A visit to the Binggeli's

Today we headed North for a visit to Garland. We were fed, entertained by kites and bubbles, dogs, and bikes and left with a generous trunk full of fresh and bottled goods.  Molly was very good all day. Jack was super ornery and yelled most of the day. (Maybe he is getting teeth. Maybe he needed a nap. Maybe he was just mad that he'd been pushed down several times earlier in the day by Chocolate.)

The highlight of the day was probably flying kits with fishing poles that dad and grandpa rigged up.  I was the official walk through the freshly plowed field to get the fallen kite person ... Until the line on the kite just snapped. That time the kite didn't fall. It just kept going and going.  James went to retrieve it, but just kept walking further and further away ... past the trees ... past the railroad tracks.  We figured he might need a ride back, so grandpa and I threw Molly and jack in the back of the car and went on an adventure down some old farm road. We were trying to find our dad or the kite, but we came up empty handed.

Once we got back, James had already returned on foot. He thinks the kite disappeared, field of dreams style, in the corn field behind the railroad tracks.  Oh well. It was still a nice day!

Neighborly wisdom

I just had an interesting conversation with my neighbor.  She is a single lady, probably a little older than our parents. She has 4 grown kids and a grandchild.  She moved here from Ogden to be closer to a couple of them, but doesn't see them very often.

Anyway . . . Here is what I learned.

She only had children because she thought it was her moral obligation.

She didn't take to parenting like "a duck takes to water. "

When she meets Jesus, she'll tell him she did the best she could, but at least she did her duty to multiply and replenish the earth.

I shouldn't have any more kids until Jack is at least in kindergarten.

Two kids is the maximum anyone should have without a supportive husband. Her's just "sat on his duff all the time" while she worked, did the baths, and the homework.

Jack must have missed a nap and probably needed to go to bed early.

. . . I think that's about it.

She was out in her driveway tonight applying a sealant to the concrete. The kids were running around the cul de sac and I did have to grab Jack out of the road a few times, but I thought my kids were being good.

I don't know if her comments were a reflection of my parenting skills or if she just needed to talk to someone.

I have had a couple other conversations with her since she's moved in and they have all had similar tones.

Oh well. Good thing I am not having another child today, so I can think about that kindergarten thing.  And, even though James was mad at me, he did clean up dinner while I was outside with the kids.  That's good that he wasn't sitting on his duff, right?

Family Photos