Well, it's official. I picked up Madie from school and no sooner had the car door closed behind her when she spoke the words that I was dreading to hear. "So......What are we doing for Spring Break?!#@!!"
{OKay---so that is NOT the actual picture of Madie talking to me last Friday, but it is her talking to me from the backseat last Halloween when we were going out to buy a pumpkin at the church. I just wanted to let you guys get a **feel** for what it looks like with her in the backseat always asking questions, talking, and of course, always asking another question after another question that never stops and continues nonstop for the entire duration of each trip as if she would just die if she were to stop talking.....I have no idea *where* she gets that from, do you????}I glanced in the rear-view mirror to see her sweet, innocent face staring at the back of my head. I turned around, facing her, and smiled back.
I had been dreading that question.
Well, not really 'dreading' it, but I guess more of trying to figure out a method of how to avoid answering it. I had not even brought up the subject at all this past week. Secretly, I was hoping that she would have amnesia and not realize that school was out this week! Ha! Ha!
But, how to answer that dreaded question? I knew it had been coming. I knew that her friends were all leaving on wonderous excapades of enlightenment. Some were going camping, visiting grandparents, or going to the beach. Because of my being in college, she was going to be denied the luxury of having a week of wonderous experiences. Could I feel any more guilty?...not.
I took a deep breath.
"Well, remember, that I have school on Tuesday and Thursday. Do you still want to go to the Gwinnett Gymnastic Center on those days?" I crossed my fingers, chanting a secret prayer.
Madie answered me, "Yes! Of course I do! But what about today, this weekend or the other days? What are we gonna do? Huh? Yah? How about it MeeMaw?"
I was pulling out of the school parking lot as I answered.
"Well, you know Madie that we don't have a lot of money. I was thinking we could go swimming, maybe? And quit calling me MeeMaw!"
As a side note, Madie started to call me "MeeMaw" several years ago. I have premature white hair and when we go out, people think I am her GRANDMOTHER!! For Heavens Sake!! And Madie calling me that does not help! Gracious, child! How many times do I have to tell you! I AM NOT YOUR GRANDMOTHER! She does that just to get me, but then sometimes I think she says it as a term of endearment. She was pulling out all the stops to get my attention.
Madie laughed. "Well, you are a GRANDMA, so really, that is your name, MeeMaw!" I could feel the twinkling in her eyes light up the back seat without even turning around to look. "Can we go swimming today! Huh? Yeah? Huh? Can we?"
"Well, let's go home first to get a snack and we can talk about it."
How lame.
That was so lame.
Just dash those hopes out the window and run the car over them, how about it.
Where does she gets the energy, I don't know. She is like the Energy Bunny, just keeps going, and going and going....and going.....and going!
At the house, I checked my email very quickly, which was down. Yikes! I think that crazy internet virus had hit the email servers that I use! If that were true, it was going to be down for the next two days. Thankfully, I use Microsoft Outlook on my desktop, so I have control over my email and I can interface with the Microsoft Office products (another story!), so I went back to older emails to be sure I had not missed anything important from the night before.
And there it was!
Like magic!
A beacon calling out to me in the murky sea of "Spring Break" conumdrums.
It was a sign!
It was an email from the High Museum of Art!
Of course, I can't afford to be a member of the museum right now, but I am on their mailing list. The email had come Thursday afternoon and it read "Exhibition Closing: Last Chance Offers from the High". I had promised Madie to do everything in my power to take her to see the King Tut exhibit or the "Terra Cotta Army from China" during Spring Break. But the tickets were soooooo expensive! I am college student, supporting a child, working part-time as a substitute teacher and I'm lucky if I have an extra $10 each month. I wondered what this "Last Chance" email had in store. I opened it. I held my breath. I was stunned!
It appears that the High Museum is opening these next two Mondays, when they normally would be closed! YEAH!!
It appears that the High Museum is offering 'HALF PRICE' tickets for Monday! DOUBLE YEAH!!
And, it appears that Madie and I are going to the High Museum of Art to see the "China Terra Cotta Army" on Monday at 10:30am for a mere tiny pittance of $13.50!! (ie...student fare, child fare...half off!)
HOW AWESOME!!!!
Now, if I can just get the weather to cooperate as it appears we are in for a blustery, stormy, snowy week! How much more weird can it get??? Wait! Don't say that!!
p.s....CRCT testing begins on the Tuesday after Spring Break. I think we are going to be the only people walking around town and riding MARTA while studying the CRCT handouts that we have from school and the DOE website! UGH!!!
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