Tomorrow we wrap up our eight-year stint in Minneapolis, and though I’m not yet ready to write about that I thought it a good time to tell you about our living arrangements the last couple weeks. When last I referenced this, we were living in a furnished apartment here in the neighborhood while Grace finished the 1st grade. The apartment was not up to snuff, especially considering what we were paying for it. The shower was backed up, the roof leaked when it rained, and the house dust was so bad that Sarah and Frederick both had trouble sleeping. So we decided to walk on the apartment before the second half of our rent was due. Sarah and I don’t feel real good about it, which led to the following exchange between us:
Sarah: I feel kinda bad we are leaving her with this place on short notice.
Dan: Hey, Flavor Flav’s got problems of his own!
Sarah: I’m sorry, did you just refer to yourself as Flavor Flav?
Dan: Yeee-ahh boyyyyyyyy!
Anyway, what allowed us to ditch our short-term-long-cost apartment was an offer from Sarah’s friend Brenda. Brenda and Doug live in the neighborhood and Sarah and Brenda are part of a group of neighborhood mom’s that go running in the morning. (like, EARLY in the morning. Have you ever been awake and outside in Minneapolis in February at 5:30 AM? I have. It is not the kind of thing that makes you say “hey, how about we take a jog around Lake Nokomis before getting the kids on the bus? I’ll bring the dog!”) The point about the AM runs isn’t just to point out how Sarah and Brenda know each other, but to give an example of the fact that they are crazy. Crazy crazy crazy crazy. Crazy.
Which leads to the offer. Brenda said to us “just come live with us the last couple of weeks. It’ll be fun! We’ll make room for you. No need to go to some extended-stay hotel by the mall – that’s silly! Stay here.” My response to her was basically “You, Miss Brenda, are crazy.”
You see, Brenda and Doug have four children between the ages of 10 and 3. And as we have three children between the ages of 7 and 3 that makes for a lot of little ones running around one house. That’s seven children, four adults and one approximately 2,000 square foot house. AND not only do I work from home, but so does Doug. Eleven of us. Crazy.
But we went for it anyway and are about to wrap up a little over two weeks at Brenda and Doug’s. Our kids have had an absolute blast. They too have a Grace (age 9) who has enjoyed the super-duper big sister role. Nyle (8) has gained an admirer in my 2-year-old Frankie. And Kate (6) was already good friends with my Grace, but the two of them have really had fun together. And then there is Caleb (3), who along with my Frederick have been up to absolutely no good from dawn to dusk. Great kids and a great experience for our kids as well.
I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well it’s gone (I say that as I eat a generous slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie that Brenda’s uncle Tim dropped off yesterday – the 3rd pie since our stay began. Don’t mind if I do!) It hasn’t been a relaxing couple of weeks, but it has certainly been a blast. It has also foreshadowed much of what I think we can expect once our house is built. Mornings are pretty crazy as we try to get Grace I, Nyle and Grace II out the door to catch the 7:00 AM bus(es). Breakfast for eleven and lunches for four keep the kitchen quite full, particularly as the adults wrestle over the coffee pot (though you only need one cup – that’s STRONG coffee being brewed at Brenda and Doug’s!) There are two bathrooms, so the lines are (relatively) short. And slowly the last few stragglers are dressed and groomed for the day.
But the afternoons get even crazier. Watching this family tackle the beginning of summer is certainly an accurate snapshot of what life will be like for us in the near future. Our kids are missing this t-ball season due to the move, but our host family is making up for it. At least two kids have soccer or T/base/softball on any given night, and they are often at two different parks. How everyone manages to get fed, dressed, shod and delivered to the right event at the right time is a chaotic symphony of activity. Just watching it wears me out. I know many of you reading this have older children and are saying “yep, that’s the way it is” and some of you with younger children are saying “oh shit, it’s coming.” ‘cause that’s what I was saying.
But then the kids are all asleep and if the four of us can manage to stay awake we see what kind of dent we can put in Doug’s beer supply and we talk and laugh about the day. We talk about the kids, the neighborhood, our new adventure (Brenda and Doug are a few years removed from building their “dream house” in their home state of Iowa – then selling the house and returning to Minneapolis) and whatever else crosses our minds. It’s great to have someone to hang out with after the kids are down, and one person can easily sneak away to watch some TV or catch up on email while the other three can visit and get ready for the next day. I can see this being a great way to finish up the day with Tom and Gretchen – nobody likes doing the dishes alone while the other person watches Grey’s Anatomy (or a very important sporting event). I think this will be one of those times when we have the most fun – the four of us after the kids are down.
