Golfcart-Tipping

Preparing today for the after-party for tonight's Carrollton Wind Ensemble concert in downtown Villa Rica. I have to occasionally have a soiree at my house, so I'll at least take out the trash and swab down the toilets. Accountability is a beautiful thing, for the most part. And I do love a good party. The difficult part of hosting is that often you end up running back and forth, mopping up messes and chopping things at the sink, rather than visiting with the people you've meant to enjoy. It is always easy to lose sight of the forest for all the trees in the way. 

The weather has been divine the last few days. I looked up and noticed that the trees are finally turning, speaking of forests. Last week was a nut-house for me...I kept two of my grandchildren at their home. It was easier to just stay there, since they had to be taken to school each morning near Rockmart. I'd deliver them, then head to Villa Rica to see my husband and run errands, then go back to pick them up at 2:30. Since I homeschooled my own children for nineteen years, this was foreign to me. They were gone for approximately seven hours a day, where I floated around the world and came back again. Evenings were quick and it started over. All these deadlines were strange country. I could use a few of my own. Watching the childrens' projects over the week was so interesting, with all their creativity in full bloom. 11-year-old Maddie drew up a delightful poster of creatures called "Axolotls," some sort of salamanders I never knew existed. She drew them crawling all over the cardboard, different colors and faces and poses. You learn something new every day.

The weekend was another whirlwind, with soccer games and showing houses. By Saturday afternoon I was toast. Our daughter and son-in-love and their two babies came for dinner. I had meat, tomato sauce, noodles, snacks at the ready. I was going to cook, I really was. When they arrived, we all piled out the backdoor to the firepit...kids squealing, adults relaxing. The weather felt like heaven on earth. The longer we talked, the less I wanted to go inside and cook, away from my people. I whispered to Ken, "Why don't we take the golfcart to town and eat?" So we piled in, the six of us. Marcus said, "Do you think this is too many people in this vehicle?" I said, "Naw, they make these things for four fat guys on the golf course. We'll be okay." As we hauled all over Villa Rica, there were definite moments of doubt. After we bought this new cart recently, Ken got me a speaker for it that attaches to the phone Bluetooth. I can't help but remember Boom Boxes, those gargantuan things people used to channel music through, carrying them on their shoulders. This one is tiny, but can boom all the way to Elm Circle. As he attached the music to the speaker, a Christmas tune came through. So we rolled with that, Liz and I singing and laughing to the top of our lungs. We had a blast, the kids bopping their heads to all the songs, four-wheeling it all the way to Mirror Lake. I know people must have thought we were drunk, but we were just high on life and grandkids and Fall. Sing a song...