The Stitches Come Out

Friday was the last day of Seahorse Soccer Camp, an all-day Christian-based soccer camp for kids that runs for a week. This was Kaeley's first experience with an organized team sport and she loved it! I was glad both she and Nathan had enjoyed their time, but I was ready to be done with the rushed mornings and the driving back and forth to Redondo Beach every day. Friday morning I dropped the two older kids off at camp and took the younger two to McDonald's for free play. Now could we have played just as happily in a conventional outdoor playground? No. Those don't have free WiFi and large iced coffees. Alynna could have played there all day long. This is where they were pretending to be "lepers that are rare" which turned out to be leopards that are real.

We went home and had a quiet, but productive morning at home, ate lunch, and ran few errands before watching Kaeley and Nathan play their last game of camp soccer.

Thanks, Donna Crawford, for taking such great action shots of the kids doing their thang.

While I screamed encouragements to "get that ball" and reminders that the goal nets were not toys in which to play, Simon and Alynna played... in a dirt pile.

I don't usually freak out about dirt. For me I figure dirty equals a day well played. However, directly after camp we had a doctor's appointment to get Nathan's stitches taken out and being dirty in a doctor's clean white office just seems rude (and slightly embarrassing if I'm completely honest). But there was really nothing else for the two youngers to do (except find a 2x4 and attempt to use it as a ramp to the top of an electrical box... no thank you), so I eventually gave up trying to keep them clean. I cringed and looked the other way.

At one point Simon was so dirty he looked like he had a black eye!

By the time camp had ended and I had everyone buckled into the car I was wearing one busted flip flop, Nathan and Kaeley were dressed in sweaty dirty sports clothes, Alynna and Simon were just plain filthy, and Nathan had spilled something stinky on himself.

By the time I parked at the doctor's office with four minutes to spare three of the four kids were sleeping. Thankfully Simon slept in my arms for nearly the entire appointment. We waited and waited and waited. The children zoned out in front of Frozen, which was playing on the office television system, I wasted time on Facebook, and Simon drooled sleepily on my shoulder.

If I had been able to take a picture of his neck... I'm telling you.

Finally we entered the appointment room. After Nathan's vitals were checked by the nurse we waited and waited and waited. The children zoned out in front of Frozen, which was still playing on the office television system and I was slightly more productive with my time as I journal for therapeutic reasons:

It's been an hour now with no doctor in sight. The children, at least the three that are awake, sing along to Frozen. Nathan, dirty with sweat and week's worth of soccer camp, lays on the bed. He keeps digging his dirty hands into his eyes. His dirty face boasts five stitches and a strong bandaid tan.

Alynna sits on the doctor's stool since there's still no doctor in sight. Nathan jokes that she's his doctor. She smiles in a way that says she's pleased at the joke, but retorts, "No. I'm a sea otter and I live on land!"

Something doesn't smell quite right. It could be the oldest boy smelling boyish or it could be the three year old that is sleeping deeply in my arms. It's been a long time my left arm has supported his weight.

Ugh... couldn't I have just boiled sewing scissors and... the doctor!

Our doctor is a lovely man - soft-spoken, gentle. We made small talk where I learned he had not planned his week very well as his family was in a San Diego camp site waiting for his day at the office to be over so he could join them.

Thankfully he didn't call CPS on our apparent lack of hygiene, but he did ask if I was using sunblock on the children. With tail between my legs I insisted that we were using sunscreen, but the fact that they had been outside all for week for six hours a day had kind of thrown a wrench in the whole healthy-skin idea. As soon as he looked away I shot a stink eye at the sunburned Kaeley that clearly communicated, "Next time I instruct you to reapply sunscreen, don't give me the whole, 'I'm a Mexican; I don't need sunscreen,' routine". She stared back at me with bloodshot eyes.

The stitches were taken out with no problem. Last time Nathan had stitches taken out it was a painful experience for him and I nearly passed out. This time he winced once and we walked out victorious and dirty.

Then we drove to the Dollar Tree, because I like to torture myself by shopping with tired and stinky children who shout and sing and turn rolls of gift wrap into swords. Plus I needed new flip flops.

Then we drove to church for family movie night, because why not squeeze more into a long day with tired and stinky children? The movie was fun though and I didn't have to make dinner.

As we drove home Nathan decided he wasn't in a minivan. He was now a dragon-rider! I guess dragon-riders have to make constant noise, because that's what he did for the entire ten minute drive back home. Alynna and Simon became ninjas who continued to yell about all the ninja moves they were making on the bad guys who were trying to take Nathan's dragon. Kaeley sang along to the Frozen soundtrack that was no longer playing. Me? I swayed peacefully to, "Give the beat, boys, and free my soul. I wanna get lost in your rock and roll." And I got lost.

We parked and loaded our arms with dirty clothes and cleats and whatnot that didn't belong in the car. Nathan had both arms full of his stuff when he loudly stated, "Something in here stinks!" Alynna calmly replied that it was his feet. He gawked at the very idea! He clearly didn't see his sweaty soccer sock resting right under his chin.

We staggered upstairs, took baths, and pronounced, "The End" on a day well played.