The Parties Just Won't Stop
So this week at school was a bit more settled. There was Games Day on Tuesday afternoon. Little Man participated in the run and the egg and spoon race. He felt very confident that he would do well in the egg and spoon race. He accidently dropped his wooden egg which makes it hard. The second time he dropped it was near where I was sitting and his face spoke of his frustration. He dropped it again near the finish line and used the spoon to chuck it over. He didn't finish last but he didn't place either. I waited watching for him to come back over. I could see him walking very slowly with his shoulders hunched over. I abandoned my chair and hurried to meet him. I dropped down in front of his shuffling feet. He stopped and looked up at me with his big brown eyes brimming with unshed tears. I held out my arms and pulled him close. His arms hung to his side. As the British would say, he was quite gutted about the whole thing.
"I came in third in practice. I guess I'm not that good." Tears flowed down his face.
How do you deal with utter disappointment. I tried my best to reassure him and to let him know that sometimes we just have an off day. But I know that feeling when you've bragged that you are really good at something and when you get the chance to prove it, you fail. A pound seventy and two ice cream lollies for him and Lady Jane and all was right with the world again. His team placed third in the bean bag race so he got a ribbon. I wonder how long it will take before he's confident about something again. Afterwards, we went to Little Miss's house to play with their new Wii and have tea. The kids had a blast. We have to find something that Little Man excels at besides building complicated Lego sets.
The rest of the week went smoothly. We did the pickup, drop off dance. Little Man had a rough day one day, but overall not a horrible week. Saturday dawned bright and early. We made our way down to the school for Prize Day (mostly for Year 6 which will be moving on in the fall). Lady Jane was ecstatic to have Vincent and Samuel to play with out in the courtyard while we strained to hear from the very back of the tent. Phil made us late. He had no idea what was going on or what I had been talking about all week with the Prize Giving.
From there we went and dropped Little Man at another Football Birthday party (different venue). Phil and Lady Jane had a nice picnic in the park while I got a haircut and style. We picked up Little Man and headed home. We spent the rest of the afternoon picking up the apartment so it wouldn't look like a pigsty for Phil's friends who were babysitting for us.
Yes, we got out of the house and trotted down the hill to the school for a ball. Black tie, no less. Phil's putting Lady Jane's picture on his blog. So we got all posh and headed down to the Marqee (tent). Alcohol poured freely in the form of wine. Beer cost 2.50 pounds. We didn't win any prizes in the drawing and couldn't afford anything in the auction. We ate a lovely meal of duck.
Our friend, T, Little Miss's mom, helped set up the whole thing. It was gorgeous. Then the band hobbled up on stage. The electric keyboardist eased his weary bones down on to the stool. The saxophonist was maybe a few years younger. Let's just say one vocalist was older than our parents and the other vocalist looked older than my grandparents. There was some real concern and a little hope that one might fall and break his/her hip after they started performing. T assured us that she had nothing to do with the band and said that she's already made a deal with the DJ to cut in as soon as possible.
A few people braved getting up and dancing to the stylings of the Band whose set included Locomotion (no one danced), Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (without a trumpet), and a few other songs. One of our table mates said she needed to dance to stay warm. She and her husband were pretty much the only ones dancing for a while. As soon as they took their first break the DJ came on and the dance floor was flooded with people. They didn't go back on.
The British call modern dance music Disco. Dancing in high heels is tough on the calves but definitely worth the aches and pains in the morning. I had a lot of fun dancing with some of Little Man's classmates' moms. The English love their disco and the dance floor remained packed until 1:15 am when we left. Even the men had good moves and were out on the dance floor. Oh, and at least the English we were with love to drink as well. Most people were quite drunk. I had a glass of very good champagne when we first arrived and drank water from then out. Phil drank a lot and had a hang over to show for it.
We staggered home, me with painful feet and Phil drunk. Our beautiful children did us right and went to bed without fuss and gave no problems to the babysitters. They even let their slovenly parents sleep until 10 this morning. Little Man fixed their breakfast of cereal. Then it was on to our final birthday which was at a play gym climber thingy. Both kids stayed and had great fun. We looked at a car on the way home and came to an agreement to purchase it for me.
Then we finally arrived home and have done nothing of any importance since. I'm beat and thinking about turning in.
