HGTV.  LOVE that channel. 

Also, tackle football has proven to be a challenge.  Nothing to do with Zeke or his games (he is happy, doing well, and learning so much), but the practices?  Oh man, five days a week to and from the opposite side of town with three kids in tow and a two hour practice time with nothing really to do, almost drove this mama CRAY CRAY!  Fortunately with the start of school, practices are only three days a week, whew!

That huge football commitment also made our summer to do list a little hard to tackle (pun intended!)-I had to cut back on late night popcorn and movies so Zeke could be well rested for his practices.  We did manage to get to the exhibit at Crocker, which my daughter loved, but we did not make it to the MOAD in SF because they closed for renovation!  Had to pass on the hike of Muir Woods since we would have had to do it the Sunday before we left for Maui and that just was not going to happen.  We returned from Maui just a couple days ago and when I tell you we had a ball, I mean we had a BALL!  Isaac got enough video and still pictures to create a short family vacation movie and I cannot wait until he is done editing.  

Some other things we were able to accomplish this summer:

-Visited the Exploratorium at its new location (NICE!)
-Visited three local farms, learned all about biodynamic farming, fed a very cute calf and a super hungry horse
-Naomi swam in the ocean.  This is an amazing thing for my sometimes overly cautious baby girl
-Played with Ezra in the ocean at Kula beach on the Island of Maui (he loved it) 
-Put an offer in on our first home, it was accepted...
-Had to walk away from what we thought was our dream house due to an unfavorable inspection
-Thought the world was coming to an end until we found another home
-Put in an offer, which was accepted...
-Currently in escrow...
-I wore shorts (have not done this in years)

What did you do this summer?

2 comments:

  1. I didn't do nearly enough, but when I recently realized I was stagnate, I at least started thinking about how to change all the places in my life where I am stuck. So, a pretty dull summer turned into a group of revelations about who I've been and who I actually want to be. The work is hard, my friend, but I cannot survive without it. Anyway, congratulations on what sounds like a wonderful summer!

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  2. Malikka, it sounds as if you had a very productive summer, actually! I know exactly how you are feeling because I have certainly been there. Thank you!

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