The Monkey Barrel

Archive for July, 2007

Saturday night
Just me and the shopping cart
Squeaking through the automated doors
Alone in the crowd
Freedom to roam the aisles
No clingons in the cart
Or curious sticky fingers
Pilfering the shelves
The list I painstakingly made
Mocked me from the passenger seat
As I wandered the store
In aimless ponderance
Of course anyone at all
Having the misfortune to shop with me
Would be happy to inform you
I peruse agonizingly slow anyway
Having a relatively good memory though
I called upon it
And filled the basket
Surprisinly close to the letter
Kids pushed past
Screamed at each other
Helped their mothers accomplish their lists
And nodded off in their own carts
My gaze lingered over them
A little boy called Tyler shouted
I wuv you mom! As though the realization
Had just hit his 2 year old brain
I felt a little naked, lonely even
Piling the items on the conveyer
Chatting with the cashier
With no baby to blow her a kiss goodbye
The cart and I wheeled back
Through the yawning doors
Pulled up to the car, unloaded
And rolled off into the night

The ugly reminder was there in the middle of the store. A sore thumb. The elephant in the room if you will. School supplies. SCHOOL FREAKING SUPPLIES!!!! How long have the poor kids been out of class, two, maybe three weeks? Can’t we wait til August anymore before we ruin their summers with the dank reminder of classrooms and letters and sums? Can’t they just play with their stinking pool noodle without a protractor or ruler stickin their pointy selves in their eye?? Pencil boxes and ruled paper just an aisle over from the CLEARANCE BEACH TOWELS! ARGGGGG! Goodness gracious. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The next aisle over they’d begun clearing space for what I can only suppose will be Halloween gear. Nothing like crapping on a perfectly scorching hot, stick to your skin like a dogs tongue bath humid, burning out your cornea bright, sunny day. Poooh on merchandising, and pooooh on Target for making me feel behind schedule. Now I gotta hunt up that freakin list and see what I can get early to beat the anal shoppers rush. Great, now that makes me anal, blast!

So Bush Gardens finally decided that they’d make a pass for us in-state folks to enjoy the entire summer at their fine establishment for the mere price of an ordinary park entrance fee. Woo-hoooopity-de-do!!! We bought them on Fred’s birthday where we enjoyed an entire day and today we returned for a repeat performance on a more casual level. I tumbled the kids into the car, we picked Fred up from work around 3 and headed out, against the doomsayers forecast, who predicted the foulest of weather. Tuesday early evening is the secret gem of park hopping. There was hardly a soul there. We did the same number of rides in 2 and 1/2 hours that it took an entire day to accomplish on Fred’s birthday. It was fantastic even tho the sky’s were gloomy and the rain set in just as we had decided we’d had today’s fill and we could head home happy that it had been such a success. John road Loch Ness twice (the second time with a smile mom) and Luke road “Emily” the train shreaking in delight. We’re gonna have to start a 2007 summer vacation scrapbook so we never forget how great this has all been.

At the library today we wandered the aisle’s aimlessly just to get a feel for what was where in the children’s section. Two aisles in particular stopped me dead in my tracks. When I was a girl there were a few series I read voraciously. I’d forgotten about some until I stumbled across them this afternoon. Trixie Beldon, The Bobbsey Twins, The Babysitters Club, Nancy Drew, Mandie, and on and on. Standing there with the two boys I adore most, I felt a twinge of sadness that I may never be able to share those stories with a daughter of my own. It passed as quickly as it came when I remembered all the nieces and daughters of friends I know that may love them as much I ever did.
John engrossed himself immediately in the science aisle. He has an obsession with volcanoes, earthquakes, and planet/universe stuff. And he always manages to pick a book that is in his reading level. Amazing.
Luke discovered the Thomas dvd section and was over the moon. And I found the first full season of Fraggle Rock also on dvd. Fred found Labrynth and downloaded it for us to watch this afternoon. Crazy! Don’t know what it is lately about reminiscing about the past but it seems to be smackin me in the face round every corner.
After our bike ride tonight Luke got a bath and John a shower and they both donned matching shark jammies. This could truly be perfection. Clean, tanned, skin, dorky dad music, dancing toddler toes, seven year old fingers erecting lego castles, and the quiet ease of our family just being at home. Summer vacation rocks!

Transformers the movie. WOW! Did I say wow? Because I meant UNBELIEVABLE! When I first heard that they were making a live action version of one of my all time favorite cartoons, I thought, poo, they’re gonna screw that up I’m sure. I could not have been more wrong. I don’t think I could have been more shocked if the autobots had actually walked into the room and stood right in front of me. The animation was seamless, beautiful, and astounding. I knew I’d cry for some stupid reason when we got our first glimpse of Optimus but it still came as a shock when the tears turned up and stuck in my throat. Maybe it was just the reminder of the good times being a kid and how different things are now and maybe it was just seeing a cartoon superhero come to life, I dunno but I felt like a dork all the same as I wiped ‘em away and hoped Fred hadn’t noticed. The only complaint I had about the whole experience was the raging motion sickness that hit about 20 min. in and only got progressively worse to the point I thought I’d have to leave to go puke. Errrr. I’m buyin some drammamine and heading back to catch all the stuff I tried to see through my fingers and the pounding migraine. It’s a shame they didn’t leave off the expletive’s and sexual content because I cannot wait for the day I can share this movie experience with John. I wonder what he’s watching and loving right now that will someday come to life on the big screen for him and I hope he is as pleased and awed by the execution as I was last night. For now tho, I’m gonna go pop a few more ibuprofen to kill the remaining headache and linger over my coffee and memories.

I wish I were writing this at the precise moment of 7:07 in the morning of the seventh second on this most auspicious 7′s of a day but I’m not that quick and frankly the baby was still sleeping at that hour and my body said, hey let’s take a break. You try not to be superstitious but lets face it, if something bad happens on Friday the 13th, what do we blame it on? And last year on 6/6/06 we all held our breath a little waiting for the shoe to drop. But this year, when the sevens all line up, a little breath of hope stops in our throats, and despite our best defenses we expect something good to happen. And it probably will. To a degree we affect the outcome of things by our attitude. That whole think on things that are pure and lovely and good, God had a reason for that. I expect today will be good, somehow supernaturally awesome, and what have my hopes led to so far? Well, let’s see. The kids slept until nearly 8 which is a bloomin miracle around here, we lounge the morning away as there are no plans to roust us from the home, and Luke, hoping just for a tinkle in the potty, poops a man-sized pile, which we all crowded into the tiny downstairs bathroom to admire and exclaim and applaud him over. That sunshiny little smile split his face wide open and pride burst out of his little chest as he marched around declaring his Super Pooper status. His train tattoos chugging up and down his arms are flexed badges of honor that tell the world he has joined the ranks of the potty training. The clouds are rolling in and the sky has gone the shade of gray that makes a nap so enticing and the smell of rain has sailed in on the fringes. Perhaps a book or an old movie between fresh sheets and loads of laundry, dinner with friends, a movie in the theater that is sure to land me squarely in reminiscence of an 8 yr. old’s Saturday morning bond with her big brother, and I’d say it’s shapin up to be a 7-7-7 kinda day.

Just a few nights ago
Parked at the kitchen watering hole
Two generations with naught in common
Finally found a bond
Two mirrored pairs of hands
Wrapped around frets and chords
Conversation and scales
Strumming the fresh July air
Awestruck, I was afraid to move or speak
Afraid the current would ebb
And they would slide back
Unaware of how close they’d come
Heads bent in total concentration
The father became the teacher
And the son, welcomed the learning
Just a few nights ago