today is one of those days, that i remember every year, and will probably remember forever, because i learned it in childhood, and it became part of my subconscious. it is maybe not as well-known as valentine's day or st. patrick's day, but the date is definitely more remembered than president's day or mlk,jr. day...
today is the Ides of March. and if you don't remember what it is: go look it up, i'm not gonna tell you.
but besides that, it is wet and gray out, and has been for the past three days. my boys are off at baseball practice, which has taken over a significant part of the month. baseball season has begun, with greg coaching, practices 2 nights a week, and on saturday afternoons. and after that, let the games begin! greg is a very good coach, (and that's not just my opinion); he loves the game, he loves being with the kids, he's a good teacher. and: i enjoy watching him coach. there's something in him that comes alive on the field...i remember crushing on him severely when we first met, in 1995: when i began to notice that i was watching him (and not the ball, incidently, haha), when our friends played baseball for fun, on these very same greenlake fields, so many years ago. his joy of the game was evident then, and is still evident now. he's just born in the wrong era. he's an old-fashioned baseball lover, of the kind of baseball that doesn't exist anymore...
our breakfast this morning: coffee, chocolate croissants, and scrambled eggs. when i was at trader joe's this week, i remembered that melissa mentioned getting these croissants in the frozen food section, so i decided to try it. i even remembered to put them out to rise last night, so this morning, we had hot croissants right out of the oven. you can't get much better than that.
on thursday, we had a "first" for francis. we dropped him off at the boys and girls club in wallingford. he has been asking to go to boys and girls club, oh, probably since the very first time he heard it mentioned, in kindergarten. i suppose he thought it was this fantastic thing that he was always denied. it was such a mystery. it's a CLUB! it's for BOYS! and GIRLS! it must be so much fun! you throw the word "club" onto anything, and kids want to be involved. and of course, we explained it to him, that it was really just hanging out afterschool, for the kids whose parents worked and couldn't come get them at 3. but i don't think he really believed us. and honestly, the boys and girls club at our school, is just a small portable, where the kids color or read, or play on the playground, until their parents come get them. not that big of a deal. BUT. when we had his birthday at the boys and girls club in wallingford (all completely random, and driven by necessity) he got to see what was happening HERE: ping-pong! basketball! air hockey! fussball! pool! joys above joys! when we dropped by to make our reservation and payment (for his birthday), we saw his eyes big as saucers; we saw him longing. so we asked the desk: what's the deal to go here? we took the membership packet home and read all the fine print, because it just couldn't be as good as it sounded. $15 a school-year? that's it? to drop your kid off after-school, every day if you wanted? yup! so francis' dream finally came true on thursday, and on wednesday night, after he was asleep, we noticed that he had already laid his clothes out for the morning. he was sooo excited. and when i dropped him off at school, he reminded me: "don't forget, mama, i've got boys and girls club afterschool." oh, i won't forget. greg and i had our own worries. he has a hard enough time at school, making friends, losing recess often for goofing in class, kids picking on him for not being good enough at football, etc etc...that the idea of throwing him to a very chaotic roomful of kids, all-ages, supervised by a few young 20-somethings, wasn't too enticing. but, we've realized we need to start letting go, letting him do things his own way, the way he wants to do them. so, this was one thing we felt we could accomodate. well, at least once a week, or so..
francis wanted me to drop him off at the street, but i said i had to sign him in for the first few times, til they're familiar with him. while there, i hear an adult yelling: NO HUNTING EACHOTHER WITH THE POOL STICKS!--as two teen-agers run past me. (sigh) i decided to hang out for a bit, and see if francis needed me, but he quickly joined a kid playing pool, and i could hear him chattering away. i waved goodbye, and he waved back; he was happy. the night before, in his bedtimes prayers, he had prayed that he would have fun at boys and girls club, and that he would make some new friends, and i almost cried right there and then.
so what did we do while our boy was at play? we realized we would have time to catch a matinee, so for the first time, (in a really long time) i met greg downtown, and we caught a movie together. hmmm... now why didn't we think of this before???
2 comments:
We discovered those chocolate croissants a while back and man are they dangerous! I treated Dave to them on his birthday back in January, but can't let myself go there all that often...(we do keep a box in the freezer at all times though...)
Write a sequel to Francis' adventures at the club, was he as pumped about it after his first day? Did you fret during your movie? Has it been a nice substitution for socialization instead of at school? Do tell.
Wow, this is more amusing then watching tv! Dad has them all printed out and keeps them in a binder on their coffee table, and I'm thinking I might do the same thing. Somehow you make all these cloudy, or mundane, or crazy days we live through seem so much more enjoyable in your superb story telling way. My only regret is I can't have chai with you on even a monthly basis. But perhaps one of these days we'll come out so Ed can experience the west coast. I miss you!
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