During the week, the routine is much of the same thing. Get up, get ready, hurry up, get out the door, and get to school/work. Drop the kids off at their before/after school program. Head to the road of doom, some people refer to this as the interstate, and get stuck in traffic. Ponder some things, sing some songs, and repeat.
I love the afternoons much better than the mornings because I get to pick my girls up and hear all about their day. One afternoon, I picked them up and asked how their day was. I wasn’t quite ready for the conversation. My little one started talking and mentioned a boy’s name. Her older sister chimed in with “he likes her, liiiikes her, you know”. No, I don’t. Your like 3 years old (she is not, but third grade is the same in my mind). Instead of saying any of this, I calmly ask her to tell me more about him. First of all, he has an Italian name. He sounds very snazzy to me already. I have visions of him trying to make my daughter an elaborate spaghetti dinner. Secondly, he wears nice clothes. I wasn’t sure what this meant, so I asked for this point to be elaborated. Oh, you know, like dress pants and a tie. A tie??? I’m now thinking Barney Stinson is hitting on my daughter. I try to remain calm while visions of tiny people saying “suit up” run through my mind. Okay, this can’t be that bad. I am letting myself get carried away. I calmly say that I would like to see this guy. Oh, you can. He stays after school.
So, the next day, I go in to pick up my girls. Where is you-know-who I ask? I scan the crowd and look for the only kid in a tie. Aha!! There he is. He notices me eyeballing him and goes to the other side of the room. Ummm hummm. I see you now. Why do you have to look so adorable in that get up? Maybe he is okay after all. That night, we call the grandparents to talk about our day. The next thing I know, the little one is telling me a new story about Mr. Stinson. So, he wears this mood ring and it’s always on romance. What the what??? Come again? I try not to laugh. Yeah, he says when he comes near me that it’s purple. That means romance. Trying not to laugh, and thinking back off Casanova at the same time, I calmly say wow. My parents hear some of this. Typical of my dad, he laughs. Okay, it is really funny. I start to laugh when she says it again because they didn’t quite hear the whole thing. The next thing I know, she’s telling me how he is giving her silly bands and stuff. Whoooa. Hold your horses here. Silly bands are serious. So let me get this straight. First, he has a snazzy name. Second, he wears ties to school. Third, he wears a mood ring (that’s just wrong anyway). And lastly, he is giving away silly bands to my daughter. This is my next move:
What do you think?
“Every cliche about kids is true; they grow up so quickly, you blink and they’re gone, and you have to spend the time with them now. But that’s a joy.” ~Liam Neeson
