Incident Report

JT has always been the sort of kid to shut the doors and lock them and that particular proclivity caused trouble on day 1 of our cruise.  Our room adjoins my nephews and at some point late on the first evening, the boys all went to the cousins’ room to watch World Cup soccer.  When I came back to my room, my electronic access key would not let me in.  It took a few knocks but the soccer-cheering boys in the room next door eventually opened their door and I explained the problem.  We stood in the hall debating what had happened as both JT and I sought to use our key to open the door.  And then JT realized that earlier in the evening he had returned to our room, took the extra step of bolting the door, and then passed through the shared door to his cousins’ room.  He took his electronic key but firmly shut the access door behind him, thus locking us out of our room.

I called maintenance and they came right down with their electronic key.  But when I explained that super security boy had locked the bolt, they were stumped and then announced that “we have to go to the bridge.”

For the next hour, I waited with the cousins and JT while they watched “Bad Grandpa” (viewing tip: the movie is targeted to the interests of teenage boys) and I tried to stay awake.  We debated what it might take to get me in my room.  I rejected S’s proposal that C climb over the balcony to see if the balcony door could be opened.  Also rejected was the invitation to sleep in the nephews’ shower.  The very kind maintenance guys finally secured a way in (super special electronic key) and I climbed into bed hopeful that this would be JT’s last unwise decision of the vacation.

Other than that, Europe is lovely this time of year.

Well Read Garden

I plant my garden in mid-Spring, usually right around Mother’s Day.  For the next few weeks I weed and check on my young plants and seeds, thinning as needed and setting out tomato cages.  When school meetings end in early June, I take a deep breathe and then weed the garden one last time and then I choose a day to devote myself to mulching the garden.  First I lay down a heavy layer of newspaper and then I spread mulch over the newspapers.  I’ve been mulching my garden this way for nearly 20 years and the method is foolproof.  Weeds are stifled, the garden is drought resistant, and everything looks lovely and organized.

This year we left town two days after school meetings ended.  Because we would be away for two weeks, mulching needed to happen before we left, lest the garden be overgrown with weeds.   Laying down mulch is an enjoyable chore but is a bit tiring, especially in the whirlwind that is the end of the school year.  But the idea of leaving the garden to suffer through June without its customary safety net was unthinkable so JT loaded in the mulch bags and I did the work in a piecemeal fashion.

The first go round protected the squash, cucumbers, cantaloupe and the zinnia seeds.

Round two took care of the tomatoes, peppers, dahlias, and herbs.

Round three was completed on the morning before we left for Copenhagen and was really just spreading out the last bag of mulch and then mowing the backyard.

By design, the edges of the garden remain a bit messy.  When I return from the big trip, I will swing by my favorite garden shops and buy some of the rose and hydrangea bushes that are on the clearance rack.  I’ll have to wait a year to see them in their full glory but gardening is always a lesson in patience for me, so that’s okay.  Soon enough I’ll have fresh dahlia and zinnia bouquets to brighten my days.   

I love the way the garden looks when the mulch has been freshly laid down.  These pictures will remind me of the garden happiness that awaits when I return from my adventure.  That’s happy!

Some Odd Things in the State of Denmark

On day 1 of our northern European journey JT and I found ourselves in Copenhagen at 7 am Copenhagen time, 1 am New Jersey time.  What followed was a sleepless day whereby we tried might hard to stay awake and absorb some local flavor.  Our observations, in no particular order:

1.  What’s up with all the 7-11 shops?  Is that the best America can show the world?  This makes me anxious.

2.  Smoking is popular.  Listen up, Danes: smoking is bad for you.  Cut it out.

3.  Bikes are everywhere and with impressive lock systems that simply lock the gears, thus deterring thieves.  Cool and no need for bike racks.

4.  So much blond hair.  Everyone looks like Thor the Viking.  Okay, not everyone, but plenty of people.

5.  We checked out a grocery store.  The melons were small but prices seemed reasonable enough and the bread looked terrific.  Plenty of items with funky English names like the Corny Big.  Not sure what it is though it would seem to be corny.  And big.

6.  People are very polite and quite tolerant of the fact that we don’t speak a single word of Danish and find their currency mystifying.

7.  The hotel room requires a card to turn on the electricity.  Basically ensures that no one leaves the lights on when they leave.  Smart and energy efficient.

8.  These people love their station wagons.  They are everywhere (even the politi drive them), thus leading JT to announce that I had found my people (I love station wagons).

9.  The Danish cannot wait in line.  Or refuse to wait in line.  Either way, that’s a pain in the ass.

10.  Danish men in the 20s seem to prefer a mid-thigh short with a cuff that is slightly effeminate.  Metrosexual men for the win?

11.  For their part, the women seem to enjoy vinyl trousers.  If you ask me, it sounds like a chafing incident waiting to happen, but to each her own.  

Next stop Oslo.

