Tag: family

Exactly Where Did the Apple Core Go?

Exactly Where Did the Apple Core Go?

apple core

After a late lunch Saturday afternoon, we decided to have PB&J’s for family dinner. My husband generously volunteered to assemble the meal and even added some yummy apple slices to our plates.

We have one of those little gadgets that wedges an apple while taking out the core — I’m sure you all can visualize, and perhaps own, one of these handy little tools. The problem with said gadget is that most apples aren’t perfectly round and there is usually a bit of tough apple core left in the middle of most of the cut wedges. Of course it’s not a huge ordeal to cut this part out with a knife, and I routinely do this chore for our son.

Little did I know that my husband had on this evening invented a new way to take out the tough bits left behind by the apple corer. . . take a closer look at my apple photo (of course I had to take a picture to document the event). Yes, my dinner-preparing husband decided that it was much quicker and more productive to actually bite out those tough centers on each and every apple wedge before he placed them on our plates.

Hmmm. . . after a good laugh, I ate the apples. But rest assured, I will not for any reason put my husband on fruit duty when guests are coming to dinner.

Sorting Out This Kindergarten Thing

kindergarten

Tomorrow my one and only child starts kindergarten. . . and I just don’t know what to say about that. He, on the other hand, has plenty to say. The first words out of his mouth this morning were, “I’m so excited to start kindergarten tomorrow!”

Really? Does he have to be quite so excited about the end of my life as I know it? Okay, so that’s a bit over-dramatic, but kind of true. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for almost six years now and I have embraced everything that brings, but at 8:40 tomorrow morning everything changes.

Tomorrow I place my eager child into the hands of caring, capable people. I leave my son at a top-rated school to be well educated. I don’t have to pack lunches, I don’t have to write a preschool check, and I don’t have to do much of anything for almost eight straight hours, five days a week, for the next several months. Hmmm. . . maybe I have underestimated the situation.

Seriously, I will miss having my little one under foot, visiting the zoo, museums and other destinations during the weekdays, playing with our mommy club friends and nap time. I’ll miss the every-other-day Playdoh dates, coloring together and train track building, but maybe, just maybe. . . after I polish off a box of tissue tomorrow, I’ll be able to look on the brighter side of public education and embrace my new life as I’ll know it. I mean I’ve already joined the PTA, so I must be on my way!

photo credit: La rentrée via photopin (license)

I Cried on the Fourth of July

I Cried on the Fourth of July

Fourth of July Parade

Independence Day started so innocently with family breakfast on the way to the local quintessential small town parade in Parkville, Mo., with plans for the carnival after. We parked the minivan, walked a couple of blocks, nabbed a front-row spot, and laughed and made small talk with our five-year-old son while sipping on sodas until the festivities began.

It was supposed to be a completely care-free and fun-filled day, but soon after the vehicles began rolling down the hill in front of our little spot along the road, tears began to fill my eyes. As hard as I tried I couldn’t hold them in, especially when the face of one of the gentleman on a flat-bed trailer matched that of mine.

Two full trailers of American veterans, most fairly old (the teary-eyed man one of the exceptions), led this little patriotic parade, and it touched me. I mean, really moved me. In just a few brief seconds, thoughts of their lives at war, their sacrifice and their friends that never made it home rushed into my head and pushed out the tears. I was suddenly overwhelmed with pride! I was proud of my country’s heritage, proud of these men rolling along in front of me, proud of the round of applause that erupted at their arrival, and proud to be an American!

Somehow my husband standing behind me knew I was fighting back the tears and wrapped his arms around my waist (which pretty much made me only cry harder), but suddenly I realized how he knew I was so moved, because when I turned around I realized he was misty-eyed as well. What a great way to celebrate the day! Not only did we get to spend time with friends and family this Fourth of July, we got to remember how lucky we are to live in this country. I truly hope many of you got to do the same.

Fourth of July Parade

 
Fourth of July parade

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