Thursday, September 11, 2008

Tales from the Playground

Sign o' the Times
A gaggle of girls are playing house during recess at the elementary school while Thumper and I wait for the cousins. The mom puts the two kids to bed, then hugs them goodnight. A few moments later, she storms back into their room and sternly declares, "You kids are supposed to be sleeping, not staying up all night watching Space Ghost videos on You Tube!"

Tough Guy Clears the Playground
On our walks around the neighborhood in the mornings, Thumper and I pass by a small playground and a big playground. There's never anyone on the small playground, and almost never anyone on the big playground. He's sadly destined to be a poor, lonely waif stuck with only his old man for company. But this morning, there were people! On the little playground! They were two moms and five kids, and the toddlery one looked very much like Thumper's age. So we made a sharp left turn, squealed our brakes, and put Thumper's Crocs on. I think Crocs on toddlers are adorable. And he was wearing his onesie with a bulldog puppy on it with the caption "Tough Guy," also adorable. And the humidity had made his hair curly and standing out from his head in adorable angles. How, I wondered, could he possibly fail to charm them into submission? But no sooner had his Crocked feet touched the ground than the whole gang of them beat a hasty retreat. I'm still trying not to take it personally.

I'm sorry, little guy. I'm trying to find you some friends, I really am. You gotta stop sleeping through the Austin SAHD playdates, though.

3 comments:

Kirsten said...

That's how I always felt going to playgrounds. I would show up and people would leave. But then again, the world of moms/women is fairly clique-y. You and Thumper will find your groove. SOmethings just take time.

anniemcq said...

Joe-Henry never did playdates when he was a baby. We had some friends we knew with kids, and would get together occasionally, but by and large, we were on our own.

WHEN he does meet some other babies, though, I have no doubt that he will charm the crocs off 'em!

I, Rodius said...

Yeah, I just need to be patient. He and I are both getting bored with the same old playgrounds and the same old playmates (us). I need to get creative and find new ways to shake it up.

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