1. A couple of weeks ago Alaina went to her first school friend birthday party. It was at Skate City, and I had emailed the mom ahead of time to find out if she expected parents to stay with their kid or leave, because I just don't really know the protocol. She emailed back and said either would be fine, so I left the choice up to Alaina. She took a day to think about it and then decided that I should leave. So I took her to the party, got her skates and dragged her back to where her friends were, because she'd never been on skates before and those things are nuts. The mom assured me she would be fine, and they had one of those skating trainers that look like walkers that Alaina could use. I was actually pretty nervous about leaving her in such a new situation, but she insisted I leave. So I did. Then I came back 2 hours later and she had had the time of her life. But I also quickly figured out that every other parent had stayed. So I was the deadbeat mom who dumped her kid off at a party. I promise the mom said it was fine, but why did everyone else stay then? Anyway, Alaina loved it so much. She's already begun negotiations to get her birthday party there someday.
2. Our apple season is slowing down. I haven't heard an apple bang on our roof in the middle of the night in over a week. The funniest thing to me about having apple trees is how deformed home grown apples are. They all resemble Quasimodo in some way, and we often have to cut off a good third of it to get to the parts of the apple that don't have weird bug or bird bites or brown spots. But there was this one apple that grew right outside our bedroom window that we could tell was special. This one was perfectly formed. It looked like one you would buy in the store. We let it get as ripe as we could and then I picked it before anything bad could happen. It was as beautiful all the way around as we had dreamed. I fed it to Joya on a day where she was feeling sad and needed something special as a pick-me-up.
4. This week I got a call from Compassion International, telling me that our girl Rhoda from the Philippines is no longer part of the program. I knew it was coming. She turned 18 in May, and I had emailed to find out when and how that would work. The guy emailed back saying I'd have six months notice. But apparently Rhoda got her associates degree in computers and got a job, so she just abruptly left. I'm so proud of her, and it's all bittersweet. I'd been her sponsor for 12 years. I picked her when Compassion came to Grace my sophomore year in college. I know we weren't the best sponsors; I only managed to write her once or twice a year. But now she's all grown up. The lady from Compassion said I could send her one final letter, so I plan on doing that as soon as I get a current family picture to send with her. She also asked if we'd like to sponsor another little girl from the Philippines who is three years old. I said of course. We should be getting her info soon. It's like a chapter of my life has closed.
5. Bria's No Socks policy has gone from bad to worse. It now includes No Pants, and if she could figure it out she would add No Shirt to the list. The girl likes to strip down, and I can't stop it. Actually, in all honesty, she's been a real bear this week, so at one point I took off her pants for her, and she was happy as a clam for a little while. I'm a little concerned since we're moving into cooler weather. Why couldn't she have gone through this phase when it was hot out? And how long will this phase last anyway? It feels like only a matter of time before she strips down in public.
Up next week: celebrating Joya's 4th birthday! There will be pie. :)
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