Memorial Day

We had a great day yesterday. Jim had to work for a few hours in the morning but was home around 10:30. We went to McDonalds for breakfast, one of our favorite cheap family things to do together. Then we went out into the middle of nowhere to pick strawberries. I have actually never done this before, but I needed some for a salad I was making and it sounded like a lot more fun than picking them up at Kroger. Brynn had the time of her life. I can't count the number of times she yelled from her spot down in the patch, "Mommy, are you having fun? This is SO much fun!" We need to work a little on quality control, as I ended up throwing out probably half of the strawberries she picked, but it was worth it. I think we are doing it again next Saturday. I will definitely not forget my camera next time.

The only glitch in our day was a potty emergency we became aware of as we were pulling away from the farm. We are nearly 30 minutes from home. We tell her we can stop at Subway in Wilmore for her to go, but then we make a critical error. Since she is no longer saying anything about it, we share a look and decide to head on home, confident she can make it. Five minutes later she is near tears. "I can't keep it in!" Taking charge, Jim says, "Make a right." Well, the right is a little sketchy but I do it anyway. We get about half a mile down a wee country lane and he says "pull over." I pull over. And by pull over, I mean stop in the lane I am in, because there is nothing even resembling a shoulder anywhere. He gets out and gets Brynn out. He mutters something about holding her over the grassy area outside his door. And by grassy area, I mean dense foliage no doubt covered in poison ivy. The spot we picked... let's just say the Amazon is less leafy.

It is important to know that Brynn is easily freaked-out in unusual potty situations. If we are at Fazoli's, and the seat is one inch higher than she is used to, or there is any kind of stain or mark within five feet of the toilet, she will balk and often decide to wait till we get home. So the whole time we are on this adventure, I'm pretty skeptical that anything is actually going to be accomplished.

I turn and peek out Katy's window in hopes of seeing how the scene is playing out, but they are out of sight. I hear a little shriek followed by the sound of shoes on gravel. Then Jim is sighing and buckling her back into the car. "Mommy, I'm going to wait until we get home. I don't want to go pee-pee in the grass. That's yuck." I assure her this is the right decision, that most girls do not enjoy peeing outside. Then Jim had a question.

Jim: "How do girls do it?"
Me: "Do what?"
Jim: "Pee in the woods or wherever?"
Me: "They squat."
Jim: "Oh." (long pause) "Cause I couldn't figure out how that was gonna work."
Me: "Right. Well, it's not easy."
Jim: "It's easy for guys."
Me: "Don't get me started."

You will be relieved to hear that she made it home in time. I did not have to spend the rest of the holiday scrubbing her car seat, and for that I am grateful.

Jim worked outside in the yard for a while and I cleaned up the strawberries and made my salad. How delicious are fresh-picked strawberries? So good! We also squeezed in short but glorious naps. (Grown-ups love naps, don't they?) Then we spent the evening with friends, grilling out and laughing a lot. The rain mostly held off, so the kids could play outside and get some exercise. All in all, it was about as good as a day can get without being on vacation. I hope yours was a good one, too.