Family Fun Gone Awry

Ever just get the feeling that the day has gotten away from you and headed down a bad, bad path even though you had very solid plans to make it great? Then you could be me today!

In spite of being out a little late at poker (we did come in first and second!), we were determined to get up and go to yoga and then swim some laps in the pool. There was a bit of arm twisting necessary but we made it to the gym with minimal trauma. Yoga was lovely, in spite of the two late arrivals. Really people, if you are 15 minutes late, you are just too late. You are messing with my zen.

Then we hit the pool. All three kids wanted to join us and were strikingly well behaved. They mostly played in the therapy pool while we swam, though Morrigan also joined in the lap swimming. After two weeks in my adult swim class, it was clear I was going to need some extra practice. New people keep coming, all of whom claim to be self taught and terrible swimmers. And they all continue to swim faster than me. Hence, the Sunday swimming.

So far, so good. We planned to go to the Club pool this afternoon as we just learned it was open weekends in September - love that new heater! But just as we were all suited up and packed to go, I received an email that the pool was closed due to a large, unspecified animal having decided to end its life in said pool. Bring on plan B which, up until that very moment, was not at all defined.

Molly had mentioned that she and the kids went to the Greek Festival the day before so we thought that might be a plan. Now, we don't live in a very big town and if there is some sort of festival, odds are it is at Elmwood Park. So without looking up anything, we charged downtown, complete with E, who refused to change out of his swim attire.

As we walked in, I thought that the Greek Festival really drew a different crowd than I expected - lots of young people and a fair number of adventurous dressers. We seemed to be getting some looks but I didn't get why. The speaker on stage was talking about a local performance of The Wizard of Oz. I didn't see the connection until we rounded the bend and found ourselves awash in rainbows. Alas, it was not the Greek Festival but the Roanoke Pride Festival. We traversed the the main stage area as the emcee called out, "Do we have any gays in the audience? And how about lesbians, and bisexuals, and transgenders?"

I'm a fan of the other team. They make excellent friends, brothers and brother in laws. What I am not a fan of is spending my Sunday family day trying to explain to a five year old what transgender means. So we passed the stage and just kept walking as the cover band played Abba's Dancing Queen.

After a tour through the largely unoccupied downtown market area (we did pick up some awesome homemade soap), we rallied to head over to the Greek Festival, the iPhone having provided us with the actual location.

What we found was disappointing if not particularly surprising. It was a bounce house (for an extra charge), face painting (for $3), and a marketplace with quasi-authentic wares. [Tim was quite taken with the belly dancing workout dvd.] Soon the girls were begging for all sorts of jangly scarves that would never again see the light of day. We narrowly escaped purchasing said items when I saw a noisy necklace of which I had an exact replica. I hadn't worn it in years but knew where it was. The promise of jewelry shopping in Mommy's room was enough to pacify the girls.

What did look completely awesome was the food. It looked and smelled fantastic. Its allure was only enhanced by the glance I had into the kitchen where a half dozen old Greek women were hard at work. But as fate would have it, Tim has recently challenged his brother to the Turkey Trot 5K at Thanksgiving and is on this clean eating kick. I didn't think I could have a very satisfying meal eating alone while the kids complained and Tim just looked hungrily at me.

Home it was then where the new jewelry treasures quickly lost their luster. That was when the fighting and complaining recommenced.

And the hammer came down.

We had a real come to Jesus moment when I re instituted the Chore Chart, after a much too long Summer absence, and added a Kindergarten style happy and sad face hierarchy, all of which is tied to the all important allowance. I must have made an impression as the kids all went and immediately started cleaning their rooms and toys. We'll see if it holds. Me, I'm calling it a day and watching football. Clearly, family day as designed is not going to happen.