It's good to be home. And yes, I'm quoting the Wizard of Oz only because it has been on TV a lot this weekend. And not that I don't like that musical or movie, but after 32 years of it when it came on Friday night I opted for Tango & Cash instead.
Anyway, so I'm back from my great weekend with my sister and her kids. After a long trip up to the cities, because we stopped for lunch and haircuts for the kids – not because I took the supposed longer trip route option, we made it to our hotel and then headed to the Mall of Death.
The kids had been given $10 from their grandparents for the trip so the focus was on “what can I get with my money” and “what do I want”, neither question either child new the answer to so it was kind of a cluster most of the time in the mall. My niece found a little purse that should have cost $8 but my sister doesn't think she got her change back from her $20 so it ended up costing $18. Great. My nephew, however, had a very tough time finding anything he wanted. I tried to encourage him to put his money in a savings account where it would grow with interest and then he'd have more money later to buy something he really wanted – like batting gloves. But alas, no.
So there were some tense moments and many moments of me reminding my sister that this is why I'm still single and not a mom. She'd laugh every time. At one point she said something to her daughter like, “Do you want to have more cousins?” “yes” was the reply to which my sister said, “Then blow your nose or your aunt is never going to have kids.” It seems odd, but trust me at that point of the sniffling between both children and the chomping of my nephew when he eats (it's like he thinks the food is going to disappear so he just keeps shoving it in – with his mouth open – slobbering it up like there's no tomorrow, and then when the food has emptied from his hand he chews with his mouth open so I can see it in all it's glory) I was seriously considering tubal ligation.
Don't get me wrong, I love kids. But at certain points I was very glad I was going home alone. and we did get to see Home Plate which my nephew really wanted to see and we ate at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. which he also wanted to do (he had shrimp, my niece had pizza while my sister and I had burgers).
But the fun of it all was going to The Lion King. The bad of that was that it had already been a very long day and so the kids were tired, esp. my niece. But my nephew who swore up and down that he wasn't going to like it and it was going to be boring was actually on the edge of his seat the entire time. That made me glad.
As for me, I started to tear up at the first note – not sure why exactly, but those first moments were intensely powerful. The rest of the play was amazing, the costumes, the acting, the singing. There were a few parts where I thought it drug a little but overall it was very awesome. I had gotten the kids binoculars from Scheels so they could see a little better. My nephew loved those and used them a lot. It was really a great time. And my happy moment was getting out of downtown Mpls without incident and finding my way back to 35W South easily. That made me happy because usually I'm driving the long way around just to get to where I know. I did a little this time only because I missed my initial turn because of other crazy drivers. I'm really, really glad I spent the money and we all went. It was wonderful.
Today we finished up our trip at the Medford Outlet Mall, where I found jeans, a sweater, a tee, socks and new shoes. Much needed items for me. And my nephew still didn't find anything he wanted to buy. Maybe he will take my advice and invest it instead.
Doubt it.
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