The past couple weeks were tough.
We had a couple of bright spots, like Oscar being part of the color guard for the Newark Bears.
It was a lovely way to say goodbye to our beloved Pack 20, and I was so proud of Oscar, Garrett and Jordan, three of my Scouts that I have been harranging for two years about being respectful and quiet during the flag ceremony -- and they were stalwart and perfect out on the ballfield, in front of hundreds of people! Two years of Cub Scouts, made worthwhile in a couple of moments on the ballfield.
Oscar is the tiny dot to the left of the Cub Scout flag.
Plus, Arlo and Oscar really liked the Honey Bears.
On Thursday we spent our last day at the South Orange pool.
The pool has been a huge part of our social life for the past seven years, but this summer, we were there every day since Evan left. It was lovely seeing all those people we see only at the pool, and seeing how much taller their kids were this year. I had many small sobbing moments at the pool the past week. Good friends, from book clubs and playgroups and just hanging out in front of Starbucks. I am sorry to leave every single one of them. But most of all, this group:
The Brody-Kaplans have been our best friends and family here in South Orange. I talk to Robyn at least three times a day and Sarah is my favorite girlfriend to shop and talk shoes with. I know and adore all their parents and siblings, and Robyn and Sarah are Lucy's godmothers. Our six kids have myriad relationships -- sometime Arlo loves Lily, recently he's totally in love with Izzy. Hank and Oscar are inseparable. Lucy is Lily's intern of girliness.
The last day at the pool was brutal. How, I ask you, can I live without the Brody-Kaplans?
Friday was 107 degrees and humid as all get out. It was also the last day of camp and the first day of our movers packing up our house. I got the movers started, dealt with the carpenters in my basement and took off to Oscar's camp with 60 popsicles. I found them hiding out in the Baird and they were very grateful for the popsicles, and Oscar really loved handing them out to everyone. I gave him a smootch and took off to the real goodbye of the day, Playhouse. We've been a Playhouse family for five years and have gained enormous amounts of friends, parenting skills, and love from that place. Saying goodbye to the women who have taught me and my kids how to not kill each other was really, really hard. From sweet Anita, who taught every single one of my three kids with a calm and loving demeanor, to Laura, who is Arlo's most favorite person in the world and had taught me enormous amounts of patience, Maria, who showed me to take joy in my kids, and Lisa and Anat, who welcomed me every single day to the school and were always there if I needed a little therapy. I can't tell you how many times this year I plopped down in an office chair and poured out my heart to those ladies. Every single time they were calm, supportive, symphathetic, and enormously useful. I can't express how much Playhouse has made me a better parent and a better member of my community.
Anyhoo, my folks showed up and swept the kids away after they saw most of their stuff in boxes ready to go on the truck.
I am more sappy than my awesome mom, who was convinced that the kids didn't need to see the house empty. But they did. The previous evening, right before wrangling them into bed, we did a little video tour of the house. I'll upload them to YouTube soon. After the movers finished their shift I took off for a movie with one of my oldest SO friends, Lori. She treated me to dinner and a movie at the dine-in movie theater in Essex Green, which was made all the more entertaining because Lori is the lightning rod of crazy town. We were surrounded by very loud, very rude people, which she seems to have every time she goes. Ah well, the move was great (Horrible Bosses). I went home, picked up a bottle of wine, and promptly discovered that all the glasses and corkscrews were packed. Okay! I'll check out the dollar store that opened at the bottom of my street. Nope. Back to the liquor store. No dice. I finally broke into the Brody-Kaplans. Score!
Here I am, in my nice cool house, with a chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio and a couple of suitcases to pack with my necessaries for three weeks plus paperwork, and it's 95 degrees outside, 9:30pm. Can you guess what happens next?
Blackout.
I realize that the movers have packed my collection of flashlights (I grew up in the country, folks. I have flashlights on every floor and a lightning rod on my roof). I ponder my options for a moment, and then my imminently practical mom says, "Just go to a hotel." I can do that! I'm a grown-up! I have a credit card! I checked into the Marriot Courtyard by Essex Green (bottle of wine in tow, natch) and enjoyed a lovely evening alone, in a totally generic setting. It was exactly what I needed to give me a respite from all the emotion of the day. It was the right choice, too -- the power didn't come on until 5:50 the next morning.
More tomorrow.
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