Friday Night, Saturday Morning (The Specials) - SURPRISE
Let's start with the canopy...which really begins with the budget:
Recently, Matt has taken over the family budget.
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Well...now he sees everything directly - live action style. And he doesn't always happen to see the value in the things I value. Like...the canopy.
Ok. To his credit, I was getting a little out of control with my spending. I bought a bunch of things for the office, some things for the great nephews, some things from my friend's AMAZING business (Insert plug for KC Pallet Hunters - 50% off or more. Check them out on FB!). Also to his credit, he has learned that most of my ideas really ARE amazing. To my credit, I have learned 1) to finish things 2) to donate or get rid of excess I will never use - like the clay I dug up in the backyard and wanted to use to make pottery. (Maybe some day. Just not right now.) 3) I sometimes need help reigning in this idea generator. (Which is why I handed over the budgeting keys.)
But this canopy was the REAL deal.
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| True love... |
How many times did I sit right outside the shade of a canopy at a baseball game, because I refused to take what wasn't earned??? How many times did I look them up and think...who the heck will pay that much to sit at a baseball tournament in unnecessary comfort??? (Those people are ALL crazy. I stand by this!)
And here we were...headed for the beach. What better use could I have...and oh look here...my friend happens to have one at a seriously reduced price. I LOVE supporting local businesses and especially when said business is also owned by people I love.
I knew I had him on board with the decision (mostly because his mom also thought it was a good idea), but I didn't get that "Oh, Kristen...you were so right about this canopy" moment I was hoping for. And I knew I wouldn't until he experienced its glory and purpose on the beach.
I will admit. It took up A LOT of trunk space. So...bit of a financial burden, bit of a travel burden. That would have to be accounted for in use.
I looked for every opportunity...and finally we had everyone heading to the beach during the heat of the day. Dillon and I hiked up in advance to prepare the spot. (Turns out he knew a lot less about what he was doing than he let on. I got a nice work out and more than a little irritated. But I was determined, and now I see, the canopy had become my leg lamp.)
And wouldn't you know? We used it for a few hours and moved on to something else. I felt a little crack form in my heart that day. But I still had hope. We had a lot of vacation left. My time would come.
And here it was!!
The fishing trip. The guy's had a fishing trip planned for Friday, but weather forecasts required postponing. They rescheduled for Tuesday (our last day). But then IT ALSO got cancelled. So...
We vacationed to the beach. Let's spend the day at the beach. Comfortable and content in the shade of my beloved canopy!
I was up at 6 am. I went straight out to the beach with everything in tow. I scoped out THE BEST spot. I hiked about 1/4-1/2 mile to a spot in between resorts, where there were very few people. (Don't even get me started about the j-a's who set up their flimsy little umbrella tent right in front of me while I was trying to set up that monster with Dillon earlier in the week. 😡 They were big guys, too. With a little umbrella. Right in front of the woman and her kid. 😡😡. I hope they noticed my irritation as we lifted and moved the beast away from them.)
Anyway. This time was going to be better.
I noticed I was getting a phone call.
This time, I had a perfect spot. The perfect weather. It would be a picnic day at the beach. We would eat up all of the remaining food. I would go back and forth for supplies. It was going to be great!
It was my brother-in-law calling. Pretty early, and if he was calling me, I knew he had already tried pretty much everyone else.
And guess what??? The fishing trip was back on!!!
Good for them! Fine by me.
Except it wasn't fine. Turns out a few of my kids who did not get to go on the fishing trip were not so content to just hang out on the beach. We have a VERY strong sense of fairness and equality over here. And I am very careful about sustaining it to the best of my ability. But this one was totally out of my hands.
I ended up getting about 2 lovely hours in the comfort of my perfect spot. And then I paid an exorbitant amount of money to flip around on a raft, trying to keep myself and Evan on board, while throwing the thumbs up to the driver of the sea-doo, so he would keep going faster to keep it exciting for ALL age-levels...all in the effort to appease the escalating tensions of injustice amongst them.
Oh my goodness! It was so much.
I believe I carried it well. My "cookie jar" has expanded quite a bit over the years. I can withstand larger quantities of emotions before I break down.
But...even I have a breaking point.
As it turned out, we were in a stressful rush after the boat ride to time our arrival upon the guy's return. I had to make some difficult decisions to balance all of the competing needs and desires. (Mine went right into the jar, as there was still a bit of room left at the top.)
I left my beloved canopy in God's hands and promised myself I would have plenty of time to demonstrate it's worth over the years.
As it turns out, Matt had caught a 200 lb bull shark! (He has earned that moment a million times over in this - is it just one??? - lifetime we have spent together.) We all had a lovely dinner. I managed to de-escalate the tensions. All's well that ends well.
The party lasted a bit later into the evening than I had envisioned, and I was really tired heading home. Alas, I remembered, with regret, that we still had to go to the beach, walk the 1/2 mile on the sand, and capture the flag.
I knew something wasn't right as soon as we were on the boardwalk. The canopy definitely was NOT in the spot I'd put it. Was it stolen? Had it been blown further down the beach?
I wish I had taken a picture, but I was too disheartened by then. It was in shambles. The front had been forced through the back, and the support beams were completely busted. 💔 My heart literally broke.
In retrospect, we could have ordered a couple of parts and replaced them...it would have cost about as much as the whole thing. But Matt decided to leave it by the trash can, and I walked away without looking back. Beaten. Just like the canopy.
And THAT was the evening I finally hit a wall.
Cookie Jar: At Capacity.
I had to assert my own needs for an hour or two, and I spent it quietly, alone in my room.
I didn't recover lightly. (I get knocked down, but...). I had an onslaught of plates dropping (honestly) before I even went to sleep. Cell phones are great, aren't they? 😩😩😩😩😩
I think it took me about two weeks to get everything back in manageable order and get enough quiet time and rest in before I finally decided not to quit everything.
Like any other day, at the end of it, there are the goods and there are the bads. I can choose to remember one or the other...or both. I choose to keep it all in perspective as part of the race I am running and winning is to never give up. Never quit. (At least not everything!). Amen.
And...in retrospect...it was really my fault. If only I hadn't left the canopy wall up, maybe - just maybe - it wouldn't have turned out this way.
Ah well, at least we can look back and laugh. I really do struggle with carelessness...and it's REALLY funny when you get to the point where you can laugh about it! (But seriously...ask me sometime about the Epsom salts disaster. We only just solved a three month riddle! I promise you we will both end the conversation in happy tears.)
So Kristen. 💗 THE END
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