Day: May 24, 2008

It is the end of May and I still have not planted any vegetables. I have no intention of doing a big or elaborate vegetable garden this year. I haven’t the time to maintain it. Nor do I have the time to can or preserve a big harvest. I do like to pick fresh tomatoes from the garden, so I want to plant at least a few. Around 4 pm today I discovered myself in a mood to venture to the garden center. The kids were scattered and playing happily, so I pictured myself meandering through the plants solo. Upon informing Howard of my plan, both of my sons perked up, dropped what they were doing, and pleaded to be able to go along with me. Who am I to say no to two pairs of big blue puppy-dog eyes?

The boys loved the garden center and so did I. Hundreds of flowers were in full bloom, water features abounded, and there were lots of little walkways promising a hint of adventure to a young boy. The boys went adventuring while I browsed. It was quite relaxing because the boys always checked back in with me every few minutes. I never had the chance to wonder where they’d gone. As an extra bonus I bought a bag full of ladybugs for us to release in our yard. A bag of bugs in the fridge is always great fun.

The garden center is financially dangerous for me. I want to buy everything, even if I have no idea where I will plant it. In theory I was just buying tomatoes, but I came home with chives, basil, petunias, pansies, a columbine, and 7 packets of seeds. This demonstrates restraint on my part. I wanted so much more. But I reminded myself that I need to spend this summer clearing out beds and making them ready. This Fall I’ll plant them all so that they are really beautiful next year.

On the way home we stopped at the grocery store. This was the stop that the boys had really wanted to make. They each wanted a treat. Patch already had his picked out, Doritos in a blue bag. Link latched onto a jug of green punch. Both boys were really focused on being helpful. I would tell Link what to get. He would grab it and carefully arrange it in the cart. Patch wanted to push the cart. I did not trust him to steer, so I grabbed the front end of the cart. It was rather like managing an unruly horse. Patch pushed with all his might and if I needed the cart to stop, I had to use some real muscle power to make it happen. The helpfulness evaporated when we arrived back home. Both boys did a little unloading, but for the most part they were too focused on getting to eat their treats. Ah well. It was nice while it lasted.

Slumber parties are invariably chaotic. It is very exciting to have extra people in the house. It is even more exciting when they bring piles of candy with them. No one got to bed on time last night. The chaos this morning was much more subdued, but it still did not resemble normal. The last of Kiki’s friends just went home and I have declared an hour of quiet time. Gleek and Patches particularly need it even though they don’t want it. I don’t know that any of them will actually fall asleep and nap, but at least this way I am providing the space for them to do so. This hour of quiet time is something I’m going to have to do much more often as we head into summer. Otherwise we get cranky with everyone home all day long.