Memorial Day and the pool's not done--heavy sigh...maybe we'll all dress in our suits and go out and stand in the concrete...

d

Congratulations, Madam President! You'll have a great year next year ~ your best ever, I'm sure!!!

LUV, I thought about you, your family and your friend last night. I'm sure it was a sad night all the way around.

Shorty is officially on summer break. Woo Hooooo!!!! I picked him up from his half day today and the principal said he didn't have to come tomorrow if he didn't want to since it was just a make up day. He doesn't have any work to make up so he's FREE!

"And now", cried Max, "let the Wild Rumpus start."
~Max, the King of All Wild Things
~Where the Wild Things Are

Wow--I never thought of that with the funeral stuff. Great idea...Voted last night--yes I'm still there...I hope I've made the correct decision for the group. We still have Alumni Night and the Swim Night and Dreamcatchers Day ahead but nothing like last year (no Carnival and Field Day is over) woo hoo...

Okay all have a great day...d

Thanks CC, I was thinking along the same lines. I'm in my 40's and as my parents, other relatives and friends age, my kids are going to experience this situation more frequently. I thought I would talk to them about how much it would mean to my friend for them to come to the visitation and give her a hug and tell her how sorry they are for her sadness. I know it will be hard, but I guess it's time for them to experience this part of life.

LUV - I'll just share a bit of advice that I got and it helped with Shortie. I was worried about taking him to a funeral. Someone said it might be easier if the first time he goes to one it isn't for someone he was especially close to then when he does have to go to one for a grandparent or other dearly loved friend/family member, it won't be such a shock.

It is hard for kids to witness grief, see the body, etc. As parents we want to shield them from pain and sadness. But it's all part of the human condition and maybe helping them ease into it will help it be a bit less of a shock when it's them going through it.

It's also a wonderful lesson in empathy. While they personally may not be affected by a tragic event, people around them are. Seeing how people help each other through such things can be a great lesson.

We love to watch the boys play, they are such a nice bunch of kids. Some throw little tantrums when they strike out, but they don't play dirty or make comments to the other players when they are near them on the field(we've had kids on other teams make rude or mean comments). They all cheer for each other and support each other when things don't go well, and when they go out to meet the other team at the end of the game, they are modest and humble when they win and truly sincere when they congratulate the other team when they lose. They really are a TEAM. It makes all our team parents proud when we see them behave with such good sportsmanship. We have to credit our coaches too, because they don't yell at the umps or get mean with the kids. We don't have any parents that do that either-kids really do learn by example. I guess we're pretty lucky, because we see some real nightmare parents, coaches and players during the season.

I think you will enjoy the book too. If you like it, you should read Janet Evanovich's books. She's a fave of mine.

I'm struggling with whether the kids should go tonight. I really think my friend would love to see them, but I'm not sure if they are ready for something like this. My daughter would probably be okay, but I think my son would have a hard time seeing my friend so distraught. I talked with them some yesterday about it, but I think this afternoon I will explain what it's probably going to be like and let them decide.