Year 2, Day 106: Beware What You Don't Beware

I was at Ruby's "Field Day" celebration today, and at 4:00 there was an hour long 'talent show' that showcased the various (and some might say debatable) talents among the three Kindergarten classes at the school. The acts were all mostly very short, though they varied in length and quality. One boy however, got up to do a lip-synch to "We are the Dinosaurs" (a song which will cause all current parents of toddlers to slap their heads but leave everyone just imagining). It must have gone swell in rehearsals, but he was struck dumb with stage fright and even though the teacher was pantomiming the moves, he could not perform them. Even when she came out on stage next to him, he couldn't do it. Someone wisely started some applause, and he held his ears as if in pain, and walked off the stage, searching out a parental or friendly face, which he found shortly and deposited hisself on said lap. Later that day back at our park, Ruby hurt herself on the picnic table. What do these things have in common? I suppose it's that as parents and people we spend a lot of time worrying about 'the big thing' we're worried about. And yet the thing that happens to us is something we weren't expecting. To try and make it clearer: I might hang around, over-protective, while Ruby works her magic on the monkey bars, as I fret that she might fall off and break an arm. Yet what she hurts herself is a picnic table that she spends every day at. So was I worrying about the wrong thing? That talent-show boy's parents probably had every reason to think their son would put on a great show. Now for all we know, it's a life long trauma and fear of public speaking. Do you think for one minute they worried about that? There's a lesson in there, somewhere.

Breakfast
1 Slice Balthazar Multi-Grain
5 Slices Ham
Tea

Snack
2 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter (Super Chunky)
5 Stalks Celery

Lunch: Sushi 21
Seafood Teriyaki
Salad
About six shumai
Pickled Ginger
Miso Soup

Dinner
Chicken a la Emily
Broccoli 'n' onions
Peppadews

Dessert
The ice cream left on the spoon used to transfer the ice cream from one container to another.

Emily and I decided to take Ruby out for ice cream, a tradition that began in our salad days. Many of those trips contained the same exact conversations, such as: "What are you going to get?" , "Get a small, not a large!" and "I don't like that flavor." JP Licks, Ben and Jerry's, Emack and Bolios, Herrels, White Mountain Creamery, you name it, if they sold ice cream, Emily and I went there, and fought about flavors and sizes. From the perspective of having gained and lost 40lbs, I guess I can say she was right— I probably didn't need to get mediums, but I was going on the principle that the ice cream was the least of my problems, so I guess we were both right. We got to Friendly's and sauntered up to the take-out window. WOW, there are about a dozen choices, each one more mind-blowing for a five year old than the one before. Ruby chose the Peanut Butter Cup Sundae, which had peanut butter topping, chocolate fudge, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and one whole Reeses cup. I convinced her that she SHOULD only eat a portion of it (it was $4.99) and that she could have the rest of it tomorrow. Even though we went there for Ruby-reward, there was a moment, after we got the kids ice cream (yes, Magnolia had some vanilla) and parked it by the window, where we were just being a family eating ice cream on a summer evening, and that was its own reward.