We went to the shore yesterday to celebrate Drob’s birthday. It was gorgeous; a perfect beach day. We were loath to leave because we were having so much fun flying our kites in the strong breeze off the Atlantic. Consequently, it was late when we finally returned home, sandy and sunburnt, and utterly unprepared for the fact that MONDAY was coming, ready or NOT!

In spite of our fatigue, we managed somehow to get to school on time this morning. We even walked there. Our car is still in the shop, and they are still working on repairing it. Apparently the reconditioned radiator that they put in today was leaking, so they need to procure *another* one. Luckily I was able to borrow my MIL’s car, though I am sure I’ll need to get it back to her tonight, or early tomorrow.

I picked up our CSA delivery today, and added a huge variety of squash, some gorgeous yellow tomatoes, kale, chard, a dozen pears, and parsley to the bushel of tomatoes I bought on my way home from the shore. I couldn’t resist — $10.95 for so many juicy, ripe plum tomatoes. I have been wanting to learn how to can. Here, I thought, is my opportunity: I want to make a huge batch of tomato sauce and can it.

I also started making a batch of salsa using tomatillos from my garden, plum tomatoes, and what I thought were relatively mild jalapenos. After cutting up the peppers, I washed my hands thoroughly. I was utterly surprised, therefore, when while I attempted to floss her teeth, poor Carla started screaming that the floss was making her mouth go on fire.

Drob and I looked at each other in utter terror. Was she having another PTSD-type episode? Could it be? Was she freaking out because of the way Drob had held her head as I flossed her teeth? Finally it dawned on me that I must have still had some oil from the jalapeno peppers on my hands, and just touching her mouth caused her to react to it. Immediately I touched my tongue to see if that was it; and sure enough my hands are really, really spicy right now. Poor kid! She is NOT used to such flavors.

Although I felt really bad for making her miserable, I was so, so relieved that it wasn’t, you know, a mental freak out. A glass of milk, some ice, some time, and she will be just fine. As opposed to needing 6 - 8 months of therapeutic play sessions!!!

I’m a teacher, only I don’t have to teach all that complicated stuff like where do babies come from, and how did the world get here in the first place. Of course, if I was asked to teach such delicate and apparently controversial matters, I’d be only too glad to check all the facts, and find appropriate books for children to learn all about the science behind such things. I’d be interested in seeing what theories were supported by fossils, and layers of the earth, and astronomy and all that sort of thing.

Instead, I am focusing on teaching kids how to unwind after a busy day at school, how to bake cookies, muffins, or pizza, or how to sew a pillow, or how to make an origami fortune teller, or encourage dramatic play, or, or, or, or. You get the idea. I’m the After School Director — and it’s my job to see that the kids are safe and comfortable until their parents are able to pick them up. And at the wonderfully crunchy school where I teach, I don’t think anyone would even think about teaching so-called “Creationism.”

I was so appalled today to read the following:

An avid hunter and self-described “hockey mom,” Palin, 44, is beloved by conservatives for her strong opposition to abortion and her support of teaching creationism in school.

Republicans also rallied around Palin when she was attacked by pundits for failing to put her family first, given that she has a four-month-old son with Down syndrome and her unmarried, 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.

Ok, when did Republican come to mean “doesn’t believe in science anymore”? I mean, really? And if Republicans are so against having the government be big and control people’s freedoms, why is that they want to limit what a woman chooses to do? And to make people’s kids be forced to learn some religious bullship in place of science? And what’s with this pitbull woman who cares more about unborn embryos than about what happens to kids after they are born?

Being a mom of two children, and teacher to many more, I know how much kids really yearn for someone to listen, lead, and share with them so much of every day life. And I remember fondly how completely having an infant filled up my days and nights. It wasn’t that I didn’t have a career (I did, and continued to work even as milk would sometimes trickle down my blouse — s’cuse me!). It wasn’t that I was someone whose only interest in life was to care for my infant. It just really takes a lot of work to raise a baby. My babies didn’t have “special needs” but they did need my special loving attention, practically 24/7. Even if I wasn’t with them, my body sure know what it was supposed to be doing.

So, If Palin is so gosh-darned happy to be a hockey mom, why would she want to move to Washington, D.C.? The hockey is certainly not so choice there. When does she plan to pump milk for her baby? Or does she even bother now? Apparently, she isn’t much concerned about the welfare of her children once they leave the womb. Or maybe her preggo teenage daughter can just quit school and be the new mom of the house, it’s good practice and all.

Meanwhile, she’s so proud of her daughter’s DECISION to have a baby! Guess what? There’d be no DECIDING if Mommy had her way with the country, right? All the preggo teenagers would just up and marry their boyfriends and fill the world with little cherubs for our social services system to help care for. Too bad those same social services are being run down, de-funded, and dismantled by the Republicans. Of course, the number of teen moms will only go up and up, since Abstinence Only Education leaves teens in the dark about how to protect themselves should hormones ever cloud their judgment about sex. But really, who ever heard of teens having bad judgment? That’s just crazy talk!

