Back home and broke

...but not really. I hadn't really imagined that "no new crap" would really impact our travels. A week in Florida, along with Bob's band, equipment, and one grandmother had a few unique challenges.

Packing is always an adventure onto itself - that fine line between covering all eventualities and dragging way too much is now painfully razor-sharp thanks to the new baggage charges imposed by the airlines. So I put everything I thought we'd need, took out a bunch of pieces which all happened to be mine, and then packed a duffle bag within the mondo suitcase in case we were over our weight limits. Now, finally, a use for theoretical math! If each bag is $15 for the first and $25 for the second, and the overweight charge is $50, how many bags of n size are needed for that train to go to Cleveland travelling 100 miles per hour??? Aaaargh. But when I wrestled that monster onto the scale and saw the gate agent's jaw drop - the readout was 50.0 - I felt vindicated for my obsessiveness. It's the little triumphs that keep me going, some days.

One of my mantras on high-pressure packing has been "hey - they have stores there!" I didn't really see the conflict there until I was without two essential items: a sun hat, and a bottle opener. Neither was a major hardship, and I'm almost done peeling... Of course walking past shops en route to the beach was a bit tough on the kids, and I'd like to say they stopped asking eventually, or perhaps I'm just less senstive to their angst. Bob and I did a walk-through of the original Ron Jon's Surf Shop (open 24 hours) and they did have some nice sales, but I wasn't really tempted. Although a coconut bra and a muu-muu would hide a multitude of figure flaws.

L's birthday is coming up, and Nana brought her a present. She was proud of herself - it was a regifted item from one of her friend's grandchildren. I appreciate the gesture of support, and L was happy with her new playset of these bobble-headed things with ginormous eyes.

So the upcoming birthday demon raises it's ugly head...
Check out www.birthdayswithoutpressure.org for some of the do's/don'ts which were out there before everyone started pinching pennies. I get so frustrated with the one-upsmanship, and kids are great at keeping track lest you forget the particular party trauma.

For several years now, we've thrown birthday parties and specifically said NO GIFTS, which would sound heinously cruel if it weren't for the fact that lots of grandparents, aunts and uncles send plenty. And, oh yeah, about half of the folks disregard your request. So there are some presents, which must be paid homage to, but the folks who didn't bring a present feel badly even though they were following our wishes.

Last year I decided to do an art supplies potluck: bring whatever items you had on hand, we'll put them all together and see what creativity emerges, and everyone gets to take home what they've made as well as a grab bag of art supplies. It was surprisingly fun, and went fairly well until kids were being picked up and then the frequent query: "So where's my gift bag?"

So, fast-forward to this year, and my daughter is approaching 7, and a party is called for. Our normal approach is to request no gifts, and it seems disingenuine to change that so OTHER people can buy stuff and alleviate the pressure on us. But L's requests for gifts are getting so darned specific, and she tempers them with asking us what we'd like, so she can ask for that too.
Ouch. An additional complication: we're inviting all the girls in her class to a pizza party and sleepover. Our neighborhood friends are understanding of our quirks, but her school friends are another story. I'm attempting to design an invitation tonite, with some sort of message about the no gift thing, that will be clear but not offensive or sanctimonious. My mission, whether I choose to accept it or not. Stay tuned.