Unattended Parents

Our daughter went to an overnight camp with her choir group last weekend. The choir people are very organized. They sent out a very detailed checklist. She needed to bring a flashlight, two changes of clothing, her sheet music, and a bunch of other stuff.  I had to go to the grocery store on Friday evening so I left her to do the packing. I figured . . . she's 10 1/2, the checklist was very explicit, and she should be mature enough to handle this sort of thing on her own.

Needless to say, she didn't pack while I was a the grocery store. So, I made some rumblings about canceling the trip and then she stomped off to her room, ostensibly to pack.  The next morning, I went to the gym and to Weight Watchers, then dashed home to grab a shower before dropping her off for camp. She was so excited and couldn't wait to go. When we got to the church parking lot (the choir's offices are inside a local church), she checked in and then hopped on the bus. I put her duffel bag in the luggage compartment and then chatted with my friend Sharon while we waited for the buses to pull out. (By the way, spell check doesn't like "duffel" or "duffle" so I am officially giving up.) My friend mentioned something about how her daughter almost forgot to pack a towel. I didn't remember seeing a towel in my kid's stuff.  I climbed aboard the bus and found my daughter. "Did you pack a towel?" I asked her. She shook her head. "Then why did you bother packing shampoo?" She shrugged. The expression on her face was something like, "Mom. Go away. Now. Ixnay on the oweltay."  She'd almost forgotten her sheet music as well, but I happened to ask about that at the last second.

Anyway, I guess I don't know what she packed or didn't pack, but it was only a 25-hour absence so I figured she'd be fine. After leaving the church, I did a little shopping and then headed home. How come when parents get a little time away from their children, they immediately do something for the kid(s)?  I found myself using a coupon on snow boots for Her Highness and also bought her a shirt to go with a hard-to-match sweater she has.

Now, Mr. M and I had a whole afternoon and evening to do whatever we wanted. He played video games and I cooked.  I know - crazy! I am not a particularly good cook, but I do like to cook.  Well, I like to cook what I want - mostly for myself (because my family thinks everything I make is simply too exotic for consumption). I am not as big a fan of the I-have-to-cook-dinner-for-my-family-on-weeknights scenario. I feel like I got elected to that position based solely on the fact that I have ovaries, which seems unfair. Anyway, I spent the afternoon making butternut squash soup, chocolate zucchini muffins, mock tuna casserole salad, vinegar and sea salt roasted potatoes, and peanut butter cups.  I took the peanut butter cups to church the next day because I cannot be trusted with such things in my house.

After dinner, we went to see "The Martian."  We didn't have to get a babysitter! It was all very exhilarating.  The movie was good, though a bit long for my tiny attention span.

Later, we tried to watch Saturday Night Live, which seemed like it should have been really funny because Tracy Morgan was hosting. But, alas. I think we were both asleep before midnight.

After church on Sunday, we picked the kid up and the three of us went out to lunch. She couldn't stop talking about how much fun she'd had with the choir - the new friends she'd made, the singing, the team-building exercises, and so forth.  Oh, and in case you wondered . . . no, she had not showered.

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