The call of the state fair, back-to-school excitement, and our bathroom renovation (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

The Maryland State Fair calls to me like a siren song. I know that it will be crowded and expensive and hot. But I can’t help myself. It’s almost as if I have to go.

In the weeks leading up to the fair, we watch the Ferris Wheel going up, and I just know we’ll be heading to the fairgrounds. This year the fair is being held on three long weekends rather than during one very long, full week. So, instead of making our usual weekday trip, my boys and I braved the crowds on a sunny Sunday afternoon on our way home from Mass.

As we were walking up to the gates, a man driving through the parking lot called out to us and gave me a coupon for discounted admission. And the whole experience was like that, with kind people at every turn.

My sons and I had agreed in advance on three rides and two games, but we whittled that down to one game after scoping out our game options. The boys got sodas and then on the way out one got funnel cake and one got pizza. We were there for a little more than two hours and left tired but happy and with fun stories to share about our adventures.

We left our fair ride cards with the lady who sold us our parking and asked her to pass them along to someone who wanted to refill them. And then we went home to air conditioning and drinks galore.

~2~

While my boys were on one of the rides, I was texting with a friend who said he had had the chance to hold a piglet when he went to the fair. I told him all I was holding was two drinks, some stuffed sharks, and everyone’s phones. Everything but the piglet! Remind me to bring an extra tote bag next year.

~3~

My back-to-school transition this year feels particularly bumpy. I think it’s because we have children in two schools this year, and one is starting high school, which seems to bring a whole new set of everything.

The schedules and planning and supplies and confusion will ultimately come to an end, and people will go back to school. But my head is spinning with it all.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.

~4~

We’ve been wanting to have our master bathroom renovated for years, and our contractor friend Artur (who handled our kitchen renovation a few years ago) was able to fit us in to get started this past week. There is nothing like the excitement and the disruption of a construction project, but it’s all going smoothly.

Most of the decisions feel fairly easy, but every now and then a question comes up that stumps me. Thank goodness for Artur, who provides recommendations, and for John, who has opinions on how it should look and work in the end.

~5~

Weeks ago, I brought my leftover birthday cake home on one of my mother’s Corel plates, and it has slipped right in with the other plates in the kitchen. It happily moves from the cupboard to the table to the sink to the dishwasher with the other plates.

For a while, when I saw the plate, I felt guilty that I hadn’t returned it. But I’ve come to see it as a long-term guest, and now I look forward to seeing it in the plate rotation.

My mother might have a different opinion on this.

~6~

On Monday, we celebrated the 11^th anniversary of the day we met our younger son in China. Most years, our boys pick a favorite restaurant for their special dinners, so I hadn’t given much thought to making food. But they were starving in the late afternoon as we were driving home, so we stopped and I got them each a sub and then that threw off dinner a little.

Our “Gotcha Day” boy said what he really wanted was my homemade chicken noodle soup. So, I ran to the store for the ingredients, grumbled a bit when the first store had no rotisserie chickens, went to another store to get everything, came home, chopped and diced and sautéed and boiled and cooked it up, and then found out that he prefers it when I make it with another kind of noodles. Still, he ate it happily enough.

I can’t believe he’s been part of our family for 11 years. It doesn’t seem possible that it’s been that long. And yet it also seems like forever.

~7~

As the end of the summer arrives, I have this sense that we should have taken more time off to do activities as a family.

I always feel this way about summer, but these past months have gone much too quickly. So, we dropped everything to go bowling yesterday. We had such a great time together, and I loved watching the boys support each other, offering advice instead of competing.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, every age is my favorite age.

Oh, how I hate to see summer end. But I can also tell our boys are ready for the school year to start. So, here we go!

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