So. Science? Out the window. Facts? That’s history! Real Education? Bah! Don’t be ridiculous!!

Tomorrow is my first day of After School. I think I’ll teach the kids about what we can do to save the unicorns from becoming extinct.

Yesterday was the first day of school. Annie was so thrilled to join her classmates in the kindergarten. It is hard to fathom that my baby really is a big kindergartner. When Carla first entered kindergarten, I remember thinking how very big she was then, and yet now that Annie is that age, I still think she’s a tiny little thing.

We’ve been on our feet walking a lot, since the car is still being repaired from its little run in with the deer. I would normally enjoy walking but my ankle is acting up, plus it has been HOT! I am really proud that in spite of needing a longer time for getting to school (it’s about a mile away), we were on time, with a few minutes to spare! I also walked home a load of groceries this week, pulling them in a little red wagon. My CSA delivery also came home this week on the power of my feet, dragged along in a little shopping cart. Cammy came with me, and it was really pretty pleasant, walking and chatting at night as we went to get our fruit and veggies delivery.

There was one sad moment on the first day of school. As we walked up to the school, scads of Carla’s friends saw her and screamed their delight, surrounding her with hugs and gleeful mirth. Annie saw all these big girls and clearly expected that they would greet her in the same way. Instead, Carla disappeared into the school with her buddies and Annie was left behind, holding her arms out as if ready to receive a big hug. Luckily, just as I thought she was going to be scarred for life, a classmate of Annie’s that she knows was suddenly there and they greeted one another heartily and all was well. It was one of those moments where I thought: Ah! It’s hard being the little sister, overshadowed by and preceeded by the popular and famous big sister!

But I need not be too concerned. Before long, Annie was all over school with her 5 and 6 year old peers, and looked like she fit in just perfectly.

The fun has officially begun!

Labor Day. September 1. Hard to fathom, but here we are. Not that the summer is technically over, as in, the fall season hasn’t really begun yet, but… well, I cannot deny that in just a few days (and we are counting them down!) school will finally begin again. Thursday.

But before we are launched into that most busy season of the year, of learning once again how to get up early, and be organized, and packing lunches each night before bed, and of homework and working and planning and all that… I’d like to take a little time to reflect on this summer. I’ll punctuate my usual b1tching and complaining with photographic evidence of all that was wonderful this summer.

The summer started for me as no other summer has ever done: with two solid weeks of mayhem, running a summer camp. I’d never run a summer camp before, but I would like to think that it went over as a success. Nobody got (seriously) hurt; no child was lost on a field trip. I don’t even think anyone threw up! In fact, one parent told me this week that when they asked their child what they favorite summer experience was this year, they said it was going to my summer camp program. That’s pretty high praise, really!

Just this week I managed to negotiate not only an increase in pay for camp for next summer, but also retroactive pay for having done camp this summer. This was better than I’d hoped for, really, as the school is pretty strapped for cash, they were not inclined to pay me anything extra for camp at all. I am really proud that I stood up for myself, that I was assertive about what I wanted. I used the word “exploitative” with a straight face.

Really.

July was packed with trips to the O/T, and the happy result of all the shlepping is Annie has mastered using a tripod grasp on pens, pencils, markers, paintbrushes, you name it! She still has some difficulty with opening doorknobs, but then again, our house has some old, sticky and stubborn doorknobs. I think it’s the inconsistency that gets her, too. Sometimes our bedroom door won’t stay shut, and the cats have no trouble at all barging in. Other times, even Carla has trouble getting the door open. “Put your butt into it!” I’m known to holler.

Carla’s big summer accomplishment was banishing her fear of the water and learning how to swim. Now that she knows how, she LOVES it, and has entered the “Watch me!!!!” phase of childhood. I remember this well from my own childhood. It was as though my parents just HAD TO SEE how INCREDIBLE each jump into the pool was, each somersault in the water, each handstand, dive, loop, belly flop, back float, etc., was. Because each trick was incredibly clever and daring and I knew they just HAD TO SEE IT. I don’t grudge her desire to show off her new set of skills. I actually am impressed, and I marvel that she can finally do this. I’ve been trying to convince her for years that it’s really fun to go underwater. But like all of her accomplishments, she did this on her own terms, when she was ready, and in her own way. This is one kid who just won’t be pushed along.

Which is why we didn’t quite get there with my other goal for her: learning to ride a two-wheeler bike. I got her a new bike (shiny! purple! butterflies!) for her eighth birthday, and a new helmet to go with it. She was game to try to learn for a few go-rounds, but after nearly crashing into a picnic table, and falling off a few times, she asked for a break. Then she didn’t want to try again. We’d been practicing this at our swim club: there are big grassy fields where she preferred to learn, and very little traffic. So, of course, once swimming was on the agenda, any thought of wasting time falling to the ground was certainly off the table. So to speak.

