nostalgia run amok

...
Or something like that.

Today I drove up with the kids to Sudbury and visited with P&C and their two kids. Their DS has ADHD and some associated OCD and other socialization problems, but he's a sweet boy who actually has a lot in common with DS1 when they can connect. Their DD is just a half-year younger than my DS1 and she is very much like my DD... the girls had a very good time.

Poor DS2, it is very hard for him to be the little guy all the time, and he phased in and out of feeling well all day long. We probably stayed over-long but it had been such a long time since I had a chance to talk to P that it felt good just to veg out with her while the kids entertained themselves... there were no dust-ups, other than DS2's occasional whines... it was nice.

When we left, we drove over to S Natick to go past my old house. That was a trip and a half. It all seemed simultaneously familiar and strange, and not that deja-vu "strangely familiar" feeling, either. Like, I recognized everything but couldn't believe I used to travel that route dozens of times a week, for 2 and a half years. It just didn't seem possible. When we got to the house I was quite ticked because whoever is living there now really needs to do some work on the yard, the bushes are running wild. They un-screened the porch which made it look quite nice, but other than that, it looked just the same. It was weird.

We had dinner at Bertucci's in Wellesley, which went fine until I told DS1 he couldn't save his Hoodsie cup ice cream for later. For some reason, he didn't believe me, and he had a minor breakdown, so I hustled them out of there... so quickly I forgot the leftovers on the table! I hate it when I do that. The waitress must've thought I was a total ditz, since I made her box up the leftovers, and then bring the ice creams, which the kids barely touched before I dragged them out of there. I felt a tiny bit awkward but I knew it was better to get DS1 out of there than to have him create a huge scene. I didn't have the energy to manage that.

On the way to our car, I witnessed a fender-bender in the parking lot: the driver hit a parked Honda Odyssey, trying to park his own car. It was the weirdest thing. I saw it, but there wasn't a chance that I was going to do anything about it with the 3 kids to handle. So I stuck them in the car and we headed down to Rte 9 to find a Radio Shack to buy a car adapter for the portable DVD player.

I think the battery on the new one is not the full 6 hours, but it could be that I didn't prep it properly... I have to check that out, maybe tomorrow. I found a Radio Shack pretty quickly and the clerk there was really nice and helpful and we found one with the appropriate voltage and amps (my old one was too weak -- correct voltage, not enough amps)... so the kids watched "Spy Kids" all the way home. Of course there was junk on the disc or something that made it go wonky when we were only about 15 minutes away, though. So I pulled over to fix the disc and in that 2 minutes a police car pulled up to make sure we were OK. I thought that was really nice and thanked the officer for stopping.

I keep using the word weird tonight but that's how today was. It was weird being back in my old stomping grounds. Unlike here on the Cape, there was absolutely no tugging on my heart strings. I talked a little with P&C about their kids' school and curriculums and whatnot, and realized even more how happy I am with my kids' schools. I'm glad I drove by my old place because I had been wanting to do that for quite a while, it was good to finally scratch that particular itch... but now that I have, I have no desire to ever drive through Wellesley or Natick again. I've been gone nearly 10 years but it seems as if nothing has really changed there, and I have changed a lot. I can't imagine having kids and living there! Eeek.

So... a good, strange day, and the kids were terrific. Didn't talk to DH at all, though. Another oddity.