Other People

OK, I'm just putting this out there.....does it ever seem like everyone else is having more fun than you are? Even when I'm doing exactly what everyone else is doing....I'm still not looking cool and relaxed.

Take today for example number one. Location: CITY POOL....lots of parents sitting around looking chill, just hanging back watching the kids play. They all look like they are having a great time. Meanwhile I'm sweating my patootie off....God forbid I had worn a bathing suit and exposed the children to that horror. All the while I am going "where's Payton? " "do you see Rylee?" "why won't Richard get out of the kiddie pool" "why is the kiddie pool yellow" EWWWWW. Intermittently there are children running over to me shaking their cold water on me while I yank their tiny arms out of the swimmy arms...only to have to shove them back into the swimmy arms only moments later. Then I look over at John beside me, he doesn't look stressed....he looks sweaty...but not stressed. Well he wasn't dealing with the swimmy arms so maybe that's why he wasn't stressed. Now I'm worried about whether I'm spelling "swimmy" correctly. Sheesh nevermind.

Still I look around and everyone else looks happy. Calm. Serene even. How I ask?

Another situation that I can think of regarding Other People.....Eating Out. When we go out to eat it is usually a production. I pity the people who sit near us....I have even warned them to press on and find another location. Not that the children are bad when we eat out but it is a virtual marathon. Don't even get me started on going to a buffet! If you know me you know that this is unacceptable...I'll do it but I won't be happy about it. Why you ask? Because it equals about 800000 trips up and down. Before I even get my own plate I have been up there at least 6 times. Meanwhile John is ready for the dessert bar.

Needless to say in these situations I look around at the elusive OTHER PEOPLE and they look happy. Cute little families enjoying their night out to eat. Or there are the dreaded "newly married" couple who you want to smack. Over there making their cutsie faces at one another, possibly holding hands across the table....another reason to smack them. They look over at your table and secretly think to themselves...."that will never be us" " we will be in control of our little brood".......yea well think again sister.

I really do hope that for some WE are the OTHER PEOPLE. Maybe they are looking when I least expect it. A moment when we are all holding hands as we walk into Walmart. A moment when Payton hugs Rylee just for being her sissy. When Richard holds the door for other people because he LOVES to be called a gentleman. When Rylee picks up trash because she hates when people litter. I guess we do have OTHER PEOPLE moments I just don't realize because I'm to caught up into life. I hope this summer I can concentrate on our good times, I just want to slow life down and remember every single moment.

My...where has the time gone?

Well it seems like only yesterday that the bus driver missed our stop on the very first day of school. He backed up when he saw anxious children and parents with every piece of digital equipment in hand. Next he begins to BELLOW out of the window, " I didn't know I had to stop here"...now when you read that you must insert the loud voice of a 60 + year old man, who rides around Walmart in an electric scooter.

After frightening the 3 little people who were so excited about riding the bus, only two little Reynolds got on....and one little Reynolds cried the whole way to school in the van. Deathly afraid of her new bus driver :(

Needless to say, the ride home was better...mind you we only live about .5 miles away from the school.

The year since then has gone quickly..few weeks of school..then a holiday...few weeks of school...then a sickness...then the other child gets what the first one had...and so on. You see the vicious cycle that I'm describing. I love the notes, "Your child has missed "X" days of school" Oh really?? Thanks for sharing, I had no clue that I was at home cleaning up vomit...running to the doctor...and doing multiple loads of laundry.

Once spring had sprung the Reynolds children began to make it to school on a nearly daily basis, which was a nice change. The little fella plays coach pitch which is a great form of free entertainment. ....wait...I take that back it's no where near free. Being on the team wasn't costly, it was the two girls that I had to feed constantly at the ball park that seemed to break this bank. "Can I have a $1?" was starting to feel like it was being sang in a round. Bags of popcorn, corn dogs, and popcicles...only the most nutrious for this little family. Oh and if they didn't eat enough at the ball game, then you have to feed them dinner. Which drive-thru shall it be? See why I said it was costly.

Now tomorrow they will graduate from Kindergarten. I can proudly say that Buddy only had his wormed moved a few times. ((That's Kindergarten speak for getting in trouble)) Each time he had it moved there was a female involved in bringing him down.....just like his father, hahaha. I am so proud of all that they have accomplished this year...raising their hands, writing their names, counting to 100, standing in line for food, you know the basics that get you through life.