Corey is sitting on the sofa watching movie. Tre sits silently beside him watching with him. The two appear rather mesmerized by the movie even though I know Corey has seen it several times already. From the kids closet I hear distress calls and know Dija is into something… leave soup project in kitchen to check out the two year old… Oh nice Dija you want to wear your white wedding shoes around the house with blue socks inside them. Although we need to work on her coordinating of outfits I allow the cute shoes and put them on the correct feet for her. She proudly walks the long way around to enter the living room in front of boys so they have a clear view of the pretty feet. She marches right in front of them making a grand entrance before climbing up and sitting beside Tre and instantly assumes the trance pose that the boys had perfected. After a few minutes of me staring thinking the three are way to adorable, Dija says, “It funny Tre?” With that Tre answered an honest “No” and the moment ended and play resumed for all three.

To add to this scene picture us all in hoodie sweat shirts. I rarely have one of these on but I’m freezing on this wet afternoon. When I appeared in the kitchen Tre asked “what on your turn round?” Well I was a little confused. He was unfamiliar with a hood on his Neenee although he wears one all the time. He wanted to see my back to figure it out. So then once he decided it was alright for me to be in such unfamiliar attire he needed to dress just like Neenee. Hoodies for everyone!

Wedding Day August 22nd. Forecast…Hurricane, Thunder and Lightening. Outdoor wedding with no backup plan. I wasn’t worried for a second. Really. The private family ceremony was planned for Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens – absolutely beautiful setting for such an event. The weather was perfect and the day went as planned. Tre and Dija even performed their roles as requested. When you think about the long list of things that could have gone really wrong the day was pretty miraculous.

The service began with the lovely Rev Sarah Scott and the “wedding parade” as we told the kids… You get to dress up and be in the parade! How do you explain to a 2 and 3 year old what a wedding is? Seeing the kids walk in with the ladies was enough to start the tears rolling. Then the stunning bride arrived. Wow. Then Father of the Groom began as he officiated the ceremony…and his tears began. Next the Groom (our amazing son Justin) made his tearful commitment to the love of his life. Auntie Tanya won the sobbing award and Sister of the Bride, Erin, was not far behind her. Are you getting the idea that it was an emotional wedding? All tears of Joy as our families expanded… we were all happy about what was unfolding.
The amazing part of all this is the reaction of the children. They are very perceptive and easily effected by our emotions and we are normally very careful about what they see. We are even careful with the tone of voice we use in front of them because it can cause a reaction in the little ones who don’t understand. It was if they knew that these silly grown ups were really happy as they wiped tears. No questions of “you ok?” or anything… how did they know? They made it through the ceremony and then the photos all with no nap! I was a very proud Neenee…Papa was proud as well and even shed a tear watching them walk out of the garden with Nana – they are such amazing little people. (oh great now I need a tissue!)
The ceremony was followed by a celebration with friends and family. It was a good time as we welcomed new family members and celebrated the beginning of a new chapter for all of us.

I know people were waiting to hear of some ridiculous thing that the little kids did at the wedding…knocked over the cake or crawled under the brides dress… but none of that happened. The hurricane even waited until the next day to blow through. Pretty much a perfect day… except the part where my brother forgot to close the sunroof after driving  the Bride and Groom – nothing a towel couldn’t fix though!

Sunday we took Tre to Church and then had a great visit with some “new friends” for lunch. Barbecued Burgers…mmmmmmm. Tre was well behaved and made himself at home. There was a little supply of cars waiting for him to arrive so he was content. There were no other little kids so it was a mostly adult gathering. I’m never quite sure how the kids will manage in new settings but I’m learning that they are capable of being well behaved.
What I observed was very interesting. I almost want to say I learned something but I don’t think it was a new lesson so much as a moment to relish and memories of many years ago. One quality I was always very proud of in my own children was the ability they had to interact with people of all ages. They were not judgmental when they looked at people…age, tattoos, hairstyle, fashion…. they all seemed irrelevant, they overlooked it and experienced the personality that is presented. Having the ability to see beyond the surface seems to be something many adults lose when they concern themselves with the immediate presentation.
Tre picked out two individuals that day to simply be friends with. One was the toughest looking guy who is a biker but obviously a gentle spirited man. Tre saw past the mustache and tattoo and wanted to sit close to Dave. He’s a nice guy and Tre wouldn’t leave him alone. The other choice really impressed me. He was introduced to Granny when he arrived. Granny sat at the table and Tre crawled up next to her. They played cars together. When he crashed a car she made a garage with her hand and the car magically got fixed and could drive away. Granny gently told him when he needed to drive more carefully and he listened. He loved interacting with her. It was fun to watch. When it was time to leave he said bye to granny…then when he was in his car seat he was still saying bye to her. I think he’d be happy to go visit granny again.The amazing thing is that Granny is 92 years old. How many three year olds are blessed with such an experience?
There are articles written about planning visits with elderly people and preparing your children for things like this. You need to be aware of your language concerning aging, be comfortable with the aging process…blah blah blah. Just let it happen and give children the experience of interacting with people of all ages. Yes it’s great to have kids play with other kids but I think they benefit so much from being involved with people of all ages. Having this moment with Granny showed me a side of Tre that was just beautiful to watch. He’s a sweetie for sure and I think he won Granny’s heart.

