More Picnics

Another day, another picnic at a park with the girls. I am going to get myself in trouble by ratcheting up the fun-expectation-meter yet another notch for Annie, and now any day lacking a picnic, visit to a park/playground, time to play with at least one friend, sprinkler-running, and popsicles outside will seem so, so dull. But it's hit me - really hit me - that this is our last week of summer! I was filling out the preschool paperwork today (feeling very, very old) and realized that NEXT WEEK WEDNESDAY is her first meet-the-teacher day! So we had to see Ben and Sam today for a picnic lunch, then go to frolic in the giant water fountain at Gaslight Village (I miraculously resisted the siren call of Jersey Junction!), then run through sprinklers with Lucy. Fun for Annie, fun for me. (Fun for Jemma, too, in a different way: so many opportunities to crawl on the ground and try to eat grass.)

It's hit me, too, as I ponder our fall "schedule," which isn't really that busy of a schedule at all, that those early, blurry days of mommyhood were a little magical when all of us sleep-deprived mothers could just tote the babies to someone's house, drink coffee, and be tired together. There were no worries about getting everyone dressed and out the door by a certain time, naps happened in Pack and Plays in various spare bedrooms, and we just generally saw a lot more of one another than I suspect we're going to in the next 10-15 years. Even though I think Annie's so, so ready for some more structure and activity, I'm going to miss the spontaneous flexibility (aka, chaos) of the earlier days a little bit.

What am I saying? There is potential, two times a week, for Jemma to take her standard one-hour morning nap while Annie is at school. That's two whole hours a week to do whatever I want, in my house, without having to pay or beg anyone to take my kids away! Maybe, finally, the house will get clean. Or maybe, finally, I'll get to read more than one book every two weeks! The possibilities . . .

On an unrelated note, while the girls and I were frolicking in the fountain today, we got to listen to the lovely piped-in music that plays throughout Gaslight Village. The first song I noticed was "Night Moves" by Bob Seger, a song that Jason sang so many times about 6 weeks ago that I had to ban it from the house. Next, they played Jason's new obsession, "Hold On to the Night" by Richard Marx. This is a song he has recently learned on the keyboard - not for playing at gigs, but for the sole purpose of "warming up his voice" and for the pure enjoyment of that particular piece of music. (No, he isn't gay.) Annie and I both hate it. But I had to call him and leave him a message on his cell phone. It was like a little sign that he was there with us, and I have to admit, the damn Richard Marx song made me smile a little.