As I used my favorite, extra wide Sharpie permanent marker to write the words ‘Saturday’ on the two garage sale signs to be posted in the neighborhood, I can’t deny the feeling I had of ‘I have to do it now that the words are on here.’ Yes, my carport was filled with large tables lined with carefully priced items that I had tirelessly set out from the moment I got home from THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR THE YEAR. I hadn’t sat down yet and it was 9:15 at night. So yes, the sale was definitely going to happen, but those words were like etching a message in still-wet concrete. Sure I could have it any Saturday you’re thinking….. and I thought of that as I second guessed my decision. But EVERY Saturday until the end of July is booked with something. Who wants a garage sale in July. H-O-T. So yes, it was happening and I went to bed, finally, dreaming of my customers coming in droves…
They didn’t come like I had imagined. I was sitting in my lawnchair, money bag and notebook in hand by 7am. Boy number #1 and step child #1 (Will’s best bud) were both up at 6:30. Boy #3 was up by 6:45 and demanded warm milk and Tom and Jerry because he likes to ‘watch that Cat chase that Mouse.’ His words to me every. single. morning. Quickly I priced everything in the carport, got my important selling necessities ready before baby girl would wake. Boy #2 and step child #2 (Cole’s bud), yes I had a total of 6 kids stay in my house the night I was preparing for a sale… they woke up. Actually I had 7 because son #3 had a buddy over to play the night before also. So I had 6 boys eating breakfast and happily playing their toys of choice by 7:30 and still no customers. Not. One. My neighbor brought over a few items and she stayed with me for a while and let her 3 year old son play with my #3. We probably had 4 customers by 8:30 which is way less than I imagined. I didn’t plan on being out there all day. I got the baby girl dressed and fed and happily bear crawling around the carport tearing off all the price stickers by 9:00. I would say the sale started to pick up a little by 10. But by that time the big boys and their buds had already played tackle football in the yard, rode bikes, swam, played video games and asking what they could do to help. I gave them the job of posting another sign at an intersection in the neighborhood and they all eagerly climbed their bikes and rode off with a purpose. The sign helped. The boys and their bike riding and sign sticking saved the whole day. From 10:30-1:30 I couldn’t even step inside my house for a minute without a customer. Not everyone bought, but it was finally turning into a garage sale. Neighbors chatting, asking about prices and what items were and me wheeling and dealing.
There were times in the morning when all 6 of my kiddos were outside with me… sitting along the flower bed edge, walking around looking at stuff, sitting in the baby toys, etc. Customers would look at all of them and then at me and ask, ‘Are all these kids your’s?’ First time I said no, and pointed out my four. Then it became a fun game every time I’d get that question. I’d point to different kids to claim them each time someone asked the question. Each time a new customer asked the boys looked at me waiting eagerly to see who got to be my kids this time around.
When lunchtime rolled around I still had 5 kids (one bud left) to take care of and feed. Baby girl ate her lunch outside with me but the boys, who had two baseball games that afternoon, were instructed to stay inside for a while. I had been telling my #2 that I would make him a pb & j for an hour now but hadn’t had the chance. Finally step child #1 popped his head out the door and said, “I can make everyone sandwhiches Ms Wendy! What kind do you want?” So yes, my favorite child at that moment made three ham and cheeses with no mayo and two pb & j’s and he saved the day and everyone’s rumbling tummies.
By 2:00 Daddo got back home from a 10 am baseball meeting that miraculously lasted through lunchtime. He got out of his truck and a lady simultaneously pulled up in her truck and got out and asked if everything on the gas grill for sale worked. This grill hadn’t even earned a glance from anyone all day. In 5 minutes, Daddo had it sold, loaded in her truck and she was pulling away. He turned to me and my neighbor and proudly says, “Now that’s how you wheel and deal ladies!’ like he had done something. Love that man.
At 2 we started cleaning, piling stuff into appropriate boxes labeled DONATE, STORE, SALE and put back in the storage building. I had my youngest two cleaned and loaded in the car by 3:45 to head to two ball games in Henderson. I felt my head cold hitting me then. I was exhausted. I hadn’t stopped moving, standing, walking, lifting, or thinking in about 4 days straight from sun-up to late, late sun-down. My body was MAD AT ME.
Baseball games at 4 and 6 pm in June in Texas are humid and warm. But we all found a little shade and made the most of it. My two youngest directly connect baseball with eating. The way I keep them still and happy is packing my ‘Mary Poppins’ bag as a friend once called it. As soon as we sit down Rhett says to me ‘I wanna snaaack Momma’. When you have two games the snacks run out and the red head and little toot start running around. He plays with his buddies and she bear crawls. She’s starting to stand on her own easily, but until this day she was way too cautious to take a step and would plop down on her bottom and speed off crawling. On this day she was standing in her little romper and sandals and looked at the toy truck about 10 feet away on the ground and took 4 steps! Her first steps were fittingly at a BASEBALL GAME where a lot of her first year was spent. She did this a few more times and a lot if us around her got a kick out of watching her…. Then sticking her badonka donk booty in the air. It was a nice laugh for us moms after watching our young boys lose a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the last inning.
When the second game was over, it was about 7:30 so I got the younger two headed to grab dinner. Daddo had the older boys and step son #1. As I was in the drive thru at Whataburger Rhett says to me from the far back of the car ‘Momma I need to go pooooooop!’ I knew it was bad because he had two episodes of diarrhea the day before. I urged him to ‘hold it for just a minute’ then we’ll run inside. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the look of worry on his little face. He was holding it. Our bags of food came through the window and I quickly drove to a parking spot. We quickly got out of the car and ran up to the door, the girl on my hip and Rhett one hand holding mine, the other holding his hiney. We got in there and well you can finish the story yourself. He made it in time. In public restrooms my kids aren’t allowed to touch anything so when pooping and sitting I kneel next to the potty and hold them up from having to touch it with their hands. Just picture this done with a 27 pounder on my hip. I started to laugh. Then Rhett started giggling. I told him he was my favorite 2 year old and I loved him. He told me ‘I love you Mommy can I get down now?’ Special moments can happen anywhere. They just don’t last long when on the potty.
This was a successful Day #1 of Summer. I saw old friends, sold stuff, my kids played with their buddies, played some ball, took first steps and made it to the potty. It was also a GREAT day because this was left after our sale and Sunday morning it was gone.
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