Les Miserables

I raced out the door at 4:40 Friday as the sky began to darken. I grabbed children. I grabbed their splash day stuff and nap blankets to wash. I grabbed papers. I grabbed some piece of artwork made with birdseed. Then we all had to stop to get a drink. Then we had to look at the fish. And then we stopped to hold the door for every parent coming in to pick up their children. How do you rush that?

We flew home half buckled and screaming as the rain began to fall.

"It's night outside!" exclaimed Benjamin.

I flung kids from the car and pointed them to the door. I got them in and raced out to get the van in. There was hail in the forecast. Right about the time I got the van in and me out, the weather sirens started. I smacked the garage door to close, and the power went out.

We hit the laundry room for half an hour while that went on. Then we meandered around the powerless house hollering at each other the rest of the evening. Then I got everyone in bed and stumbled around getting the house ready for our friends Matt, Matti and Jules who were to arrive that evening. They knew how to get in, so I went to bed hoping there would be power, but I left a flashlight in the door anyway. Good thing. No power until dinner Saturday evening at dinner right about the time the panic attack was getting ready to set in on how to continue to deal with no power and rotting food and screaming kids and friends who drove all this way to bake in my house. They were gracious. They were very gracious.

Alas, Saturday we did get out for our very first four-Stuber swim party in a real pool. We had a blast, and I forgot the camera. I'm told there were pictures, which I'll share when I get them. But really, I had four kids under four at a swimming pool. No matter how good the adult:child ratio, I was still pretty much on high alert the entire afternoon.