What a kid.
Today was kind of a marathon. First, there was Dutch's last circus class, which included a 10-minute "performance" at the end for parents to watch. Dutch, in a sparkly leotard,* with her hair in pigtails, like a small, very very unathletic Nadia Comaneci, followed all the directions scrupulously, beaming. Other kids tumbled around chaotically, or were distracted by their parents in the audience, but not my girl. She had a fantastic time, and she worked really hard. I was pretty proud of her.
Then she and I went to the library, the bakery, and the grocery store. Then we went home, ate a quick lunch, and went to a birthday party. Then we went straight downtown, where I handed the kid over to Cook so they could go to a play together. I came home, made dinner, and am now sitting down for what feels like the first time all day. I rode seven buses and waited an hour and half at bus stops. Which brings me to my second point of pride. That kid can WAIT. Due to some combination of personality and 4-years-and-one-week of waiting for buses, she's really great about waiting. She plays weird games (today she was, among other things, a robot, Velvet Brown, and a kid in desperate need of surgery [as would you be, if your liver was IN YOUR HEAD]) and she sings tuneless songs that surely drive the other waiters nuts. I don't mean that she's terribly well-behaved or that she's always so patient; she often whines and complains and demands attention. But if you've got to wait in the rain for half an hour for a bus with any 4-year-old in the world, I think this one's a great candidate.
And, wait! There's more! There was a pinata at the party, and Dutch whaled the bejeezus out of that thing! I was so proud! The other kids her age tentatively tapped the thing, but not my girl. Screw ballet lessons; this kid is ready for baseball!
Anyway, she's a great kid. That's all I wanted to say.
* We inherited a box of gymnastics and ballet clothes from a classmate of mine who has three daughters, and Dutch loves them. They make for a hilarious contrast between Dutch's appearance of competence and her ACTUAL competence.
Then she and I went to the library, the bakery, and the grocery store. Then we went home, ate a quick lunch, and went to a birthday party. Then we went straight downtown, where I handed the kid over to Cook so they could go to a play together. I came home, made dinner, and am now sitting down for what feels like the first time all day. I rode seven buses and waited an hour and half at bus stops. Which brings me to my second point of pride. That kid can WAIT. Due to some combination of personality and 4-years-and-one-week of waiting for buses, she's really great about waiting. She plays weird games (today she was, among other things, a robot, Velvet Brown, and a kid in desperate need of surgery [as would you be, if your liver was IN YOUR HEAD]) and she sings tuneless songs that surely drive the other waiters nuts. I don't mean that she's terribly well-behaved or that she's always so patient; she often whines and complains and demands attention. But if you've got to wait in the rain for half an hour for a bus with any 4-year-old in the world, I think this one's a great candidate.
And, wait! There's more! There was a pinata at the party, and Dutch whaled the bejeezus out of that thing! I was so proud! The other kids her age tentatively tapped the thing, but not my girl. Screw ballet lessons; this kid is ready for baseball!
Anyway, she's a great kid. That's all I wanted to say.
* We inherited a box of gymnastics and ballet clothes from a classmate of mine who has three daughters, and Dutch loves them. They make for a hilarious contrast between Dutch's appearance of competence and her ACTUAL competence.
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