We
have had a very full day, but pleasant.
Mother
went with me and the children to St. Bede’s this morning. She had never been
there before. Several people spoke to her and were friendly and nice. We sat
very near the family of Michael’s friend Clay. So we felt very good about being
there. Additionally, they sang hymns Mother and I knew. Afterwards there was
some kind of little celebration and there were refreshments, which pleased the
kids. Alesia saw a girl she knew from dance class that she hasn’t seen in a
while, so she felt more positive about it, which was wonderful.
We
left church and headed north, to Peachtree Corners and Trader Joe’s. My
brother’s birthday is in early October so we want to get a care package off to
him in the next day or two. We got him lots of trail mix and dried fruits and
some jalapeno flavored cheese puff things – he loves hot and spicy stuff. I
bought some of their store brand lemonade, which is the best lemonade in the
known universe – and I love lemonade, so I should know.
We
had lunch at Ted's Montana Grill.
I
had a bison burger, as did Michael. Yummy! [Mother and Alesia ate beef,
so boring...] The quality of the food there is terrific. They are
also a 99% plastic-free restaurant. Even the straws are paper, not
plastic. The tables are covered with heavy paper, too.
The
rest of the afternoon was devoted to studying. Alesia studied World History and
I helped Michael with his notecards for his Social Studies project. He caught
on to the idea very quickly and did a good job with them, which amazed me. I
never did a paper with notecards until high school. He’s in 5th
grade! Of course, the paper will be about 2 typed pages, but it’s still a chore
for him. He’s writing about the impact of tennis player Arthur Ashe , who was
the first black man to win the US Open and Wimbledon. Ashe was also a man who
did a lot of good things in the world, and lived his values - truly a man to
admire, not just a great tennis player.
Kroger
and gas were our late afternoon chores. After passing countless gas stations
late this afternoon, I finally found regular gas at the Quick Trip. I waited in
line 20 minutes. The gas was $3.97/gallon, which isn’t bad. I’ve paid as much
as $4.17.
The
kids and I breezed through Kroger pretty quickly. Mother was at home. Michael
zooms away on his Heelys, retrieving products. Today I let Alesia get a buggy,
and she got the stuff on the list and I got the vegetables and meat. Michael was allowed to get 1 pomegranate. He
loves them. This one was puny, and ridiculously expensive [$2.99] but I figured
well, if he’s going to consider a piece of fruit a great treat, I’m fine with
that. They are full of vitamins.
After
unloading the groceries I took the kids over to a little carnival at North
DeKalb Mall, which is about 15 minutes form the house. It was a teeny weeny
carnival, but Alesia and Mike had a great time. Michael had not been to
anything like that since leaving Kazakhstan. We stayed about an hour. I wouldn’t
let them play any carnival games for prizes, as I think those are total
ripoffs. They rode rides, and didn’t eat anything, which was the best case
scenario. When they came home I had them take showers. I am very leery of
hygiene issues at places like that. [Do I sound really old and party-pooperish
or what?!]
When
we were riding home in the car, Alesia said she needed to wash her hair. She
took it out of the elastic and shook it out. Michael reached up and patted her
hair. She put up with it with good grace. “Alesia, you have nice soft hair,”
Michael said sweetly. “It reminds me of a dog’s fur.”
After
I finished laughing, I explained that he might want to re-think that compliment…
