The 3rd of July

We had a lovely third of July.  The whole morning, Tad was ill and Coen seemed out of sorts, falling down in tears or stomping off in anger about every little disappointment.  After feeling frustrated in the morning, about Coen's reactions to things, I took both kids upstairs and talked to them about 'appropriate' or pleasant and 'inappropriate' or unpleasant reactions.   We had a role-play where Coen and Lucy were the mom and dad and I was the kid. I had them  in turns saying yes or no to things I asked and I sometimes would fall on the floor and whine and cry or handle things in a better fashion. I had them calling out "Good Reaction!" or "Bad Reaction!"  They loved the game and honestly, it seemed to color the rest of the day, as anytime anyone began to whine or fuss, I would say "oooooh! is that a good reaction or a bad reaction" and it would end in laughter.

Tad did end up feeling very very ill so he stayed home.  My friend Brian came over and he and I packed up the kids, the stroller, the cooler and some blankets in to the Subaru and headed down to the lakefront.  We played games and talked and ate and at about 6:00 my friend Rebecca joined us.  Back at home, around 5:00, Tad woke up from his sleep and felt well enough to join us. He took the city bus.  We were all sitting on our blankets talking when my sister said "Tad!" I looked up, and there he was!  Suddenly I was transported to 2001. My heart was pounding, my cheeks felt flushed and I was newly in love all over again.  Just seeing him there by surprise did that.  How lucky am I?!!!

The display was long and lovely with a wonderful double grand finale. During the display, Coen leaned over and said, "Mama? When is the grand finale."  I looked at my son, channelling my own mom, 31 years ago and smiled, saying "You'll know."

And he did.

My two friends, my family and I crammed into our Subaru for the ride home...me in the trunk, my legs slung over the handle of the wagon, my back against the cooler and my hand on the stroller to keep it from tumbling upon me.  Lucy was asleep before we pulled out of the parking lot and Coen dreamily listened to our adult chatter all the way home.  I felt happy in the back of the car, thinking how happy I was to be with these people that I love for my favorite event of the year and also that I'm 36 years old and can still cram in the trunk of a car!

Happy Fourth, everyone.