So thank you, Brenda and Doug. Not just for the truly generous hospitality but mostly for the quick trip to the future, to witness how life might be for us with two families under one roof. It was lots of fun, a little challenging, but never ever boring.
And a little bit crazy.
Sarah: I feel kinda bad we are leaving her with this place on short notice.
Dan: Hey, Flavor Flav’s got problems of his own!
Sarah: I’m sorry, did you just refer to yourself as Flavor Flav?
Dan: Yeee-ahh boyyyyyyyy!
Anyway, what allowed us to ditch our short-term-long-cost apartment was an offer from Sarah’s friend Brenda. Brenda and Doug live in the neighborhood and Sarah and Brenda are part of a group of neighborhood mom’s that go running in the morning. (like, EARLY in the morning. Have you ever been awake and outside in Minneapolis in February at 5:30 AM? I have. It is not the kind of thing that makes you say “hey, how about we take a jog around Lake Nokomis before getting the kids on the bus? I’ll bring the dog!”) The point about the AM runs isn’t just to point out how Sarah and Brenda know each other, but to give an example of the fact that they are crazy. Crazy crazy crazy crazy. Crazy.
Which leads to the offer. Brenda said to us “just come live with us the last couple of weeks. It’ll be fun! We’ll make room for you. No need to go to some extended-stay hotel by the mall – that’s silly! Stay here.” My response to her was basically “You, Miss Brenda, are crazy.”
You see, Brenda and Doug have four children between the ages of 10 and 3. And as we have three children between the ages of 7 and 3 that makes for a lot of little ones running around one house. That’s seven children, four adults and one approximately 2,000 square foot house. AND not only do I work from home, but so does Doug. Eleven of us. Crazy.
But we went for it anyway and are about to wrap up a little over two weeks at Brenda and Doug’s. Our kids have had an absolute blast. They too have a Grace (age 9) who has enjoyed the super-duper big sister role. Nyle (8) has gained an admirer in my 2-year-old Frankie. And Kate (6) was already good friends with my Grace, but the two of them have really had fun together. And then there is Caleb (3), who along with my Frederick have been up to absolutely no good from dawn to dusk. Great kids and a great experience for our kids as well.
I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well it’s gone (I say that as I eat a generous slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie that Brenda’s uncle Tim dropped off yesterday – the 3rd pie since our stay began. Don’t mind if I do!) It hasn’t been a relaxing couple of weeks, but it has certainly been a blast. It has also foreshadowed much of what I think we can expect once our house is built. Mornings are pretty crazy as we try to get Grace I, Nyle and Grace II out the door to catch the 7:00 AM bus(es). Breakfast for eleven and lunches for four keep the kitchen quite full, particularly as the adults wrestle over the coffee pot (though you only need one cup – that’s STRONG coffee being brewed at Brenda and Doug’s!) There are two bathrooms, so the lines are (relatively) short. And slowly the last few stragglers are dressed and groomed for the day.
But the afternoons get even crazier. Watching this family tackle the beginning of summer is certainly an accurate snapshot of what life will be like for us in the near future. Our kids are missing this t-ball season due to the move, but our host family is making up for it. At least two kids have soccer or T/base/softball on any given night, and they are often at two different parks. How everyone manages to get fed, dressed, shod and delivered to the right event at the right time is a chaotic symphony of activity. Just watching it wears me out. I know many of you reading this have older children and are saying “yep, that’s the way it is” and some of you with younger children are saying “oh shit, it’s coming.” ‘cause that’s what I was saying.
But then the kids are all asleep and if the four of us can manage to stay awake we see what kind of dent we can put in Doug’s beer supply and we talk and laugh about the day. We talk about the kids, the neighborhood, our new adventure (Brenda and Doug are a few years removed from building their “dream house” in their home state of Iowa – then selling the house and returning to Minneapolis) and whatever else crosses our minds. It’s great to have someone to hang out with after the kids are down, and one person can easily sneak away to watch some TV or catch up on email while the other three can visit and get ready for the next day. I can see this being a great way to finish up the day with Tom and Gretchen – nobody likes doing the dishes alone while the other person watches Grey’s Anatomy (or a very important sporting event). I think this will be one of those times when we have the most fun – the four of us after the kids are down.
So thank you, Brenda and Doug. Not just for the truly generous hospitality but mostly for the quick trip to the future, to witness how life might be for us with two families under one roof. It was lots of fun, a little challenging, but never ever boring.
And a little bit crazy.
