Trip to the Mall, 08/25/2003

We bought the BoyChild his first real pair of shoes at the mall yesterday.

It seems like the end of something, though I can't pinpoint exactly what. The end of his true babyhood?

He got his first haircut a few weeks ago. His hair had gotten long and he had a row of curls along the back of his head. Now his curls are shorn and he looks like a little boy instead of the baby that he is. He's still very cute but very little boyish and not so baby-ish.

The DearHusband kept telling me it was time.

The BoyChild started walking 3 1/2 or 4 months ago. He still has that walk that is a cross between Frankinstein and John Wayne; sort of a stiff legged swagger. He's learning not to hold his arms out so much. And now he actually runs. When he thinks he's about to get into trouble or doesn't think he wants to do what it is you want him to do, he breaks out in a run. It reminds me of the Fred Flinstone cartoons; his legs go really fast and he pumps his arms up high but doesn't always get anywhere fast.

At the mall yesterday we bought him some socks, (he didn't even own socks!) put his new shoes on and let him walk around the mall. He was having a really good time ricocheting around the mall until he walked right smack dab into the glass wall of one of the stores.

As my mother use to say, "it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt."

I was reminded of those birds that fly into plate glass windows because they don't realize the glass is there. The DearHusband swears he thought the BoyChild knew the glass was there but since he's not had much experience walking around free, I'm not so sure. It certainly made him more willing to go back into the stroller; nothing like a huge lump on the head to make you want to ride again.

The GirlChild got a pair of "dress" shoes to wear with her school uniform. They were LandsEnd and exactly like a pair I have that I ordered from LandsEnd.Com last winter. They are very comfy and seem to hold up well but they aren't the Mary Jane's I would have chosen for her. They were however a sight better than the ankle high boots with two inch heels we saw everywhere in the mall which attracted her like...well I don't know like what but everywhere we went she said "oh Mom I want some of these" in that breathy, awe inspired voice she has acquired lately.

Now that everyone has appropriate footwear, we are ready to start the school year.

Isn't that one of the neat things you remember about starting school? New shoes, new clothes, old friends, new challenges. Sometimes I listen to her talk, telling me about her day, the trials and tribulations of a 3rd grader and it takes my breath away.

Tonight she seemed, for the first time, to appreciate, even if only for a moment, the benefits of math tutoring two days a week for the last few months. For math we've had her in a system called Kuman. She goes to tutoring twice a week and has worksheets for the days she doesn't go to tutoring. The goal is to complete so many problems in a specified amount of time with only so many errors. It has, frankly, been a trial. But tonight she told me they did a timed worksheet at school and she got all the problems right and she was finished before anyone else in the class! She had such comtempt in her voice when she said "oh Mom it was easy stuff." I gave her a high five and we shivered with glee.

Tonight being a parent was good.