POOR CUBBY...

Cubby is here this weekend. You know, Blake's best friend. Cubby's family is spending the weekend at a university, speaking to the football coach. It looks as though his big brother is going to be offered a scholarship.
Cubby's mom has often introduced me as his second mother, and we jokingly tell them that each month we look for the child support check in the mail from them. He's just one of us.
But poor Cubby could not have chosen a worse weekend to stay with us. Here were his choices for how to spend the day today:
- driving 6 hours with his family and then following his family around a college campus and/or sitting in a hotel room while they take care of college business for his brother

- spending 9 hours at a wrestling meet with Blake and Paul - his face was PRICELESS when I told him what to expect from THAT.

- spending the day at our house with ME.

He chose option #3. But I know it is only because it was the least painful of a list of very unappealing choices. Thankfully Cubby is a very (I mean VERY, VERY) easy going young man. He also happens to like Blake's X-Box LIVE, so he does have that to do all day. We tease Blake that his friends only love him for his X-Box LIVE. It is not uncommon for Blake to be in the basement watching a movie while one or more of his buddies is in his room playing X-Box LIVE. In fact, Blake told us Cubby stayed up most of the night playing. I also am under no delusions over that. I am certain he stayed up all night so that he could spend the day in sweet oblivious slumber and not having to visit with ME. Although, he did not seem at all repulsed by the idea as we discussed it at dinner last night. I told him I would bring him lunch from the mall, if I went and I asked him what kind of cookies he liked, because I'm going to make peanut butter cookies for Blake when he gets home from his tournament. Turns out Cubby doesn't like peanut butter cookies. So he will get a batch of chocolate chip. Kayla will get chocolate chip-LESS. She likes the toll house recipe without the chocolate chips (go figure) So I usually keep half of the batter plain.
I love having extra kids in the house. Really, I LOVE IT. And as my own kids grow so quickly, I have realized I will miss their friends also.
I will miss Cubby and Ryan and Drew and Sarah C and Hannah.

I have also decided that God gave us the teen years to prepare us for the empty nest. Our kids are on the go nearly all the time; going to ballgames, birthday parties, sleepovers, THE MALL...practice, games...
Weekends seem to be merely blocks of time during which we are either waiting for them to check in or preparing to take them to their next activity. Yesterday when I reminded Kayla that next Saturday we are hosting a bridal shower and I will need her help, she smiled and said "I will be sure to fit that into my schedule."

That about sums it up.