My 'Vacation' with my 13yos

As I mentioned in previous posts, my ds and dh are lounging on the beaches of Florida and wining and dining Grandma on today, her 87th birthday.

B, my 13yo, and I are holding down the fort here. Here is some of what we have done:

- Watched Fellowship of the Rings
- I watched The Two Towers and yelled upstairs to him with questions when I was confused on battle names, places or characters. (He is waiting until his brother gets home to watch it with him.)
-Played tennis 3 nights. Tonight the winner had to pay the loser 100 imaginary dollars.
-Went to our local LOTR discussion group.
-Took him and two of his friends to tennis lessons.
-Watched the first half of Gone with the Wind. The library disc stopped working after Atlanta burned. Talked about GWTW and the Civil War.
-Ran errands today. I picked up an order for Lighthouse, we went by the grocery and I bought him a Chick Fil A sandwich as a treat for lunch.
-Discussed the movies we have watched.
-Discussed the tennis lessons and the personalities of the players and coach.
-Went to Mass Sunday. Talked about All Saints' Day and which Mass we should attend. I told him about the All Soul's Cake I plan to make.
-Did a little light cleanup of the house.
-Talked in the car a lot. (His brother is gone so he has only me to talk to)
-Talked on the phone to the other half of our family in Florida. B and S call each other about 5 times a day. We got regular fishing reports.
-Discussed politics and the upcoming elections. Q: "Mom, do you think Rush Limbaugh is too conservative?" A discussion then ensued about the difference between being a conservative (economic and social) and a Republican, and he later quizzed me as to whether I had done my pre-voting research. (Not Yet)
-Discussed voting polls after watching part of a news report on it on TV. The discussion then got onto statistics and error of margin... and on.
-Discussed the making of LOTR and how it compared to Star Wars.
-Discussed the Civil War re-enactment coming to a nearby town next month and if it will depict an actual battle in history.
-Disucssed plans about visiting ext'd family over the holidays and how to decide when and who we can visit.
-Discussed some of my Lighthouse client parishes and which have been difficult and which have been easy and why. Talked about what I am learning in sales and problem solving and my next steps.
-Discussed weather patterns and how we always seem to have great tennis weather on Friday.
Etc...

So, though we didn't do a lot we did.

It was funny, I was feeling out of kilter this weekend. I told a friend at my exercise studio that it was just my son and me this weekend. I told her we might cook or do something else and that he was on the phone the night before for an hour with his brother.

She looked at me a bit strangely and said "They are really close, aren't they? That is not usual for kids."

No. I guess not. I told her I think a large part is because they are home and not separated by grade levels. Before I homeschooled I would arrange my 6yo to play with other 6 year olds and my 3yo to be around kids his age. But homeschooling, then moves brought them together. And they have stayed that way.

We are looking forward to his brother getting home tomorrow, but I have enjoyed my time alone with my youngest. :)