Fairs, Fries, and Overcommitting: A Midlife Moms Adventure (Bonus Episode)

In this BONUS episode of "Midlife Moms Pod," Melanie and Allison share their experiences from a weekend in April where we discuss Melanie's visit to the Clay County Fair. Melanie discusses the fun and challenges of managing fair activities with her family, highlighting mom fails and the unexpected joys of finding fair food she can eat due to dietary restrictions.

We also provide an update on the bug project and talk about how we can't stop overcommitting to end-of-the-school-year activities, and the value of enjoying these moments while our children are still young. 

We end by discussing how our kids viewed the solar eclipse and celebrating Willow's 3rd birthday, rounding out a discussion that blends the joys and trials of midlife motherhood.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:23 - Adventures at the Clay County Fair
05:48 - Fair Rides and Safety Concerns: A Parent's Perspective
08:31 - Fair Food Frenzy
16:33 - Concerts at the Fair and Local Celebrity Neighbors
19:38 - More Fair Fun - Games and Ticket Pricing Shenanigans
22:28 - An Update on the Bug Project and Overcommitting at the End of the School Year
29:19 - The Eclipse Experience and Celebrating Willow's Birthday
32:18 - Wrapping Up: The Fair, Overcommitment, and Midlife Moms Sign Off

Find Midlife Moms Pod on Apple Podcasts or wherever you find your podcasts. You can also find us Buzzsprout where we have a full listing of all our episodes, Instagram (@midlifemomspod), and Facebook. Listen, like, and subscribe! We hope you enjoy the show!

Chapters

• 0:16 Mom Fails at the Fair
• 8:31 Fair Food
• 11:57 Music Concerts at the Fair and People who live in our Town
• 23:33 Update on the bug project
• 25:30 Overcommitting begins
• 29:17 The Eclipse
• 31:13 Willow's Birthday

Transcript

 Welcome back to this episode of Midlife Moms. 

Hi, Melanie. 

Hi, Allison. 

How are you? 

I'm fabulous. 

I'm exhausted.  So how about on this episode, we talk about what we did this weekend. Sure. Yeah. 

Uh, was there a weekend? 

I know, right? Kind of flew by, but yeah. I'll confess. that I had some mom fails this weekend.

Oh no. So we went to the Clay County Fair, which is amazing by the way, which I'll get into that. But I didn't have any thought in my head to bring a hat or sunscreen. And we were there from 9 45 in the morning until six o'clock at night. And there are some. Some areas there that have the overhangs go into like the open areas where there's the cows and the pigs and all for the agricultural stuff.

So we did have some shade, but not enough. And you were there all day from nine 45 till six o'clock. So we get there, we part and the first thing Tim says was, please let us go on row nine because there was nobody on row nine and we wanted to part. Closer, right? We ended up on row eight at the end, which was fine.

So we walk up there and there's a line and there's two lines because the guy in front of us was like, hey, there's two lines up there. He's like, one where you bought your tickets and one where you have to buy your ticket. Yeah. Well, the one where you had to buy tickets was shorter than the ones that you've already bought your tickets where you just scan them, which I was like, that's crazy.

So we all started walking and we started walking really fast. Like they were getting people in there and I'm like trying to do it on the phone. Right. And so we had to get out of line. That's how quick we got in there. We had to get out of line because the thing hadn't even made the purchase yet to give me the scan to get in.

So I'm like, okay, we're next to the thing. So then we just jumped in line and got in, but it's one of the cleanest fairs I've ever been to. They do really good stuff out there anyways. They have a lot of concerts and stuff, but the Clay County Fair, very clean. Now they did have port a potties, which we'll get into that in a minute because.

I am not one of those girls that will go on a porta-potty, but I knew because I had been at Clay County Fair before that they had bathrooms in the back where they normally have shows under the big overhang area. So that was the first thing we did. We checked out the bathrooms and they had a bathroom attendant in there.

Really? And I'm like, this is amazing. Like that cleaned up after you? 

