If I Knew You Were Comin'

I woulda had Mary and Frank make you a cake!

Lots has changed this summer.

I am reminded how much everyone is changing. Hannah registering for college. Anna old enough for a learner's permit. Claire too old for a "child" ticket at the movies.

We bought a family swim pass as usual, and for the first summer in four years we really have not seen the necessity. We have prodded the children to the pool a couple of times, but it has not been worth it. Bill and I agreed that next year we would not buy a season pass and just pay as needed.

And yet the library has always and continues to be a hit. I am pleased to have children who love to read. I come home from work frequently and find them reading quietly.

I also come home because they are playing circus and dressed in tutus with stuffed animals in chair "cages" and trapeze lines strung between the bunk beds. They call me frantically because Frank "The Amazing Escapo" has been tied to a chair and no one can untie him. I also come home to find them playing "Azkaban" with children locked in their rooms with skeleton keys as one child, the "Dementor," patrols the hall in a sheet, wielding the keys to the various bedrooms.

I am impressed and horrified by their imaginations. (I remember that my favorite game as a child was "Holocaust." It was an elaborate game of tag. One team the "Nazis" and the other the "Jews." The Nazis were obviously always "It" and the Jews hid. We were extraordinarily resourceful. I remember Terry propping himself in the laundry chute between the first floor and basement to hide.) Yes, I am happy that they are playing games rather than mind-numbingly watching game shows. Or even worse, getting into fights and screaming and calling me when things get to the point that I can't even understand the problem until I leave work and drive home and discover that the problem is that someone ate all the macaroni and cheese. (OMG!!!!)

But sometimes, the kids who frustrate me by playing dangerous make believe games that could hurt someone, or who rot their brains watching TV, or claim they are bored because there is "nothing to do," do something really amazing. Like make a cake and frosting from scratch since their step-sisters are coming home from their grandparents. The peaches? Were their own addition.

In retrospect I really can't believe that I was surprised about who wanted to see the movie "Julie and Julia" with me. As a blogger, I loved the book. I invited Anna to go with me, but she preferred to stay at home. Mary and Frank expressed interest, which I had not expected. I kind of reluctantly took them, thinking that they would be bored. But they loved the cooking scenes (the newlywed scenes, not so much, but they were discrete and ok).

I love that I can trust my kids to bake and use the oven and follow a recipe (or make reasonable deviations - the peaches are what make this cake truly amazing to me).

Welcome home, Claire and Sophia!