Various Things that Have Annoyed Me In July So Far.

You know, when I was a kid playing in the sprinkler, the kid pool or the hose was a mainstay of summer outside entertainment.  And I've tried to replicate that with my children but I'm finding it an uphill battle.

First attempt - I bought a slip and slide type plastic thing that attached to a small inflatable pool at the bottom.  A slip and slide, if you aren't familiar with the term, is a water slide that is, essentially, a tarp.  It's a flat, smooth runner of plastic and you put water and possibly soap to add to the slipperiness, and then you run along and slide on it.  Works best on a hill.  I bought a child sized one of these and since we had a small hill beside the house this was perfect for the children to play on and then fly into a little pool of water at the bottom.  Then the house next door at the bottom of the hill sold and now we can't use the hill, and therefore the slip and slide.

Second attempt - I started using a hard plastic kiddie pool.  The children fought constantly about it because, unsurprisingly, they couldn't all sit in it at the same time.

Third attempt - So devoid of the slip and slide with pool option and the hard plastic pool, I bought a sprinkler.  It was a fun one that spurted water in all directions and, I hoped, would possibly also double as watering the grass.  It lasted just over a week before the town instituted a water restriction that means I can only use a sprinkler between the hours of 5 AM and 10 AM on odd numbered days.  This effectively squashed the sprinkler option.

Fourth attempt - I bought an inflatable pool that I could set up on the deck and would fit the children at the current larger sizes they are.  It took an hour to inflate the first of two parts of it, including stopping for breaks to let the air compressor cool off.  And then I accidentally poked two holes in it which necessitated applying puncture patches and waiting 30 minutes for them to cure.  Then I re-inflated the already inflated part I had punctured, and inflated the second part, and it all took a ridiculous time by which point it was past 10 AM so I couldn't actually use the hose anymore to fill the pool.

I just remember standing outside playing with the hose, or running through a sprinkler, so I can't understand why this is so complicated.

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So this past week the children went to day camp, by themselves, for the First Time Ever.  And they had a great time but I have had a week of repetitive stress as all the little things about camp worried me.  And now today is the last day, which is so good because now I can relax a bit knowing they aren't going to get lost in the woods or drown at the beach or discover that they really ARE allergic to bees or any of the other extreme scenarios my mind made up for me to helpfully fuss about for five days.  On the other hand, David and I thought 'the kids should write thank you cards for their counselors'.  And herein lies yet another worry.  Both of the 7yo's counselors have creative names that are spelled with unusually placed letters, and I'm not 100% certain I am spelling them correctly.  And also I told the children they had to compose and print the cards themselves, and their spelling is ATROCIOUS.  What if no one can even READ them?  And also the 7yo expressed displeasure at my Thank You card selection.  I'd just bought a pack at the Christian book store that said 'Thank You' on the front and was brightly coloured but she didn't like the look/Bible verse/something something I don't know, and now I'm stressed about ALL of those things.

What all of this means is I have three horribly printed and spelled cards with mis-spelled names on them in patterns no one likes.  Looks like a real win.

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The other day David turned to me and said 'where are all of the little coloured plastic bowls?' and I had no idea.  Had I thrown them away?  I thought it was possible because I remember thinking I should throw them away since they were several years old and looked it and also I'd like to get a better quality bowl.  But had I actually thrown them away?  I was very stressed about this because I couldn't remember at ALL.  And this was several bowls I'd lost, not just misplacing the sugar bowl in the freezer or putting my keys in a potted plant or something.  And then my mother in law called and asked me if I might have left a bunch of coloured plastic bowls at her house.  So THAT'S where they were!  And let me tell you why this is infuriating.  Before I leave her house I always ALWAYS go all over the house making absolutely certain I haven't left anything behind.  And yet, so often I have left things behind.  A sock disappears, or a stack of plastic bowls, or a box of tea I brought with me and didn't bring home, or a pen, or something.  And it isn't that I begrudge the gods of misplaced things their due, or that I expect perfection from myself or something, but I can't understand how I can look so closely over and over again and not see these things!