Life – Page 17 – New England's Narrow Road

Summer With The Siblings

My firefighter son always comes north (from Florida) to visit at least once a year. He arrived this week, which means that three of my kids and myself are sharing space in this small house. We are on top of each other inside, but the weather has been fairly good – if you call 80’s and humid good! – so we go outside a lot and sit around my new table (that only seats two – first come first serve) or the kids go to the beach and swim. I am not so much into doing that. Crowds of summer people and local kids are not my thing. I prefer the lake in any season but summer.

midori — A glass of Midori while I grill

It also means that I am spending large amounts of money on food and large amounts of time in the kitchen and at the grill. I always have a hard time remembering which kid likes what food. None of them are horribly picky, except the 12 year old, but I always have to ask, mostly about onions. One likes them cooked and one likes them raw. No tomatoes for either. One loves seafood, like his mom, and the other doesn’t. One loves mushrooms….and so forth. I eat just about everything, so I grill and bake around their likes.

My oldest son lives in Kentucky and we have been trying to convince him to come up too and he called the other night to tell me he is coming!! I am so excited. I haven’t seen him in over 3 years and it will be the first time in that long that all my kids have been together too. My oldest was 20 when my youngest was born so they have never all lived together. It’s very odd, but the way it turned out.

He is driving here in his Porsche and bringing an old guitar of his for my youngest son who seems to have inherited the musical talent that my other boys have. The kids are just as excited at the thoughts of spending time together. I’ve warned my landlady that it could get loud next door.

He is on his way… and they will be heading into Boston for the weekend to see the Red Sox play and just enjoy the city. Maybe they will share their photos for me to post.

I have been trying to find an air conditioner – just a small one for the front room where the sun beats in every afternoon – but there are none to be found. I hope the humidity stays reasonable, but it won’t matter really. I’ll have all my kids together, which is a rare thing for sure. I imagine they will all get on each other’s nerves and we’ll see if the oldest will actually stay the whole week or hop in his car and head back to the quiet life in Kentucky!

Long, Long Summer Days

I have been dreading summer. I am the single parent of a 12-year old who needs activity – lots of activity. I work at home. I live in a small, rental house – about 1,000 square feet. He plays video games and watches tv in the living room which is right beside the kitchen where I have my computer set up at the kitchen table.

I listen to iCarly, Big Time Rush, Fairly Odd Parents and Spongebob all day – well, only when I’m not listening to him yell at his video games. He is a loud child who likes to scare the cat, make random strange noises, and thrives on noise.

Don’t get me wrong, he does go outside. We live near a lake and he goes swimming with a couple of friends who live up the road. But those friends have a big family and take trips all summer. We live on a dirt road and bike riding is tough and I don’t want him riding alone.

I don’t have relatives or friends close by to go visit, and I need to get my work done anyway. We don’t have our own home and since it’s a duplex, I am always worried about him making lots of noise outside with his friends, so inviting friends here is not helpful.
Every day we struggle with what to do. I get up early and begin working around 4:30am and he sleeps until 9am or so, but after lunch the day really drags.

I never planned for my kids to not have siblings, but the plans I’ve made have never come close to coming to be. At my age all my friends have grown children, money for vacations and traveling, and look forward to summer. My older son will be visiting for a couple of weeks and that will give us something to do. I’ll be cooking and the kids will be hanging out, but if my son is occupied it will be a big help.

Meanwhile, I will be getting very little done work-wise and my blogging takes twice as long since I can’t think straight! Is it really only the beginning of July?

The Chipmunk Fake Out

Some place right in front of the cats in the picture to the right, is a hole in the ground where a chipmunk lives. My cats enjoy sitting close by waiting for it to appear.

Occasionally, Richie – crazy little kitty that he is – will stick both paws down into the hole and try to pry the little critter out. Richie is a male and is quite the hunter. He leaves dead things outside my back porch each morning.

He does catch many chipmunks and I’ve noticed that the chipmunks are really pretty clever. If you have outdoor cats that hunt link mine, you might already know about this, but I was so surprised when I first saw it.

All of a sudden the “injured” rodent bee-lined it for the woods.
He wasn’t hurt at all …just pretending until he could make his getaway. And he did get away. We were all fooled, including Richie!

The cat will play with it’s prey. It’s very cruel, but they love the chase so don’t want to give it up right away.
We watched one day as Richie was playing with a chipmunk. As it (the chipmunk) hopped around with it’s back all hunched up, and Richie batted it around, we noticed that the chipmunk was moving towards the woods as he hopped in circles. Suddenly the chipmunk came to life and bolted for the woods. He was lost in the leaves and rocks and had made his escape successfully. Richie was the loser.

I’ve seen this happen over and over since that day. Some of them don’t get away because Richie is an amazing hunter.

I’m Obsessed With The Beaches

The oil spill (ha – spill???) is on my mind all the time.

Even though I am in New England and far from the gulf coast, I know the beauty of the place and I can’t get my mind off the devastation happening there. It will be far-reaching and disastrous for everyone, yet I don’t feel like most of the country has a good grasp on how bad it is.

It’s hard to imagine the size of it, the depths of the oil – it’s not just floating on top of the water – and if your life revolves around the ocean, as it does for so many in the south, this means the end.

I hate to be full of doom and gloom, but I think I am being realistic. And I am sad.

New Smyrna beach florida — New Smyrna Beach, FL

This is a typical beach scene along the Florida east coast. Early in the morning the venders show up in their various trucks and vans and set up to sell food, rent bikes, umbrellas and boogie boards. Then the beach begins to fill up with cars and everyone does the beach thing.

The kids build sand castles while moms and dads sun bathe (as if you couldn’t get enough sun in that state), while the young people play frisbee and football or do some skimboarding.

Watching people walk by was always a favorite pastime for me. From the leathery older people, who look like they live outdoors, to the young girls in their “almost” bikinis and “not quite there” thongs, and the ones who should NEVER go out in public with a swimsuit of any kind on their bodies – it’s never boring.

Some people fish, but surfing isn’t allowed in areas where lots of people swim, so the surfers have to go up the beach to their area, but we would see them carrying their boards to of from wherever – or maybe just to show off. I think it’s a combination.

My son lives in central Florida and like most Floridians he enjoys hanging out at the beach. What will Florida do when all it’s beaches are black with oil? It seems inevitable.

Already dead wildlife is washing up on shores and I can’t imagine how bad that will get. The sunshine state will be changed forever if all it’s beaches are gone. It is far too hot to spend time at the beach and not be able to cool off in the ocean and probably the smell alone will keep people away.
I follow this blog that is written by a lady who lives on Sanibel Island on the Gulf coast. It is the third best place for shelling in the WORLD, and she doesn’t mention the oil, but I am wondering how long before it reaches her area.

My son keeps saying that he is enjoying the beach while he can.