You know that expression “death by a thousand cuts”? Well, I’ll tell you what’s happening here. Death by a thousand puppy bites.
They just come at you with their mouth wide open like a couple of piranhas except not as gentle. It’s a good thing they’re cute because I’m worried my arms and fingers will never be the same.
So this past Thursday was the long-anticipated 5th grade talent show. And by last Monday I had never been so ready for something to be over. There was second-guessing about their routine, the costumes, and complaints that they weren’t allowed to throw beach balls out into the audience as planned. I finally had to shut it down with the ultimate mom statement, “You only get ONE fifth grade talent show. You can either enjoy it or spend your time complaining about things you can’t change.”
And so she chose to enjoy it. Which was the choice that allowed her to have the most fun and allowed me to keep the little of my sanity that was left at the end of May.
They did a great job and the glow suits were a big hit, especially with a big group of first and second graders sitting in front of me who “ooohed” and “aahhed” when the girls came on stage like it was Disney on Ice.
But an unexpected thing happened to me in the midst of the show. A precious girl who I don’t even know sang the song “Brave” while playing the guitar and I totally had to fight back the ugly cry. It just hit me all of a sudden how much this group of kids has grown over the last five years of elementary school and how brave they are to put themselves out there in front of parents and peers, but I was also so moved by the audience who was encouraging and supportive and cheered wildly for every single act. It was just the pure sweetness of elementary school in that moment and it made me realize how much I’m going to miss it.
Okay. Dry up the tears, Francis. This doesn’t bode well for the actual 5th grade graduation ceremony that will be held this Thursday.
On Friday morning Gulley and I ventured out for a last girls’ shopping trip before the kids are out of school. Our goal was purely accessories. I needed a new pair of sunglasses and Gulley was on the search for a few good necklaces and earrings. I’m happy to report that we both had success in our respective missions.
We’d originally toyed with the idea of driving to Houston to go the Texas A&M vs. Texas baseball regional game, but decided it probably wasn’t the smartest choice in light of all we have going on here. This shows how much we’ve matured over the years because there was a day back in college when we both dropped out of summer school to go watch the Aggies in Omaha at the College World Series. And maybe forgot to tell our parents until after the fact.
But then the Aggies ended up losing and you could almost feel how hot it was at the game even through the T.V. I would guess the humidity was hovering somewhere in the neighborhood of 148%. And someone remarked on Twitter that the snowcone line ended somewhere in Humble, TX. So we were actually glad that we chose to shop and watch the game from our air-conditioned living rooms instead.
Friday night we just hung out at home and then Caroline had a friend over all day on Saturday. I took the girls to the pool and spent a little time in the sun in an attempt to get some color before I had to give in and move to the shade. It’s too bad I wasn’t that smart and/or heat intolerant when I was a teenager because I could save a lot of money on anti-aging creams now.
Speaking of beauty products, I talked Gulley into buying some Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray for her hair while we were out shopping. I have some and love the texture and wave it gives my hair on days when I don’t want to curl it, but Gulley texted me a selfie on Saturday morning and said her hair looked like she’d been at a fraternity party the night before.
So maybe it doesn’t work for everyone.
Unless you want hair that looks like it’s been subjected to a night of spilled beer and stale cigarette smoke. If so, ACES.
Now I’m sitting here and just watched the Aggies beat the Longhorns to advance to the final game Monday at 6:00. Clearly I’m going to be too wound up to sleep.
And I also might need to text Gulley to see if she’s up for a road trip.