driving to Jesus Sandals Central HS

Mini, as it turns out, is not great at communicating much about her high school tennis team.  After school she tends to show up and go where she is expected.  That might mean she is getting on a bus for an away match, or heading out to the school's tennis courts.

I admit that I opted to NOT sign up for the tennis team's 'text remind'.  I figured, 'hey - I have a paper schedule.  I know how to look up the schedule on the school's website.  Why get more annoying text messages?'  

I am particularly sensitive to unnecessary text messages because I am part of a group text thru Lad's college water polo team.  A parent, who is present at the game, typically sends out countless texts to update the rest of the parents on the progress of the games.  The non-present parents OFTEN respond with 'great job, Johnny!'  'Woo-hoo!'  'Let's go, men!'  No joke this leads to approximately 95-125 texts during a one hour game.   On the weekends, the team sometimes plays more than one game a day.  Folks, that is a lot of texts. 

If I am driving in the car, my Bluetooth can hardly keep up.  My Bluetooth voice alerts me every few seconds of a message with the monotone:  'text message from Lad's water poLO' - the 'LO' at the end of 'polo' is a prominent syllable for some reason. 

Without a tennis remind on my own phone, I relied on info from Mini and my old fashioned paper schedule/school website.  A few weeks ago, I drove to a high school that was about 30 minutes away.  I made sure that the kids I sit for were all going to be picked up by 4:00, so I could make it all that way to see some of the tennis. 

When I arrived at the school where Jesus lost his sandals, I saw a few girls practicing tennis on the courts.  This campus was beyond big, so I just assumed there were more courts somewhere else.  I texted Mini and her BFF.  BFF generally responds quicker than Mini and is also on the tennis team. 

My big rig takes 30 gallons of gas. 
I filled up 29.29 gallons that day.  Yikes.
  Oh, don't be alarmed at that $89.31. 
The price of driving around
 aimlessly is not cheap, you know.

'I just got to Jesus Sandals Central.  I don't see you guys.  Are there other courts in the back of the school?'  BFF texted back in a flash:  'Oh, Mrs. Shenanigan - we are playing at home today.' 

I am not going to lie.  The 30 minute ride back to the school was peppered with foul language.  I managed to see the last 30 minutes of Mini's match, because it went really long.  It all worked out, I guess. 

I arrived home hours later after I drove Curly to dancing (straight from tennis because Ed dropped her off there for me) and stopped in to check out the uniform sizes for Curly's upcoming travel basketball team.  Curly wasn't with me, so I became the creepy stranger who stared at other people's kids who seemed like the same size as Curly.  I watched these fake Curly's try on uniforms.  Then I jotted down sizes that I thought I should order for her.  I crossed my fingers that I wouldn't run out of gas on the way home and I didn't!  I managed to enjoy this sunset while I drove, and drove, and drove.

Ah, driving is SO relaxing!

Once home, I ate dinner and then cleaned up after dinner.  My kids would secretly love to surprise me and clean up after a meal without being asked, but they are afraid that it would surprise me so much that I might suffer some sort of health trauma like a heart issue or loss of oxygen as I hyperventilate. 

It wasn't until I was about to go to bed that I decided to pull the paper schedule out of the drawer where I keep it.  There it was.  'Away @ Jesus Sandals Central'.  Website:  same.  Believe it or not, I felt joyful.  I didn't mess this up!  I was just misled.

Of course I questioned Mini.  Why, oh why had she not told me about the schedule change?  When she gets texts about the games, it doesn't necessarily start out with:  'We are home today.  This is a change from the paper schedule.'  Mini was off the hook . . . for now.