I lingered in my pajamas longer this morning.
It felt ...
ODD but GOOD.
The kids were at the bus stop.
I looked at Julia.
She knew what she was doing.
What was I doing?
I had forty five minutes to kill before I needed to leave.
I looked toward Julia," This is weird...weird being here right now."
She laughed and walked away.
Julia had a schedule and I wasn't keeping her from it!
I looked at the kitchen floor.
It grossed me out.
Never, ever will I own a house with off white kitchen tile again. Who's brilliant idea was this anyway?
Obviously not a somebody with three crazy kids and a big, goofy yellow lab...or a husband that refuses to take his shoes off at the door.
These things prevent our floor from EVER appearing clean... even when it is.
So...
With the first of my forty five I swept.
Feeling much better I made a bed...
Then loaded the dishwasher.
I know...
This is what I did with FREE...yes,... FREE TIME.
What can I say?
I am brainwashed.
But...man! My floors look good!
Wishful thinking...
...They still look horrible.
...But horribly clean!
I slowly, (key word being slowly) drank a cup of coffee, poured another for the road and was on my merry way.
It was field trip time!
My Addi love suffers from anxiety and has had her fair share of panic attacks.
Therefore I was the designated "BUS MOM."
Other Moms commented:
"Lucky you!"
"Glad I lost that lottery."
"Fun...fun..."
"Been there."
You know how it goes...
Addi was happy. That is all that mattered.
I was happy too.
Most of the time my eldest doesn't even let me kiss her.
Today I was sitting next to her on the bus.
--HER IDEA!!
 |
| Self Portrait. By Addison. |
Today's school buses are a far cry from the ones that my generation rode on.
Ooooh...I'm sounding "mommish."
Back in my day!!!...
Buses didn't have interior cameras monitoring movement.
The bus driver certainly didn't have a kickn' loud speaker.
---In the old days an effective driver had a booming voice!
---That was the only way to get the rowdies to calm down...YELL!
 |
| A portrait of Addi's buddy on the bus. Taken by Addison. |
Today, our driver helped the teacher a great deal. I'd say he was part teacher.
The man commanded those kids and they listened.
He did it all in the nicest voice ever. He just turned up the volume of the speaker when needed.
"Boys and girls your teacher needs your attention."
"Boys and girls please buckle up."
"Kids in the back you may have left school but you are still in school."
Modern technology!
Saving Vocal Chords and Sanity Every Day!
The fourth grade trip was to The Old Bethpage Restoration Village.
It rained all morning.
The teachers were responsible for putting the finances in order upon arrival.
the reality of that was: BUS PURGATORY.
FOURTH GRADERS>>> STUCK ON THE BUS FOR 15 MINUTES...
WAITING>
WAITING>
Staring out the windows.
Banging on the bus walls.
Making really weird animal noises.
...Being told to stay in their seats and not turn around!! (HA... HA... HA!!!)
Pounding on seats while shouting,"I gotta get outta here!!"
...15 minutes...an eternity.
When the animals were released they ran wild.
...Not too wild though.
Village actors commented that we had,"the best group of the day."
---That must have made the teachers very happy to hear.
We were wet.
Hair was curling and frizzing.
Kids stepped in mud and puddles.
We wandered in and out of freshly painted historic homes and shops.
The kids snacked on root beer and hard pretzels in the pub(a favorite part).
We were given tours of places like the Hatter's Shop...where hats were crafted.
The School House...where the stern school ma'rm scared the crap out of half of the kids and the teachers. (talk about being "into" your role)
The General Store...a kind older man in long coat and hat handed out candy sticks. (he was well liked)
It was a full day of leisurely, wandering...including a history lesson.
It was an afternoon of photography and conversations.
I was holding my Addi's hand and laughing.
...another afternoon to tuck into the creases of my mind.
...more memories to take out on rainy days.
Addi and I are very similar creatures.
I had forgotten her camera.
BIG MISTAKE.
...because of this faux pas...
...mine rarely left her hand.
"Addi, it's my turn again."
"Addi, can I please see my camera for a sec.?"
"Honey...Don't drop it...use the wrist strap when you climb the fence."
"Add...Add...Can I use my camera? I like taking photos too."
"I'll let you have it again...
...PROMISE."
This was how the camera tug of war went.
I wouldn't have had it any other way.
We were pretty good at sharing.
My Mom taught me well.
Her Mom had taught her well too!
Have I mentioned that my daughter amazes me?
She does.
I browsed the days photos on the bus ride back to school.
The Dad sitting next to me commented...
"How did you do that? I have an SLR and I can't figure it out. It's things like this that I'd like to know how to do."
I looked at my camera's LCD screen.
Me: "I didn't take this one. Addison did...but I can tell you how she did it."
The image on the screen was a shallow depth of field, vibrant, close up. A perfectly focused flower was centered for us to behold. ---Brilliant greens and white.
I smiled, he didn't believe me.
I could tell.
I strategically, turned.
"Addi...This one is beautiful! Great job babe. We should print it."
Addi turned and smiled when she saw the camera in my hand...
"Oh! Mom! That one...I love that one. Give me the camera please I really want to show my friends. That's one of my favorite one's today! Did you see the leaves yet?"
---I nodded, No. I hadn't seen them.
Am I bad or what?
Proud Mama moment.
Her art makes her shine brighter than the stars.
She's walking in my footsteps in so many ways.
We uploaded our collection of photos as soon as we arrived home.
We had time.
It was just me and my big/little kid.
Grace and Chloe are on a double play date.
(Thank you Kathy, my love!! --You are Wonder Woman!)
To think, I was going to bring the kids to the library...This was the perfect rainy day activity.
I taught Addi some photo editing basics.
She played around on the laptop a little.
At the rate she picked it up the program will be mastered by next week!
***Take another look. Scroll back through the adventure. Do you see how many of theses photos Addi took? She has even created her own digital watermark! My kid is brilliant... She is ADDI.WESTE.
Just look...my baby has a watermark.
This is a big deal!
Really!
LIVE
LEARN
LAUGH
LOVE
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