parades and pandomonium

Truth be told, Sunday night after both kids are settled in for the night is a victory moment of sorts for me. If I made it through the weekend without coming unglued, then I pat myself on the back. If I didn't (and this is one of those weekends where I'm afraid I didn't), I eat some chocolate, sink into the couch, write it all down and am thankful in the knowledge that at least it is just one weekend and I get thousands and thousands more chances to get it right before I can say definitively that I have screwed them up.

In my defense, there were circumstances at hand this weekend that would test anyone's mettle. For example, there was the farmer's market incident. Théa is a bit of a flight risk these days, and no matter how often I explain the rules, she pretty much takes every opportunity to dash off on her own whim. So I was on her, the whole time at the market, which is as much a social opportunity than it is a chance to find yummy greens that didn't fly half way across the globe to get to you. She tried to bolt - I followed. She twirled on a pole, I didn't take my eyes off her. She attempted to rob someone of flowers - I intervened. And then I bumped into someone who asked me a quasi-complicated question about web design, and the next minute I looked up and she was gone - no-freaking-where. Liam pointed toward the gate and said she went that way. When? I asked. Why didn't you tell me, I hollered (excellent, make the kid feel guilty, way to go, Mom.)

So I dashed up the to the parking lot, all the while looking around at the swirl of people in hopes of seeing her not tangoing with RVs. Nope. Then I saw a couple of 70-year-old leopard-skin-wearing-women in the parking lot pointing and gesturing, and I figured I must be close. Sure enough, three rows of cars from the gate, there was Théa, heading straight for my car, and I later found out, to find her "kitty", a stuffed animal. Good god.

Then, later in the day, we went for a walk down the road, and while I was chatting with my neighbor, Théa went running off up the road toward the house. No problem, I thought, I'll catch up with her. Then she veered right and ran right into another neighbor's house, one I actually don't know. I found her on the far side of the deck in the back (a slightly sketchy deck, I might add) with her pants down, peeing. Had anyone been home, they would have gotten quite a view.

So, no, I didn't quite make it through the weekend without my voice hitting that octave I'm never quite proud of, nor do I think is in any way productive. On the other hand - I am only human.