Green Isn't My Color

We don’t have enough to do. I came to this conclusion last week after several failed play-date attempts. Perhaps I’ve read too many parenting articles on the dangers of over-scheduled kids or maybe it’s that I’m too lame-o to figure out where we should be running to, or what we should be doing; I’m really not sure, but I am sure that everyone around us is super busy, and we are not.


“Oh, we’d love to, but today is errand day. Sally needs her tap shoes and Bobby, you know, reads to the elderly every Wednesday afternoon, and tomorrow at 3:30 we have dance and hockey and ice-skating and then at 5:00 we plan to save the world, but maybe, you know, some other time.”

And don’t get me started on the grandparents. The only thing worse than being rejected for errands is being reminded, once again, that everyone here has grandparents. Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, in-laws, cousins, sisters, yada, yada. They are everywhere and they are seriously starting to get on my nerves. (read: I’m jealous) “Oh, sorry, we can’t today. We are meeting Grandma for some shopping time. Yes, well maybe another time. Nope, not tomorrow either. Gran and Gramps are coming like they do every Tuesday. It’s so great; they do all my laundry and cook all our meals for the week (we’ll just put it in the freezer and then all I have to do is thaw and bake. Isn’t that cool?) and well, we’d love to meet on Thursday but that’s our day to go the farm. We’ll ride horses and drive tractors and what’s that? Oh, Friday? Sorry, but that’s my Bunko group. It’s super fun. You should try and start one. You know, with all your friends. And this weekend we’re going to be at the lake….gotta try out those new jet skies. So, anyway, what are you doing this weekend?”

Uhm, oh yeah, it’s going to be super busy; lots of,......well.....you know just really, really fun and busy. Yeah. Maybe we can catch up next week, you know, if our schedule frees up.

I know that the green-eyed monster and robe of self-pity isn’t pretty, or as my mom would say, “it’s not becoming” and yet today, it’s what I’m wearing.

And then something happened. Alecia’s mom at Coulter’s school mentioned that Alecia won’t have a grandparent for grandparent’s day on Friday. We’ve missed plenty of grandparent days, so I tried to encourage her. “Oh, I know, it’s hard when they live so far away.” Except Alecia’s don’t. They live 30 miles from Fremont.

Tomorrow, Coulter’s grandparents will make the 12 hour drive north to be here for Grandparent’s day. They will watch him play his first flag-football game and they will take him shopping for yet one more Under Amour shirt (our very own school uniform). They will treat us and pamper us and, perhaps best of all, they will take one of us home with them for the week. (Hint: she’s two.) I will never stop wishing that they (we) were closer, but I am reminded often that there’s more to being close than just geography. It takes a little more effort (and a lot more gas) but my parents are always there for their grandchildren; they will always be close.

Goodbye, Mr. Green Monster. I'll have you know (you, the monster; not you, the reader...just didn't want you to think I was being rude) that today we were super busy. We had piano lessons, Kindermusik, gymnastics, dance class and AWANA. And tomorrow, CeCe and Pop.

“What's that? Lunch on Friday? Sorry, we’d love to but we have grandparents in town.”