13 Summers

When I held ASid in my arms 13 years ago, I told myself that I had 18 years with my baby boy! Recently, a mom mentioned a notion of "16 Summers"; she said that's how much time we have with each of our children! That was a bit depressing to know, but then it also makes the time I have left with them that much more precious.

Recently, on my first born's 13th birthday, I realized that that period may be even shorter than the one mentioned by that mom. I came to this conclusion when Craigley asked ASid about the best part of this summer; at first, ASid refused to respond and then, after a bit of coaxing, he spilled the beans!

ASid's top moment was the overnight trip he had at his best friend's cottage. His second top moment was spending time with some new friends he made over the summer. I am sure if he had listed a third top moment‎, it would have been the day when some of his school buddies came over for a day to our home. Momley wasn't mentioned at all!

At first, I felt a little unappreciated. After all, did I not make all those moments happen by communicating and arranging‎ with the parents of ASid's best friend and his other friends? It would have been nice if he had perhaps acknowledged with a simple "Thanks Momley for making those top moments happen!”; But then I feel like I am expecting my children to owe me something in return for everything I do for them?! And it ain't so. I am happy to telephone, email and text parents and arrange for my children to spend time with their friends. At the end of the day, when my children are happy...I am too, and that's my reward!

But I guess it is OK to feel a little underappreciated sometimes...as long as that feeling lasts a couple of minutes and I forget about it afterwards!‎ What I do remember and need to remember always is that ASid has been a wonderful child for 13 years and I am thankful for the 13 Summers I got with him!

 

Little Laughs!

The boys wanted a repeat of last summer! They wanted to enjoy "cheap" Tuesday Movie tickets; sleep in and sleep late; visits with friends and family; some lunches at their favourite restaurants; some days of nothingness...Last summer, the boys told me that it was the best time they had and so, they are reliving it this summer!

When they are home, I requested ASid to spend some time reading to his younger brother and getting him to practise some writing. Hans looks up to his older ‎brother (sometimes) and I thought ASid can make it more fun for him. So, what has ASid done so far...he taught Hans how to play Chess and is struggling to teach him to play Scrabble! Should I be upset? Nah!

How can I when ASid ends some days with sentences like below:

We had lots of fun; it's true. Thanks to you!

And Hans tries to copy him with sentences like below:

I will make tea for you when you are a hundred...will you be dead?

Imagine them reciting it like poetry and then, it's really funny! I am having the time of my life.

 

Sayings and Doings

What goes around comes around!

The other day, as I stepped out of my front door, I saw this man pacing back and forth in my neighbour's driveway. We live in a townhouse complex and everyone is really close to each other whether we like it or not! So, I said a polite "Hello" and wondered who he is. Apparently, he is my neighbours' nephew and spending a couple of weeks at their home‎. He wanted to know if I had any matches to spare and without thinking, I answered in the affirmative and indicated that we keep matches on hand to light birthday candles! I ran in and grabbed one of the two match boxes I had in my kitchen. What a good neighbourly thing to do!

That was also the day ASid invited 4 of his friends over to "hang out". I set up a table and chairs in the backyard so the boys could enjoy some sun and perhaps get some fresh air. The first thing one of the boys exclaimed was "Hey! There is someone in your backyard!" We had to explain to the kid that we have "open" backyards and only "half fences"! It allows for easy access to do lawn mowing and landscaping as we live in a condo townhouse where we pay a monthly maintenance fee! As the boys were absorbing this information, the "someone" turns out to be my neighbours' nephew! I waved at him and asked him if the matches worked; he nodded and proceeded to light a cigarette...

Imagine how I felt!

I immediately resolved to be not such a "good neighbour"‎! Why couldn't I have said a polite "NO"? Why oh why? When the boys asked me, I told them that I couldn't lie...

Honesty is the best policy!

Around the same time, we had new neighbours move in! They seem like nice people, however the husband parks the car outside of their garage and Craigley has been grumbling about it. Since we also have shared driveways, it is a little tricky to back out of our garage and get out when a car is partially blocking the way out!‎ I keep telling Craigley that it is not so bad as he has to deal with it just once a day! However, last weekend (the long weekend), we were in and out quite a bit! As we came back home on Saturday, Craigley remarked how our new neighbours' car was parked outside again!

As I got out of the car and opened Hans' door, he jumped out in his usual style. Immediately, he spotted our new neighbours ‎and ran towards them! I thought he was being friendly and then, I heard him say very loudly to them, "My dad thinks you should park your car in your garage!"

Imagine how I felt!