Some Things Never Change

Nice years ago, when I first moved into this house, my mother and I were sitting on the back deck, looking up at the attic window when she announced that I should remind a then 5-year old JT to be careful around that window.  I assured her that he would be careful and 5 minutes later he opened that window, thrust his head out to say “hey” and nearly frightened his grandmother to death.  These days, if he spies me on the deck he leans out the window to offer some sort of nonsense and I am once-again reminded of just how insensible little boys can be.

Real Life Conversations with Mom: International Politics edition

The backstory:  My extended family is headed to Europe to celebrate my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary and I was talking currency conversion with my mom.

Me:  I won’t get currency for all the places we visit, but I think that I will get some Euros for Germany and Estonia.

Mom:  They’ll be useful in Russia.

Me:  No, they won’t.

Mom:  Yes, they will.  I am pretty sure you can use Euros in Russia.

Me:  Well you sure as hell can’t use them in Ukraine.

Silence.  It would seem my mom isn’t fully informed about Vladimir Putin and his crap.  Internet, expect an international incident involving the Sassafras Family in the coming weeks.

Real Live Conversations with T: Garage Sale edition

The backstory:  T and I occasionally enjoy checking out garage sales and swap meets.  Though we’ve never found anything of real value, we do bemoan “the one that got away", a rotating list of the ridiculous things people try to sell.  Most notably, we regret our that giant bag of clown doll heads that we failed to snap up at a garage sale in Pennsylvania last year.  This weekend, my town had a town-wide garage sale.  That’s a lot of junk to check out and in one driveway we found a collection of glass specimen jars.  I was horrified but T could immediately see their value.

T:  Is your parole officer hassling you about urine samples?  Good news…..with these jars you can collect your urine when it’s convenient for you!

We didn’t buy the jars and if the rest of the weekend is any indication, T is having a hard time swallowing her disappointment.

Four Fast Years

In both the lower and middle levels at my school, the year ends with a closing ceremony.  The year is celebrated and we say goodbye to the 4th and 8th graders, who are welcomed to the next level of the school by the principal of the middle and upper school.  

The ceremonies are sweet and a cause to pause and remember how fleeting time can be.  It seems like yesterday that my mom surprised us with a visit and JT left the lower school and 4th grade.

Yesterday, he said goodbye to his middle school years.  I made pictures of him with some of the kids that he’s been friends with for more than 10 years.  These children have been a part of his world for as long as he can remember.   The difference that four years made in them is still hard for me to wrap my brain around.

When I first brought my baby boy home, a friend told me that the nights were long but that the days and years are short.  He heads to the 9th grade next year, a fact that confirms just how short the years have been.  

Field Day

From the 1st to 8th grade, it’s tradition at our school for the students to have a Field Day at the end of the school year.  It’s basically an entire day of organized outdoor play geared to the age of the students.  There are games of kickball and wiffle ball, foot races, tug-of-war, and a host of other challenges.  Since he experienced his first Field Day in 2007, it’s been JT’s most favorite day of the school year.  

Each year, the approach of Field Day involves strategic planning on our part.  Gatorade is selected and placed in the fridge the night before.  On Field Day morning, the once-a-year Gatorade treat is packed in an icy cooler with bottles of cold water and a wet rag in a ziploc for cooling down.  Muscles are stretched for the footraces and target speeds are selected.  

Middle School Field Days are half days proceeded by a picnic.  JT eats light, so as not to be weighted down by a belly full of food.  It’s also a competition, with the kids divided into two teams and earning points via victory in the assorted activities.  This year, as he contemplated the fact that it was his last Field Day, our preparations involved two coolers and a lot of smack talk about the races.  He’s 14 years old but I could see the enthusiastic 7 year old who lives within this young man.

Turns out he is still my little boy.

Baby’s First 5K

For the last two years, JT has run on the school’s cross country team.  He’d always loved running and it didn’t surprise me when he joined the team.  He keeps up with running in the off season and this spring he asked to run in a local 5K organized to raise funds for a group that funds cancer research.  On Sunday, he ran in his first 5K.  Middle School cross country runs are typically 2 miles.  At just a tad over 3.4 miles, the 5K is the longest race he’s ever run.

He enjoyed the run and learned some more about setting a good pace for himself.  He was reminded of the value of keeping hydrated and training in advance of the race.  And he supported a good cause.  The boy reports that I should expect that in the years ahead I’ll be spending a lot more time cheering on runners at the finish line.  Turns out I’m okay with that.

June 1st: Front Yard Flowerbed

The month of May brought enough rain and sustained warmth to permit my garden to explode in blooms and green plants.  This flowerbed is in need of some weeding and mulch, a project planned for later this month.  In the meantime, the flowers are coming along.  Last year’s Mother’s Day peony is ready to bloom.

A peony that I thought I had lost has returned.

T gave me a big box of dahlia bulbs for Christmas and I planted eight of them along the perimeter of this corner.  These two are coming along quite nicely and will need to be staked later this month.

Last year, I wanted to find a way for this corner of the garden to have a different flower in bloom for each of the warmer months.  I’m closing in on success when it comes to that goal and that’s very happy.