My Lame Last Day Picnic

Originally uploaded by kjda

For the more elegant version, see below.
I am having a bit of a crisis of confidence today, on many levels. On
the one hand, you know how when you were a teenager, you dreamed that
you would go away somewhere and come back changed? I feel like I did.
We have been back for 14 days now, and I still haven’t lost my temper–
which is what I mean by yelling. I don’t count the occasional raised-
voice "I said put your shoes on NOW!" if anybody oit there doesn’t do
that, I don’t wanna know them.
But today I screwed up some parenting 101 stuff–did I really think I
could take the dogs to the vet at 2:30 without anyone falling asleep,
let alone get there and back and get Sams lacrosse stuff, then pick
him and another kid up and get them both to lacrosse by 3:30? If
nothing else, there’s more than an hour’s worth of driving in that
hour, and it doesn’t allow for the part where the dogs actually get
their shots.
So that didn’t go so well.

I’m blogging from the playground, where I just hauled Wyatt off the
playset for the famed "if you touch your sisters one more time…" car
timeout. He didn’t think I meant it, but I did. And I still didn’t
yell. I don’t care if he sits in the car or plays. His choice. Don’t
think he likes the result…

Anyway, I feel lame for my afternoon screw up, and for the lame picnic
on Lilys last day of Montessori. Lots of parents made a really big
deal of it, and I just wasn’t feeling it. But I dis throw an awesome
birthday party. Lily actually thanked me for it this morning, which
has certainly never happened before. Guess I should focus on that!
KJ Dell’Antonia
sent from my iPhone