First Days of Summer (Summer)

Summer is upon us! We started ours on Saturday with a trip to Richmond to see Grandpa and Grandma. They had a few presents to give us from their journeys and we had a cat to give them (So long, Bucket!). My prize was the best: Digestives!

Grandpa and Grandma had a bunch of stories. I would have been happy to stay around longer, but we couldn't stay too long because of Bucket.

Shane was a little bit of a toot. What he really wanted was a milkshake from Wawa. We told him we were meeting at Starbucks and they had some drinks that were basically milkshakes. I recommended the vanilla bean thing (no coffee!). He put on a pouty face, hung his head, and did his best to let everyone know he was oh so sad. Carrie quickly ordered him a dragonfruit lemonade after he stayed silent and pouty when he was asked what he wanted. Carrie thought it was delicious, but Shane didn't want to drink it.

I told him I was disappointed in the car. I'm a firm believer that we don't always have a choice in our situations, but we can influence our attitudes! Shane wasn't losing anything. He couldn't gain what he really wanted, but he could have picked a "good enough for now" and shown gratitude for it. That attitude might have earned him a treat, but it surely would have made him feel a lot better than throwing a pity party. We let him stew on that for a little bit on the way home. 

But I always want Shane to know he's forgiven and loved. I had him come out and run the dogs with me after we got home. Yes, I want to call him out when he acts like a turd. No, I don't want him to think his mistakes define who he is. "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus...".

Knowing you are loved for who you are is one of the most important things in life. God's love is eternal and unchanging while humans can be fickle. You can learn about that and play Smash Brothers in church. Shane wanted to finish a round before we left Sunday morning.

I took him to the comic book shop afterward. We had to kill some time, so I offered to buy him a book. He didn't want anything at first (Wha!?!?), but settled on picking up a book that he read to me in the car.

Shane read the whole way to Dylan's! I'd prefer if he read silently, but I'm not going to discourage him from reading! Shane immediately ran inside, but I stayed outside to talk to John as he played lumberjack. There was one log that neither of us could split!

We stayed for at least a couple of hours. They have ALL of the cards and expansions for Exploding Kittens. I think we played, but my memory is foggy on that point (I know we played one one visit for sure, but was it this one? Dunno).

Shane loved the start to his summer, but I still had some mixed feelings. Monday was my final workday. It's hard every year. In 13 years I'll have worked enough years for my maximum retirement benefits (not that I'm counting...). I don't intend to retire then, but I can imagine how odd that day will be when it comes.