Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman

Yesterday was a really great day. I wanted to write about it last night but I was really exhausted by the end of the night. It started with getting ready for my youngest son's official last day of kindergarten. I was rushing around (surprise, surprise) and had told the boys we would stop for donuts for breakfast for a last day of school celebration. I guess it was apropos that I would be late for the last day of school since I'm pretty much late for everything!

We eventually made it around 9:20 but the all school assembly was at 9:30. I left my oldest son to save seats and went outside to wait for my MIL who was in visiting from out of town and had gotten lost. I was standing outside of the school right next to where the mail truck was parked. Then the postman comes outside of the building and says to me,

"I know you're not waiting there for me. Maybe in my dreams tonight you will be."

I literally had NO response to that. I just stared at him. I had so many things swooshing through my mind and so much stuff to do that I was feeling so overwhelmed and having the postman hit on me just didn't fit into my schedule of events. Nor did I have a witty response bookmarked into my brain for such an occurrence. So I just kind of looked at him and shrugged.

Eventually my MIL found her way there, we watched the last day of school assembly, she left for her plane back to SC. We still had about an hr. to kill while they finished their last "day" so L1 and I walked to a little park, sat in the gazebo and finished reading, "The Swiss Family Robinson." The sun was shining. It was so calm and peaceful. I just never want to forget that moment of sitting there with my 8 year old, reading, in just a simple state of peace and happiness.

It was finally noon, we picked up L2 (after many tears and saying goodbyes to the teachers my sons have had for the past 4 yrs.) and headed to the amusement park. There we spent the day riding rides with my sons' bestest friends from school and homeschool co-op.

Memorable moments:
1. When I bought the tickets for the go-karts I assumed L1 was tall enough to drive himself. He wasn't. I had to maneuver myself into the kart while wearing a dress and then have him angrily lean over me the entire time b/c he wanted to drive. Then my sister and L2 bumped into us and knocked us sideways and we were out of the race.
2. I am probably the sole person in this county that doesn't know they have a big barrel of water that fills up and then dumps into the pool. Apparently kids will sit underneath in anticipation. While I was standing there looking and keeping a good "Mommy" eye on L2, there were no such kids. So I was alone and unsuspecting when gallons of water dropped on me and I screamed...much to the amusement of everyone around.

We were having so much fun and I originally wanted to write about the sense of community that I felt. I also had so many different conversations with so many different people in so many different walks of life that I almost felt rather dream-like. Did I really know everyone around me? I did and yet I didn't. (This probably would have sounded better last night.)

Then we rushed home b/c I had to get ready for a graduation. I found myself surrounded by more "people" that I knew as I watched one of my former students graduate. Her grandmother was her kindergarten teacher and I actually took over for her when she retired. She taught 33 yrs. At the end of the evening after taking pictures, she asked me how old my sons were. I answered her. And then she said, "Enjoy your children."

And I answered, "Thank you. I do."

I remember when she retired and she sat in her rocking chair and all of the children she had taught to read passed by her and gave her a hug or a flower. And there she sat in the blistering sun, watching her own granddaughter graduate from high school. I drove home with the windows down and the music playing and I thought about the day and how full it was...full of life, laughter, love... and then I thought of her words to me and I wanted to go back to the morning and say,

Wait a minute, Mr. Postman. Maybe if I'd been mailed 20 years ago that would be okay. But right now I dream of snips and snails and puppy dog tails...

Enjoy your children!