As for our other big summer catastrophes, they are all working out in their own ways. Our car was approved to be repaired rather than totalled (YAY!) and will go into the shop tomorrow. It is such a close call that our adjuster suggested we hold off on getting a rental car until we’re sure the body shop will agree to stick to the estimate. Otherwise the costs of a rental might just make this claim go over the edge into the realm of total loss. Yeah, I know, what a pain. But hey, at least no one got hurt (except, of course, the poor deer.)

Being sued by the city was super fun, too. We wriggled out of the (two!) lawsuits, paying a mere $82 per lawsuit, and springing for a certified accountant and company to help us though it. The lawsuits were settled, and our back taxes are filed. I am not sure, however, if all the back taxes are paid at this point or not. We are truely chastened for our flakiness and I sincerely hope that we will be able to file the rest of our taxes in accordance with the normal schedule like anyone else.

Finally, there was the annoying thing of me hurting my ankles. First, I stupidly clonked my left ankle with a hammer while trying to pry up a tent stake, leading to a trip to the ER. I was impressed by how mellow things were at the ER, and it was good to know that my ankle was not in fact broken. A month and half later, I stupidly jumped off a dock into too-shallow water, bruising my left foot while simultaneously badly spraining my right ankle. In spite of my apparent attempts to cripple myself, I can now walk (almost) normally. My left ankle sports a tiny scar where the hammer’s claw scratched it, and my right ankle is only slightly wider than my left. But the main this is: it mostly doesn’t hurt to walk even though going down stairs can sometimes twinge.

This summer was beautiful in many ways. It was wonderful having so much time with my children. They each grew quite a bit, and entertained one another and myself endlessly. They created endless “experiments” by stuffing old socks, string and googly eyes, and drawing their other facial features. These not-sock-puppets are then “charged” by placing them in a slinky, after which time they become basically alive.

I did a fair amount of gardening, but need to remember some important things for next year, if I do in fact try to garden next year. I don’t think I’ll even try for pumpkins next year. The vine borer insects were brutal– and I just don’t think I can avoid them. However, a bit more care on my eggplants might be good: the colorado potato beetles can be controlled if I’d be a little less wimpy about squishing these guys. Better staking will keep my tomatoes high enough that the dumb ground hog can’t chew them. I will put down some kind of animal repellent — it is worth a try, at least! I need to space my plants a little more carefully, too — my basil might be a good companion to my tomatoes, but I shouldn’t squish them so close that the basil doesn’t get sun. I need to add more compost and composted manure to the soil. I don’t think the soil was amended enough this year, nor did I mulch it sufficiently. I think a layer of newspaper would have helped keep the moisture in. A bucket of compost tea would be a good idea, as well. And, finally, I need to remember to start my tomatoes, and watermelon, and any other plants earlier in the season, at home, so I have something good and feisty to set in the ground early on.

This year’s garden, which was twice the size of last years, was ironically much less prolific in its output. I think we’ll go with just one plot next year, unless the kids want to garden again. Poor Annie — her patch produced nothing except one nasturtium blossom! She tried a leaf of nasturtium, and pronounced it good, but too spicy for her tastes. And Carla’s patch did produce a continually leafy lettuce snack… which the bunnies enjoyed tremendously, I’m sure. Her sunflowers were short, but pretty, having been stunted by rapacious japanese beetles that ate all the foliage, while her purple greenbeans were also merely rabbit food. Frustrating gardening this year– enough to give us all second thoughts about doing all that work again next year.

But I will. In fact, I agreed to be the coordinator of the community garden next year. While our co-operatively run swim club is in bad financial straits, we are optimistic that there will be at least one more year for the club to exist. It’s extremely sad that this wonderful place could really be in danger of going out of business after 40+ years. So if having a garden coordinator is helpful at all, maybe that can be my small contribution to the club’s future.

This summer was also a trial period for a new anti-depressant for me, setraline (brand name is Zoloft). It took a while to adjust to it, but for now I think it’s working well. I am not noticing any side effects, and I haven’t felt too down, and not at all suicidal all summer. I’ve been a little lazy, but not to the point of missing appointments or being late (like to OT, for example).

So with a fond adieu, I release the summer. I am letting go of this wonderful period of time, still savoring its flavors, the fresh fruits and veggies, the scent of a crackling campfire, the time spent in lakes and with mountains around me, the wonder of a glimpse of a bald eagle, heron, or a paddling of ducks. I will remember all the happy dunkings that I gave to Carla, and received in return. I will keep these thoughts warm in my heart, even as the weather cools and the darkness claims my evenings.

Onward to the fall, and lunchboxes, and after school activities. Here’s to life, and all its mysteries and mayhem.