I have known this much longer than I've known you
Got up early enough, but I also went and picked blackberries before it got too hot. I got an entire bucket full in about :20 of actual picking time. It’s going to be too hot to “can” today and I’m not in the mental head space for it either. So the blackberries from today’s harvest are being flash frozen until I am able to preserve them. I set aside one pint for the kids to eat with breakfast if they so choose.
The Big Ass BBQ went well. There was a moment when I texted hubby (stuck on ‘grill duty’) that I said I was not going to do it next year. There were some kids running out of control and the parents were oblivious. Not cool. So we talked about it on Sunday and both of us expressed that we were so busy playing hostess, grill chef, kitchen coordinator, disciplinarian to enjoy the party until the fireworks and all that nonsense was over. Seriously, I had to scold members of Tank’s baseball team to stop using a nerf sword to smash FULL pop cans. I had to take another boy who broke the clearly expressed rules of “no smacking someone with the light sabers - it’s saber to saber fighting only when he took a toy light saber to another boys neck and left a very obvious mark. The mother - the wife of one of Hubby’s associates - was pitifully ineffective or responsive.
So we decided that in order to not feel resentful about having started a tradition that we’d like to keep yet truly want to feel like we could enjoy - we will hire a caterer (likely just as much money for the burgers/dogs and fixings to go with it that we did buy) and hire the SnoValley Sitters to organize activities, keep the kids safe, etc. Oh man the little finger prints on my aquarium are hilarious. The little kids love our big 55-gallon tank. And the fish get pretty big, so it’s something interesting to look at….
Anyhow, that’s the lesson learned from this year’s big celebration. I felt like it was nothing but work until the fireworks.
Sunday, there was lots more clean up, to include a run to the transfer station to sort recycle because our recycle from the party was overflowing. Luckily there’s no charge for recycle. But it was 90 degrees yesterday, so hubby and I were sweating our fannies off.
We also discovered in our party prep that one of our big 32-gallon garbage cans that we use for the party was mysteriously missing. They are stored at the back end of our property behind the tool/bike shed. One of two things happened. It blew away in one of our storms or someone took it. I hope it’s the first and not the second.
The house is still in fairly good shape. The hall bath - the kids’ main bath is already destroyed after I cleaned it Saturday morning. I do not for the life of me know how they get things so filthy and ridiculous so quickly. Today as part of their chores they all have to declutter their section of the medicine cabinet. I got a new sorting drawer thing in there to help them keep their things separate, safe and organized - so I hope that helps.
I have writing group, but I don’t know if I even have enough money to get an iced tea. We’ll see. We are flat-ass broke until Thursday - unless the last stock check comes. That’s it for the investments.
It also is becoming clear that Bean is just going to become more and more of a problem to deal with - I don’t know how to word it other than that. I don’t have the skills and nothing the doctors or counselors give me to do works. I meet with his psychologist and psychiatrist next week (20th & 21st) - and I’m hoping they have some news for me for a program for him. He needs to be in like a group home that has an academic focus. I have ZERO hope for the school year at the alternative school. I’m honestly not sure if ANYONE knows how to teach him. His ODD is taking over. Not surprising given the fact that he’s fully coming into puberty and teenagedom. His developmental and cognitive delays put him socially/emotionally closer to a 12 year old. But he’s the size of a grown man. All any of us do in the household is pray for him to leave the house so there can be peace, because as long as he is here, it’s nothing but conflict, despite us following the guidance of the “experts.” I hate feeling like this. It’s wholly unfair. I never thought I’d want my child to leave, but I do. I can’t do it any more. I would never wish this on my worst enemy. However, the irony that my worst enemy is the one that put me here does not elude me.
Well, the laundry calls. It was all caught up by Saturday morning. So, I want to make sure I stay on top of it, so my laundry room doesn’t get trashed. Just two more full weeks plus two days before school starts. Pnut leaves for camp on Sunday. She is nervous about having to be around people and not have any “alone” time. I told her that camp, then, would be a great challenge for her to learn how to cope when she can’t get that alone time - given that there will be times in her life where she couldn’t get that. It seemed to soothe her nerves.
Okay, music time as I get my chores together:
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