All you Leave Behind....

Well as you can probably tell from the evidence of last night's post, there is not much going on right now. One child is enjoying the last gasps of summer with a friend at a local waterpark, the son (who is thankfully feeling back to better) is biking over to his buddy's house and the oldest is just now getting out of the shower...they have been getting onto a VERY late schedule this summer by staying up until all hours of the night and into the morning. While I applaud their insistence that this will aid them in adjusting towards the Mediterranean schedule of late nights and afternoon siestas, this is bordering on ridick. It's not good for their serotonin levels, and I'm noticing they are all more moody sleepy and grumpy during the day.
Of course one has to wonder if this is also some deep-seated unspoken nervous tension or anxiety about what lies ahead of them. Avoiding the imminent? The obvious? You need only read the prior dream post to know that we are not immune to those anxious thoughts as well.
For now if they can rest and relax and hang out with their friends for these last few days of summer. The high school had their orientation today and my eldest was not participating. Thursday is sign-ups for winter basketball. The youngest was invited to play for an pre-competitive league here this fall, but her spot was given to another player when the coach learned she would not be here for the entire season. It's all lots of little sacrifices they're giving up for their parents' hare-brained idea to go overseas, and I hope there are no regrets.
We leave in less than a week. I packed (using three different pieces of suitcases before settling on one) and am getting laundry done and slowly cleaning out the fridge. Last night I made chili, the same recipe I make every time, but for whatever reason (possibly the use of an unknown brand of organic black beans this time!) we all had a bit of tummy upset as a result.
Today we went to the pediatrician's office to finalize their series of immunization shots. No, they do not need to have the series that one would require for traveling overseas to the Middle East or to Africa, but they recommended getting a Hep A shot and I am glad we did that.
It was a comedy of errors. My son would not relax his arm so he got a shot in his muscle as it was tensed (and subsequently suffered the consequences as he was much more sore---was it that darn testosterone coursing through that wouldn't allow him to be Chill like his sisters? Whose to say.)
Having been with the children for all of their shot series makes me realize how much older they are. Gone are the days of when they would sit on my lap or scream or howl. Now they are all such toughies...even the youngest because God knows she does not want to be seen as 'weak', She's always been the most resilient and least dramatic of them all.

All that you leave Behind...