My mother left on June 13, just one day before the children were out of school. Not very good planning on my side when buying her ticket. However, I still wanted my kids to spend some time with her, so for her last two weeks I pulled the kids out of school two or three times a week. I didn't feel that bad; the STAR test was over and the teachers were probably letting them watch movies and play games. I thought spending time with each other and their grandmother would be way more productive. Between Gillian's piano and choir, Jefferson's cub scout activities, James's play dates, and Charlton's library visits, I was able to manage field trips to the beach, lagoon, water park, various museums, eating out, and just hanging out in our own backyard. Here are a few of the things we spent time doing with each other:
Twenty minutes away from my home, in the city of Antioch, there is to be found this hidden jewel for families. It's found amongst the golden hills of Contra Loma Park, and it's an extension of the other great things found in this park. The lagoon, as it is called, is a pool that resembles the beach with artificial sand under the water and shallow level of water perfect for young and older kids to play in. There is also a deep side to the pool for the kids who pass the swimming test, which all three of my older kids did. We went during the week, and since school wasn't out yet, we had the park almost to ourselves. The most memorable thing that happened here was the fact that Charlton got in the water and started to enjoy it. As soon as we got there, my mother took him in her arms, and ignoring his screams, immersed in the water swimming with him. When he stopped screaming, my mother started teaching him how to swim and he LOVED that. From that point on, he didn't leave the water. When we were getting ready to leave, he observed his shriveled hands and feet, and said to me: "Wow, mom. My hands and feet have shrunk!" My adorable boy. We'll be coming back to this awesome spot.
A friend of mine had a free family pass to the Bay Area Discovery Museum that she didn't need, so after sleeping in (that's one benefit in keeping the kids home), we packed some lunch, and drove to the museum. We checked all of the exhibitions inside and then let the kids play in the outdoor play area for the rest of the time. From the indoor exhibitions, Charlton loved the Clifford exhibit, Gillian loved the wind display, and my older boys loved everything. Outside Charlton loved playing the xylophone, Gillian enjoyed hula-hooping, and my older boys had fun running around and climbing trees. I talked to mom, had fun taking pictures, loved resting, and most of all found joy in the simplest things of life: seeing my children happily playing with each other. I'm grateful for my family and the joy of motherhood.
Because of time and space, I won't share all of the activities we undertook those last two weeks, but I think I have time for one more: the water park. My mother is an avid swimmer; she told me that she used to take all of the young kids in our neighborhood to the beach and teach them all how to swim. Needless to say having lived all of her life by the beach, she loves the water. My kids were so happy that their grandmother went with them in all of the rides and swam with them that they didn't care if I went with them or not, ...well almost. I was very glad that they were making good memories with their grandmother and each other. Jefferson was a fantastic brother and son allowing me to take pictures around the park while he played with Charlton. James was very excited to be tall enough to participate in all of the slides with his brother and sister. I rarely saw him all day; I guess he was making up for lost time. Gillian of course was the greatest. She found time to take her little Charlton around, go through the slides with her brothers, swim with her grandmother, and talk to me. We all had a great time. Just for the record, going to the park on this day (June 11) was the best idea; that day was the hottest of the year so far with the temperature reaching 102.
The night before my mother left, we took her out for dinner, and then when we got home my children shared their favorite things about their grandmother. Sure enough swimming with them was on the top of the list. We were sad to see her leave, but glad that we had made some fun memories with each other.
