I was working on a post for my on-line class when I heard someone pounding on the backdoor. I ran through the apartment to open it, and my 11 year old plowed in. “Hi Mom! We’re home!” He threw his backpack on the floor and started prying off his boots.
Just then, the front door was assaulted. BANG! BANG! BANG! Back I ran, through the apartment, and flung open the door for the 9 year old. “Hi Mom!”
They were returning from a three-day trip to Toronto with another family, Dad and an exchange student. I had stayed home because I had both work and classwork. Once I corralled both children into the same room, I asked, “How was the trip?”
They had a lot to say, interrupting each other, talking so fast I could hardly keep up:
It was trash. The back of the car was SO HOT. And completely crowded. And on the way down, the windshield squirter broke and it took forever to fix. And they wouldn’t turn on the air conditioning even though we said we were hot.
It is February in Canada. Their Southern mother cannot imagine wanting air conditioning. I was with the adults on this one.
“But, how was Toronto?” I probed. “Tell me about the vacation part.”
P has a girlfriend. Her name is Emma. She likes the same things we like. Well, I mean, some of them. Like the same shows. We got to talk to her. She’s nice. And he met her on Tinder. And he was like, It’s the last thing I expected, meeting someone here. And we were like, we knew you’d have a girlfriend. But she’s really nice. And she doesn’t even go to his school.
“Whoa! Wait. What? Was she with you in Toronto?”
No, we Skyped with her every night. He talks to her a lot. Oh! And someone got shot. There was a fight. It was right outside our hotel. And then the guy who got shot came into the lobby. But we were asleep. And they took him to the hospital. And there were LOADS of people in the lobby.
I closed my eyes for a minute and took a deep breath. “So, did you actually do anything in Toronto?”
Oh. Yeah. We went to the aquarium.
I looked from one to the other, waiting.
Finally the older one piped up, “Oh yeah, Mom, how was your weekend?”
“Calm,” I said, “Very calm.”
Persistence and Pedagogy 
LOL! How do you feel about your children knowing about Tender? 😂 And where were they staying? I bet you’re happy you didn’t have a crystal ball allowing you to see into this adventure. I bet your house is a lively place—except when the children are road tripping like Jack Kerouac! 😉
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I was actually more worried about Tinder than the shooting nearby. What does that say about me? And no Jack Kerouac for at least another year…😂
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Oh my goodness! This is funny! Getting details from kids is always an adventure. Sounds like they had a memorable time anyway. They may have been driving with my husband – he regularly has the air conditioner on in February. We take blankets with us in the car because of this!
Did you get all caught up on your work? Sorry you missed the aquarium, and the Skype visits with the girlfriend from Tinder. LOL
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One of the articles I read for my class this weekend reminded me that kids rarely learn what we think we’re teaching – seems like vacation is the same. 😜 And, yes, I’m caught up & trying to get ahead. After all, EdCamp is looming… (and our move-in date changed to the 7th, so we should plan to get dinner or at least tea after the camp).
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Your calm weekend didn’t have an equally tranquil ending BUT having a lively re-entry like that is also lovely!
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Both lively and lovely. I enjoyed the quiet, but I’m used to the chaos. 🙂
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These stories! 🤣 I can imagine the scene… your quiet interrupted by this fury. I’m sure you missed them.
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I did miss them! It took me a full day to get used to the quiet – and then they were back in all their hilarious glory.
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Oh my goodness! Will there be anymore road trips in their future? Glad your weekend was calm…that’s just the way I like it!
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I might have to go on the next road trip just to keep an eye on things – and also partake in their sheer loony-ness. (My kids make me laugh but – oh – the quiet was nice.)
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