Never Too Old

I've realized a couple of things this week.  First of all, you are never too old for any emotion that you think you "outgrew."  There is no outgrowing the human condition.  Yesterday when we were at the pool, Sam and I decided to stand under the buckets that gradually fill up with water and then flip over and dump the water out, most likely on your head.  So there I was basically asking it to happen, and it did.  Voila!  I got a huge bucket of water dumped smack on my head.  Wow!  Even though I should have been prepared for it, it was a shocker nonetheless.  I don't think you can ever get too old for that feeling of shock when someone dumps a bucket of water over your head, even when you asked for it.  Shock aside, it's kinda cool.  We are all always kids in some ways, all always human.

As if a bucket of water over the head wasn't enough of a shock this week, I had an even worse shock, including a flashback to junior high school.  (Now THAT is bad!)  Someone I considered to be a really good friend refused to acknowledge me and avoided me like the H1N1 virus for the entire week.  And, get this, all this is taking place while taking our kids to a Vacation Bible School to learn to be good Christians!  Unbelievable!  I can't believe that a grown mature adult, a PARENT, would do that to anyone, especially someone who is/was supposed to be their close friend.  What was even more shocking was how absolutely awful I felt, like someone had kicked me in the stomach over and over again.  Now I know you are never too old to have your feelings crushed by a "friend."  It was as gut-wrenching as it was in 7th grade, perhaps even more so since I was so out of practice!

After much reflection I tried to raise the situation above the seventh grade standard.  I tried my best.   By mid-week I even called and left her a voice mail, apologizing for anything I might have done, even though I was pretty sure I hadn't done anything.  Instead of getting angry, I told her how much it hurt my feelings that she was acting like she didn't know me.  All I got back was a three line email eight hours later with no explanation and more of the same treatment, completing a miserable week for me.  (The Vacation Bible School was awesome, though!)

So if you are never too old to act or feel like a kid, today I'm going to embrace the positive aspects.  Bring on the Pop Rocks, bomb pops, and fudgicles!  I'm going to do a cannonball off the diving board and break out some of my favorite Judy Blume stories.  However, I am going to try my darnedest to acknowledge and be kind to everyone in my path, because some of those kid emotions need to be left in the past.

LibbY

Sponge Sam

Move on over, Sponge Bob!  There is a new animated character in town!  He may not be friends with a spatula or anything cool like that, but he sure is a sponge-roo just like you!  The first clue took place when  Sam was a-running into a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's the other night.  He blurted out, "Chuck E. Cheese is a proud sponsor of PBS kids!"  Oh my, oh my!  A little PBS Kids brainwashing perhaps...

Then the other day he said he didn't need to brush his teeth because he had "12 hour breath protection" from his awesome Colgate toothpaste and proceeded to recite the rest of the commercial in monotone just like the real announcer.  Um, thanks for that tip, Brooke Shields!  Should I send you the dental bills when he has cavities galore?

Ah, he also has pretty much memorized every Lego toy available and even some that are only available on Ebay, which he lists in rapid-fire succession to anyone will listen and even when they won't.  Apparently no else in the world took to the Lego Agent series but him, and they are of course the ones that are non-negotiable for his big bad birthday next week.  Hopefully the seller from God-knows-where actually has these items and will ship them in time.

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.  As we drove by the Washington Monument today, Sam bellowed out, "There's the Empire State Building!"  Wrong city, but right on the mark for the tallest building around.  Scarily logical.

My favorite though is his entirely original thought he came up with the other day.  "Mommy, I love you eighty one hundred percent!"  Hold that thought!

LibbY

This Old House

Man, if this house could talk, there would be tales to tell.  A friend lent it to us a few years ago when Sam was not quite two and still toddling around like a drunkard.  That pink slide seemed soooo steep, way too much to tackle, and just downright imposing.  Now he has outgrown the whole contraption altogether.  Heck,  he walks right by it without even noticing it's there, probably focused on dreaming up his next Lego creation to catch bad guys.  Alas, a pack of Richmond spiders has moved in, staking its claim with enough webs to decorate a haunted house.

Back in its glory days, that little plastic house was his prized hangout spot, a launching pad for his over-active imagination.  That little house has morphed into many things -- it has become a fire station, pirate ship, police station, Rescue Hero command center, zoo, and burning building complete with a damsel in distress (me).

It all harkens me back to the classic children's book "The Velveteen Rabbit," about how toys can become "Real."  The book explains, "When a child loves you for a long. long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."  This little house has been Real then, the real deal.

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.  But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."  So it's time for the little house to go onto another home where another little kid will love it, understand it, and make it Real once again.  Bon voyage, little house.  May you have many more adventures and transformations.  It's been Real.

LibbY