ROLLIN' WITH THE PUNCHES

Friday was quite the day. It all began in morning when I recieved a much unexpected phone call from Mr. Shelton while perusing random isles at Target.

Me:"hello?"

Mr. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Me: "Nothing, what's up?"

Mr. "I was thinking of taking a half day today. Maybe we could go out on the boat with the kids."

Me: "Really? Wow! That would be great! The kids are going to be so excited!"

Mr. "Good, I will try and get out of here by 1 or 2pm, sound good?"

Me: "Yes, I will get home and start packing up and things, see you soon!"

Internal Dialogue after hanging up:

What am I thinking? How many times has he said he would take a half day only to have him walk through the door at 5pm? Ugh. I am getting my hopes up for nothing again. Why do I do this? Oh well, I will stay positive. He will be home by 2pm at the latest. He will..he will..he will. I will get home and get busy - pack the cooler, the towels, sunscreen, toys and all the other paraphenalia that needs to be packed up to go on the boat and to the beach with four kids. Yep. I will keep busy getting ready and stay positive. He will be home by 2pm. He will.

And I did just that. I went home and let the kids play outside, while I busied myself with the task at hand. 12:30 rolled around and the phone rang. It was the Mr.

Me: Hello?"

Mr.: "Hi, it looks like it will be more like 3pm when I get home."

Me: "Oh, I knew it. I knew you would never manage to get out of there when you said you were." [insert big, long, drawn out BOOOOOOOOOO!!!]

Mr.: "Hey, it is only an hour after what I said it would be, things keep coming up."

Me: "Things always keep coming up, you need to just leave.... Alright, see you at 3pm."

Internal dialogue:

So much for thinking positive. I knew he would never be home when he said he would be. Now I have a cooler all packed and ready to go, and the ice is going to melt. I have snacks, towels, and all other crap packed up, blankets, sippy cups, and the rest in their prospective spots in the car. And most importantly I have 4 kids, clad in their swimsuits, standing out front waiting for Daddy to arrive home. Waiting, and waiting and waiting. Why did I even mention that we would go out on the boat? I should have never said a thing. Then when and if Dad did get home, it would be an extra special surprise for them. You think I would have learned by now. Nope, not me. Stupid me. So here I go, spending the next 2 hours hoping and praying that he gets home by 3pm all the while listening to the kids yell, "mom, is he home yet? How much longer? It is taking waaaaaay too long!!"

So we waited. 3pm came and went. Then I recieved a message in the form of a text saying "Just closing on the Sea Ray, be home soon." I am thinking he made a smart choice by going the text route, as if he had me on the phone I think I would have had some words for him.

It was now closing in on 4pm, and the thought of going on the boat with 4 kids, at dinner time, knowing that their bedtime would fast approach soon after getting out on the river, did not sound all too fun.

Internal dialogue:

I. Give. Up. Now he is closing on the sale of a boat? That is not a quick process at all. So much for a nice afternoon out on the river, boating and playing at the beach. We will just not go, it is too late now. I am betting the Mr. won't be too happy that I won't want to go anymore. Well, actually... he will understand. I don't think he will want to go anymore either. He knows it is getting too late. I think. He surprises me sometimes though. I can see him coming home and wondering why we are not all standing by the front door ready to go. Yep, I can see him doing just that. And am thinking he will. But I won't go, nope, I won't. Aw, who am I kidding? I will give in, I know I will. Brian will be upset I no longer want to go, and the kids will be whining up a storm, so I might as well not even put up a fight. No, I won't even bother. I will go with the flow on this one.

So again, we waited. And then around 4:30pm it happened. Mr. Shelton pulled into the driveway. And as I assumed, he walked in the house and said, "Are we ready to go?"

I did not say much, just packed the kids into the car, and off we went to enjoy a late afternoon/evening of boating and playing at the beach.

As we cruised along the St. Croix river in the pontoon that late afternoon, I realized some things. I need to start letting go of my frustrations about Mr. Shelton not getting home when he says he will. I need to start rollin' with the punches a little bit better. I need to start reminding myself that he is working his tail off for me and the kids, and that he is no more happy about being at work later than expected than I am. I need to start reminding myself of how lucky we are to have a boat, to be able to go boating, and swimming, and play at the beach. How lucky we are to be able to create such great memories with our kids, as a family.

So it did not go quite as planned. I figure that it never really will, and I am O.K. with that. Because today, and I am certain this will be the case in days to come,the kids, Mr. Shelton and I all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. And really, at the end of the day, that is all that matters.