So this week at school was a bit more settled. There was Games Day on Tuesday afternoon. Little Man participated in the run and the egg and spoon race. He felt very confident that he would do well in the egg and spoon race. He accidently dropped his wooden egg which makes it hard. The second time he dropped it was near where I was sitting and his face spoke of his frustration. He dropped it again near the finish line and used the spoon to chuck it over. He didn't finish last but he didn't place either. I waited watching for him to come back over. I could see him walking very slowly with his shoulders hunched over. I abandoned my chair and hurried to meet him. I dropped down in front of his shuffling feet. He stopped and looked up at me with his big brown eyes brimming with unshed tears. I held out my arms and pulled him close. His arms hung to his side. As the British would say, he was quite gutted about the whole thing.
"I came in third in practice. I guess I'm not that good." Tears flowed down his face.
How do you deal with utter disappointment. I tried my best to reassure him and to let him know that sometimes we just have an off day. But I know that feeling when you've bragged that you are really good at something and when you get the chance to prove it, you fail. A pound seventy and two ice cream lollies for him and Lady Jane and all was right with the world again. His team placed third in the bean bag race so he got a ribbon. I wonder how long it will take before he's confident about something again. Afterwards, we went to Little Miss's house to play with their new Wii and have tea. The kids had a blast. We have to find something that Little Man excels at besides building complicated Lego sets.
The rest of the week went smoothly. We did the pickup, drop off dance. Little Man had a rough day one day, but overall not a horrible week. Saturday dawned bright and early. We made our way down to the school for Prize Day (mostly for Year 6 which will be moving on in the fall). Lady Jane was ecstatic to have Vincent and Samuel to play with out in the courtyard while we strained to hear from the very back of the tent. Phil made us late. He had no idea what was going on or what I had been talking about all week with the Prize Giving.
From there we went and dropped Little Man at another Football Birthday party (different venue). Phil and Lady Jane had a nice picnic in the park while I got a haircut and style. We picked up Little Man and headed home. We spent the rest of the afternoon picking up the apartment so it wouldn't look like a pigsty for Phil's friends who were babysitting for us.
Yes, we got out of the house and trotted down the hill to the school for a ball. Black tie, no less. Phil's putting Lady Jane's picture on his blog. So we got all posh and headed down to the Marqee (tent). Alcohol poured freely in the form of wine. Beer cost 2.50 pounds. We didn't win any prizes in the drawing and couldn't afford anything in the auction. We ate a lovely meal of duck.
Our friend, T, Little Miss's mom, helped set up the whole thing. It was gorgeous. Then the band hobbled up on stage. The electric keyboardist eased his weary bones down on to the stool. The saxophonist was maybe a few years younger. Let's just say one vocalist was older than our parents and the other vocalist looked older than my grandparents. There was some real concern and a little hope that one might fall and break his/her hip after they started performing. T assured us that she had nothing to do with the band and said that she's already made a deal with the DJ to cut in as soon as possible.
A few people braved getting up and dancing to the stylings of the Band whose set included Locomotion (no one danced), Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (without a trumpet), and a few other songs. One of our table mates said she needed to dance to stay warm. She and her husband were pretty much the only ones dancing for a while. As soon as they took their first break the DJ came on and the dance floor was flooded with people. They didn't go back on.
The British call modern dance music Disco. Dancing in high heels is tough on the calves but definitely worth the aches and pains in the morning. I had a lot of fun dancing with some of Little Man's classmates' moms. The English love their disco and the dance floor remained packed until 1:15 am when we left. Even the men had good moves and were out on the dance floor. Oh, and at least the English we were with love to drink as well. Most people were quite drunk. I had a glass of very good champagne when we first arrived and drank water from then out. Phil drank a lot and had a hang over to show for it.
We staggered home, me with painful feet and Phil drunk. Our beautiful children did us right and went to bed without fuss and gave no problems to the babysitters. They even let their slovenly parents sleep until 10 this morning. Little Man fixed their breakfast of cereal. Then it was on to our final birthday which was at a play gym climber thingy. Both kids stayed and had great fun. We looked at a car on the way home and came to an agreement to purchase it for me.
Then we finally arrived home and have done nothing of any importance since. I'm beat and thinking about turning in.
posted by Amanda @ 1:20 PM
1 Comments:
At 2:12 PM,
Phil said…
I was not that drunk! I was completely lucid and did not stumble, trip, or knock anything over. I had a bit to drink, but I was not anywhere close to the natives.
Post a Comment
<< Home