As usual, we got to church without a minute to spare. For some reason, there was hardly anyone there today, and we kind of wished we'd slept in, as it was such a challenge to actually get there in the first place.
After church, we headed to the mall to pick up a new white shirt for Darren's tuxedo. While we were in JC Penny's, Joe knocked over this ten foot pole that had a mannequin on it… it just about clobbered me, but thankfully, my reaction time is sharp from living with Joe. So, after that embarrassing fiasco, Joe spilled his smoothie all over the floor in Sears, then took off playing hide-and-seek between the racks of shoes.
As we were leaving the mall at 4pm, hungry and worn out, we debated whether it was worth it trying to go out to Panera, which was what we had planned for today. Joe is usually a terror, jumping from seat to seat, absolutely ignoring anything we say. We scarf down our food just to get going as soon as possible. But, since we're leaving on a trip on Tuesday, we don't have a lot of groceries, and neither of us was inspired to cook. So, we opted for the Panera-thon, as we have now come to call it.
But, the gods favored us today. On the way to Panera, Joe fell asleep! Not only that, I made a perfect car to stroller transfer without waking him, and we enjoyed a meal in complete silence, without the usual indigestion from eating as if we were in a county fair pie eating contest. It was lovely. I had a yummy salad. Of course, even that didn't come without some challenge. They made it with chicken, even though I told them to hold the chicken… then the girl just scraped it off and gave me the salad back… eww! She looked at me like I was mentally challenged when I said I'd like a new salad that didn't have chicken drippings all over it. But, it all turned out all right, and was topped off with a most fabulous soy vanilla latte. Bliss.
I write this because I know I must not be the only parent of a three and a half year-old boy who makes going out in public an anxiety-ridden, exhausting experience. Every time I have a near breakdown, fearing I've lost him in the mall, when he takes off on me, or when he knocks over mannequins and spills drinks in the shoe department, I remember the saying, "This too shall pass." Then I try to log the experience away for future reference, at which point, I'll hopefully be able to recollect it from a much more sane and balanced place. Then we can all laugh about how crazy Little Joe was when he was younger.
Of course, there is a price to be paid for the quiet dinner through which Joe slept for a couple hours. It's now almost midnight, a he JUST went to sleep. He's been up and down the stairs about fifty times, complaining about not being tired, being hungry, wanting to see Sissy, looking for a toy, etc… I just checked on him, and he fell asleep in his doorway, determined to resist sleep…
So, I'd better go rest up for another day of fun! Tomorrow's agenda is last minute errands, and cleaning and packing for our upcoming trip. I have a long to-do list, of which, I'm sure I'll be lucky to accomplish one third. However, having a list at least makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something.
Good night!