Summer vacation got off to a bumpy start two weeks ago, what with Calvin’s grounding and the actual bump on Finn’s head.
Throw into the mix big, dark clouds and scattered rain showers of drama in the grownup realm, and it’s been a little harder to find the fun.
Luckily, the kids have stepped up. I’m knocking furiously on wood here, but it needs to be said: They have been spectacular. It’s like spring, finally, after months of gloomy weather. For a long time, I couldn’t bring them anywhere — not to Disneyland, not to the grocery store — without it becoming an ordeal. I felt trapped by the whims of exasperating, whiny, unreasonable children, and I am not one to patiently put up with little dictators.
The turnaround began with a free kids’ concert. The boys were polite and pleasant, chatting with the singers afterward and respectfully experimenting with all the South American instruments.
And by and large, the good behavior has continued for a week and a half, through playdates and their first clown show and releasing our baby butterflies and swimming in the neighbors’ pool and face-painting and setting the boys up in the bunk beds and going to the aviation museum and right up to Saturday, choosing craft supplies at a fabric scrap giveaway and bowling and celebrating a grown-up friend’s birthday.
There have been moments, of course, when I’ve wanted to knock their heads together like wee Stooges.
But by and large, we’re having fun. Lots of fun. And it’s such a relief.
Certainly it helped that we had happy occasions to celebrate. Father’s Day we served up the traditional breakfast in bed and presented Doug with the kids’ gift: a block puzzle Calvin helped make. We painted the blocks, then Calvin chose a photo from a favorite memory — at Kilauea volcano — and another picture of Finn on Oahu, and we used those to make our two-sided puzzle. That night we took Doug to Buca di Beppo for chicken parmigiana to celebrate Father’s Day, but we made it a two-fer event and the wait staff sang “Happy Birthday” to “Mario,” to his amusement. (Tip: We learned that a bowl of salad and tongs will keep Finn busy for a whole 15 minutes.)
His birthday celebration Tuesday was modest: ribs prepared on the new gas grill, a combo Father’s Day and birthday gift. Calvin helped me make a toffee caramel cheesecake, which we ended up decorating as Pac-Man, mostly because we needed to keep some of it uncontaminated with the nut-containing Skor bar topping for Finn’s benefit. Ahem. But Doug seemed to have a good day, skipping out to the amusement park for a thrill-packed lunch hour.
And finally, a first for Calvin’s virtual baby book: first TV appearance. It was unintentional, however. Two TV news trucks showed up at our house looking for victims of a vandalism spree. Some idiot(s) keyed writing all over the backs of our cars — and 26 more. Both journalists solemnly agreed not to film our license plates or our kids… but one channel’s 11 p.m. broadcast include both our plates and our 5-year-old, wearing nothing but his underwear. Classy.
