August 31, 2012

And the painted ponies go up and down

“This is mostly what we do,” With-a-Why said to his girlfriend. They were snuggled at one end of the couch. With-a-Why gestured towards the rest of his family: “We sit around and do nothing.”

Beautiful Smart Wonderful Daughter and I sat at the other end of the couch, drinking mugs of hot tea. Shaggy Hair Boy sat at the piano bench, sometimes playing, sometimes talking. Tall Boy, who is staying with us for a few days until he finds a place to live, had his laptop open but was mostly looking up to join the conversation. Boy-in-Black, stretched out on the floor to do core exercises, kept looking up to talk in the midst of his routine.

My husband stood at the kitchen table, looking through the bin of cookies that With-a-Why and Shy Smile had made that afternoon. But his action brought jeers of disapproval from the rest of the household. “You aren’t allowed to look at the cookies,” With-a-Why called over to him. “You have to just reach in and take one. Then you have to eat it even if it’s one of the burned ones.”

“It’s like a Cookie Russian Roulette,” Shaggy Hair Boy explained. My husband reached in, grabbed a cookie, and then flipped it over dramatically. It was nicely browned. He grinned triumphantly.

This relaxed summer mode, where we all just hang out together doing nothing, won’t last much longer. Soon we’ll all be busy with classes and research and work. Boy-in-Black will head off to a conference. My daughter will be getting more clients at the clinic. Shaggy Hair Boy will tackle courses for the math major he just added. With-a-Why goes back to school right after Labor Day. At the end of the month, my oldest two will move into a house they are renting in the next town.

I  like fall — the cold nights, the spectacular foliage, and the excitement of having students back on campus — but it’s hard to let summer go. This was likely the last time I’ll have all my kids living at home. They just keep growing up.

9 comments:

YourFireAnt said...

".....last time I'll have my kids living at home....."

Where've we heard THIS before? [at least a dozen times!]

;-)

Lomagirl said...

I can't imagine they'll ever leave for good when most of your readers want to move in!

jo(e) said...

FA: So true! And they're only moving a few miles away.

Tie-Dye Brother-in-law said...

Aha! The elusive girlfriend finally makes it into the blog.

jo(e) said...

Tie-Dye Brother-in-law: Yeah, I figured it was time. But I like the pseudonym I used better than the one that Dandelion Niece proposed.

L said...

awwww, I love her pseudonym, Shy Smile! :) I sure hope that she's loving "joining" (not yet, I know, but in a sense) a family so awesome as you. Sigh... if only I had more kids, I could be like you when I grew up! ;)

L said...

wait, so it's been going on for a while as tie-die brother suggests? And now you MUST tell us here inthe comment,, what was the other pseudonym suggested by Dandelion Niece? (LOVE her name too)

Hmmm, did I write my other comment to another post by accident? It obviously refer to this one... oh well. I hope it didn't disappear into thin air. I can't see it above. I expressed my surprise at the girlfriend in it. (I HAVE IT! in the clipboard).

YourFireAnt said...

...captive on the carousel of life, are ya?

;-)

kathy a. said...

your family gathers. there won't be a last time for that.

and the people important to your family are gathered in as well. shy smile's cookie contribution just sealed the deal.

really, your husband should know better than to root through the cookies. good on the boys to remind him of his manners. ;)