This just in: The kids are actually being good

I talked with my dad last night. I could hardly believe my ears. Maybe the threat of having to come home early if they aren't good is actually motivating them to behave! I think I need to figure out something like that for our everyday life.

My dad told me all kinds of funny stories. For example, he had them helping weed the garden and he actually gave them hoes. Something I would probably never dare to do, because you know, those things are heavy and sharp. But of course they loved it. They were "killing" all the weeds with these fearsome weapons. I will leave the sound effects to your imagination. Lots of "chop chop" and "kill 'em." Ah, boys.

A found my mom's box of Halloween costumes. This has all the costumes from the childhoods of all six of us original kids. That's probably 6o+ Halloweens right there. Mom made a lot of the costumes herself. Some got recycled over the course of six kids, of course. But it is a dang good costume box.

A was in little-boy heaven; he loves dressing up and pretending more than just about anything else in the world, except maybe cantaloupe. So over the course of yesterday he was a pirate, an Indian, and Elvis. The Elvis costume had a cape. Apparently he asked my dad, "Grandpa, would it be okay if I wipe my nose on this cape?" The answer is obvious and just one more reason for the timeless injunction ...

NO CAPES!

I asked if the kids were homesick. The answer seems to be that S is not, but A is, a little bit. I'll talk to them tonight. Well, probably I will talk to A and force myself to accept that S does not really want to talk. My dad reminded me that S doesn't like to talk to him on the phone, either. I can understand that. I'm not much of a phone talker, myself.

I'm missing them more, a week into this experiment. I'll be really glad to see them again. But I'm still totally psyched that it might be a couple more weeks before I do. Mostly because it means they are behaving themselves. And that is enough to excite any mother.