Yeah. Or not, not cleaned up after you, but made sure the sinks were. She made sure the sinks were wiped down, the toilets were filled. 

Good. Everything. Yeah. I'm, yeah. The listeners cannot see my face, but I'm very impressed. Impressed. Yeah.

Yeah. Because that doesn't even happen at the airport. Right? So  

And so when, yeah. And when we go to the concerts of downtown and the Mm-Hmm. auditorium type thing. We always get the seats where there are is a bathroom attendant in there,  right?  . Yeah. But anyway, so that was good. But when we went in there, the first thing you can do is all the four H stuff.

Mm-Hmm. where it's all these children that get to in school get to. Raise an animal and then they go in and show their animal in the ring, which was fascinating to me. Yeah, that's what I want to go see. 

That was so fun. And then Emily got to pet cows because there was all their little handlers were there.

So we got to talk to them and they let you touch their animal, whether it was a cow or a pig or, you know, so that was fun for her. So she would keep asking me, can I go to a school that we do that? And I was like, yeah, our school doesn't do that. No, none of the schools are going to do that. Unless you need to move and have more.

Right. So that was a lot of fun. And then they also had the disc Frisbee dogs, right? That they do the show. That's a lot of fun. And they do some other things with like adoption for animals and you don't pay. They just get your information of what kind of animal you want, you know, what kind of dog you want, personality and all that.

And then they find you a dog and the only thing he said was like, I just want to thank you that, you know, you just say thank you to them. And then you get to take your puppy home. Did you take a puppy home? No. Oh, no, we have. I mean,  no, but it was interesting. He did his little spiel  about where he gets his dogs.

He said any dog is trainable and they had gotten one that was too hyper for the family and he was only like seven months old, but they taught him how to catch Frisbee and, Oh, give him a purpose to do. So that was fun. And then they have pig racing, which they go around a track. Yeah. Which is really cute, but so we did all that.

And then Clay County also has this thing called early Florida village. Yes. 

I saw that. I, I have not been to the fair we've gone in years past, even before we had our son, but I was reading about it online because the fair is in the air and I wanted to go, so it was kind of reading about it, but how was that?

I liked it. I mean, they have, well, that's where the Highland cow was that we took Christmas pictures with. So we had to go see him for sure. And then they have a Native American area where there's two huge teepees set up. And he, a Native American man is like sitting there and one teepee has all of his stuff that he's made in there, which is beautiful stuff. 

And then the other one has like all of his stuff in it. Like, He was making food in there for himself because he's there all day or all week. Well, however long the fair runs. He literally, I think, was staying there. Now, I didn't look in his teepee, but he was in there cooking. It was very interesting. And then they have, um, bees and you can buy honey there.

Okay. So we bought honey, which the honey was amazing. So you can taste each type of honey there. So that was fun. Because, you know, me and honey, I use that as medicine, but that was a lot of fun. They had an old general store that you can look in like different, you know, back in the day how it was, but that was fun.

And then, um.  Of course, the fair rides and stuff, which kind of scare me since they put them up so quick,  you know, it's that they don't have an attendant there or a rollercoaster committee where I check in and see if they check the boat. Yeah, I know. It's amazing that I used to go on fair rides as a kid and I loved it.

That was my favorite part of the fair. And I remember going every year in the summer. Mm hmm. 

I remember going on rides. My parents let me go. 

But at that age, you're not thinking, Oh, they might've missed a screw. No, you don't think that you just get on it. Cause it's fun. Right. Now that we're adults, I look at it and go, Hmm.

Yeah. You're not getting on that one. 

Yeah. And it's, you know, I told Matthew I'm like, I just come up with excuses because I don't want him going on big rides. 

You don't have to let him go on those, but you should let him do the bungee jumping thing because they're actually hooked in a harness and they bounce to however high they want to do it, so it's on their own accord.

