{"id":2671,"date":"2016-08-30T09:09:03","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T16:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/insideout.insidewp.test\/?p=2671"},"modified":"2021-07-07T21:27:08","modified_gmt":"2021-07-07T21:27:08","slug":"i-dont-know-about-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/2016\/08\/30\/i-dont-know-about-you\/","title":{"rendered":"I Don’t Know About You…"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don\u2019t know about you \u2014but when we are visiting as a family in someone else\u2019s home and my kids have no regard for the words, \u201cOK kids\u2014 it\u2019s time to go,<\/em>\u201d I tend to get frustrated.<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s just me.<\/p>\n

I mean\u2026when I say it\u2019s time to go (sometimes I even start with a 5 minute warning), the kids ought to know that they should bring the nerf guns back into the bedroom (neatly in the closet like they found them), clean up the mess that they created all over the house, politely thank the hosts for their wonderful hospitality, offer to pay for whatever they broke<\/span>,<\/strong> and invite their friends over to their house in the future. It makes great sense to me \u2014especially as our kids become teenagers and closer to adulthood. Heidi and I have taught them well and we fully expect them to comply.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Feels like home<\/span><\/h2>\n

Heidi and I took the kids to one of our usual summer vacation places this summer \u2014Heidi\u2019s parent\u2019s home in the California Bay Area. It also happens to be the town where we used to live and usually when we go back, we catch up with old friends. One of the families that we\u2019ve stayed in touch with over the years is the Padmos family. They are good friends and wonderful hosts, and each time we go back for a visit we reconnect, and this summer was no different.<\/p>\n

They had our family over for dinner in their recently purchased (new to them) home. Our children grew up together before we moved and so we always seem to have a good time when we reconnect. As adults, we share current life stories and catch up, as well as reminisce about times gone by.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Loud and Clear?<\/span><\/h2>\n

So when it was time to go (or almost time to go), I made it clear that there needed to be some movement towards an exit strategy, and that the kids should be looking to clean up, gather their belongings, and start moving towards the door. My announcement seemed clear.<\/p>\n

So did the second time I announced it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When I announced it the third time, I realized that Sofia was finally getting a chance to play the Wii (the boys apparently hogged the first hour), so Heidi quietly nudged me to slow down our exit process \u2014 made sense I guess, but I did make it clear that we were leaving right after the third set of her tennis match (on the Wii).<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, I was too slow in catching the end of the game, and another one happened to start \u2013 and it was even a whole different game altogether!\u00a0 Wipe-out \u2014which was kind of fun to watch.<\/p>\n

The 100 meter freestyle finals at the Rio Olympics were soon to follow\u2026in the meantime, the boys were not waiting at the door like I expected \u2014 so when I looked up the stairs to find them,\u00a0I got shot by Arie\u2019s super powered nerf gun<\/strong> \u2014<\/span>a great shot to the side of my head \u2014lots of cheers from the upstairs \u2014\u201cBoys\u2014it\u2019s time to go, put those things away and let\u2019s go!<\/em>\u201d I belt out \u2014but to no apparent avail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just hope for the best<\/span><\/h2>\n

This all went on for quite a while longer, until we finally made it to the doorway and were walking out the door. Some of us had even given a few hugs and said our good-byes (and I think one of the car doors had even slid open!) \u2026and then the dreaded\u2026<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWait! We didn\u2019t get any kids pictures!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2026and everyone filed back in the house.<\/p>\n

By this time, I had resigned to just parking myself at the door<\/strong><\/span>, and if the kids came close enough, I would hold them nice and close\u2026and when they tried to struggle free\u2026I would hold them closer\u2026and then hope for the best.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you but I think it\u2019s time for school to start back up again \u2014 at least our kids listen to their teachers\u2026 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n