So you think you’re a nanny-o
Driving the kids where they want to go
take the long way home
take the long way home

Cuz you’re the joke of the neighborhood
Why should you care if your kids are good?
take the long way home
take the long way home

Today I was warned before I picked the kids up. Wound up all day, short naps, argumentative…. oh dear! Do I want to go get them? Nana already knows what time I finish work and she has made plans…. I can’t just call in a client for make believe “work” …what to do???
Tre was simply saying “no” to everything when I arrived. His mood was rather nasty. Well, let’s go home. Dija complied with car seat buckling rather quickly so I felt blessed. Then came the other child…. oh dear. I have a problem with getting into the car and having kids run around the vehicle instead of sitting in seats. It really bothers me. I want them to just climb in the appropriate seats and buckle up – ideas anyone? So after a bit of stern lecture and aggressive action they both landed and were buckled in safely.
The thought of returning home and Papa not being there for the next 90 minutes was overwhelming for me. I’ve had a rough week and didn’t know if I could win any battles that might arise. What to do, What to do?
Nana left her driveway as we did, the first decision came easily. “Where Nana going?” So we followed her van. She drove through busy streets of traffic and it took more than 10 minutes to get to her destination. Of course this confused Nana and she wondered if I had something important to say to her when we arrived… um, no just wasting time before we go home. Then I decided that perhaps an easy “drive thru” supper for the kids would be a nice treat for Neenee! So a “drive thru” did the trick and since it’s a very rare event it kept them amused for a long time. Then a stop by Papa’s office to make sure he’d come straight home. He agreed. With just 15 minutes left I thought that heading home would be alright. When we pulled in the driveway the backseat erupted in shouts of “no go home yet” so we pulled onto the street and kept going. A quick visit to Auntie Tanya’s house to make sure they got home from work alright and see that the pool looked way too cold to go swimming in today. Upon arriving home again Papa was walking into the house and was there to help. I think the drive was calming because the behavior had seriously improved. Cuddles and hugs seemed to be on order now. Aaahhhh, I can see bedtime at the end of this tunnel now.
It’s difficult to figure out what’s going on when wee kids have bad days. As long as tomorrow is back to normal we can all get through one rough day. So if tomorrow isn’t any better, I’ll be the crazy lady driving around for 90 minutes to pass that one mile from Nana’s house to ours!

We have a red canoe but live in the middle of town where the only water is in our bathtub. So we have gracious friends who live on the river and allow us to keep our canoe in a location where it might get used. The agreement is – please use it.
Today I get a call… come on down for a swim and supper. Bring the kids. Oh, and the canoe is missing.

The story unfolds that maybe the kids had used it with the babysitter and didn’t bring it up far enough…upon checking, it turns out it was actually a normally responsible adult who used it last. She forgot to pull it up before the tide came in. It’s been a very busy week for the whole lot of us so to forget one minor thing like that is not a surprise.
I’m sure my reaction was not as it should have been. I laughed and felt bad for the irresponsible adult who didn’t sleep all last night knowing she lost our canoe. The canoe was a gift and we’ve had it for years…accidents happen. What is there to be upset about? However, I told her I was not going to tell my husband – she had to do that and perhaps she should come up with a really good story for him… lots of drama would be good.
We show up for the swim and find her poolside and somewhat relaxed. I expected her to be a little nervous waiting for storytime! Turns our after reporting to all her neighbors she drove down river a bit and found the lovely red craft. It was being paddled up the river as we stood there… I was a tad disappointed that there would be no uncomfortable storytime but relieved that she felt better… how confusing for me.
We had a great afternoon relaxing with kids playing in the water catching up on the week of family events, work, wedding plans and eating great food together. It’s wonderful to have friends even if they lose your canoe. Great friends will also go down the river to find your canoe and paddle it back up, store it year round, let you visit it, swim in the pool, feed you supper…. and there is no little black dress in this story but it seemed to work for the title.