They're not, you know, relying on being on a roller coaster that was put up in five minutes. Oh my God. But, and it's a totally, I mean, it's in the fair, but it's a totally separate vendor. You don't have to buy tickets for it. All that's $10. I think it was. 

Maybe I'll let him do that. There were some other kid rides that I thought, well, that wouldn't be so bad.

You know, me, I always think what's the worst can happen. Uh, I kind of look at the danger level and, but yeah, I know that it's going to be a fight if I go to the fair with him, I have to put some parameters around what he's going to be allowed to do and what. 

Well, that's what we did. We said you can do the kiddie stuff, like the kiddie roller coaster that's close to the ground.

So if something happens and you are launched from the,  launched from the vehicle, you're not going to get as hurt as if you're up on one of those spinny things that When I was a teenager dating Tim, we went in there and you sit in this thing and the cage comes over you and then there's a bar that goes on your lap.

Well, back then I was so thin that I slipped out of the bar. So all I had was the cage and Tim holding me until it stopped. Was that the scrambler? 

One of them, I remember the scrambler. You know, my brother, he's three years younger than me and he went on the scrambler and got off and immediately vomited. 

Is that the one that looks like the spaceship where you get slapped up against the wall? Oh my gosh, it spins? It might be. Cause that was there. And I was like, Tim, do you remember that when we got in that thing? And it would slap you up against the wall. Like, 

Oh yeah.  So, you know, fond memories, fond memories, but now I just want to go for the food.

So yeah. Well, speaking of food, I was so excited. It's kind of sad though, that I was so excited, but I asked the guy at the,  one of the food trucks. And I said,  He was making, you know, fries, actual fries from the potato and he had a big potato thing masher that made the fries. So you knew they were fresh and I'm like,  what kind of oil do you use?

And he's like, I use soybean oil. And I have done a jig right there in the middle of the street and slapped him in the back and went, Oh my God, I can eat something. Because normally they use vegetable oil or canola oil and I can't eat any of that. So I'm never able to eat.  

Fair food. 

Any food, really. Any food like that.

So I'm like, Oh my God. So I, we ate a bucket of fries. I was in heaven and I was like, give me the rest of that.  So then after we ate those, I'm like, before we leave the fair, I'm going to get another bucket of that.  I got another bucket of fries. You did? Oh yeah. I was like, we're eating these on the way to the car, 

Wow. And so then Tim got, there's a guy making kettle corn. Yep. So Tim love kettle corn. Yeah. So Tim and Emily got the kettle corn and it was,  you know, of course I can't eat it 'cause it's corn, but  I, I was happy with my bucket of fries  and, but it's sad if you think about it like. 

It is. 

I guess it's, it's sad because I can't eat it, but I really probably shouldn't eat it.

But when I literally want to go drive to Clay County to go get me some more fries. Are you craving them? 

Yes. Yeah. Because I don't ever get to eat fries. Yeah. Unless I make them at home and they're not fried, they're baked. And it's just not the same. Yeah. I mean, they're still good, but now that I've had.

There's nothing like that  touching the end of that fry. They were the perfect side. Yeah. I just was like, okay, I want to go back. I'm trying to figure out how I could go back. Yeah, well, we, so our weekend, we had baseball kind of at, we had a game at 11. And then this coming weekend, we have a game at nine.

So we'll be able to go if Matthew wants to go. His dad's working all weekend. He works Saturday and Sunday. Just his rotating schedule. So I'm going Saturday if you want to go. I guess that's my point because I'm going to get, maybe I'll get the fries. I like the fried dough, which they don't call it fried dough here.

Yeah, I think they call it elephant ears. 

They have elephant ears and the funnel cake. And funnel cakes. And then there's a lot of people that I saw that had ice cream from somewhere. But they also make homemade lemonade. So we were drinking that. That was really good. But it's going to be a very nutritious weekend for me.

Yeah, that's a whole nother situation. I was like, well, I didn't pack anything. And a lot of people bring backpacks in there and stuff like that. I'm probably, I could have done that with my own food or at least given,  given somebody an apple and been like, here, have an apple with your two bucket of fries and some cattle corn.

