Friday, August 6, 2010

Et tu?

I had good intentions. Really.

I know, I know. Yesterday’s blog started the same way, but what can I say?

I hope the old saying’s not true… ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions.’ If it is, maybe I can at least catch a ride in a handbasket.

When school got out for the summer, we had big plans to… Read! Visit the library! Practice flashcards! Take mini field trips! Go to the Bob Bullock museum! Swim! Practice our multiplication tables! See movies! Collect fossils at Shoal Creek!

Of that list, the only one that we did on a consistent basis was… SWIM! Oh yes, swim team overtook our lives, and our psyches, and our laundry schedule (oh, the towels…), and before we knew it, there were three weeks left of summer. Just enough time to buy school supplies, and lament over the fact that summer had flown so quickly. Because it did.

And I admit… I will be the mom that sends her kids back to school with the previous school year’s learning completely erased from their little brains. It couldn’t be helped. But I know I’m not the only mom out there that suffers from this fate… what is it about summertime that begs of us to float on pool noodles, eat ice pops while we stand directly in front of an open freezer, and eschew all things academic?

Just yesterday, though, I was at the pool (floating on a noodle… I *do* love those things), and I struck up a conversation with another mother. A mother who, while perfectly nice, happened to mention that her children get up early every morning in the summer to study Latin.



Latin.

Oh, you didn’t catch that?






I said, ‘LATIN’.



Talk about being ‘out-mommed’. Out-everythinged, actually. The only comeback I could muster?

“Latin? Wow. I think Phineas and Ferb occasionally use Latin phrases…”
(weak chuckle…)
(VERY weak chuckle…)

Damn.

Perhaps I’ll be allowed a snack in the handbasket. ;)

6 comments:

sarah. said...

bah Latin. I'm with you Staci.

Laurie K said...

What? You didn't comment in a quasi-serious tone -- You know, we discussed Latin, but since it's considered a dead language, we opted for Portuguese....

(Since, of course they've already mastered French for the Guinea Pigs)

Sarah S. said...

Of course there are snacks. I'll bring the popsicles they should last at least the first half of the ride before they start to melt.

Anonymous said...

Check out the Lego Games tour at the Bob Bullock museum this weekend: http://www.freefuninaustin.com/2010/07/lego-games-tour-update.html. You could kill two birds with one stone, but only in English. --Callie

Kris Van Allen said...

could any of the cartoons from Rocky and Bullwinkle count?

Kris Van Allen said...

oh, and guess which language Grace chose for high school.....LATIN.

She figured it would be helpful when she goes to vet school. and she is right.

and besides, EVERYONE takes spanish.