this week with bb and the boys

We are on a crash schedule this week, leading up to Youngest's Coming of Age ceremony.
Outfits must be prepped (suits, shirts, dresses), speeches must be written (we speak to him, he speaks to the entire congregation and extended family) and food must be bought (he has requested hot dogs and hamburgers).
He and I need haircuts (Tuesday and Friday) and I need to paint my toenails.
K must recover from a back injury (sustained Saturday morning) and finish laying some stones in the backyard.
Middle needs to mow the lawn and help me decipher his schedule of review sessions and end-of-the-year exams.
I need to make a large sign to direct guests to the correct parking lot at church (COA PARTY THIS WAY) and figure out side dishes (and not forget the veggie burgers).

Friday night, 23 kids will hear their parents speak to them in the Children's Chapel and move into another wing for a shindig. Committees of parents have been working for months on a catered, dj'd soiree. (K and I are in charge of cleanup.)
Saturday morning, K will pick up a special fruit treat while Youngest and I are at rehearsal at church.
Then, on Sunday morning, we will return to church, meet up with grandmothers and godparents and hear Youngest's Credo. Finally, we'll head back to our house for the aforementioned dogs and burgers. (I almost forgot the ice cream cake.)

This is our last child to Come of Age - and we are very much looking forward to hearing what he has thought about this year. He's a terrific kid, our Youngest, and a very deep thinker.
While some kids speak, in their Credos, about their indecision with regard to their spirituality, I have a feeling that Youngest has very definite thoughts about his religious life. And while we were only required to hand a sealed letter conveying our feelings to him when Oldest came of age, we wrote a very witty speech for Middle which incorporated many of his favorite song lyrics from that time, which pretty much screwed us as Youngest is hoping for something as entertaining.
Unfortunately for him, I don't have as lighthearted a sentiment for Youngest...though we are still writing.
We have three minutes to tell him what we are feeling about him right now, what we hope for his future and what he's taught us in the past. It's not going to be easy, and it may not be so witty.
I keep teasing him that we are going to do an interpretive dance, or some sleight of hand to commemorate the day as embarrassingly as possible.
But the truth is, we will probably speak from our hearts.

I'm looking forward to it being over.