So at least, you know, we would have had some kind of nutritious, but it was not. We just ate those fries and went in for a second trip. 

Were there a lot of people there? 

There were not a lot of people there until more of the afternoon. Okay. So in the morning, there was hardly anybody there. Yeah, it was good.

It's good to know. So that was fun. She did do the bungee jump. She did one of the little kiddie roller coasters. And then I got talked into doing the Ferris Wheel, which I don't like a Ferris Wheel. And I don't know how that happened that I was the one on it. But we were with one of her little friends.

And she wanted to go with her dad. So her dad switched off with Tim to stay with her sister. So I ended up being on the Ferris Wheel and I'm up there and I'm like, no, I don't like this at all. It made me feel really woozy. Almost like you had too much to drink when you're waiting. And  you're like trying to look out and you're swinging a little bit.

And all I kept thinking was, was there a screw loose? Yeah.  

The Ferris Wheel is my nightmare. I don't do the Ferris Wheel ever. The last time I did a Ferris Wheel, I think I was. Fifteen. Think about how long ago that was, right? Long time. So I'm up there and Emily's like, I don't like this, Mommy. And I'm like, I don't like this either.

So I took a picture of us and I'm like, here's my worst nightmare. We're up and swinging in the And I kept thinking, okay, if we fall, where can I grab to save us? Because we can't no you're not a little Ferris Wheel and a big Ferris Wheel and we were on the big one and i just Kept thinking and then what really got me here's what i don't understand they weren't filling all the bucket seats up So they were only filling up four at a time and i'm like if you're not filling this whole Ferris Wheel up There's something wrong So tim was watching it and they were they would do like four and kind of even it out and then as they go and people get off they load the next car so they're not using the same car it's just they're having to make it even where it's was it a balance issue is that what they're doing or they're just trying to get the cars to rotate so that so that there's weight on each i mean now the Ferris Wheel, I'll be honest, is not on my approved list for Matthew to go.

So it wasn't on my approved list, but I was going to send her with her dad. And then if something happens, at least he could do a drop and roll and save her. Yeah. But I'm like, they're swinging in the bucket. And I'm like,  I'll get thinking, what have I thought up? 

Yeah. The Ferris Wheel was one of my favorites as a kid.

And now as an adult, just thinking about it makes you feel, yeah. Makes me feel woozy. Terrifies me. 

Oh yeah, I like to go on rollercoasters and things like that, but I also like it that it's at an actual amusement park where there's a team of people that check it regularly. There should be something like that at the fair.

Absolutely not. Absolutely not. There's no way. They barely have Dennis there.  I mean, let's be honest. I don't know.  I'm just like, uh uh. No, they don't. They can't. Now, I will say at the fair, there was a team of paramedics there. Okay, so. So, if something were to happen. Now, why is there paramedics at the Clay County Fair?

Your guess is as good as mine. I'm hoping that it's like heat exhaustion or something. Yeah, it's usually those 

types of things. Because you've been slung from a vehicle. They had a lot of police officers there, which makes you feel safe, but that alone is always so clean, always nice. Yeah, it's not rowdy.

There's not a bunch of riffraff kids. Yeah, so it's a lot that they are, you know, they're making sure everything's going like it needs to. I just,  I just worry about the rides itself. Yeah, my big thing, but I love all the other stuff that has to do with the fair, the shows. the 4 H stuff. Yeah, I want to see the frisbee dogs.

That's, and the pig race is amazing. So cute. Yeah. So all that's really fun. 

You know who else was at the fair this year? This was early on in the fair. Tone Loke and Vanilla Ice. Oh, I saw that. Yes. I would have loved to have gone too, but that was really early on. I think it was on a Thursday night. I said something to Brent and he was, didn't even know. 

