when I started this blog five years ago, I was a pet sitter and the name animal-crackers made sense. now I'm a stay-at-home-dad and freelance writer, but rather than confuse everyone by getting a different blog, it's just easier to keep posting things here.


Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Back again ... but for how long

(Wow, it's been almost a year. My lamenting my lameness is pointless, so let's just jump into it.)

Tomorrow, my parents are leaving. They moved to Austin in August 2008 and lived in our apartment for almost two years. It's been awesome having them here.

They've spent a lot of time with Josh and Dylan -- soccer games, movies, the zoo, the capitol, shopping, babysitting, school events. Also, my dad's been a HUGE help with fixing things.

And now their leaving. They bought an RV and plan to travel, first to North Carolina and then probably Pennsylvania and Florida.

Josh, Dylan and I are joining them on the first stage of their trip. We'll go as far as Lake Charles, La., and camp overnight. Then on Thursday, I'll drive back with the boys. I'm curious to see how that goes.

Josh loves traveling. Dylan, I'm not so sure. Maybe if they do well, I'll try a longer trip to visit my brother and his family in Arizona.

It's going to suck not having my parents around. Most everyone I've told has reacted the same:

"Your parents live with you? What horrible tragedy befell them? And how do you survive their incesent parenting?"

They weren't devastated by Wall Street or forced to live the hobo life. They chose to move here to be near Josh and Dylan while they were still little. And it's been fun! Besides being built-in babysitters, it's given the boys a strong sense of family -- that there are people (besides their parents) who love them.

And the boys have changed so much since Mom and Dad showed up. Two years ago, Dylan hardly talked. Now he won't shut up. It's hard to remember exactly how Josh was two years ago, but now he's a ginormous 8-year-old who reads at a fourth-grade level and loves to learn about chemistry and physics. (Go ahead, ask him about quark flavors and valence shells.)

I'm not sure when my parents will be back -- probably February. Maybe they'll take their shoes off and stay a little longer next time.
posted by todd at 8:47 AM

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