The Other Pick-Up Artists (My 500th Post!)

On Monday when I talked about the different kinds of moms that pick up their kids from school, I didn't have enough time to talk about the wide variety of others who also venture out into that danger zone each day. So we're back in my car, parked between the two schools, people watching. And let's be honest, people judging.

Lots of dads pick-up, too, as many of you mentioned in the comments.  Some would fit the categories I used for moms, but there are some other breeds worth mentioning.

The Coach Dad: Dressed in athletic gear, he's a pretty good picker-upper. After all, he's used to wrangling a large group of kids this age and making them kick, throw, hit, and carry balls of various types up and down fields. He can certainly get 5 bouncing ping-pong balls headed for practice into the minivan. He's organized. Collects all the cupcakes and saves them for after practice, puts all the art in a stacked, not-to-be-squished pile on top of the neatly arranged back-packs. The kids obviously have assigned seats because there's no fighting as they quickly get in and get buckled. Coach Dad would never double park. There are rules about this stuff, you know.

Taking the Day off Dad: He's a little confused. He has the day off, the wife went somewhere, and though she did tell him exactly what to do, he wasn't really listening. How hard could it be? But now there are cars going in every direction, kids and moms are swarming like ants all over the vicinity, the crossing guard glared at him for not crossing in the right place, and he's just going to go up to the school and find the kids. It's not a bad plan (if you don't count the jaywalking) and he eventually finds them. Wow, what nice art! Can I have a bite of the cupcake? Let's go out for ice-cream, too. They jaywalk back to the car.

Business Dad: Mom and dad are obviously juggling this schedule thing with the kids, and he's on his bluetooth as he, in the most efficient manner possible, gets the kids into the car (in the carline where he's been waiting, easiest place for his conference call). He waits patiently for his turn to pull out. The kids sneakily eat the cupcakes in the back of the car, and have already put their art in the front seat for him to notice. Which he will when he gets back to the office because it's on top of his files.

There are also sweet little grandmas who pick up their grandkids. I rarely see them with a car, but grandma has her cane, and her little yappy dog, and smiles with delight at the little one who is sharing the cupcake. The art will go on her fridge. They walk the few blocks to grandma's house, chatting happily.

Grandpa picks up, too. He's early. He stands next to his car, parked right where his daughter told him to park, scanning the area for the kids, and mentally goes over the list of who is riding home today. No one can eat a cupcake in the car, so they are to hold them carefully UNEATEN until they exit the vehicle. Back-packs and art are carefully stowed in the pristine trunk. He's relieved when he has the days' quota of kids, and signals carefully as he pulls out.

All this flurry is over in about 20 minutes.  Drive by just a tad later in the afternoon, and it's like a ghost town, and none of the above ever happened.

*****

This is my 500^th post! It's unbelievable how quickly the time has gone. I've learned SO much about how to get about in this community, learned technical stuff about how to run a blog, I've joined hops, fests, challenges, and made irreplaceable friends. Thanks for coming along on the ride. I couldn't have done it without you!

Saying Good-bye With Love

Last weekend we had an epic going away party for one of The Transporter's friends, The Boy From Spain. (I wrote about him in “A Day in theLife”.)  We started at 2 pm with outdoor games set up. There were a few snags in this endeavor as the volleyball net was missing the bottom half of the poles, so it was more of a tennis net, a foot off the ground. No matter, the party was full of soccer players, so they played volley-soccer, which is volleyball, using your feet and a soccer ball. Looked like fun.

The croquet set of undetermined age and origin had only two wickets, but all the mallets, and both poles. I had OYT and SMK's two middle kids (SMK and I co-hosted this impromptu, as in planned three days in advance, event.) They used some sticks they found and set up sort of an obstacle course in the former garden, now seeded, and growing an amazing crop of bindweed.

It was fun having new teenagers around whom I hadn't met before, especially GIRL teenagers. They were nice kids and mostly sat in a circle chatting and laughing while the younger kids played the weird games. At one point though, the older soccer players couldn't resist the “tennis” court and joined that game.

Lots of food was consumed, people just stayed here, and I'm glad we had the main course in a crock-pot because some had lunch and later dinner. Dessert was a hit. Don't laugh (because they already did) but I have a Pampered Chef ice-cream sandwich maker. Basically, it holds the cookies and ice-cream in place while you smush it down into a size that will sorta fit in your mouth. They had a blast playing with it, and several kids said to me, “Good call on the dessert. Much better than the cakes with greasy frosting.” Win! So I was vindicated in my kitchen gadget choices. I get made fun of because I have an entire closet full of unusual kitchen toys that don't fit in my kitchen. I'm the cooking show addict, remember? Need lots of toys.

As it got dusk, the kids wanted to have a bonfire. We do have a legal, fire department approved pit. (Yeah, a former “well-meaning” neighbor called the fire department on us. They said we were, “Well on our way to a legal fire pit. Just put down one more layer of bricks and you're good.”) The kids were even willing to pull all the weeds out from in and around it. SMK ran to the store for s'mores supplies. So the party went on. I love it when that happens.

(none of the teens involved cared to be identified...though I think you're pretty much going to be able to figure it out being as how I'm a Scandinavian chick, fair skinned and blond...my kids are easily distinguished from SMK's, and The Boy From Spain looks...Spanish...)

By now it's time for SMK's little ones to go to bed, all sugared up and soaked. (As you saw in the pictures, OYT got out his arsenal of Super Soaker Nerf weapons and there was a massive battle...)  The Boy From Spain, SoccerBoy, SMK, and I continued to sit by the fire, along with the guest of honor's host dad. (Who had talked about leaving around 5 pm, but was still there at 11:00.) I can sit by a fire for hours upon hours, and I think we would have done so if it hadn't have been for me needing to take The Transporter to the ER. He'd gotten something in his eye, and even the professional eye-wash kit couldn't get it out. Not exactly my choice of ways to end the party, and if you're keeping count, my second Saturday night going to the ER...

So good bye, dear friend.  Travel well, good luck with your life, and if you're ever in the neighborhood, you know you don't need to knock.

P.S Turns out The Transporter had a hair in his eye and it had scratched the heck out of his cornea. He can see again, and has finished all his antibiotics.