You know who else is going to be there? Bret Michaels. Yes, he's going to be there too. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, do you have to pay extra for that? And like, yes. And I'm like, well, you never know if you're already at the fair.  I guess it's like a full on concert maybe. I don't know. But what happens when you're, I don't know.

Cause if you're in the fair already. Yeah. I don't think 

those costs any extra. The only reason I say that is because When I went to the fair in Massachusetts, when I lived there, we would go in early and then we would just hang out and watch some of the music acts, but we never, and they're just like in the general stage.

Yeah, it's by the pig races. People come and go. I, yeah, I don't think it's any extra. I think that when you're at the fair level performing, your cost isn't very high for the rental place. I think at that point you're just looking for publicity maybe? I don't know. Well, Vanilla Ice lives in St. Augustine.

Does he? Yeah, so maybe he just thought he'd make a day of it. Does he? Listen to me. Does he? Maybe I'll go find his, uh Yeah, because my neighbor's husband is working on the renovation of his house with him. 

Does he live on the water? I don't know. 

I don't know anything about his house, really. I just saw him like Can I ask those questions?

That he lives on the water or not? Yeah, like Do you have a boat? 

What type of neighborhood does he live in? I'm curious. How does he live in a neighborhood? 

I mean, I would think he would live, I don't know, but he does that renovation show. So he's he does. Yeah, I don't remember the name of it, but he does that.

I've lived here 14 years and I still don't know the major celebrities in town. I used to live in Naples, Florida, and I knew who lived in Naples and we would talk about it.  Oh, like Tom Cruise's mom used to live in Naples. Judge Judy lived in Naples.  Yeah, right down the street in Pelican Bay. So we would always, when we were out and about shopping, I would always look for Judge Judy.

Well, I didn't know Vanilla Ice lived in St. Augustine until my neighbor's husband was working with him. I think Alice Cooper lives here. 

I heard, so someone told me Alice Cooper lived in Epping Forest. Yes. Is that true? Yes. So we belong, I don't know, we belong there. So I told Brent and he was like, hedoes.

Well, the next time y'all go to dinner, you need to,  because I'm sure he's not decked out in Alice Cooper eyeliner and all this stuff. He's going to look different. Probably. Yeah. So that is interesting. I'm sure we have other people here that I just don't know who else is here that I'm sure we have a lot of Jaguar players.

Yeah. But I couldn't point them out in the lineup. The only reason I could probably be like, Oh, that's a football player is their size because they're bigger than the average. 

I had physical therapy a couple of years ago for my shoulder. And I went to the JOI, which is downtown Jacksonville Orthopedic Institute.

And I would have to go work out my shoulder. I would always see these Jaguar players, but it would be like, who's. Who did you see? Dude, I don't know. How do you know they were on the Jaguar team? I'm like, well, I assume they were because they were talking about, and there was another guy there with a Jaguar polo shirt.

So I assumed he was probably a coach or something. 

Yeah. Cause they all work out there. Cause they're affiliated with, I guess that they're who they go to for their injuries. 

I'm not really good with my phone. I cannot be one of those sleuths. that, you know, how people take pictures covert. Yeah. 

I am not.

You're supposed to take a selfie with the people behind you. That's how you do it. Is it 

really? But then how are they not going to tell you're taking a selfie with them? That's 

true. Right. I mean, just walk up to them and be like, are you a player? I mean, a Jaguar player, not a player. Jaguar player. Anyway, 

I would have gotten in trouble because I was supposed to do my exercises.

and she would know if I didn't do my exercises. That's good. You only had a half an hour with a physical therapist and if you didn't do your stuff, then you, are you really committed? Oh, right. Hard knock. Oh yeah, she was rough. My shoulder's better. Better because she was rough.  

That's so funny. Oh, we're off the subject.

We are. So, well, did Emily have a good time? At the fair? Yeah. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to really, we went back to where the cows and the pigs and all that. Yeah. Cause she would be on a farm and a. Part B. If we sold everything we owned and bought land, she would not blink an eye. She would be on a farm feeding chickens and That's perfect.

