High Five for Friday (8.28.15)

1. Last Friday night Will graduated to a Tae Kwon Do red belt. Since his first lesson two and a half years ago, Will's goal has been to earn his black belt, and for the first time it truly feels like he might get there.

Given the emphasis we've always placed on not hitting/kicking, it's
strange to watch your 8yo jump roundhouse kick a 9yo in the head. 

Congratulations, Will!

After training as a red belt for four months, Will will attempt to test out of red and graduate to red/black. Red/black is the only transitional ranking, given to students who have completed the red belt requirements and are training to test for their black belts. After four additional months of training as a red/black, Will will hopefully test for his black belt next April.

2. Both kiddos had an excellent first day of school. Hallie gave me a hug and kiss and ran to begin working at her desk, while Will allowed me to discretely hug him before he pulled away and joined his buddies in a conversation about football. They left me so quickly that I barely had time to whisper my traditional "work hard and be kind" in their ears.

I cried all the way home for the first time ever.

3. We live in a college town, which means that a week or two before the public schools start back, 50,000 college students return in droves.

While swimming with friends last week, two young women joined us at the pool. Cell phones in hand, they climbed aboard their rafts, took a selfie or two, and set sail in the deep end of the pool. We wondered how long they'd last, given the enthusiastic games of Marco Polo, hide-and-seek, and "see how big a splash we can make jumping into the deep end" our kiddos were playing here, there, and everywhere.

The pool area offers very few places to hide, so when I thought of a clever - although slightly odd - idea, I called Will over and whispered it in his ear. He smiled and hurried off, not slowing until he reached the corner of the pool where the young women lounged on their rafts. From across the pool I saw him extend a greeting as he jumped into the water right next to them. Then, just as the "it" friend finished counting, he took a deep breath and ducked under the water…and swam down a few feet underneath their rafts.

Now you see him, now you don't. Repeat.

He stayed hidden beneath them until he ran out of breath, at which point he popped up, filled his lungs, and swam back down. Meanwhile Will's new friends took a few pictures - which I imagine are now on Facebook and Instagram tagged with #crazykidsthesedays - and enjoyed the attention they thought he was giving them. Little did they know that Will cared about only one thing: hiding from Kaylee and Paloma.

4. This week brought with it a smorgasbord of anxiety. I lost sleep over the kids heading back to school and have consistently felt unsettled, nervous, and nauseous about a number of commitments and decisions ahead of us. But…I made it! Conversations with friends, lots of exercise, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt", one chocolate candy bar, four chocolate chip cookies, a little wine, and a handful of special moments spent with my kiddos kept "anxious" from turning into "overwhelmed". High five!

5. Happiness Highlights:

I agree wholeheartedly and do my very best to choose happiness
every day, but an occasional reminder to stay the course doesn't hurt.

Tux doesn't like it when Will focuses on anything other than him.

Tom spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington
DC. He had a little free time, so he took advantage
of the sunny, 74-degree day and wandered around
town visiting monuments and museums. He
deserved a day to do something so relaxing.

And then Tom spent Thursday and Friday
in Michigan, flying/working in this little tiny
plane. High five that he landed safely.

Though I've missed Will and Hallie this week, my first solo trip to the
grocery store in three months - no car cart, no one begging to ride, no
one begging to walk, no one fighting/crying/whining - was glorious.

I haven't written about the weather recently,
mostly because it's "sunny with a high of 100
degrees" every day. Except yesterday morning…
when this is what I saw on my phone when I rolled
out of bed. Granted it was 93 degrees by the time
I walked to pick up the kids from school, but it
was a small taste of sweet relief from summer.

Happy Friday, friends!

Linking up with High Five for Friday!