The Help

As the garden season begins and the amount of work around the house seems to quadruple, I've been fortunate to have a few extra helpers this year.

 

 

Thanks to all these helpers for making my Mother's Day so enjoyable this year.

Win-win-win

 

The thought was that I could handle anything for a mere 4 weeks so last week I impulsively signed Sammy up for the EFC Tiny Tots Soccer Camp, an opportunity to have fun and learn fundamentals from visiting Brazilian coaches. I figured the worst that could happen is that I'd have to spend four Wednesday evenings chasing a 2 1/2 year old around the boundaries of the soccer field while her brother ignored the coaches and got easily distracted with picking grass or making monster sounds at his teammates.  What we got instead was a wonderful spring evening in which it seemed much of our community was out enjoying the spring weather... kids actually engaged in the process of learning soccer, parents relaxing on the sidelines with their cell phone cameras or their knitting needles and their children's water bottles.  What a difference a few years make.  Sam was attentive and engaged and fun to watch for the 20 minutes Eva allowed me to sit before she dragged me off to the slides and swings.  In the car on the way home Sam asked if he has soccer again tomorrow night, why he has to wait a full week until the next lesson.  He loved it.  And so did Eva.  And so did Mommy.  Win-win-win!

MS Walk 2013

When we pulled in to the parking ramp, Sammy said "Go all the way to the top, Mommy!  I like the way top."  And we did.  And the kids were amazingly well behaved as I enlisted the help of a mother of two who had just put her kids into a stroller 3 cars away from us.  She squeezed the rails together and I pushed the pin through and the double stroller was ready.  Only after the kids were tucked in and I'd pushed it across the top floor of the ramp did we discover that the elevator was out of order.  It wasn't a big deal going down.  We were early and the sun was out and the kids were excited to see Bonnie and Sam and Sammy was insistent that he was going to have at least two donuts because he needed them for energy for his long walk, so we raced down the parking ramp and stood in line to get in to the registration area and found Sam and Bonnie just inside waiting for us.  Big hugs and big smiles and a little bit of chaos before we settled at a table where Big Sam was interviewed by Channel 19 and Little Sam ate three donuts and Eva caused general mayhem during the moments when she wasn't falling through the back of the fold-up chair she attempted to sit in.  By the time the Dobkoski's arrived we were all excited and anxious to get out in the sunshine as we did the last time the Klikas walked with us in La Crosse.

Aside from a few struggles to keep Eva in the stroller and to make sure that her new favorite toys Banana and Orange never left her side, the kids couldn't have been more fun.  Sammy did seem to think it was a race and he was determined to win, so the adults among us took turns keeping an eye on him, and Big Sam often raced after him with his motorized cart.  And Bonnie and I caught up on how our lives have changed over the last few years, and I remembered once again why we do this every year... for these very, very special people who are like extended family who I don't see often but am inspired by every time I do. 

Thanks for making the trip Bonnie and Sam, and thanks for always being full of love and generous spirit!