We can see the end of the school year. I’ve started telling the girls how many days they have left until summer break. As of this morning, they have 34 days until they are done. Mornings have been pretty good this year, for the most part. It seems like the past couple weeks, following spring break, have been a bit difficult for the girls, and for me. My wife had the week of spring break and the previous week off from work. So, it was a bit of a shock when we started back to the school routine for just the three of us a couple weeks ago. Audio found the transition most difficult, but Dee Dee had some rough mornings, too. The only day we have off between now and the end of the year is Memorial Day. Six straight weeks of five-day weeks is a bit of cruel joke after a year that rarely saw more than two five-day weeks in a row. But, as of this morning, I think that we’re fully recovered from spring break, we’re back in the saddle, and we’ll be able to power through to the finish line. 

We had signed the girls up for swimming lessons, but the pool’s heater needed to be repaired, so the session of lessons was canceled. Neither girl was ready to advance to the next level after the last session. Dee Dee needs to work on building just a little more strength and stamina to be able to swim the length of the pool, and Audio needs to take the classes more seriously before she can move on to the next level. So, sitting out this group of six lessons is probably not only fine, but a good idea. By the time the next sessions end, I think that both girls will be able to move on to the next set of lessons. 

Both girls have started Tae Kwon Do lessons on Thursday evenings. Audio’s class is for kids under six years old and they mostly stretch and tumble, but they do a bit of punching and kicking as well. Dee Dee’s group is for all the kids older than six, with all belt levels grouped together. They do a little more punching, kicking, and blocking, but there is also stretching and tumbling. There is an angled floormat that both girls like to somersault down.   

They both seem to be enjoying their “martial arts” classes. Audio’s class is from 5:45 to 6:15PM, and Dee Dee’s is from 6:16 to 7:00PM. So, either their mother or I drive Audio to the rec center (same place that Dee Dee did her theater class, the girls saw Santa, and danced to polka bands) and then the other one of us brings Dee Dee, drops her off and brings Audio home. There isn’t anywhere for Audio to hang out during Dee Dee’s lesson (without getting in trouble), and there isn’t much room for parents, who can’t be in the room but can watch through the doors. So, whichever parent brings Audio can get settled on a chair near the door and have that spot through the end of the evening. 

Both girls are scheduled to start softball/ T-ball this week. I’ll be coaching Dee Dee’s softball team. The bad news is that the girls will have games and practices on the same days every week, in different places, meaning that I won’t get to watch Audio play T-ball. And it most likely means that their mom won’t be able to watch Dee Dee play softball. This will be the first time that we will not be doing things as a family. I know it won’t be the last time that we have situations like this, and there’s no way to avoid these sorts of conflicting schedules. But I’m pretty unhappy about it. The season runs through the end of June. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also already looking forward to it being over. 

Dee Dee’s birthday is less than a month away. In other years, we had her party pretty much planned out by this point. This year Dee Dee will have a much smaller group of kids at her party, so hopefully we still have plenty of time to get things organized. In previous years, everyone from her school class was invited to join us at the park for pizza and cupcakes, then let loose on the playground. This year, we’ll go back to the park for pizza and cupcakes, but Dee Dee is only going to invite a small group of four to six friends. When Dee Dee was younger, and it made sense to invite everyone she knew to her birthday party, it was easier than it is now to assure a good time for her. This year will mark a new way of handling her birthday and I hope that she finds as much happiness celebrating with a few closer friends than being surrounded by a bunch of kids she just happened to be in a classroom with. 

So, 34 days to go. I’m sure that it’ll go by faster than I like, just like the past nine years, or so have gone since we got started this family. Most of the time, it’s been pretty easy because we have good kids. Some days aren’t perfect, but we try. I know we don’t get these days back, so any effort extended to see that the girls are safe, and their needs are met, is worth it. We like that our kids are happy. But we aren’t trying to create happy children. We’re trying to create children who will grow up to be happy adults. The girls probably won’t really know if they had a good childhood until they are fully grown. And, if we’re doing it wrong, I hope I never find out.