When my sister asked me recently if I could keep her kids for several days, it sounded so very simple.

After all, they are adorable 10- and 7-year-old boys, and I hadn’t seen them in forever.  All I had to do was pick them up from the airport and the rest would fall into place.  Hah.

Navigating the airport with all the new security in place was my first hurdle.  After jumping through hoops to even be allowed to meet them at the gate, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the x-ray lady.  She eyed me suspiciously and told me she’d have to search my purse.

She took everything out of the bag.  I mean EVERYTHING.  There were those three pieces of gum that had fallen out of the package, the lipstick, the wads of old receipts, three pairs of fingernail clippers (I was wondering where they kept disappearing to), a cell phone, and about a pound of other stuff.  It was laid out for all to see.

She confiscated my fingernail file and let me go.

I met the boys and almost the first words out of their mouths were “We have money for Keaton to buy new shoes.”

I looked down at Keaton’s feet to see shoes that were at least three or four sizes too big.  I shifted my gaze to Brennan’s feet.  Same thing.

Turns out that somehow Keaton had made it out the door with no shoes on, and in their harried state, neither my sister nor her husband had noticed.  By the time they arrived at the airport, it was too late to go back and get them. 

So, Keaton had on his older brother’s shoes, Brennan had on his mom’s tennis shoes, and his mom had on their dad’s dress shoes as they left the airport.  I haven’t talked to her yet to find out the rest of the story, but trying to visualize this whole family with enormous shoes on, walking through the airport, I start laughing out loud … the kind of laughing where your drink comes out of your nose.

I wish I were making this up. 

So anyway, we gathered up their carry-ons and scurried through the airport. I kept forgetting about the shoe thing and the fact that two little boys with huge shoes on can’t run.  They shuffle.

So, rather we shuffled through the airport.  We shuffled to the bathroom, we shuffled to the baggage claim, and we shuffled out to our car.  Then we shuffled back to the bathroom again because they never have to “go” at the same time.

First stop was the mall, where we shuffled to the shoe store and bought shoes so we could all stop shuffling.  Brennan was sad that he hadn’t left his shoes at home, too, because obviously, leaving your shoes at home means you get new ones.  I am a sucker for sad eyes, so Brennan also got some new shoes.

Boys with new shoes … run.  And jump.  And skip.  And run some more.  They think they are Michael Jordan and Superman and whoever else they can think of.  And after shuffling all day, they needed to make up for lost time.

Back in the car, ten minutes down the road, I got the first “So how far is it to your house anyway?” 

I couldn’t believe I had forgotten how different life was when I had kids this age.

As I write this, it is late at night, and everyone is asleep except me.  The house is quiet for the first time all day.  I am exhausted.

And they just got here this morning.