I love it. So I was like, get a brush and brush your dog out. I was like, you want to take care of the animal, brush her. But yeah, so she loved it. She wants to go back. It was kind of interesting, like how the ticket system worked when you tried to do fair rides and stuff. That was very confusing because nothing was set.

So there was one roller coaster that was 72 tickets. And there was one, the Ferris Wheel was 65 tickets. Okay. You buy a hundred tickets for $10. So even if you buy a hundred tickets and you go on a roller coaster, you don't have enough tickets to ride anything out. Right. But you can get a band for $35, which we probably could have done that, but I'm like, you're not gonna ride that many rides.

They rode two rides a piece and that was it. But when we had the dads getting on, then we had to buy more tickets for them to ride. It was a cluster when it came to that. Yeah. But then they also have fair games. And Emily is good at those. Like she won two stuffies. One was a big one and one was like a just a small one and then they had this other thing that you paid a dollar and you pull the lever and there's three people sitting behind this thing that looks like a slot machine and they hold up a fruit and each kid of course wins so the last time they'll do three bananas and then they get to pick a stuffy out of the thing.

So really she ended up with three stuffies. It was wild. Yeah. The whole thing was just It's, it's the ticket part of it was the only thing that I didn't like. 

Were they actual tickets? No, it's a card, you know, cause it's 2024, you have a card on a bank. It's very weird. I was like, how do you even, and they scan it, but the ticket system's off.

And I think they're doing that. So you'll just buy the $35 thing. I'm sure. Now I'm rethinking this whole fair thing because I don't want to deal with that. 

Well, the only thing that the tickets are the actual rides themselves. Okay. The bungee jumping thing that we did was $10 cash and you got to do it for a while.

So it's worth it. That's good. The games are all cash. So if you wanted to play a game where he throws the thing, that's cash. Of course, the 4 H stuff and the Frisbee dogs. free. The pig race. All that's free. And then of course your fare thing. Yeah. You did that. And you're free to get into the early village Florida thing.

Yeah. Well, that's good. Yeah. As long as you prep him that he's not going to do rides and he could do the bungee. Right. I can point you in the right direction or I could just go and get me some fries.  Take Emily, have her do the bungee too and I'll eat a bucket of fries  and then drive home because I have to be at that hotel at three o'clock.

Oh yeah. So for the father daughter dance. Yeah. 

Okay. I'm going to have to set up to all this. 

Yeah, Brent has to work Saturday, so I don't know if I'm going to be able to go volunteer this year. I don't know.  I know, which is sad because I do enjoy When does he get off? Six o'clock. Oh. Yeah. So, and you know, working, he's worked all day.

I could allow him to be a parent for the evening, but uh huh, unless my son goes over to my parents house. But my mom is sick again. So yeah. Yeah. Maybe from people coming in from, I don't know, could be. So she's taking a COVID test today. My parents had COVID in February and they both were in the hospital and she also had pneumonia.

So I don't know if her pneumonia is back. She's just not feeling good. Well, and our parents are older too. Yes. harder on it is so I think I'm gonna have to sit this one out which sucked how it is. Yeah, but last year was a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun got to dress up and I don't have a daughter so but she got to help.

I helped at the craft table. Yeah, it was good. 

Yeah, I don't even know what the craft is this year. I'm so consumed with making card stock for our bug project. How's that going? Um, we're almost finished. She wants to do most of it herself. So I'm just letting her My son has expressed no interest. in helping with the grasshopper.

What about looking at research and stuff about it? 

No. 

Well, he told me that he had it due. Mommy, did you pull the facts about the grasshopper yet? Who's in charge here? Right. Mommy, what, when are you going to pull the, um, the grasshopper facts? So that I can bring them to school. So I did that last night.

Yeah. He, he's something else, this one. And this is the difference between girls and boys. So yours is all interested in arts and crafts. Mine is like, Oh, can I throw the styrofoam ball? Cause that looks like a baseball. Yeah. He's no interest, no interest in doing it. I can't wait for the project to be over and I can just sit and watch the presentation.  

