take a pic, and fly away,
hey, hey, it's a sunny day!
Picture heavy post today, mostly since the day was so lovely and sunny it cried out for pictures.
Mojo ended up working a tad lateish on Friday anyway, so I took the younglings and asked Peep were he wanted to go for dinner. The final Jeopardy answer?
Burgerville!
Now as fast food goes, I like the 'Ville. They're local, they try and get their community props by being Oregonian and all green and recycley, their food is usually at or slightly above the usual run of sliders-n-grease. So St. John's Burgerville it was. Dad unloaded two silly, chattery kids in the little parking lot and the trouble started almost immediately.
Little Miss wasn't her usual happy self; Today's Special was Whiny with Not Listening sauce and a side of Demanding. The Peep had his own brand of whine, coupled with a need to have whatever she had right at that moment. AND they ordered a ton of food, most of which they freaking wasted. By the time we straggled back to the house I was as fried as the burgers, out of charity with my progeny, and retreated down to the shop to grumble and cuss.
My bride, being the lovely and heroic woman she is, handled this debouchemont of cranky strangers with aplomb, got Missy quieted and jammied, got the Peep parked in front of his Friday-late-night-TV ritual and all down by ten.Still. Ugh. Don't mistake me; I love my kids, they're wonderful children - smart, fun, funny, loving. But there are times, rrrrr...
Saturday morning was chilly, but then, suddenly...the Sun emerged - Sun? Sun! OMFG, what the hell is THAT?!? It's the SUN!!! OH, Great Heat Tab in the Sky! You have returned to us! Ahhhh.....
So we opened the windows, did the laundry, swept the floors, played on the deck and argued about garden plans. Mojo and Missy went shopping. Peeper and I played Star Wars and I finished the woodwork - more about that later - and hung out in th - ahhhhh - Sun.
Then we napped (okay, Missy napped) and got ready to go to little Thor the Goddess of Thunder's 3rd birthday party.
Our girl's adoption siderunner is an incredibly terrific kid. She is growing up to be a happy, secure, fun and fun-loving little girl, for which I blame her parents, both terrific people theirownselves.
We showed up prepared to enjoy the day and an enjoyable day it was, on whole.
Here's the gang ready to party like they were 1,095 days old!
Anyway, The 1899 House was lovely (especially with the cloudburst of pink and purple balloons), the homemade ice cream and cupcakes delicious. The company was lively, and the weather perfect.
Why did I come away feeling slightly blue?
Perhaps because it became increasingly obvious that, while they are friendly and polite to a fault, the Asgard family aren't really friends anymore. Friends in the sharing-things sense. Friends in the have-something-to-talk-about sense.
They're aquaintences, yes. "Good aquaintences", if there is such a thing. People who, when you meet them, are warm and happy to see you and ask the right questions and tell you all the right things when you ask.
(oh, and for the record, the party is a great success when the Birthday Girl is under the table within an hour...actually, this is Miss Thor taking the shortcut past her auntie's and daddy's feet into the house for more b-day fun)
But who are also perfectly happy to NOT meet you for weeks, or months. They're - in dating terms - just not that into you. They have other friends who are more to their taste. It's not a bad thing, not a dislike thing, exactly...just...not so much.
And yesterday, I really saw that.
So while I like them and hope we see them again for Missy's 3rd in three weeks, I'm not expecting much. It is what it is. I just have to get over it and look to friends who are, well, more interested in hanging with...us, I suppose.
Little Miss, by the way, was juuuust fine with that! She announced that she was having neither Thor nor her daycare diva rival Baby Ryan over for HER birthday. Mind you, Daddy did hint that the thing about having people over for you birthday was that they gave you presents. That brought a thoughtful look to her face. But she seems to see Thor as a rival rather than a potential friend.Okay.
Here's the birthday girl with her daddy and grandpa. Whole lotta ove their, baby girl. Sweet.
So we're glad you loved your cocktail mixing set (we asked what a three-year-old wanted for her birthday and were told that anything food-y or games, or puzzles, would work. So we hit the Goodwill) and we hope you enjoy both the Speedy Alka-Seltzer ashtray/serving dish AND the Tickles the Tapeworm lunch box.
Because we enjoyed celebrating your milestone.
But even with all the fun it wasn't all that long before we were all ice-creamed and cupcaked and played out. And it wasn't even dark yet. So home we went, to get our scooters and tricycles and rollerblades on, and scoot and skate and trike around the Astor School playground. And the a slow slide into jammies and stories and bed.
Nice. Nice day. And having "good aquaintences" - while it may not be all that as having good friends - isn't a bad thing. Better than not knowing these good folks at all. But I guess that the deal is accepting that what is, is.
As Ebby Calvin "Nuke" Laloosh would say: Sometimes you win. Sometimes, you lose.
Sometimes, it rains.
But not yesterday.
Not yesterday.Hey, hey; Happy Birthday, big girl.
2 comments:
Oh dear, how disheartening to experience both joy (birthday, huzzah!) and disappointment at the same time.
We're in this situation too, and B and I really miss hanging out with another couple (or 2) that share our interests. The last couple with which we clicked was blossoming into a beautiful friendship until they went on a quick downward slide into alcoholism, extra-marital affairs, kinky sex, and divorce in about 6 months. It was rough to watch and became uncomfortable pretty quickly.
Since then we'e been a little gun shy. Too bad you two don't live close, I think we'd get along just fine.
Sadly, we - or at least I - have several friends on-line that I think we'd get along well with as IRL friends.
Right now our situation is an odd one; we're older parents of a pair of young children. Most of the 'rents we meet through our kids are in the their thirties or even their twenties. It's not that we don't have anything in commmon, it's just that, like Thor's parents, they have their own friends closer in age and experience that we are.
Our one probable alternative is our local "Families With Children From China" (FCC), but in the past we've had real issues with these folks.
Enh. Like I say; it is what it is. At first I had a really hard time accepting that the Asgardians "just weren't into us". But at this point I've pretty much let go. IF they don't want to pal around I can't make them, and heartburning about it won't either make it happen or make me feel better about it.
Post a Comment