We stayed until the sun went down, + a few other stories.

We love having Central Park as our backyard.

Yesterday, we stayed until the sun went down. I think I could have just camped out all night on our quilt. Such a beautiful, perfect day. This has been such a strange NYC summer. Where are the 100˚ days? Where is the 97% humidity? I'm not complaining. There's nothing better than a breezy Sunday at the park. Mike played lacrosse & frisbee with the boys. The girls chatted about girl things. We ate a big lunch before we left & snacked on crackers & humus for dinner while we were there. I discovered this new humus at Trader Joe's, by the way. Maybe it's new, maybe it's just new to me, but I love it. It's three-layer humus. Cilantro. Red pepper. Garlic. Green, red & white. It's fantastic.

I taught Relief Society yesterday - my first lesson taught in church, ever (!!). It went fine. I'm not one of those natural teachers, like Mike. I'm just not. But it went fine. No one walked out, told me I was an idiot (to my face) or fell asleep. I managed to not throw up, I didn't sweat profusely & I didn't say anything too stupid... except, I may have accidentally mentioned that sometimes I get so overwhelmed that I want to curl up in a ball in a corner & just hide for a bit. And I may have used the word vomit in the context of hearing a positive message at church over & over again, & just sort of being tired of it. And I may have suggested that the (very kind + wonderful) nursey people might beat me up because I was over on time. But that was it, for the stupid things. I almost fell over because my blood sugar was so low right as our meeting was starting, but Suzi gave me some yogurt covered raisins just in time & that prevented catastrophe. Anyway. I kind of feel like an almost-real adult now. And kudos to people who teach regularly. Oh wait. I'm teaching seminary in the fall to high school kids. At 6:30am. What?! Gulp.

Suzi & I went to Clinton Street today. That place is Heaven. Their pancakes really are just amazing, as are their biscuits. We ate both, which totally makes sense because we're intentionally carbo-loading. Oh wait. What? We're not. Have mercy. Suzi & I are apparently just really good at eating together, which makes me sort of hate her sometimes because she's just this tiny little person who still has muscles. I'd kill for her metabolism. I skipped breakfast in preparation, which was a smart move considering how many pancakes + blueberries I consumed.

On the way back to the subway in Soho (the restaurant is in the Lower East Side, & a little bit of a trek from the 6 train), we saw a little girl & her dad face plant off of the scooter they were sharing (?) onto the sidewalk. It was not a pretty sight. Blood. Tears. I almost cried. We ("we" being "Suzi") provided wipes. An ice pack. But the whole thing just made my stomach turn & made me think that I should call 9-11 or at least 1-800-Dentist right away. I'm sure that teeth were loosened, if not killed. Kids are fragile. And messy, it turns out. Suzi (ahem, Will) taught me all about the glories of motherhood today, too. Blowout? Props to mamas. Suzi handled it like a champ, while I provided the distracting entertainment (Little Ducky Duttle, was swimming in a puddle...).

I was at the Gap today & per usual, was stuck in a line that had the potential to keep me there all day. What is the deal with the lines at the Gap in New York? Seriously. Everywhere else? Just fine. New York - horrendous. Anyway. Everything that could go wrong with the people in front of me did go wrong. I almost left, but I had a coupon. I had (wanted) to use it. I could have screamed by the time I got to the front of the line because I was so frustrated. Maybe this was obvious. The woman, probably sensing that any wrong move on her part would drive me to hysterics, said Thank you for your patience & kindly offered me a coupon book for a free panty each month, all year long. I wasn't really ready to get into a discussion about sacred covenants or how I was wearing three layers on a 80-degree day, so instead, I just said Thank You & went & picked out something pink + lacy. You're welcome, Mike.