Go, Go, Go

Most days I try to plan one activity outside the house. One outing, one task, one objective for the day to break up the monotony of staying home too long. We’re up, we’re dressed, activity is accomplished and then we’re home.  That’s the gist of most of my days.

Last Tuesday evening my Bible Study group had a MNO (Mom’s Night Out.) It was the first one this summer that I was actually able to make it to. And of course it could not have happened on a more needed night. The boys had been tiring me out all day, Mr. Dunbar got home later than normal, and I was just at the brink of needing some girl time.

It was a cozy group of five us that had coffee and told stories of our summer.

Yum, coffee cake. And, hello, white balance is WAY off. You get the idea though. Telling funny stories. Preggo listening to funny stories.    

Group shot before I rushed home to a crying baby. It was fun while it lasted.

(MNO lasted a little bit more than an hour for this mom.)

The next morning the boys and I met up with some friends and headed off to the beach. My car was loaded up with Hooligans. The other moms asked me if this was okay because I had all of the boys and all the other girls (moms included) ended up in the other car.
“This will be my life for the next 15 years,” I told them, “might as well get used to it now.”

I was armed with Starbucks, which helped.

It was a hazy day at the beach but all of the kids swarmed right up on the shore.

Muddy Buddies were the prized snack of the morning.   

We tried to get a decent picture of Popeye and I. Still didn’t work so well.  

Erin was laughing the whole time.     

And as if a trip to the beach wasn’t enough for one day, we came home showered and then headed to the park. This outing had been on the calendar for over a month.

Here we met up with some of my sorority sisters and their babies and kids. We hardly ever get together any more because we’re all having babies, and chasing careers, and getting side tracked with life- that grown-up life we couldn’t wait to start after graduation. This was such a nice outing of just letting the kids run wild and trying to simultaneously catch up on each others lives. (Monkey was our photographer.)

All three of these girls were in my graduating class and man did we ever have a fun Senior Year together. Hard to believe it was over ten years ago!

     

After this I was just wiped out. Seriously I could have stayed in bed until noon the next day, but you can’t do that when three munchkins are up at the crack of dawn. Besides, Bogie had gymnastics and Popeye had a doctor’s appointment, and we had to check on Grandma’s animals… the list went on. As I was pondering whether it was all worth it or not; my exhaustion, hauling kids from one place to the next, packing clothes and snacks and toys, then unpacking them, only to pack them up again, I thought to myself, YES it was worth it!

I hadn’t seen most of these friends in months, some a few years.

I’m so caught up in my bubble. Mondays; cleaning. Wednesdays; play groups.  Thursdays; gymnastics. All of these things and so much more for my boys. To grow them, to give them skills, to keep them busy and happy, and they are, and I am too. But I like my friends and I’ve missed a lot of them for quite a while. It was not easy to make each of these activities happen, I wanted to just call and say “Sorry, I had XYZ today and now I just can’t make it out.” But I’m so glad that I didn’t. I’m so glad that I was able to reconnect and laugh and reminisce with girls who know me for me. Not for being Monkey’s Mom or Mr. Dunbar’s wife, or any other life label.

Staying home has its pros, being in a bubble also has its positives, but coming out of it and stretching myself (and our schedule) a bit was also really rewarding this past week. Besides we have about 4 weeks left of summer and then it will be back to the grindstone and trying to meet up with friends for coffee and the beach will take a back seat to soccer practice and schlepping boys to and from school.

So do you have any last minute summer get-togethers with friends?

~mrs. dunbar