It was a really nice Mother's Day this year. Steve went to a lot of trouble to please me cause he knows how much I dislike the "holiday". I started the morning at Penelope where the conversation and writing were stimulating and thoughtful. While we were out for a long walk, Justin called again just to talk. Then, I was able to swim my first 100 lengths of the season. Steve made barbecued chicken for dinner and then I spent time talking with Evan and my sister.
At 9:30 pm , we got an email. "I didn't want to bother you on Mother's Day," but they did it anyway. "Our daughter has a softball game on Friday and we want to pick her up to play. Where can we meet you? And, by the way, she had a deer tick on her after the last hike and we have her on antibiotics to prevent disease."
Crap! Two issues, one annoying and one significant. It took two hours to figure out responses and plans. For three weeks, we have advised the kids during every class that they had to inform us well in advance of any conflicts. Fill out the purple form, hand it in. Discuss it with us so we can make plans. Your actions impact your tent partner, cook group, hike group and the entire expedition. Despite that, not a single child did what they were supposed to. Two parents have now notified us, but no kids. The game has been on the schedule all season. Why not plan ahead? The mom apologized for the last minute notification, and said her daughter was under great pressure to play. Those coaches! A modified game with no significance versus a once in a lifetime experience.
The tick problem is serious. Mark had warned us about the quantity of ticks this year. Steve did research on the best course of action to follow should someone get bit. We had already purchased the tool to remove them. He consulted with the school nurse and then bought more cans of repellent.
Today, there were more changes. One boy dropped out. Another boy has a mild concussion and can't participate on Wednesday. The other days are uncertain. We lost at least one Silver Creek adult and perhaps another. We promised we would not check email after 9:00 pm so as not to disrupt another night of sleep. The only message was an inquiry about what to bring to the picnic. Cool.
It was another blistering hot day that crashed to an end tonight with a ferocious thunder storm. Fortunately, I got to swim another half mile this morning before we had to go off to pack cook kits. Last year, we did not even open the pool till June 2.
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