Chaos in the Cul-de-Sac
After a long winter, the first wave of warm air over a few consecutive days is downright seductive. Earlier this month, when the weather forecast was pretty certain of sun and 70 degree temperatures, I decided to have a “Chaos in the Cul-De-Sac” day. The plan was for all my grandchildren (and a few adopted) to come over to spend the day where we’d play outside, have lunch with chicken nuggets and fruit on the back deck, and play outside some more. In my world, there’s no such thing as too many kids together outside on a beautiful day.
Truth be told, I had some naysayers. Some in my inner circle reminded me of the fact that I tend to bite off more than I can chew with regard to my grandkids. I admit, it’s true. Yet, my vision was a natural byproduct when you combine a no-school day, a busload of grandchildren under the age of 10, and the emergence of Spring. I know the exponential value of cousins when they are also friends. Add a warm sunny day, and I’m totally lured into creating big Nona events. Cultivating opportunities for cousins to solidify buddy relationships that last a lifetime is important to me. And truth be told, I did have some additional parental and grandparental reinforcements. Hanging out together outside with the tease of Spring was a win-win for everyone. And so, “Chaos in the Cul-de-Sac Day” began.
In preparation, I stocked up on bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and bean bag toss games. Sidewalk chalk created an entire village on my driveway including designated parking lanes. The bubbles were a hit, and the big jug of bubble solution refill lasted most of the day until it was inadvertently tipped over. Anyone with a history with bubbles knows catastrophic spills are 100% inevitable.
One by one, as the afternoon heat set in, little boy shirts were peeled off leaving my back yard full of bare-chested whiffle ball players running imaginary bases towards victory. Popsicles offered the perfect opportunity to cool down. The girls, on the other hand, created a game of red-light green-light in the neighbor’s yard. By late afternoon, the entire group of sweaty kids were debating whether or not STOP actually meant stop. By the end of the day, only one band aid was applied and no one was inadvertently hit with the plastic baseball bat. About 5 gallons of water were consumed and my entire supply of Cosco snacks were demolished. In other words, the day was a complete success.
As the parents of my grandchildren arrived to retrieve their own, I opened my lawn chair, placed it smack in the middle of the pink and purple parking space on my driveway and settled in to the dusk of the day with a nice chilled glass of wine. I had popsicle stickiness on my shirt, sidewalk chalk smeared on my pants and only God knows what else in my hair. And, according to my smart watch, I walked 7 miles without ever really going anywhere.
Soon enough, calm was restored. After everyone left, I settled into my quiet house where the chaos of the day left me with not only elevated feet, but a plethora of fun memories. My grandkids asked me when we could do it all again. Maybe this will become an annual right of passage into Spring. Or maybe, I just have to get some more bubble solution for the next time a no-school day begs for chaos.