Bulls In A China Shop

A couple weekends ago we had a play date at the park with our friends Tori, Josh, and Anna. Anna is one, but Josh and Matthew are only a few weeks apart in age. The two of them are as thick as thieves. Josh is the more outgoing, he’s the first to initiate a high five, to pull Matt away from my side and into in imaginary world of good guys vs. bad guys, and who once crammed his feet into Matt’s Buzz Lightyear sneakers and wore them a whole play date before anyone noticed.

When the play date began there was menacing dark clouds overhead. Even as it began to lightly sprinkle there were plenty of other parents and children enjoying themselves at the playground, so Tori, Anna, and I settled under the shelter of a large tree to keep us dry while we had a picnic lunch.

While Matt and Josh wouldn’t have minded playing in the rain all afternoon, the mamas decided that we should find something else to do. So we changed them into some dry clothes and took them to Claytime to make Father’s Day presents. Anna had fallen asleep in her stroller but to their credit Matthew and Josh sat very still while they painted, carefully selecting colors, and washing off their brushes in cups of water. We had tried to steer them in the direction of plates, cups, or toothbrush holders, but ultimately let the boys pick out their own gifts. Josh picked an alligator and Matthew chose a fire truck piggy bank. They were ready to paint more when they finished but we promised we could come back another day.

Matthew kept his fire truck present a secret from Bob until Father’s day. Of course Bob loved it and now the fire truck is proudly displayed in his basement room among his prized sports memorabilia.