On Saturday morning, Finn and I walked down to school for Marvelous Math Morning (Alex opted out and I did not invite little Enzo). The math part was ok - fine - but I just really really REALLY enjoyed hanging out one-on-one with my Finn for a couple of hours. We played Yahtzee there (!!) and did some other little math type of activities, and then we saw a guy blowing bubbles do some cool things and talk about shapes and the math and science with bubbles. We had a leisurely walk home hand-in-hand. It was lovely.
During Saturday afternoon, it seemed like things were kind of quiet around here, so I took off for a bit by myself. I picked up some books on hold at the library, and then I went to a pawn shop just to check it out. I've never been to a pawn shop before, and I was curious. It was fairly creepy in a very desperate way. I felt very sad for the people and things that were in there. There were tons of guitars and a few video game systems and fancy tvs (that didn't bother me too much), but then there was a whole shelf of tools and some vacuums. That bothered me. If you're pawning your tools and vacuum, things must be rough. I plan to never return.
Later that afternoon, we went to a turkey dinner at a neighborhood church. We don't attend this church, but some sweet neighbors do, and this is our second year attending. The food was fine, but I most enjoyed the atmosphere. There were many neighbors there - most I recognized, and some I just met for the first time. People were happy and friendly, and it was nice fellowship. After we ate, Bob popped into the kitchen to help out with dish washing. The kids were kind of running wild with a good buddy of theirs and the other kids who were there, so I decided to check on them.
And this is when I come upon THE SCENE. Alex was hiding in the bottom of the stair case. Finn and friend were sneaking down the stairs, and other kids were skidaddling out of there too. And then there was Enzo. The pastor was talking firmly (sorta yelling, actually) to the kids about not running in the stairs, and Enzo stood his ground and talked right back to her. Sorta yelled, actually. "It is NOT SAFE for you or others to run up and down these stairs!" she said. "If you say that, the POLICE will come and SHOOT YOU," replied Enzo. I quickly intervened and apologized profusely to the pastor and tried to shush Enzo out of there, but the pastor made sure to tell me that he was being VERY RUDE. My first inclination was to respond, "he's just three" but I held my tongue.
Since then, I've been reflecting on this. Do I excuse his behavior too much because "he's just three"? He's a very strong-willed child, not afraid to speak his mind, however inappropriate it is. But, in addition to being pretty rude at times, he can also be very sweet and charming. So, although I think the pastor was a little out of line saying that (mostly because we don't have a relationship with her, so it felt a bit heavy handed and unnecessary), I'm thankful that she did since it's given me an opportunity to reconsider how I view his behavior.
Back to the weekend... On Sunday, we met up with some old friends whom we haven't seen in way way too long. Our oldest two kids are the same ages (and they stopped at two), and this is the mom whom I bonded with during those loooooong days nearly 9 years ago as a brand new mama. This mom and I would spend hours sitting in the same room together, gazing at our new babies, marveling at/worrying over every aspect of our babies. In many ways, she was my lifeboat, since she was right there with me on that strange and scary journey. I will always feel so fondly about this family. So, we met again -- this time, going to their youngest son's hockey game. We picked up right off from when we last talked (which was months ago), and I was thrilled to see that the kids also jumped right back into their friendships. What a wonderful day. Filled my heart with joy.
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