In Memorial of What?

This has been one fun-packed Memorial day weekend. For my Canadian readers, Memorial day is basically the American equivalent to Victoria day, in that most people celebrate by going to the cottage, having BBQs, and getting drunk, and they make no more effort to memorialize anything than you do to send an e-card to a dead queen.

Saturday, we had some people come over for some low-key backyard lounging. It was really nice. The predicted thunderstorms seemed to hold off, but it never got so hot that we made the trek to the swim club. We did, however, make a trek to K-Mart to buy a frisbee and candy. Then we went to see X-Men 3, which was fantastic.

Sunday morning, I woke up late and grumpy. I had promised that I would bring soup for a church potluck, and I couldn't find all my ingredients, so we ended up being late to church. I was worried about being late because I was supposed to be in the nursery, but it turns out that the only two kids who were going to the nursery were waiting until after the singing was over, so I was worried for nothing. Playing knights and Batman with the pastor's kid did wonders for my mood, and I had a great time at the potluck afterwards, to which several ESL students had been invited to practice their English.

Sunday afternoon, it really warmed up, and all the cousins went to the pool. I, unfortunately, had to work, but I guess it's only fair since I had Friday, Saturday, and Monday off. I had a good shift, then came home and stayed up late watching Firefly on DVD. If there had been more than three episodes on one disc, I probably would have stayed up watching them all night, but I was too lazy to get out of bed and change the disc, so I went to sleep after the third episode.

On Monday, we had two Memorial day parties to go to, but it was so hot and humid that we decided we had time to go to the pool first. I was happy to discover that last year's bathing suit does still fit, and I had a great time splashing around with my in-laws and two of the cousins. We played the movie game for ages, and I was somewhat shocked to discover how many children's and family movies I can remember. I guess it's all those years of day camps.

We came home and showered, then headed to party #1: the family party. We ate sloppy joes, I taught the kids a whole bunch of bad Bible puns, and I showed them my dad's magic trick where he banged the glass through the table. Then we played Flinch and Baby in the Air with the kids until it was time to go to party #2: the friends' party. Unfortunately, we had traded cars with Mark, so he had the car with the directions to the party and the scones we were bringing to the party. Eventually, we managed to connect, and switch the stuff over to the car we were driving, and we headed down into the city.

Other than the hosts, we didn't know anyone at the second party, but Tim had set up a slack line that a bunch of his climbing buddies were playing on, and we migrated back to them and had a good time watching people who knew what they were doing goof around on the line. Eventually, we gave it a go ourselves, and while I never reached a point where I could actually achieve mobility, I was sometimes able to balance for a second or three. It was fun, and I would like to give it another try sometime. (Although I don't think Jer liked it much, and I'll probably be on my own next time.)

And now it is Tuesday, and I slept in this morning because I don't work until 6:30 tonight. I've spent far too long on my computer already today, so I think I will put it away for a little while and see what it's like outside. Hot, I think. I'll probably be back in the air-conditioned house before long. Too bad the pool is only open on weekends until school lets out. Darned kids think they control the world. (Although at the pool, they basically do.)