Hop. Skip, Jump!

It's been a good week. I was feeling tired this afternoon when I suddenly realized that tomorrow is Friday! No wonder I'm tired. The week has flown by and I hardly noticed.

Hannah called me at work this afternoon wondering if I might care to keep an eye on a small child for the evening. Someone was hoping to get away for a bite to eat and a baseball game tonight. Of course I said yes. There are a few perks to having Mom living in one's home. Now that I'm no longer feeling  burned out and totally overwhelmed, I can function as Built-In Babysitter.

After he'd finished his pasta, and scarfed down a couple of Grandma's little cookies, Number Nine and I decided to take a walk around the block. Along the way there were storm sewers to peer into, leaves to collect, and bits of sand collected in the gutters that needed to be swished around. He walked, ran, hopped, skipped, and jumped. He walked holding my hand, alone on the gutter, and in the grass along the edge of the neighbors' yards. We saw trucks, cars, and Jeeps, a few "friends", and a barking dog or two.

When we arrived back home the were a couple of fuzzy seeds floating through the air. They needed to be chased and caught. Great Grandpa's rocks (the ones at the end of the driveway) needed to be stood on and jumped off, and there was Grandma's car that needed to be circled several times. He rubbed one hand on the side of it as he walked around and around. We played hide and seek around the car too and he can run fast! Finally, we went inside to wash his car blackened hand and find his toothbrush. There was a diaper change and the donning of jammies, we read several books, said a prayer, and I gave him a kiss or two. He turned on his own fan and the sound machine, then I helped him into his crib, covered him up, and put all his stuffed animals around him.

I hadn't been out of the room too long when he started to howl. I couldn't decide whether he was mad, hurt, or frightened... but when I heard him say "wah wah" I decided maybe he needed a drink. I turned on the hall light and opened the door. I gave him his cup, and in Number Nine fashion, he stopped crying, pointed, and very calmly said "Car." Yes, there it was on the floor, along with everything else that had been in the crib with him when I'd turned out the light and closed the door earlier. He was happy to have his water cup, his blanket, the car, and all his stuffed animals back in the crib, and this time when I said good night and closed the door there was no screaming or crying.

It was a good night. :0)