Yes. I had to block that out on my calendar at work already. So that morning. Yeah. So I was like, I just want to sit and watch the presentation and be done with it. And just think it's just going to get harder as school year goes. I know as they get older, they're going to have bigger projects, bigger projects, especially in fifth grade.

I think they do some big DC product, a model, like a, what do they call that? A diorama. Yeah. Like a monument. Yes.  

I'm not looking forward to that. 

Maybe we can invest in a 3D printer. It's a lot. It's, it's very mind numbing. I have a full time job. I've got a lot going on. Yeah, I get it. We've got PA board activities that are, yeah, I just, I'm overwhelmed right now.

Yeah, have you ever thought when you're driving or at home and you're like, I have over complicated my life? Every day. Every day I think that. I'm like, what am I doing? I need a nap or I need to sit at the beach. Right. Which one? Or I could combine those and sit at the beach and take a nap.  

Which I will not lies whenever I go to the beach and I lay down at the top.

I will fall asleep. 

Yeah, me too. I always have. As long as I don't have a kid to watch, I can get it. 

And then I get a text message last night from a friend in high school. He's like, we're having a little get together here. No, in Naples. So he's like, come on down for our little, cause we had our big 30th high school reunion in September.

And I just have the best graduating class at high school. Lots of fun. We had a great weekend. And so the people who live in Naples are getting together more often now. And how far is it for you? It's five and a half hours. So I told Brent last night about it and he's like, Oh, I'm like, another commitment is like driving down five and a half hours.

I don't have anywhere to stay right because my parents don't live in Naples anymore. So see, I never went to a high school reunion. Oh, we had a ton of people in our graduating class, but everybody that I knew in high school that I cared to be around, I'm friends with. Right. So it's like, why go back? Yeah.

And I didn't like high school. So I was like, yeah, I don't know. I have no idea. I didn't enjoy high school. Particularly either. But you liked the people that were there. I did like the people that were there and I went to college right after high school and it was only four hours away from Naples. And we had a lot of high school kids at college.

So we would also have high school slash college parties in Gainesville. So some of us continued our high school life  in Gainesville. And then, but when I went back in September, we, I don't know what it was. It was like, we had not left. We were laughing, just, I have friends like that. I don't see every day, right.

Live different places. And as soon as we get back together, it's like no time to stop.  Right. 

No time has passed. So it would be fun to go back. But you know, I told him, I was like, well, I'll be back in July for a week. We're going to go down and do our little summer vacation in July. So, and we're going to stay in that area.

We don't have family in Naples anymore, but Brent's mom and his sister live in Fort Myers, which is just north of Naples. Okay. 30 minutes north. Oh, that's not bad. No. It's like driving from here to there. My house. Right.  

And when I was in high school, it was a big deal to drive to Fort Myers. I remember when I got my license, I had, uh, well, I was in college.

I had a friend who lived in Fort Myers and I remember it was a big deal to go up and see him like driving up there. Oh, that's funny. 

Yeah. And now it's nothing. Now it's nothing. Wow. So anyway, that's, that's life over commitment. Yeah, you know, I just can't do it all. 

Well, my big thing is what I keep trying to tell myself is they're not going to be little for long.

So I just want to do it now. And then, right. So that's why I kind of overcommit. Plus, I like being involved in the school parent association. That's fine. Yeah, definitely. 

But it is a big overcommitment of things. And it's a big build up, build up, build up, build up. And then it's just nothing, you know, like you do all this stuff.

And then after the day comes, I know, because Monday the bugs are due. Yeah. And then what? 

Daddy daughter dance will be over. And I don't even know. And I didn't realize I thought back to my time when I was in school, we always got out in June. It's wild to me that they get out of me. I think the calendars have changed over the years.

Yeah, how they did at school stuff, what they get off, you know, days off. Yeah. I don't know. I just find it interesting. Of course, I went to school up north and they have two breaks after Christmas. So they've got one in February for a week and then they have another one in April for a week. And so that's why they get out of school later.

