Violet has a girlfriend named Sami. Sami has a mom who reminds me of my sister Wanda. In fact, the resemblance is so strong (especially when she talks) that I find myself mesmerized, staring at her mouth whenever she speaks.
Sami’s mom thinks I am a strange stalker woman who is in love with her but she overlooks it because she’s in love with Violet. She loves Violet because Violet shares with her all the dirty details of life at our house. Especially the rules. Sami’s mom calls us The Rules Family. She loves the rules. She thinks they are hilarious.
In my defense, you can’t have a house full of 6 kids without having a lot of rules. Unless you like chaos and bedlam. I don’t like chaos or bedlam so we have a lot of rules. In fact, we have a rule against chaos and bedlam.
Since I make up 90% of the rules around here you’d think I would know what the rules are. Either I have Alzheimer’s or Violet is making up rules to tell Sami’s mom just for the shock factor. Specifically, I don’t remember the “we can’t eat bananas for snack” rule. Though that certainly explains the high number of bananas that get thrown away around here after turning black and mushy. Maybe Steve made that one up.
With the end of the school year looming, Violet wants to know exactly what the Summer Rules are going to be - you know, because she’s 9 this year and not a baby. She wants to know exactly how far she can ride on her bike and whether she has to ask before wandering over to summertime friends’ houses in the neighborhood as long as she can hear me when I holler for her. Can she swim at B&B’s house with Maddy whenever she wants and turn on the sprinkler a million times when it’s hot? Is there a limit to how many times a day she can take on and off her swimsuit as long as she uses the same beach towel? How many times a week can she get a treat from the ice cream truck? Every day? PleasePleasePleasePleasePlease!
These are all burning questions that will determine just how cool summer vacation will be.
Pretty much Violet will be set free to enjoy the outdoors - riding bikes and scooters, playing b-ball and soccer, climbing and horse playing on the swing sets in various backyards, swimming, running and jumping. When she gets hurt, which is inevitable, I’ll kiss it, put on a bandaid and send her back outside.
I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about all the “bad things” that could happen to her if I let her out of my sight for even a few moments. Apparently, I am one of those parents - the ones that Parent Dangerously. So while the rest of the Mommy Bloggers are trying to figure out how to survive the summer and get their children to go outside, I’ve already stocked up on peroxide, betadine, neosporin, and butterfly bandages. Because scabby knees are on the way and the number 1 rule of summer is, “We’re NOT going to the emergency room today”.
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