deja'-vu

Have you ever had one of those days, where everything that happened was been there done that. I am not referring to the repetitiveness of housework or even training children, because they are always different even though they are the same. I am really talking about life experiences.

Yesterday, Sean Patricks' kindergarten class was taking a field trip to the Jasmine Moran childrens museum. I had not been there since Ashley was little, and I went with Nicole and Connor to her field trip. I show up an experienced Mama with 2 littles in tow. I paid and went in. I started looking at the parents there on the trip. I have had children enrolled in this school since 1995, being a small community everyone knows everybody. I saw Shannon and her little boys, she graduated while the children were still small. Then I saw Billie Jo (our Billie) she babysat for me all through high-school, and is really a part of our family. Angel and Vanessa were Billie Jo's classmates, they both have little ones. I saw Casha, she is a year older than Andrew, she has 2 little girls. It was very strange. I am on the field trip with all these Moms' that i knew as girls, and they're now moms. They all wave and say hi Ms. Tucker or Ms. Kim, in oklahoma, it is bad manners for a child to call an adult by their first name.

To continue with my weird day, Jonathan brought me a note from one of his friends' mother. They wanted him and Connor to come over spend the night, and then go to his birthday party at his older sisters' house Sat. in Latta. I read the note and just laughed, I asked Jonathan if he had met Kenneths' Mother? He said yes, I then asked if she knew his last name was Tucker, he wasn't sure. I just kept laughing and shaking my head. He finally couldn't stand it anymore, and asked what was so funny. I explained his friend Kenneth was the half-brother of Josh and Jesse Van Tassel, and Sun-hawk and Nashoba Hill. These young men now 21,20 and 19 spent so much time at my home over the years. Andrew and Kyle camped in the woods with these boys, went fishing and hunting, swung off rope swings into the river, chased lizards, you name it these boys did it, and they did it together. Seasons of my life, watching these boys grow to men playing football all on the same team, playing base-ball and us Tag-teaming who they all were going home with after the baseball game. You couldn't take just 1 it was all. The list included Andrew,Kyle(brothers)Jesse, andJoshua(brothers)Sun-Hawkand Nashoba(brother) Phillipe(cousin), and may include other stragglers.

Now I find that while the big boys are working in North Carolina, and Jesse and Josh are at college, their baby brother and Mom are back. She never put 2and 2 together and come up with Jonathan and Connor. Jon doesn't look much like his older brothers. When Precious got directions to our house from Jonathan it hit her. She was stunned, she knew i had younger children, but she had lost count, and i hadn't seen her in years.

She jumped out of her and came running across the yard she reached Ashley first and just hugged her, then she threw her arms around me and said it is so good to be home. She asked if the boys could go with them to Feclia's house to help in the garden and play in the woods, It is so funny that all the big boys that spent so much time in my home, my younger sons, are playing and hanging out with their younger brothers.

These little boys that have grown up to be men, still stop in to see me when they come home, they hug me, and are on their best behaviour. It seems like I am starting over again, how does that go different verse, same as the first. I have a feeling we are going to be seeing a lot of Kenneth and Vicente over the summer. Now if I can survive once again all the mischief a herd of young boys can think of getting into, that will be the question.

I think for today, I will enjoy the quiet and just stay home....