A Royal disappointment and then the opposite of it.

Today we got up and hit the ground running.

First on the agenda - the downtown Y to get a pass for the week. Why the downtown Y will do this for us and the Y near Mom's house will not is a mystery to me, but I'm summing it up as the one downtown rocks and the one near Mom's sucks rotten eggs. They don't even offer towels. Seriously? A Y that doesn't offer towels? In an affluent neighborhood? Bad workout juju. Also at the downtown Y? DAY CAMP! We wouldn't enroll the kids in day camp here since we are only here a week, but I was impressed that the camp here is from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm, includes lunch, and only costs $130 a week. It's $90 a week where we live if the kids go all day, we have to pack their lunch, and the hours are from 9 to 4. Before and after care is available for an additional fee, but I think the 7:30 to 6 is an amazing idea.

Next up - oil change for my poor, overworked van. Dad owns a service station in Winston, one of those places where the menfolk go to shoot the shit, a quickly fading breed of service station in today's society. It's a shame. For guy land, it's a pretty cool place and the kids LOVE to go there and see Papa at work. He said he could do it after 1 (thank you, Dad!!)

Okay, so. Time to kill. We called Mom, but they weren't home. We left a message and went to the credit union. I used to work there and I ran into a couple people I knew, so I chatted with them for a few minutes and caught up. You know what I realized today? There are a lot of really wonderful, decent people in the world and I have been extraordinarily lucky to have worked with and become friends with many of them. Times like these, I really miss North Carolina.

After the credit union, we went to Walmart. After four years without being anywhere near a Walmart, I'm still a little in awe at all the choices when I walk into one. And the fact that most Walmarts are open 24 hours, so I could go at 3 am if I wanted. Not that I'd be awake TO go at 3, but still. I could if I wanted to. Commercialism. I'm a huge fan.

Mom called back while we were in Walmart, so we headed over there for lunch and hung out until time to go and get the oil changed in the van. Took the kids to Dad's station, and got the biggest kick out of watching S interact with Dad and his customers. Both the kids know that if they want something to eat or drink there, that Dad will say yes, but we still have to remind them to ask first every now and then.

But S? That girl can work a room. First with the longing looks at the drink cooler, which we all mostly ignored. Direct action it is, then. She opens the door and gets out a drink. Bats her lashes at Dad, who was talking to R and didn't see it. She looks at me and I tell her to ask Papa. So she walks over to him and says, "I love you Papa!" and holds up the drink. I'm biting my lip to keep from laughing as his heart melts into a big ole puddle and she skips away all happy with herself. Not too much later, a customer comes in and teases her by asking for a sip of her drink after she walks up to him and holds up the drink and announces, "MY drink". You'd think he asked her to cut off her finger from the look she gave him, which made Dad laugh out loud. This girl? Needs to be enrolled in drama camp right away. T, during most of this, was in the garage part of the station watching Harold change the oil in the van. He was fascinated and completely entranced. I love watching both my kids learn about things that really fascinate them. T? Is well suited to be a mechanic or engineer of some sort. It's amazing how much he just 'gets' about the way things work.

After we left Dad's, we headed to a bakery outlet that's nearby. It used to be the Royal Cake Company bakery outlet, but is now a Flowers Bakery. Hmmm. I wanted to go because the outlet used to sell loose oatmeal, devils food creme, and raisin cake creme cookies by the pound. This is much cheaper than buying them in a store, and something my Mom has done since I can remember. The plan was to buy the kids snacks for their lunches, but now that the bakery has been sold (turns out Royal Cake Company went bankrupt - boo!), the outlet doesn't do the bulk loose cookies anymore. Sad! But it's probably for the best since I love those things and while I'm generally good about resisting temptation, it's probably better off not to have it around. I guess. Sigh.

After we were 'Royal'ly disappointed at the thrift store, we dropped in to see Susan at work. The kids were tired and cranky, so we didn't stay long. Plus, we wanted to leave with at least a partial impression of well behaved children, and the kids weren't as into that plan as we were. From there it was back to Grammy's where they went to the pool, and I left to meet a friend at Starbucks for a quick iced tea lemonade (so cool and refreshing) before I met Chris to go to Zumba.

And....Zumba! I realized I've turned into a bit of a Zumba snob. I wasn't sure I'd like anyone else's Zumba the way I like my Illinois classes, but this was a great class! I even ran into a girl that I used to work with. Sometimes, it's a really, really small world. The class was at a church on carpet, so I ended up doing it barefoot. And by the end? I was dripping with sweat and feeling all happy and Zumba radiant. We did a routine to Thriller, which was awesome! It reminded me of that scene in 13 going on 30....So much fun! FUN FUN FUN.

After Zumba, I went back to Moms and R and I caught fireflies with T. What a great end to a busy but great day. And if I haven't mentioned it? Zumba was amazing.