George Opening Presents

We celebrated George’s 9th birthday yesterday. For those of you keeping track, yes, it was a week early. Fairly certain his actual birthday would coincide with moving day, we decided to be proactive and get something on the calendar before his Big Day got lost in the cardboard boxes that are currently decorating our house.

All he wanted was a gathering. With his best friend, Ethan. At Dave and Busters. He’s been missing his BFF something fierce. It was so good to see them together yesterday. Those two never cease to make me smile.

And Dave and Busters? It’s like Vegas for Kids. Seriously. The blinking lights, the perpetual sounds, the manic kids, the eternal darkness that makes you question whether it’s night or day, the wads of cash that disappear in the blink of an eye. But Dave and Busters has something Vegas doesn’t: cheap-ass crap that you get to bring home with you. In the midst of a move. While you’re trying to purge.

Many things have already been “lost in the move.” A few more are on their way.

We got George an iTouch for his birthday. Indulgent? Probably. I’m not going to argue that point. But it was the one thing he consistently asked for over the course of the last six months. And the look on his face when he opened it? Totally worth the price of admission.

Mary Claire drove with me yesterday while I picked up balloons and cookie cakes. We sang to some Michael Jackson and Adele (because Shmee has forbidden me to listen to any more Brandi Carlile), we chatted, we enjoyed each other’s company.

“Mom,” Mary Claire said as we pulled out of the gas station, “I’m probably going to cry the entire ten hours it takes us to drive to Mississippi.”

“I know, Honey. It will be sad to leave. I understand. But ten hours? That’s a lot of crying.” (Trust me on this one, Love — I KNOW.)

“I just can’t imagine waving goodbye to Alyson and not crying.”

“It’s okay to cry,” I told her. “It’s okay to be sad about leaving your friends. But I hope you’re not ten-hours-worth-of-sad.”

“Yeah,” she admitted, “I probably won’t cry the whole ten hours. Because when we get closer to Mississippi? I might even get excited.”

We’re all growing up a bit over here.

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7 Responses

  1. You make me sound so mean… Did I really use the word forbid? I thought I said something like, “Perhaps you should take a break from listening to so much Brandi Carlisle, Pumpkin. I hate seeing you so sad.” Yeah…. that sounds much more like something I’d say.

  2. Thinking of you and your family as you prepare for the big move. I’ve only known you a week, but from that brief meeting and your writing, it’s as if we’ve been friends forever.

    Love and support headed your way…

  3. Hi !
    I am a friend of the Ramkumars (Starkville, MS). Great to know that you are a writer and a blogger (I have a blog too).
    Looking forward to meeting all of you here.

    1. So good to “meet” you! Thanks so much for commenting. We are looking forward to our new Mississippi adventure (even though we’re still crying a bit on this end), and are eager to get to know all of our new friends. 🙂

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