Just in case anyone is reading this and doesn't know us well, it's definitely not that Jason's uninvolved, and I don't think of myself as a "helicopter mom" or any other unhealthy, annoying term; I'm just always around.
I suppose it's in part because I worked for the first three years of Charlie's life, in part because I'm a hermit, and in part because Jason fishes on Saturday when possible, but mostly because I just find the child endlessly entertaining and a lot more fun to be with than to be away from...
Anyway, this weekend we threw a "Diaper Pounding" (somewhat alarming Southern term for a Diaper Shower) for our good friends Chad & Corrisa to celebrate their new baby boy, Tanner, and stock their changing table, and as only happens in the movies or when the need is great, a million things came together to grant me the most precious gift that the mom of a three year old can ask for: an empty house the day immediately prior to and the day of an event in her home!
It all starts with the opening of shrimp season Friday -- so rather than fishing Saturday, Jason and his buddy Robert floated in the harbor until the wee hours of Saturday morning to haul in 24 shrimp! (Jason assures me that they knew the shrimp would be scarce due to the tides and it being the first day, etc... but they just wanted to give it a trial run in the new boat...which I am smart enough to know means that if Kristen and I were going to see it as a legitimate reason, they were going to float in the harbor until the wee hours of Saturday morning, because that's what boys like to do.)
Next, Charlie was invited to the fifth birthday party for Alice (Robert & Kristen's daughter) on Saturday afternoon. My first reaction was panic. Charlie lives for birthday parties and adores Alice and her little brother Paul, but how on earth was I supposed to spend Saturday afternoon at James Island County Park when 30+ ladies would be at my house 24 hours later? I wasn't!
Jason and Charlie hit the road after a quick, post-soccer lunch, and I had the house to myself for over four hours. I organized, I scoured, I sorted, I trashed, I baked, I arranged...it was amazing!
Then we ate Saturday night dinner and Sunday breakfast and lunch on the back porch, and all of Saturday's hard work lasted until my boys drove off Sunday afternoon with lifejackets, brownies, cookies and boat in tow -- mere moments before my co-hostess, Vikki, arrived.
The "pounding" was full of oohs and aahs and laughter and sweet treats, and Chad and Corrisa could start a diaper shop if need be, so all in all it was a rousing success.
And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, my boys pulled into the driveway Sunday night as I finished drying the platters and sat down to sort through the party pics -- and my dear, sweet baby boy couldn't wait to see me and tell me how much fun he'd had with Daddy, but that being on the boat just wasn't the same without me.
It really doesn't get any better than that.
