Hanging out in the trees

Ok, so this is the scene in front of my house as I arrive home from work.

The boys next door are playing kick ball in the street along with Son #2 and the Imp. Now we do have a yard they could be doing that in, but no they prefer to play in the street.

My girls are in the front yard across the street chasing the neighbor girls around and riding their tricycle.

And where is Son #1 you ask? I didn't spot him at first. It wasn't till I realized that the top branches of the tree across the street were moving but there was no breeze. He was up in the top branches of a tall skinny Maple tree. Do you think he could he be on the side that hangs over the grass - oh, no not Son #1. He's up in the branches that hang over the street. I watched in horror as he climbed down on branches that looked like they could snap at any moment plummeting him to the middle of the road.

Well, he got down without incident, but there was a discussion of "Did you have your brain with you today?" when he got to the house. Which got this response .. "Whaaaat, you never said don't climb that tree... (insert preteen eye rolling too). "

We've never said don't climb a tree. We actually encourage tree climbing. It's a great freeing thing to do. In fact one of the kid’s favorite places to hang out in the summer is the branches of the old red bud tree in the back yard - it has nice thick branches that are comfortable to drape yourself across.

But why he had to climb the skinny one that hangs over the street is just beyond me ....I am sooooo not ready for him to be thirteen

Sssshhhh....it's secret

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been out of town.

Now don't tell anyone...cause it's apparently a big secret. My mother's older sister knows but not her mother, younger sister or anyone in my father's family cause they just didn't want anyone to know. Although everyone my father works with and anyone else my mother speaks to on a regular basis knows. I've found it's best not to question the logic of these kinds of decisions at the time but to focus of what really needs to be done.

But now enough time has passed and I've decided to blow the big secret. I was out of town because I was staying with my parents. My father had triple bypass surgery and someone needed to stay home with him 24/7 for the first week he was home. Since, I can really do my job from anywhere I made plans to be there. My hubby took off work and stayed home with the kidos and I went out to Ohio. Oh, did I mention that this was also the week the kids were home on spring break. Hubby loves me for that one.

Dad is doing well. Fortunately, this was all caught in a check up, so there was no heart damage but there is the recovery of general heart surgery. Dad is a trooper. However, he was trying to get up and around on his own the second day home from the hospital, scaring me to death because he was still a bit wobbly at that point. But my family is a fiercely independent bunch, so being dependent on someone else for anything is quite annoying to them. Also, I was sitting out in the dining room working at the time and he didn't want to interupt my work. Now you know where I get my work ethic from too. It's just proof that I come by stubborness and workaholic tendencies naturally.

P.S. For those who are wondering, no I did not go visit my grandmother while I was out in Ohio. Since no one could know why I was in town I couldn't go visiting without blowing the secret. Yes, I'm a wimp.