Just like that, it’s November! I’d like to say I’m getting used to the acceleration of years but that wouldn’t be true. Every year takes half the time of the preceding year to get through and its starting to scare me.
I could live to the age of 114 but it’ll still be over in about ten and a half minutes.
I totally understand why old folks go to church so often.
I digress.
Our Halloween party was really fun, even though Xena and Babalouie trick or treated in their own neighborhood and didn’t come down to town. No surprise: who wants to stuff their costumed, excited kids in the car for a half an hour on Halloween? Crazy people, that’s who.
I’m just glad that Boopity Boop are still too little to understand that all that driving around cut into their possible trick or treating time. They’re too young for candy.
Next year will be different but in what ways, I couldn’t guess.
The temperatures have noticed the calendar; it’s getting steadily colder. Even the trees outside my front window are finally starting to look autumnal.
It’s been a long, strange fall. Most years, we’re stunned and disappointed to see hints of color in the trees by late August, with most of them turning in September and peak color after the first week of October. This year, they started turning in early Sept, then stopped. Some trees peaked when they were supposed to while others ignored the changing light and still others just let all their green drain away without adding any bright fall colors. All in all, it was pretty but we never got the smash brilliance of autumn. Not in this neighborhood, anyway. Nearly all the trees in my own yard were in the ‘drain-away’ category. In the past, they’ve been glorious; purple, red and orange in the back with beautiful gold and orange in the front yard. This year, nothing. Gray, brown, beige, bluch.
We ran around in the brisk air until I got cold. I figured all that fresh air and exercise would add up to a good long nap for Babalouie. I was wrong. He fell asleep on the car ride home and decided he’d had all the nap he was going to get that day.
Turns out, even the sweetest, nicest, easiest going three year old on earth turns into a monster if he doesn’t get a nap. Babalouie wasn’t terrible with me but the moment his Mom got home, he basically burst into flames. Wet, shrill, snot-drippy flames. From her reaction, I could tell it was not the first time he’d missed his nap.
He stopped screaming and crying long enough to give me a hug before I headed for home. Like a good big sister, Xena mostly ignored his melt down, although she did use the opportunity to poke him a few times since he was already crying. I mean really, the girl's not made of holy water.
I was looking forward to seeing Jay for the first time in nearly 24 hours so when he still hadn’t come home by 8:20, I texted him I’m home, where are you?
He answered Pizza’s coming.
Yay!
I was exhausted after spending all day with the kids. They’re great and never misbehave for me but playing all day wears me out. I’d love to say I’m just out of practice but the days when I could keep up with little kids without getting completely wiped out are decades behind me. I sincerely pity women who don’t have kids until they’re pushing 40.
And it had been hours since that chicken wrap, so pizza was going to be good.
An hour later, no word, no Jay and no pizza.
I texted him again you get no points for teasing me with imaginary pizza.
An hour after that, I’d had no response so I ate a bowl of cereal and went to bed.
Oh, sure, the fear that he was dead in a ditch somewhere between me and the pizza joint briefly crossed my mind, to be immediately followed by the realization that he couldn’t be so lucky.
Jay came in long after I’d fallen asleep. In the morning he told me what had happened: he’d run into a high school buddy at the pizza place and they got talking. Four hours later, he brought my pizza home but I was asleep. He had no excuse for not texting me that my dinner would not be arriving until midnight.
No points for him.
No points at all.
The pizza was pretty good for lunch the next day.