This is not always the case, but he was required to make an appearance for the evening meal this time, as it was Husband's birthday and therefore a special course was being served. (i.e. steak, which is only so verrrry rarely offered on the dinner menu in our house...about once a year, as a matter of fact...) It turned out to be a good thing we pinned him down for a short while to, you know, catch up on the details of his fulfilling life, since about a minute after the conclusion of "precious family time around the table", the doorbell rang. On the porch stood a passel of high schoolers, requesting Derek's presence for...night-time teenage boy shenanigans...or something.
I know that there was a spirited session of FIFA 2015 on the PS3....followed by some raucous badminton in the front yard. (And I should note that by my impartial observation, they were definitely NOT adhering to the recommended decorum and standardized rules set out by the International Federation of Lawn Racquet Sports...or what have you. Let's just say there was a moderate amount of "chasing", some "flinging of shuttlecocks" and a great deal of "brandishing racquets in a disturbingly sword-like fashion". I'm currently working on the sanctions and will be handing down appropriate punishments to the offenders shortly...) Finally--just when I was about to haul him inside anyway--he showed up to shower and fall into bed at 11:00.
On Saturday things quieted down...hahahaha! First, Derek asked if he could go to a buddy's house to watch a soccer match on TV at 12:30. (Arsenal vs...some other team...probably also British, but what the heck do I know?) Then Riley reminded us that his gang was scheduled to face off in a fierce neighborhood Battle Royale...um "Capture the Flag" matchup at 3. He was gone for all of approximately 5 minutes before charging back in and announcing that they were going to a pool before their game, so he needed to change and gather the requisite supplies. Thus swim-suited and sunblocked, he vanished to go run amok on some other parent's watch for a while.
Several tranquil, nearly silent...utterly blissful hours ensued with no boys in the house--there might have been napping. There absolutely was that rarest of commodities: "relaxation". Then at some point Derek texted...to ask what time he should return for feeding. Sigh. Meanwhile, Riley called his father to report that he'd been asked to stay for dinner by one of his pals--who just happens to be a girl. He wanted to know if this would be okay. Let's see...one less mouth to shovel food into...meaning more edibles available for Derek...suuurrrre, honey, have a great time!
Speaking of which, the older child did return at the appointed hour to receive his rations. However, he would not be gracing us for long: "The guys want to know if I can come back and hang out when I finish eating." Hey, why not? I mean, I didn't have my heart set on any special Mother/Son bonding tonight, after all...sniffle. (Yeah, that was a completely fabricated Maternal Guilt Trip that I imagined, but declined to deliver in this instance. I just wanted to make sure I had one in reserve for when a situation arises that truly warrants it...) So I sent him off, decreeing that he should return for good at 10.
Next, Riley strolled in, having been escorted back to the homestead by his friend's dad. He was worn out but content after his jam-packed afternoon-'o-activities. There was nothing left for him to do but shower and plop down wearily on the sofa to view a televised sporting event with Husband. Aannd...at precisely ten p.m. my phone rang...yep, you guessed it: "They want to know if I can stay later." Here we go..."Fine, be home at 10:30." And whattya know: not too much later I glimpsed the shadowy figure of a familiar 15-year old sprinting (that kid can haul you-know-what when he has to, let me tell ya) across the lawn to burst in the door and declare his arrival. Gasping for breath, between gulps from a water bottle, he glanced at his phone and commented, "Huh...10:31...not too bad!"
"Nope, we'll call that 'on-time'", I agreed. Unfortunately, that was not to be the end of it, though. "Will I have a curfew in the Summer, when school's out?" Although this hasn't formally been discussed yet among the Cabinet (aka..."Husband and me") I felt comfortable answering unilaterally, "Um...YEAH!" He groaned in a thoroughly exasperated manner and exclaimed, "Mom! Why?" I favored him with my most potent "Are you KIDDING me with this?" glare and shot back, "Because you're 15...and there's just no reason for you to be out until eleven every night!" This earned me a disgruntled frown and a heavy sigh, but I'm sticking to my guns, here. Oh, and I guess I'd better warn the Vice President in Charge of Supporting Unpopular Policies that he should go ahead and back me up on this one. After all, this may represent the first debate on boundaries for the adolescent(s), but I'm sure it is (sadly) faaaaarrrr from the last...
Anyway, in summary, while the younger set enjoyed mingling with their peers at a variety of social gatherings...the parents led a boring, isolated weekend. What's UP with that? To be fair, we were supposed to host family friends for a barbecue on Saturday night, until we were forced to cancel when Husband came down with some kind of nasty...stomach....thingie. (Trust me, you do NOT want any more specifics...) So perhaps next weekend we'll ALL get to participate in recreational, entertaining...stuff. As long as everyone's home by 10:30, that is!
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