So sometimes we wouldn't get out till June. Yeah, that's when I got out. But we also didn't start until after Labor Day, which here we start, August comes. And before you know it, school is starting to me, it's just school days just are going too fast. I feel like we just started this year and we're almost done.

We are. 

Now,the eclipse. How was that yesterday? It was good. I let her stay home. So I mainly because I'm that mom where I'm like, I don't want her to look up unless she has those. Glasses. Glasses because you can get, you know, horrible things with, you can let them outside at school. Well that's good, right?

Because some kids will look up and then of course they've got damage to their eye. But it was really good. Tim has special glasses 'cause he's all into the, all that we were gonna drive to Texas. You, you were,  that was our big thing. We were gonna do that. And I was like, I don't wanna spend the time to drive to Texas for a vacation.

And she's. Still in school. Right. You know, it just didn't work out. So, but she got to see some of it yesterday in the, it was neat to look at. 

I know some people drove. One person I know drove to Arkansas, saw a total eclipse. She has pictures. Matthew, I sent him to school. We had my brother when he was here last week, he brought some sunglasses or not sunglasses, but those paper glasses he brought a bunch from Amazon. Yeah. So he gave us a ton and I had meetings all day yesterday. So when it ended, when one of the meetings ended at three, I went outside with the glasses, told Brent or gave him a pair. We went out and looked and I saw the partial. Yeah. So I was like, Oh, that's kind of neat. Matthew gets out of school at three.

So I told Brent, I'm going to go get him. I drove it where he lives so close to the school. So it only took me a couple minutes. It must be nice. I made it into the car line in time for a carpool, picked him up. And we went to this little park down the street and told him, put your glasses on. And then after that, so we looked at the sun, I told him, you know, look down and then take your glasses off.

I said, we'll get back in the car. Cause you're going back to school.  He was like, what?  Mind you, school's over. Mind blown. School's over at this point. So I told him, I was like, yeah, I'm going to take you back. You can go to extended. That's  just kidding. Of course. So I took him home. Yeah. 

Yeah. We just hung out all day.

And, oh, and it was Willow's birthday yesterday. So we took her  and took her to get her a toy and treats. And Emily thinks it's hysterical because she eats out of the, no, I don't know why pet stores do this, but that's just whatever. They put a big buffet out  of treats. Yeah. And Willow thinks if that's out, it's free game.

So she's up in the buffet eating dog treats. And of course, Emily's cracking up because that's, that's, What does the store say? Nothing, they don't say anything to her. They don't. But she's the type of breed that will gulp her food, so she can take a big just bite out of it. But I'm like, I'm not paying for that.

If y'all are gonna put it out where she can reach it. Now for those of you listeners who are new, Willow is a Newfoundland, a 130 pound Newfoundland, and it was her third birthday yesterday. Oh, and she's actually in the car with her birthday.  She's in the car with us. She's being very good. She's sleeping.

She can be on our show anytime. 

Yes. She will be on our show all the time, probably, since she got snuck in the car today. Yeah. And I didn't know it. But anyways, I think that you need to definitely go to the fair. Okay. I'm gonna go. I may hitch a ride.  

Surprise. Yeah. Saturday morning is it. I don't like crowds.

These are the days. 

These are the days. And I am, I don't know about younger moms. But I'm white when the day is over. Yeah. And I feel like I haven't done a whole lot, but I'm just, well, 

yeah, your brain. So I don't have time to go to the gym. Right. But I do. I feel exhausted at the end of the day. And I don't know if it's because my brain is being used throughout the day.

I have a meeting at 10 30. So I will have to. To say let's end this show  because as much as I want to stay and hang out and hang out, I'm overcommitted myself to my job. Welcome 

to over committing. Yes, I get it. 

So that's all we have time for this week on Midlife Moms. 

See ya. Bye. 

Bye.