Three Day Weekends

Stepping into my car on Friday and sliding the key into the ignition, I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of a three day weekend. School has been in session for two and a half weeks and the time has absolutely flown by. Weekends seem like hours rather than days, and the work week flies equally quick. I have found myself coming home, grading papers for hours, and falling into bed exhausted.

Tammi has kept Kayla home for the last couple of weeks to give me a "get back into school" breather. She usually spends her Friday evenings with us and last night that tradition resumed. She showed up with her usual question of "Where we going to eat Papa?" and offered a variety of suggestions. With her parents and brother in tow, we headed out to a local Mexican restaurant. Kay regaled me with tales of her Thursday night adventure to meet her pre-school teacher. She talked all about placing her supplies in the bins provided and where she would hang her new backpack. Jax, on the other hand, was flirting with the lady at the next table and shoveling 100 calorie Fig Newtons into his mouth. It was so great to be back in my Friday night routine of enjoying time with the kids.

Later in the evening, Kayla donned her P.J.’s and picked out a movie to watch. She grabbed her book of children’s book of bible stories and asked me to read her the story of Jonah and the whale. Every time I read that story, I think of the time that she told me that Jonah disobeyed God and his punishment was to be eaten up by a shark. She went on to say that after Jonah had a time out in the belly of that shark, God made the shark spit him up on the beach. It was at that point she proclaimed that not listening to God was worse than not listening to her mom. The view of a bible story from the mind of a three-year-old is a hoot! Anyway, I digress….I read her Jonah and then she read me the "Pretty, Pretty, Princess" story, and then she curled right up next to me and told me that I was the snugly nana. You gotta hug the stuffing out of her for that one.

The next morning her papa and I took her for breakfast at McDonalds and a short road trip to Holden. We played I Spy and sang songs. She "read" to us and colored. I think it is important to note that she has learned some simple sight words, but mostly she recites the books that she has memorized from four years of being read to. We shopped and went to Blockbuster to pick up movies which she promptly curled up on my bed to watch as she waited for dinner.

Jaxon torchured the cat, played with his trucks, snacked from the cat’s bowl, and tried endlessly to play in the toliet. He followed his Papa around the house, pulled dishes from the kid drawer, and threw his ball around the house. I should mention that no one is safe when that boy is hurling a ball around. For a ten-month-old, he has an arm on him! His evening ended stretched out in the arms of his Papa. My son-in-law said the boy was sucking the paint off the ceiling. I guess if I played that hard, I’d be sucking the paint off the ceiling too!

The kids have gone home and I am now propped up recording this memory. I love three day weekends. I love spending time with the kids, and experiencing the return of routine. I look forward to a day of worship tomorrow and the following Monday to rest up and prepare for upcoming weeks of classes. Mostly, I look forward to the many Friday evenings packed with the pitter patter of little feet, snugly hugs, and stories to be told.

Lora