OBX 2017

We do this (almost) every year, but this year it's a little different. 

With Middle already away at college, and The Eldest and Girl of the Eldest working full-time this summer, it's only Savageman, Little, Me, and The Parents at the beach house with the pool and the hot tub, just a short walk from the ocean.  

There were some advantages. 

With Eldest and Girl watching the house, we could leave the pets behind.  That Dog is getting kind of old to put him through an 8 hour car ride, new surroundings, and a house full of stairs.  Also, dogproofing the house is always a trick, as he loves to eat things he's not supposed to eat. It's nice to not wake up to him yodeling to go out in the morning, or constantly have to worry about latching the doors or hiding the trash cans. 

My Cat usually stayed home alone, but I had someone stop by and check on her. This year, it's not an issue. 

Plenty of room in the cars, less food to buy / prepare / more opportunities for field trips, etc. with only one kid. 

But it's not the same. 

Little (not so little) is 14, and he's being a good sport about not having his brothers to play with.  He's been looking for ways to meet kids (girls) here, and he was always pretty comfortable with his alone time, even when there were brothers around. 

I reminded him that my entire childhood was spent doing vacations without siblings.  He responded, "Yeah, but you read books and stuff."  

Books!  And Stuff!  What a great idea!

I brought a copy of a good YA novel I thought he'd enjoy reading, and of course the math we've been doing all summer to get him ready for High School.  He's not especially amenable to doing either of these things.

Still, it's nice having some time with just him.  The Eldest had his time as an only child when he was little. Middle never did, but we did a lot together with JSD, traveling with demo and competition team, etc. Little and I have had BJJ together, so that's something, but most of our interaction consists of him trying to bite or choke me, or me trying to get him to do math and him running away.  

So there are some things we can work on.... 

Today is Tuesday, and we're here until Saturday.