Saltine days

Saltines. They are not fancy, but they are like the perfect food.. You put them in your mouth and the saltiness perks up your taste buds. They have a satisfying crunch until it turns into comforting creaminess and just before you swallow, they taste almost sweet. Sure, there are better foods out there--fancy, special occasion food that you crave all year long. But what do you have in your 72 hour kit? They go with everything, they're inexpensive, and you can eat them when you can't stomach anything else. I practically lived on them when I was pregnant, and then again when we were starving students--saltines can stretch hamburger like nothing else.

There are days that I call saltine days. They are just ordinary days that nothing much happens, but everything just seems to flow and there is a balance between productivity and fun and everybody seems to be happy all at the same time; these are my saltine days. The past few weekends have been full of saltine days. Maybe it's because I can feel the angst and bustle of school right around the corner. Maybe it's because with one kid on the way to middle school, I know the years of hanging out in family bliss is at a precipice, if only because once they are in YM/YW they are insanely busy. Or maybe I've just come to appreciate these common ordinary days together.

Saturday I took my long run in the morning and came home to Brian and the kids finishing up the lawn work. Tritan had finally figured out the key to enjoying mowing (having a large, cold water bottle handy before you begin) and had not only done a great job, but didn't whine or complain once. Paris had fertilized the lawn and Athena was doing the dishes inside.

Once everyone had showered and changed we went to lunch at Five Guys--a compromise between the fast-food cravings of the masses and a mom who just read Fast Food Nation. Not that anyone was complaining about eating at Five Guys. The kids told Brian what they wanted and then 2 went to save a big table for the six of us, while two more squirted ketchup into those little cups. Is it admirable or scary that my kids have well-rehearsed jobs for eating out?

We talked about Tritan's birthday which is on the 19th. We explained to him that we have so much money for his birthday...he could either do something big and get smaller presents, or do something small and get larger presents, etc. Perhaps we botched that one up because he decided what he really wanted (despite spending every moment allowed playing and creating video games) was books and underwear (despite having a Gameboy, Wii games, and video-game creation software on his list) and that he would like to eat a restaurant (despite having arcades and amusement parks in the mix). We tried to explain it again, but he was pretty adamant about getting books and underwear so we went to Barnes and Nobles after lunch.

I have to admit that I could spend all my birthday allowance at BN too. There is something about a book store for me that is akin to going to an amusement park. There are so many slick, shiny books. All of them displayed with intriguing covers and dust jackets that promise this thriller will titillate you, this memoir will inspire you, this self-help book will change your life! My pulse quickens and it's almost too much--I want to sit down right there and just read my way through the stacks--but where to begin?? Luckily, my kids love to peruse the stacks too, and they each found books soon enough and started flipping through them while Apollo was overjoyed to find the Thomas the Train railroad set completely unoccupied.

Brian imprudently observed earlier that morning that we had just paid off our van. Never say that sort of stuff out loud. Never. The universe does not like to see you make your goals. I don't know why, but you say things like that and boggarts and gremlins come out of the woodwork to make your life miserable. Just saying.

So of course, throughout the day, Brian has observed that the car is not turning over nicely and so while we are in BN he takes it to NTB to get the battery tested. Sure enough, it needs a new battery. Yet, despite the small set back, it couldn't have gone better. Brian discovered the problem before we were stranded somewhere, we had the extra money since we're done making van payments, and NTB is right down the road from BN, and where better to spend an extra hour or so waiting for car work to be done?

Tritan ended up getting 3 books (and I got 1) and then we went grocery shopping at Wegmens. Which if you don't have a Publix, is a pretty good second. I gathered the produce and the kids typed in the codes and printed out the scannable stickers for the produce. The kids tasted cheese while I perused the international aisles. No one was in a hurry and everybody helped. We danced in the aisles to the muzak. They asked for organic limeade and I said sure. They asked for Danimals yogurt and I said sure. I threw in store baked mini cookies without them even asking. It was like a well-organized pas de six.

Saltine days. I hope we have a seven-year supply.