Is it just me or does the summer seem to be going by really fast? I mean it’s already the week after the fourth of July which always feels like some sort of halfway mark even though the truth is we don’t go back to school until August 27th and have miles to go before we sleep. Or go back to school. Or whatever.
But I got so distracted last week by all the patriotic festivities that I totally neglected to mention I saw a man at our pool wearing gloves. I have no explanation for this. He wore them in the pool and then took them off when he got out of the pool. I know this because Gulley and I were in the midst of an in depth conversation and were distracted by the loud “CRCKSHSKKKS” sound his gloves made as he ripped off the velcro closures.
(That’s right. They made a CRCKSHKKKS sound. No vowels whatsoever.)
P asked me later if maybe they were some sort of hand flippers but I don’t think so. They were full on gloves. With separate fingers. I’d think if they were flippers then they would have been webbed. But these were like gardening gloves. I bet they leave one heck of a tan line.
(And yes. These are the sort of riveting stories I tell P after he returns from a long day of work. “TODAY AT THE POOL A MAN WAS WEARING GLOVES!”)
(Somehow I doubt this is really key to our marital success.)
(But it may explain why I sometimes feel like he’s tuning me out.)
Anyway, that was on Tuesday afternoon. We hadn’t planned to go to the pool on Tuesday because we wanted the kids to be in full pool mode for the fourth of July, but they assured us they would have fun if we went both days.
But we started our Independence Day by walking in the neighborhood parade. Actually, P and I walked while Caroline rode her electric scooter.
I always love the parade because it just feels like Smalltown, USA. And not just because there was a shark who showed up.
Even though everyone knows a person in a shark costume makes everything better and it’s totally what John Hancock envisioned when he signed the Declaration of Independence.
I also know that several of us dated ourselves by yelling out “LAND SHARK” which is a joke no one gets unless they’re over forty.
And this is my friend’s little boy who wasn’t really all that enthusiastic about being part of the parade even though he was being pulled in a cushy wagon with a pillow while the rest of us (me) complained that our flip-flops were giving us blisters.
We felt like maybe he was having a hard time finding joy because the U.S. economy is in the toilet and we’re in debt up to our eyeballs to China.
And then P upped the festivity quotient by putting two flag pinwheels in his hat.
(I have no idea why I’m standing like a duck. Don’t be afraid to bend your knees, Susie.)
After the parade we came home to rest for a few hours before we met friends at the pool. Caroline had really hoped to defend her watermelon seed spitting title and her belly flop championship but it didn’t work out. I think her spitting form was off since because front teeth came in since last summer and all hillbillies know that nothing throws off your spitting like a full set of teeth.
As for the belly flop, she led with her head. It was very graceful but lacked the whole necessary component of sounding like a turkey hitting the cement after being dropped from a helicopter.
But after she got over her defeat we all had a good time. There was even a DJ at the pool. The official pool email announced there would be “A DJ SPINNING RECORDS FROM 3-6 P.M.” The only problem with that is no one has invented a time machine that allows you to travel back to 1983. So instead there was a man selecting playlists on his computer that was hooked up to some large speakers.
But he still played “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” so all was forgiven.
Later on that night we cooked hot dogs at our house and the kids ran around with sparklers while occasionally yelling “OWWWW” because one of them would get hit with a random spark.
(I attempted to take pictures of this portion of the evening but my limited photography skills just produced a few hazy photos with random streaks of light.)
And then on Thursday we spent the day recovering. Honestly, I can’t even remember what we did. It’s all a blur but I think it involved a nap and feeling disoriented that it was Thursday and not Monday.
So that’s what we’ve been doing around here. Along with feeling like summer is half over when we’re actually only about a third of the way through.
At least I think that’s right. I don’t really like to do math in the summer.
Or wear gloves at the pool.
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Nothing says American Independence like a human shark!
Sounds like a perfect week of making memories. Yes, the summer is flying by here too, can’t remember the days, but I can remember the moments (sounds like a Halmark greeting card!) …and at least I have the pics on my iphone for when I can’t remember!
They were most likely resistance gloves, worn to help you get a better arm workout in water. I bought a pair when I was doing water aerobics regularly but couldn’t get passed the feeling that I looked like Scuba Steve ala Adam Sandler’s “Big Daddy”.
Glad y’all had a good 4th!
How is the book coming?
I immediately thought hand model about the glove guy, but I’m pretty sure chlorinated water can soak through gloves, unless they were rubber ones.
I’m lost on that one.
Looks like a great Fourth!
I’m counting down the rest of summer by what we have to do every weekend. This weekend is a picnic/meeting at our house (come for free food, stay for an exciting meeting!), then my girls and I go to my parents for the county fair (they also have watermelon seed spitting contests, hula hoop contests, nail pounding, pie eating, and the greased pig catch), then we have relatives staying, then my two older girls and hubby and his dad are going to a major league baseball game, then it is the State Fair, then school starts that next week. So you see, summer is basically OVER!
And to think of all the fun things we were going to do but didn’t.
It feels like I just read about Caroline winning the belly flop and watermelon spitting contests! Where did the year go???
The summer IS flying by. I am so not looking forward to the school year starting back. Stress, stress, stress. That is what school brings to my life. Why can’t my children just stay home and never go back? Do they really need an education? Pink Floyd doesn’t believe they do.
Girl,,,you never know about the gloves. Last summer my daughters eczema was so bad on her hands that in order for her to play and swim we had to put her in gloves to keep it from getting infected…so, he totally could have had something that made it so he had to wear gloves…or be could just be a weirdo,,,
Summer seems much longer than normal this year. And also hotter. Which I know is not the least bit true. It must be like childbirth…where your brain is incapable of remembering just how bad it is as a form of self protection.
So yesterday, I saw you tweeted someone I sat behind in church. (I won’t go so far as to say we are friends (since she might read this) but I’m working up to it!) In blog stalker logic that makes us actual friends…given you are friends with someone I might be friends with eventually!
Blessings,
Amanda
So did the EMS have to come and pick up the shark when he passed out from heat exhaustion? Is he new to Texas or something?
Maybe he’s a hand model?
Oh jeez! So that is exactly the type of riveting story I tell MY husband when gets home from work! “so today, while the baby slept, I cleaned the kitchen AND did the laundry!” (I like to point out what I’ve done so he can revel in what a wonderful wife I am.) also… “today hamburger was two dollars a pound so got three pounds!” (definitely good conversation starters for a happy marriage…lol
Thanks for sharing your life in such a hilarious fashion!
Summer is ZOOMING by! We start back to school on August 6th! (Got out May 18th.)
So one highlight of our 4th was finding out that steel wool when lit can act like a sparkler, only more dangerous. For pure entertainment, stretch the steel wool out a little then light one end. Sling it around in circles to your heart’s content but watch out cause the molten lava of sparks come off beautifully but will also hit you in the head or arm, or face, or any other exposed area. Fun, but one of those things where you hear your mom in the background saying, “it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.”
Candy-gram!
Yep. I’m 40.
The parade looked like so much fun!
The guy with the gloves reminded me of question 5 on this fashion Friday: http://thebigmamablog.com/2197/edition-52-fashion-friday/
Glad to know I’m not the only one who thought Thursday was Sunday. What was up with that?!?!
Love the shark and your family picture! Your sunglasses are so Top Gun!!