Travels With Gaga

 I took Julian and Messiah to basketball practice tonight, and because he gets the bus in front of our house early every morning for his summer program, Messiah asked if he could spend the night.  Susie (a.k.a. "Mamaw") took the back end of the shower duty and helped him dry off and saw that he got his pjs on and brushed his teeth.  Messiah likes to hide.  He does it all the time and it makes me nuts, but Mamaw is more tolerant of that activity.  He was brushing his teeth, and she turned her back and the bathroom was empty.  He was nowhere to be found.  He is normally the most active, noisy creature, but when he's hiding, there's nobody more stealthy.  She asked me if he had come out to the living room where I was, and he had not.  She was truly baffled.  She walked back toward the bedroom, looked in the bathroom, and sure enough, there he was, acting like he had never left.  He thinks he's hilarious.

Julian begged not to be required to attend the summer enrichment program.  We made him try it for a week, with the caveat that if he really hated it, he wouldn't have to go.  Messiah was given the same choice.  At the end of the week, Julian chose sleeping in for the remainder of his summer vacation, but Messiah, as he told me this morning, is a morning person.  "Gaga.  I am totally a morning person.  Even on the weekend."  Since I get that wholeheartedly, I agreed with his mom that he should be able to take advantage of the opportunity to get a leg-up on second grade. This morning, he got himself up and dressed.  He was very concerned about his color coordination and checked with me when he got in the car to make sure he had made good choices, which of course he had.  We were driving along and he said, "Gaga, my eyes hurt.  They hurt really badly."  Concerned, I asked if he had any idea why.  "Are they stinging? Were you rubbing them? Does it feel like all

 The older two boys are in a summer program sponsored by the public schools.  The bus picks them up on our street. It has been incredibly hot this week, but they arrive here in long sleeves because the building they go to is too cold.  The first day, after we waited 10 minutes for the bus (Gaga is always early!) they were wishing they had someplace to sit.  Julian said he thought we should bring lawn chairs.  I told him there was no way I was dragging 3 lawn chairs back down the street to the house after they boarded the bus.  This morning, he disappeared for a few minutes right before time to leave, and when I called him, he said, so cheerfully, "Coming, Gaga!  Wait til you see!"  Usually "Watch this!" or, "Wait til you see!" comes right before me shaking my head in disbelief.  Today, I was thrilled.  He brought out our folding wagon, opened it up, told Messiah to get in and get comfortable, and piled the backpacks in on top of him.  Off we all went to th