Jane Austin Meets Motocross

The time has come to indoctrinate my daughters in all things Jane Austin. They are a bit on the young side but, really, is any girl to young for Jane’s magic? I think not.

Here’s the set up. D and the boys are away this weekend at the Outdoor Motocross Nationals. This is a major deal (I’m told) because the Outdoor Motocross Nationals never, never come here. So they had to go no matter the cost, and the cost my friends, it was high. But if Jane herself was reincarnated or her apparition showed up say, in Wortham Texas next weekend, I would probably move heaven and earth to go, so
I guess I understand…sort of.

So it’s just me, E and A. (T is home this weekend) Sat was just a regular day of laundry and grading algebra (have I mentioned how much I LOVE B’s algebra tutor? Just looking at all those letters mixed in with numbers gives me the cold shivers.).

But on Sunday we had girl time. We went only to Sunday School, then we went home, changed clothes and grabbed a few card games and headed to Panera Bread. This is a girls paradise my friends! We ate lunch and played In A Pickle and Professor Noggin’s First Peoples of North America. We got a few strange looks; I guess not many people take their kids to Panera to play games that look suspiciously like learning games on a Sunday.

Then we did something that you can really only do with your mom and sister…we went bra shopping for E. She’s only 10 and she’s been wearing those sport’s bra things for a few months now. But well, it was time for a bit more. She is young and I really hate to begin her life-long bra wearing sentence now. But, it was time. So we bought bras and shoes because we were at Target and you simply can’t go to Target on a girls shopping trip and not try on shoes. Then the girls bought purple and white stripped socks with monkeys on them. Not because they needed them or because they’ll match anything they own, or even because they’ve always wanted purple and white stripped monkey socks; but because they were in their size and they were on clearance. Oh, my heart how it melted…I’ve trained them well.

By the time we got home it was late afternoon. The girls went outside and played (they’re young and don’t feel the heat) I stayed inside because, well we pay a lot of money for this A/C and I couldn’t let it go to waste, so I read a book.

Then it was time…their first Jane Austin movie. I sat them down with their dinner of popcorn, pretzels, and drink in the living room no less, and gave them a brief synopsis of Sense and Sensibility. I told them who was related to whom and who loved whom and who was rich and who was poor. Then we began the movie. We did have to stop the move for explanations SEVERAL times, but it was worth it, because they got it.

They were totally engrossed; they followed the story line perfectly, a little too perfectly actually. Remember why Willoughby left Marianne? Because he got Colonel Brandon’s charge pregnant and was cut off without a penny, so he had to marry the other lady and her 50 thousand pounds? Yeah, I had to explain how someone got pregnant without the benefit of marriage to my 8 year old, who still was under the impression that only married people got pregnant in some sort of magic way. Didn’t see that one coming. But I guess it was time.

Because we stopped the movie for explinations about every 15 minutes, and had the birds and the bees talk, the movie took a bit longer to watch, but when it was done A said, “those movies are so cool! It is a lot better when you have a mom to tell you what is going on, Thanks Mom!”. And my heart, it melted a little more.

In many ways it is sad to see my baby girls growing up; I want them to stay little and braid their hair and dress them up. But I am also looking forward to the woman they are becoming. We are really starting to have fun together. They’re old enough for me to share the things I love with them and shop with and take out to my favorite restaurant. My girls are just fun to hang out with.

I may not have any more babies in this house, and that is a little sad, but I have some kids that are turning into great friends.

And tomorrow…a dentist appointment and A’s first day back at Scottish Rite. I wish the weekend would never end.