This and That

Last day of summer vacation. We went to the beach in the afternoon.

Sparky acted like a stinkweed most of the day but did have some occasional non-oppositional moments. One of the first things Peaches said to me this morning is "They're all being mean." She was right and it continued throughout the day.

Just to add some interest, Ana got a flat tire on the freeway on the way down to church. My carload was late too because the city is doing some roadwork which apparently required taking a quarter of the church parking lot for humongous piles of dirt and gravel. They closed off some of the parking aisles, requiring a line-up of six cars to try to figure out how to three-point-turn their way out of the little bitty remaining space. Peaches was driving so she had all the fun with me gasping and grimacing in the passenger seat. Ana and her crew were, of course, much later than us. Our church is awesome and we hate to miss any of it. Especially because it's really hard for late-comers to find a place to sit.

Stickers took the train down from L.A. and met us at the beach and will stay for a few days. Her train was delayed and she actually thought we would leave without her. No way!

The Boss didn't get a chance to have another scream-free day because I had to wash what seemed like a bucket-load of sand and crud from his spiky updo. That boy has some hair.

Meanwhile the mental gymnastics continue as to what to do about Drama Boy. He admitted to the social worker that his mom, grandma, and Sparky forced him to say this was a bad place and he wanted to leave. He still wants to stay but lots of concerns about potential false allegations by his family and by him if he continues to cave to their pressure. Very upsetting situation and a decision needs to be made soon.