The Boy 5 had a soccer game today. The Wife had to work.
Load up the messenger bag and a supplemental soccer bag…let’s make a day of it. Emergency allergy medical supplies, check. Blanket because it’s cold out for soccer, check. Soccer gear, check. 700 page Harry Potter #3 for The Boy 9, check. Water, check. Treats, check.
Begin at 11 with a walk to the bus stop. Arrive early to kill time looking for calories at the convenience store. Had a conversation with The Boy 9 about the word ain’t. I pushed him on its lack of appropriateness. I softened when I told him it became a word in my lifetime. I backed off completely and told him if anybody ever tells him not to use that word, tell them there are a lot of other worse words he could say but doesn’t.
I wonder how long before that gets me in trouble.
Bus ride downtown to steal The Wife’s auto.
Stop at The LBS for some fresh patch kits because Saturday’s flat with petrified patches was completely unsatisfactory. (See what you miss out on when I don’t blog.)
Enjoy U6 soccer. It took him a whole game of encouragement, “go get the ball, get knocked over if you have to”, and finally right at the end he went into the scrum, got a foot on the ball, and got knocked over. He stood up smiling at me as if to say “I did it.” Moments later he fell apart crying. Seems he got hit in the nose…which brought back additional memories from a ball to his face a few days ago. In his defense he’s probably 20 pounds lighter than most of the other players.
We enjoyed the game in the presence of four grandparents, two of which brought extra lawn chairs for me and The Boy 9. That so we wouldn’t have to manage chairs on the bus. The Boy 9 spent the game with his nose in the book.
Return the car to The Wife. Bathroom break and back on the bus. I think one of my favorite bus riding experiences is the downtown hub when all 10 buses are picking up riders at the same time. With the noise and the bus riding people, just for a second, things feel exceptionally urban. Another neat experience is being led through the hub by The Boy 5 after simply telling him we need bus #3. He almost got on the bus a few people ahead of me but at the door he looked to see if we were coming and then got out of line to join us.
On the bus ride we practiced not pointing. We also got to see the lift work for a wheelchair. We counted emergency exits…and I wasn’t a bit embarrassed when The Boy 9 pulled his 700 page book out and started reading.
At the transfer station we got to see the driver that we argued with on last Friday’s adventure. It was a nice little touchstone back to an adult conversation between the driver and me about whether the place we were waiting for pick up is, or is not a bus stop.
As it turns out it the conclusion of the argument came down to what our definitions of is, is. (See what you miss out on when I don’t blog.)
I avoided pointing out that since he stopped the bus to pick us up it is in fact a bus stop.
I spent 5 hours with the boys today, when I could have spent one. It occurs to me that we went by The Car at the repair shop twice and it never entered my mind to even notice the car was there. Maybe it should just stay there.
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Later this evening, as we were outside enjoying the fall-like turn in the weather (by cleaning freshly picked pumpkins no less) it became clear a neighbor had misplaced their 3-year-old-ish daughter. Some clues included a rather speedy drive around the block followed by a parental exchange of, “welp, you’d better start looking because I ain't seen her.” A lost child is hard to ignore so I jumped on the bike, found the child, and advised her older playmates that her parents would really like to see her again.
I’m not saying driving a car speedily around the neighborhood in search of a 3-year-old is a bad idea. I am saying that a bicycle, with its reduced speed and increased ability to hear kids playing on a backyard swingset, has its advantages.
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Did I mention that Harry Potter #3 has 700 pages.
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