Weekend Things

We've just completed a weekend with absolutely zilch planned and not much more accomplished.

Saturday Paige and I headed out for a run in the morning. As a newer runner she is doing a walk- run interval but getting stronger by the day and decreasing the walking portions. She hopes to run at least 80% of her 13.1 miles in June. I told her to adopt my plan -- the goal is to cross the finish line on two feet. There is no room for legalism. Not for us anyway. Cover the distance.

Her cheeks turn bright red and her heartrate soars into the 180's as she works to follow the plan set before her. She asked me to be her trainer, I hope it does not prove to be the demise of a very solid mother-daughter friendship. :) She says, "No - I want to do this - sometimes you just have to remind me of that." When she gets home from Youth Group tonight she has some really cool news to share about a NEW matching grant. I'll say nothing more - she wants to tell you.

I ran a few more miles than Paige and returned home to a somber Livesay tribe. "What happened?" - I asked. Troy gave me a look to tell me that I better not make a joke and said, "Hermie was found. Dead. In the toy box."

The beloved Livesay children's pet- a Haitian Hermit Crab found on Wahoo Beach in November of 2009 and smuggled out of Haiti post earthquake by Vivien and Paige - died in Waco, TX of not-so-natural-causes. It turns out that if your hermit crab is left in the bottom of your toy box without water it will eventually fall out of its shell and perish.

Let that be a lesson unto you.

I tried to convince Isaac Hermie had a good run. What other hermit crab crosses the Caribbean by air and eventually becomes a Texan? Isaac was too sad to enjoy any of my dumb jokes. Troy organized a burial service and Hermie was laid to rest. It was all very lovely and crab-honoring ... until later that day when Lydia was bored and decided to try to unearth Hermie.

Troy's solution to the sorrow was to announce a trip to PetSmart. Inside of PetSmart all Livesay children begged for dogs, birds, cats and any type of more legitimate pet. (One parent knew that would happen but refrained from saying "I told you so".) Not to be deterred, Troy kept redirecting their attention to the $5 Hermit Crabs.

Lydia especially loved the rat running in the wheel and squealed with delight, "puppy, puppy, puppy!!!" Yes Lydie, that is a sick little rodent puppy with a long nasty tail that chews in the night and makes sounds that cause your spine to tingle. The kids pushed hard for a guinea pig or gerbil. Troy made generalizations and blanket statements about what types of people have rodents for pets. Some stereotypes are based in reality he said.

And now we've offended a new group of readers.

We left the store with two crabs ... Zero rats, gerbils, or rat-puppies.

Because he hates having his hair picked out, Isaac has let his dream of a large afro die (so much death) - so we went to get a haircut on Saturday. I flat out asked the guy on the phone "Do you know how to do 'black' hair?" I even went as far as to say, "I don't expect that you do - that is why I am asking." I must have caused him to let pride gain the upper hand because he said "Oh, I am certain I can do it."

Yeah, NO. Wrong. Answer.

We will go tomorrow to have a black man repair the damage done by Mr. "I am certain" white guy.

Today we went to church, had our friend from Haiti over for lunch, tried very hard to carry on conversation and remembered that entertaining with children is not easy, fun, or wise. Noah wouldn't let Troy talk to our guest ... he loves the sound of his own voice so very much. After the guest left the kids got a lecture about interrupting, monopolizing conversations, being rude, and acting like ... children!! It reminded me of the time I lost my temper at Noah and said, "Noah Matthew, you are acting like a four year old!" A little voice came from the back seat, "But - I am fo-ah Mama."

It is tuck-in time now and I must be sure the crabs and children are accounted for and mostly clean.

In the background noise of my head I'm continually praying for and thinking of Haiti while simultaneously trying hard to just "be" here and enjoy silly moments in PetSmart and awkward moments in hair salons and just cementing these memories we're making in Waco, Texas.

Yee-Haw.