Holiday at the Beach and This, That and the Other

How do you think I'd look in that dress and hat?

Holiday at the Beach
Okay, okay. It was vacation. Doesn't holiday sound more, I don't know, something, though? I spent much of my time at the beach reading over 900 pages of The Forsyte Saga: A Man of Property & To Let. As I said in my last post, I brought oodles to read with me and then stumbled across Galworthy's tome on the apartment's bookshelf. I've been meaning to read it for awhile after watching bits and pieces of the mini-series on PBS. So, if I throw in a few Forsytisms like mentioning problems with my liver for which I'll need a tonic or that one must never, ever live off of your capitol and describing things as 'jolly' or 'rumtee', please forgive me!

It was good to get away and while, as my friend Michelle would say, you go into a family vacation with managed expectations, it turned out quite well. We rented an apartment adjoined to a private residence in Carlsbad. There was a balcony overlooking the beach which backed right up to the house.


The kids fought a little but well within reasonable boundaries. Colin, as he has been the last few trips, was so helpful it would not have been possible without him. They boogie boarded, played in the sand, watched Cartoon Network, snacked and then started all over again. I read, cooked a little, read, rinsed off my daughter's sandy body, read, fetched dinner, read. By Tuesday night, my vision was blurring but it was a treat.

Tuesday day, my friend came down with one of her sons, the other being in school already. Here is a picture of her son making a sand angel:


Mind, this was very black, dirty sand. My son seemed to think it was from tar. I don't know but up close, it looks like this:


Isn't that yucky?

This
We arrived back home, safe and sound, this afternoon. I had the following letter waiting for me:

Dear Mary Bogan,

Hallow my loving sponsor. How are you with your entire family? I hope your all fine being over by the grace of God. Anyway once again I am glad happy to express my special regard to you the way you have remember me once more. Receive special and warm greetings from my mum and my dad including my sisters and brothers. In additon to that let me take these golden opportunity to give out my thanks to you that I have receive the money that you have sent to me which is US dollars 25 which is equivalent to 1813.73 KShs and I use to buy clothes and shoes and may almight heavenly father bless you and you more.

Lastly say hallow to your entire family, friends and relatives. Remember to pray for me and my family the way we are doing for you. Byebye. We shall continue to communicate to you when God wishes.

Your loving child, Saitoti Mpere.

I love getting these letters from the child we sponsor at Christian Children's Fund. The horrible, terrible, I'm-embarassed-to-say-it part though is we have never written him! We have sponsored him for four plus years now. We send extra money for Christmas and his birthday but never a letter. Every time I get one of these it is equal parts joy and guilt inducing. Joy-inducing because of the gratitude and sweetness of each letter. He is thirteen years old and I love that he signs off, "your loving child." Guilt-inducing because of the whole non-communication from our side of things.

I know, why don't you guys hold me accountable? Every once in awhile, drop a comment and ask me if I've written to Saitoti yet? Surely with the entire blogosphere (okay, the 15-20 some odd people who check in) involved, I'll get off this computer and write one letter. (Actually two. We just started sponsoring another child in Uganda named Rachel. So, ask me about Rachel, too.)

That
School starts tomorrow. I am ready. I think Marley is past ready. She needs her class and her classmates. It isn't like I'm singing that song from the Office Depot commercial but I am glad to have the two Wild Things gone from 8:00 - 3:00. Marley is easy because she has the same teachers as last year and most of the same classmates. She is in a multi-age program and--keep your fingers crossed it doesn't get interfered with--she will be in the same class through third grade. Colin, well, I know he will be fine but he is starting high school tomorrow. He has arranged to meet a friend there a little early. He missed orientation, so there is a little wondering of where to go first, etc. He'll be fine, but I'll breathe more easily when he is home and I know how his day went. (What little information I can pry from his less-than-communicative lips.)

Tomorrow I am planning on making scrambled eggs and chocolate chip pancakes for their breakfast. I asked Colin a few days ago which he would prefer this fall: hot breakfast or dinner on the table. His answer? Both. That's not what I asked I said. I asked which you would prefer. Breakfast during the school week and dinner on the weekends. Okay. I'll work on that. This should give you a scary glimpse into the life of my poor children. Because I am a slob (see 100 things post) and disorganized (Don't hate me because I'm an ENFP!) my children usually have cold cereal or a toaster waffle for breakfast and rarely have a real sit down dinner. And when I say rarely, trust me, that is not an exaggeration. So, I am determined that I will be feeling better because of the CPAP and thus, I will have the energy to create a more homey environment for my children. I am starting slowly though. No point in shooting for the moon.

the Other
Um... let's see. What "other" do I have? Oh, I know. In the lovely absurdist theater that is my life, I scheduled a combination endoscopy/colonoscopy for the second day of school. That means I will be making chocolate chip pancakes and eggs while drinking Ensure tomorrow morning. It also means my children will be coming home about the time I am supposed to start my Fleet laxative crud. Did I mention my husband is out of town until late tomorrow night? What was I thinking?

Well, that is it for now? It is 9:14 pm and I have to eat something yummy (the last treat before the liquid diet) and watch Bones on the digital video recorder before heading off to dreamland with my CPAP mask attached firmly to my head. (It is 10:21 now. Something went wrong and Bones didn't record. Grrrrrrrr. Teenager error, I am sure! Oh well, Project Runway, CSI NY flip-a-thon it is.)

I am so the envy of all my friends and acquaintances.