I Haven't Been Eaten by Bears. Yet.

Right after I wrote that post about how no one got sick at school the first two days, Declan got sick. So he was home on Friday and thus, we did not go camping. And thus, I did not have any bear encounters.

We did have a wildlife encouter though:


Even though we couldn't go camping, we did take a day trip up Mt. Evans, which boasts the highest paved road in North America. Mt. Evans is one of Colorado's 14ers.

You can see a bunch of pictures here.

Tomorrow we're trying the camping thing again. I was concerned that we didn't have bear bells. Tara said, "You don't need bear bells if you're hiking with Finn."

Too true. Too true.

I Wonder What Else I Don't Know?

All in all the first day of school seemed to go well yesterday. I didn't get a call from the school nurse telling me someone was sick or injured, so we're off to a rip-roaring start in my book.

I was packing Finn's lunch yesterday morning (Declan chose to buy the new scratch-cooked lunch on the first day--spaghetti with meat sauce. Finn hates "sauce" so he was packing. He bought chicken and cheese quesadillas today so I'm anxious to hear his "review"). Anyway, as I was packing Finn's lunch, I wrote a little note that said I hoped he was enjoying his first day of second grade. As I wrote yesterday, there was a little bit of first day anxiety for Finn, and I wanted to let him know I was thinking of him.

But here's the thing. I never would have thought to write notes to my kids in their lunchboxes. I know. What kind of mother am I? Is this a newfangled thing though? My Mom never wrote us notes in our lunches. Of course, we typically bought our lunch or packed our own, so there weren't really any note writing opportunities.

I heard about the "note" thing from Eamonn's cousin, Theresa, who said to me when Declan was starting kindergarten, "...and of course you write them little notes and smiley faces on their napkins..." I do? I should? Of course I should! And I do. Now that I know about it.

So last night as I was doing dishes and found Finn's note still stuck to the bottom of his sandwich container where he had me put it because he didn't want his friends to see it because they might make fun of him--whatever--I pondered all of the other things about parenting and life in general that I don't know about, but am probably doing wrong or possibly not doing at all. I wonder which is worse?

Sometimes I wonder how I made it to the age of 42 without knowing some of these things. Whatever they are. Especially since some of these things involve safety. For example, in college, I went camping with friends. This was in Kentucky and it's not like it was bear country or anything, but I don't think we gave a thought to wildlife and safety. So when Eamonn's cousin, Eamon, and his wife, Nicole, were going camping one time and I expressed concern, I was mostly thinking about the weather because it was supposed to snow. I didn't want them to freeze to death or anything. So when Nicole tried to reassure me by saying things like, "We know to put all of our food, toothpaste, or anything a bear might think of as food in a bear safe container away from where we're sleeping. And we know not to sleep in the same clothes we wear while we're cooking," I was astonished. You have to think about these things? Bears would want to get in my tent?

Oh my word. I'd never thought of any of that.

Which isn't very reassuring because we're trying to go camping this weekend if schedules allow for it.

But it got me wondering: What else won't I know until after the fact? Because not knowing that you shouldn't sleep in the same clothes you cooked in sounds pretty important. I'd better Google "bears" and "camping safety" tonight.

If you haven't heard from me by Tuesday, it's possible I've been eaten by bears.

I'll miss you.

Love,
Natalie

Back to School. Back to Blogging.

Every year it's the same.


Taking pictures on the first day of school, first thing in the AM when they have to look into the sun.


I need to change our traditional picture taking spot. This may be the only time you ever see these shirts, except for school pictures. We bought them when we were in Ohio and heading to Eamonn's cousin's wedding in Virginia (which you haven't heard about because clearly I STILL haven't uploaded the pictures). The boys liked the shirts and I said I'd buy them for the wedding if they wore them the first day of school. And so they did, but of course, in skater style, not wedding style (buttoned up, no t-shirt underneath). I'm OK with it even though there was grumbling at breakfast about having to "dress up" on their first day of school. I swear, next year I'm whipping out the clip on ties to freak them out.


Heading up the street.


With good friends and neighbors, Cameron and Hayley. Everyone is still blinded by the sun.


There were definitely mixed feelings in our house this morning about the first day of school. For the past two nights, Finn has cried and said he wasn't ready for school to start. When I asked why, he said he didn't want to go seven hours without seeing me and Eamonn. This is sweet and it tugs at my heartstrings just a tad, and I think it's partially true, but I also think he's a kid that likes to be at home...near the Wii. And of course, I also know that the "unknown" is very troubling to Finn. Is it his personality? Is it his SPD? Heck, I don't know, but I also know that after the first few days of school and becoming familiar with the routine, he will settle in. He was adverse to giving me a goodbye kiss in front of his friends, so obviously the peer pressure of PDA with your mom is more intense than the "I don't want to go seven hours without seeing you" pressure.

Declan seemed to go off without a worry. He's the BMOC this year--5th grade. He was a little bummed out that his closest friends aren't in his class this year (he's been with several of his Posse since second grade), but there are kids he knows in his class and he makes friends pretty easily. Of course, who wouldn't say that about their kid?!?!? His cousin, Garvin, started middle school this week and is raving about it, so my guess is that Declan's thoughts are already a year down the road when it's his turn to wander into that hideous phase of life (at least as far as I'm concerned) that is middle school. Ick. But if he's excited, I won't squash it by telling him it was the worst two years of my childhood life.

My mortgage-paying work is finished for the day. I will now run some errands and go back to the school to put up a bulletin board for a fundraiser for which I am our school's coordinator--along with two of my friends that I strong-armed.

Volunteering. If I got paid for every hour I did it, I'd be a millionaire! In fact, I've just been hit with inspiration. As parents continue to refuse to volunteer over the years and my kids grow up, I will become a Mercenary Volunteer. I'll prostitute myself out to anyone who needs bulletin boards made, committees chaired, book fairs set up, cookies baked for teacher birthdays. I'm telling you, this is it.