One of the standby lines from 'The Jerk' is the inspiration for my title; only in his case it was the phone books. It meant that he was somebody, the Jerk had arrived! In our case, we are a family. We have a family portrait. These are from the church sittings and there are so many extra proofs! I'll scan one or two in and post them if I get time. They arrived in the rain, and were left on the porch. I brought them in, and opened them up on the kitchen table, only to have two cats walk across them. I also noticed immediately that my bulging migraine vein was NOT airbrushed out as promised. Oh well - I guess I might as well look realistic! That picture was taken the week before we left for Nationals, and I was stressed with trying to get everyone packed and off at their respective departure times.
Brian started his standardized testing today. It's four days, and I am terrified to see the results. He has been declining each year, for some reason. He also hates to write with pencils. It's the only sensory issue I would say he has. Last year, in language arts, his teacher asked if there were any other skills they wanted to practice. He raised his hand and said that he would like to practice writing with pencils. She got mad, thinking he was being a wiseguy. He was a bit dismayed; of course, he was serious.
And so my newest project: The Fresh Air Fund. Having grown up in the city (not poor thankfully) I know what it's like to get out to the country for a few days or even a week each year. When I smell wet grass or fresh cut lawns, sometimes the smell still reminds me of my days at Camp Laughing Waters. Last year I saw an article about the fresh air fund, where they described the meeting of the bus from New York City by the dozens of host families from around the area. It sounded like a nice thing, so I sent away for information, but never followed up, as the prospect is a bit daunting if you really think about it: taking in an inner city child, having to be responsible for them, and having to trust that they are well-behaved and responsible themselves. Also, the period was two weeks for the visit! That seemed awfully long to me, in case it didn't go well.
Fast forward to yesterday. I got an email that said that last year there were way more applications than there were host families, and they begged for consideration: "if you have ever considered being a Fresh Air Fund host family, please let this be the year!" So I started emailing, and we are being interviewed and screened on Monday night. After that, if we are approved, we will be matched with an appropriate child within a couple of weeks. This visit would take place in July, and we have a little flexibility as to the time frame and dates. Neighboring counties have slightly different offerings, which might work better for us around Brian's baseball camp.
They only allow children to enter the program at ages 6-12, but they may continue their visits up to age 18. I don't know if we would continue that long or not, but it will be an experience to try it out this year, anyway. I do wish we had started sooner, as Megan is more or less closed out of having a peer, but we can request a boy around Brian's age (if we dare!) So, keep watching this space for updates.
In other news, Megan is officially back to swimming. I worked all day today, but have promised a ride to the garden center in Kevin's truck to my friend Denise for tomorrow. I would like to get a haircut, but don't know if I will have time or inclination. We also have an appointment with a landscape architect to come and look at the front of our house on Saturday, and I filed an application for a permit for a shed. We didn't know what he setbacks were, we thought 15 feet from the property line, but were thrilled to learn that it is now only three feet! And we plan to put it on the side of the neighbor who repeatedly called the pool company in a rage when our water was draining past their driveway. Oh, here comes my little Puff! She must know that Kevin isn't home :-)
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