I wasn’t a planner before kids and I’m not a planner now. I prefer to see where the day takes us and leave out the heavy scheduling and rigid preparation of things. With that said however we do pander to a couple of pretty set in stone routines. Like our bedtime practice (perhaps not always at the same time) but always teeth, PJ’s and then a bedtime story. And then there is breakfast. This meal always falls between 7 and 8 o’clock in the morning—almost immediately after opening their eyes—and unquestionably consisting of cereal and their choice of fruit. I’m sure it is quite literally their favorite meal of the day.
Now you wouldn’t think that one family member’s absence would throw a big ole wrench into our seemingly simple way of things…Well, think again.
Jamie had offered to cook his famous pig on a spit for a wedding this last weekend. He asked if the kids and I wanted to come along as his sous-chefs and as tempting as the prospect was, there happened to be a plethora of festivities going on in town that I thought the kids would enjoy so we decided to take a rain check.
We are pretty spoiled when it comes to Jamie being around, he is usually home for dinner every night and the last time he was away for more than a 24 hour span was last year when he went to England to visit his grandfather for a week. So even I was feeling a little apprehensive of his departure. But nevertheless we all kissed him goodbye and wished him luck with the pig.
There were only a few tears shed as they watched Daddy drive away but all was forgotten when I reminded them about the activity we were about to embark on that evening.
An outdoor movie in the park. ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ was playing in a park only a hop skip and a jump away from our house. So I called up my friend Jen to see if her and her son would like to join us. Of course she was onboard (don’t you love those friends who are always up for just about anything) and soon after we headed down to the park.
Upon arrival we found booths that were selling all sorts of yummy treats, spin-a-wheel for small prizes and even a bouncy house! The kids were ecstatic.
What neither Jen nor I had thought about was that the movie wouldn’t actually begin until dusk as it had to be dark enough to see the projector on the big screen. Yes the film was great and yes the kids had a blast. But as we traversed home in the pitch black and Sophie let out deafening screams over every cricket chirp or leaf rustling in the wind I considered whether it was a wise idea to come without Jamie. But then again driving there may have been a better choice too.
As we finally darkened our own door Sophie was a nervous wreck. It was possible that this was the latest her and Lars had ever been out and about in their lives so needless to say the bedtime routine flew straight out the window and they crashed on their pillows immediately upon seeing them.
Our morning custom was a bust too. We all slept till nine then the kids crawled into bed with me and we watched a movie. None of us even walked into the kitchen until 11am.
It was Slide the City in Sylvan Lake and the kids and I wanted to walk down to watch. The downtown area was packed, but a feeling of good tidings and community floated through the muggy air. We indulged in some ice-cream and more sugary goodies and ran into a few old friends along the way.
It was a long day of walking but a lovely day nevertheless. One of those days that make you feel good about living in such a tight knit community. However by the time we arrived home Sophie was wrung out. It had been a long couple of days for the four year old and there was no denying that after the unpleasant tantrum she threw over dinner. Apparently, according to her, all of our activities over the weekend had been for naught as she didn’t have any fun anyways. I didn’t take this news too hard though since I took quite a few pictures that would state otherwise.
Jamie arrived home the following morning and we were all happy to see him. Sometimes it’s nice to break away from the usual routines of life (even if you only have a few) but it is always good to get back in the swing of things.
Lindsay Brown is a Sylvan Lake mother of two and freelance columnist.