Josh was supposed to land in Roanoke on Thursday night around 10:30pm ...returning from his last week working in NH... Mom was coming in at Midnight on Friday night...At last my family was coming home...over the past two months many of them had been traveling and slowly but surely the tides turned and there were more people traveling than there were at home...My brother was still at the beach until Sunday and my one nephew was still somewhere out West for awhile...I still had some cousins in the area that I try to keep in touch with and a nephew that had consistently been helping me with Mom's Homestead... but it had been getting lonely around here and answering children's incessant questions for conversation was getting tiresome!...I had been waiting for June 10th to come for weeks now and when the day finally arrived I got to wait some more...lol....I hate waiting!... But it was worth it!
Instead Josh's connecting flight got cancelled on Thursday and he couldn't come home until Friday... Mom's plane was about 30 minutes Iate landing but otherwise she was pretty much on schedule thankfully...After getting her baggae from Roanoke Airport I walked out thankful not to have any reason to return in the near future. From their travel experiences we determined that even though Delta is a little more expensive than American Airlines, Delta is the airline to fly with. Their customer service was beyond exceptional and they had minimal delays compared to our experiences with American Airlines over the past several months. Mom also flew United on her trip and even tried out Greyhound and Amtrax. Delta's service beat them all hands down!
When I did finally get Josh home Aiden was ready to go...(He had been invited to stay the weekend with the friend I had been watching for the previous two weeks). The kids finished off their afternoon with a little Xbox time before Aiden headed off for a weekend with his friend. They had some awesome plans lined up for the weekend and he was totally excited for the opportunity! Me on the other hand... I was a little bit nervous...
Aiden is eight now and this is the third time he has gone for a sleep over at a house without a direct relative in it. I let him go twice in TN and the first time scared me to death (after the fact mostly)! I fretted over how he was behaving (he can be difficult and hard headed sometimes), if they were being good to him, if he was having fun, all those things parents fret over when their child starts leaving home.... The next day he was ready to come home and said he really didn't have much fun...as is the case for most kids I'm sure...he was homesick and there were issues with sharing...typical seven year old stuff..bu then... about a month later Aiden came home from school and told me the "Mom" of the family he stayed with snapped and tried to stab her husband. I was appalled! I had talked to this family on several occasions as we waited for school to dismiss in the afternoon. They practically wanted to interview me before our kids could even play together outside of school...and they turned out to be looney toons...really...I mean Really!?! I had really hoped my biggest concern would have to be rather or not he would behave, not that he may be in danger...especially after I talked to the family so much...After that I didn't know if Aiden would ever get to go for another sleepover... ever... and the girls...they were out of luck, they just weren't going to get to have that kind of fun with their friends...
Aiden's second sleepover that I count as non-family might as well have been family. They were a big part of our Cub Scout Pack that year and we all worked together to give the kids the best Scouting experiences possible. I spent a lot of time with their whole family and really got to know them before entrusting them with any of my babies. In the end though, the Pierce family had become an extension of our family as we progressed through our first year of Scouting. It was a blessing in disguise that he stayed with them. After having a good experience I was left more open to the idea of sleepovers again.
So back to this summer when Aiden was offered a weekend at a friend's house... I started getting apprehensive again. I had talked to the Dad that would be watching Aiden throughout the school year, just the same as I had that first time around, but again this was a family I really didn't know very well outside of school. I also watched the little boy for the first couple of weeks of summer vacation and had gotten to learn more about their story... but still I worried... That first sleepover still loomed in the back of my head and I worried... Then I thought back to my childhood and the times my Dad couldn't get past his own fears to let me be a kid. I remember my friends getting invited to do things and my Dad not being able to let go. I feel his pain as I have to decide rather to let go of my own children and trust them in other peoples care. Still I remember my friends and I growing apart because I never got to go out with them and I remember feeling lonely. I don't want my kids to feel like that growing up and I don't want them to miss out on being kids... So sometimes I have to make myself take a chance and let go a little!
After much deliberation I decided to take that chance and I'm glad I did. Aiden got to go with his friend and spend two nights away from home. It was so hard to say "yes" when it was offered, but I did and Aiden had so much fun! I still worried over his behavior and if he was having fun, but there was nothing to worry about at all. They went to the track and raced go-karts, went swimming and even had a small bonfire with roasted marshmallows. Aiden did get his first little sunburn over the weekend, but that was his one and only complaint (and yes he did have sunscreen on)... we put a little aloe on one shoulder Sunday evening and otherwise it isn't even bothering him. Though he was sad to come home... he behaved well enough to be invited back and if all goes well he will get to go for another weekend this summer! Thanks again to Tony and TJ for having Aiden over for the weekend! We will definitely plan to do it again before the summer is over!
For now I have to get back to cleaning and sorting as my children and I transition to the apartment my husband has been in for the last 10 months. I have a lot of work to do to get our sorting done in time for our scheduled yard sale in 11 days! As we are plug along we are continuing to look for some more fun, yet inexpensive activities for the next break we get...and as we find good ones I will pass them along! I would also love to hear what everyone else is doing to beat the heat without breaking the bank!
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