Our DSL broke, for four days. Rod patiently spent two and a half hours on the phone with Bangalore or Delhi or wherever, on his day off, without raising his voice, and then he made two separate trips to the store, and then there were only a few more hours of tinkering, and it’s like that whatchamacallit never quit working at all. For me, it was a strange combination of a nice break and really annoying, not being able to connect with the world in my usual way. I am much more Internet-dependent than I had realized, or than I was the last time the connection failed.
So, you are asking, what did you miss? It’s been hellish hot here, with no end, or rain, in sight. Maybe it will make the next hurricane look like a refreshing change of pace. I am just trying to soldier on through it and somehow not notice just how unbearable it is.
My sister Carla turned 38. And, on the same day, Ruby turned seven. In keeping with Ruby's preferences and tradition, this meant about three separate parties, all planned, financed and executed by me, so I am a little tired just now.
The defining characteristics of age seven so far are: 1) the child is huge, by which I mostly mean tall. Not fat, but certainly not thin, and apparently she’s in a growth spurt, again. 2) the child has learned to distinguish maternal exaggeration from the truth and must call me on it, every time (“Mommy, you really won’t leave Carl here because he's not ready to go! That would be illegal!”) she is also working on her psychological manipulation skills when it comes to brothers and friends, to my resigned dismay, 3) she has a major Webkinz fixation, 4) she suddenly loves to play board and card games and will even follow the rules, 5) she’s showing a slight increase in her interest level in personal hygiene and has learned to shower alone (thank God, just in time for the hot season) and 5) there is continued moodiness, especially concerning the all-important issue of who’s willing to play with her and who’s not at any given moment, and all they want to do is play tag, and she’s always tagged first and it’s not fair and why won’t they just play hide and seek, according her favorite rules modification?
Ruby likes to organize things and to be in charge. Sometimes now, and probably later in life, this managerial talent is great and to be encouraged. Often, though, she just comes across as a bossy control freak, and since I am also a bossy control freak, we occasionally clash. Plus, I am never quite sure what tactic to take, when I hear my darling child bellowing orders at her playmates: mind my own business, suggest a more diplomatic approach, or let her face the natural consequences? And of course, my advice on just about everything is inappropriate and instantly rejected.
Seven also seems to mark the arrival of guilt over what one did. Twice this week, I’ve had to coax Ruby out of her room, where she’s been sobbing with guilt over something she did to someone else. Once, she got carried away by her temper; another time, she accidentally hit someone in the face with something she was waving in the air. I hate that feeling of knowing I messed up, and apparently it hits Ruby with the same devastating effect.
Anyway, the parties: the big one was Sunday. Rod got his twenty minutes of Father’s Day glory (poor Rod. He puts up with a lot.) and then we put him to work chopping party snacks and frosting cakes and whatnot. Ruby had invited a cast of thousands and it was 101 outside and she had a long list of games she wanted people to play at her cat-themed party. We talked her down as far as we could, and I was pleasantly surprised by how it all worked out. The kids loved the drinking-milk-from-saucers race, and the delicate-kitten-walk-on-bubble-wrap game, and the search-for-prizes thing. Ruby’s headline event was the water activities on the front porch: throwing water balloons at Rod (yes, the same 200 he had filled up himself) and a water gun fight. For cake, there was a cute cat face one, and the surprise hit, the Kitty Litter Cake. Served in a box with a poop scoop. Yum. I had thought everyone would be too grossed-out, but no! Even the grown-ups tried it, and as it consisted of smushed up cake, pudding, ground up cookies, and Tootsie Rolls, people really liked it. And the end of the party dwindled down to all the boys playing Legos in the living room and the girls playing Twister or doing crafts in Ruby’s room.
Of course, we also had to plan something on Ruby’s Actual Birthday, and so we invited a subset of 15 or so dear friends over for pizza and cupcakes and more Twister and mayhem. It was also fun, and now I am tired, and probably broke, although I am avoiding checking the bank balance to be sure. I can serve them leftover cupcakes for dinner and put them to bed at 6:30 tonight, right?
Carl allowed his inner green-eyed monster to be subdued by the application of only one mid-priced Lego set, and he and Ruby are just back from the end of a month of Rowdy Arts Day Camp, which they highly recommend. Next week, Rod is off work, and both kids have a few unscheduled days (help me, Jesus) and a couple of days of Space Camp. We might toss in a day or two at the beach, just because, if I can justify spending the money.
Comments