and so we begin...

the most exhausting and longest week of the summer: sailing week. Both nearby (within 45 minutes, since everything is a long drive in Maine) towns where the kids have taken lessons in the past were not offering them due to instructor burnout or the director being away on a ship. So, we signed 3 of the children up for lessons in Lincolnville and knew that it was going to be a haul getting them there and back every day. Class is from 10am to 4:30pm and with the distance, I have decided to stay in the vicinity, rather than make the trip back to the farm and waste all that gasoline and risk a speeding ticket.

Yesterday went well, after prying Mary off my arm due to her sporadic shyness, we went to my friend Jennifer's house until after lunch. Between her and her sister who is visiting for the summer there were 8 other children, so the visit gave my little ones a fun break from their sometimes bossy older brother and sisters. Later we did a little shopping and spent some time in the air conditioned library before heading back to the pond just in time to watch Mary haul wet sails.

We didn't get home until 5:30, where we had to unload the car, clean out the trash that had accumulated during the day, and set everything up for this morning before eating supper and bathing everyone. Will and Mary and Maggie are having a blast at their lessons, learning a great deal about sailing, and out of my hair for a short while, but I'm going to need a week to recover from the experience.