Monday. And Also Saturday.

The house is bustling a bit today. Mike called earlier and asked Abe to do some things for him. I didn’t pay much attention to what those things were. But now Abe keeps coming in and out, opening and shutting the garage, grabbing car keys, and putting them back, then grabbing them again. Then suddenly he and Jesse are at my bathroom sink – filling it with water and moving a bike tube around in it. And then Abe is shouting some answer that I don’t catch to a confused question from me. And I’m never sure if he is here or suddenly off on some task again.

Daisy and Goldie are packing for girls’ camp. They left together earlier for a pile of their own errands. Daisy needed a swimsuit and to return library books. They both needed little gifts for their “secret sisters”. And we needed ingredients for the hobo dinners they are supposed to take to camp. (And this new house-full of able drivers is still so novel! It has changed dynamics and made our house feel so much less me-dependent. It’s both alarming and wonderful.) Now they are back, and first Goldie is pulling sunblock from the bathroom cupboard and asking about bug spray, and then Daisy is. And every few minutes Daisy appears at my side. She finds herself unable to choose between two water bottles, she’s wondering if we have sunglasses she can use, or she wants to explain to me why she feels some item or other on the camping list is wholly unnecessary. “Long sleeve shirt for painting? Why do I need a long sleeve shirt for painting? Why can’t I paint in a short sleeve shirt?” “A wash cloth? I mean . . . I have a towel. Do I really need a washcloth?” “Work gloves? We don’t even have any good ones! And someone always brings extra. I’m just not going to bring any.”

Once I helpfully chimed in with, “Do you need to bring . . . like . . . soap? You know, just for washing hands or whatever?” And was met with a dismissive, “Mom. Soap? I just (shaking her head) don’t really think that’s a thing.” (Meaning, I guess, a thing someone would pack for camp? I mean . . . soap is a thing. But in this instance, . . . perhaps not.)

And in between all of this of course there are . . . the babies. And the toddlers. And the little kids. They are making constant mess and asking for food and spilling handfuls of cereal in the pantry (cereal that is supposed to be off-limits outside of breakfast time – sigh).

In other news: Saturday was our town’s little Founder’s Day. 7:00 am cannon blasts. Abe and Daisy loaded with blankets and chairs and sent off early to procure spots for us. Sunblocking everyone up. Kids running out front to watch trucks and cheerleaders and the like lining up across the street. Kids crying that they can’t find the bag for collecting candy that they were holding only two minutes earlier. And, this year, waving to Goldie in the parade (who, as a NHS officer, marched with the other officers from her school).

Just like Halloween is always the point in the school year when I realize, with a start, that not only are we really truly “back in school” but that we’ve even developed a rhythm and routine to what felt new and unknown only moments ago, our Founder’s Day parade is the point when I recognize that we are really settled into summer.

After the parade, we walked home – frantic for water and AC. Kids unwrapped piles of salt-water taffy and tootsie rolls, I put the littlest ones for naps, and Mike took several others back over to the park where there was a giant slip-and-slide, etc. He called after a bit telling me not to eat lunch as he was bringing back food from one of the stands for me. Later, he again took all the kids – this time off to the car show while I got a small nap in and cleaned the house for the evening. He even fed them hamburgers so I wouldn’t have to worry about dinner. (I say prayers of thanks for this husband of mine multiple times a day. He is unceasingly thoughtful.)

That night, while we waited for the fireworks (which, conveniently, we can watch right from our backyard), we set up the new movie projector that I gave Mike for Father’s Day and watched a movie on the side of our house :).

I spent a ridiculous amount of time cleaning up wrappers and candy during the day, and the parade is low on real floats and mostly just full of local businesses and kids we know from church and school. And we didn’t get everyone settled into bed ‘til nearly midnight (with early church the next morning); but this little day of summer has become one of my very favorites all the same.