Time With Josh

Tonight Joey went to a high school football game with Nate and his sons...mens night out. I love that Nate is spending time with my sons. I believe that male influences in their lives are SO important and, luckily, so does Nate. Josh chose to spend the evening with me instead of going along and I felt so honored. I had invited Lorraine over for dinner, but I'd been feeling under the weather with head-clogging allergy symptoms, so I'd rescheduled for next week. After dinner, we dropped Joey off at the church to go to the game and Josh and I headed off for Academy. Josh needed a baseball glove, pants for game days and a few other baseball paraphenalia. We found a t-ball soft compression ball, a glove, and pants, then we found tall socks and some precious cleats. He decides that moment sitting on the floor of Academy is the exact right time to show me that he knows how to tie his own shoes. He tries the bunny ear method and it doesn't work, so I tie the first shoe. Then he tries the second one with the adult tie method he'd just witnessed and he just almost gets it exactly right. Man, he's smart!!

I led him to the dressing rooms so he could try on the baseball pants. We had smuggled his jersey in my purse so he could match the colors. He pulled on the baseball pants and slid on the jersey...he immediately starts dancing in the little dressing room and shaking his butt at the mirror. He's hilarious! But he thinks the pants don't fit him right because they are a bit high waisted and they are too long. I'm pretty sure this is how they are supposed to fit, so we decide to get them and hope they are right. He wants a baseball hat, so we go to the kids clothes department and adjust the only blue hat to be as small as possible and it just fits.  So, Josh has all his loot and it's time to go.

When Josh realized we were going to Academy with just the two of us, like Joey and I had done a few days before and gotten some Gatorade, Josh asked if we could get Gatorade. I thought maybe we should do something different for just us instead of copying what Joey and I had done. Ice cream!! I asked Josh if he'd like to get some ice cream. YES! He asked me where we'd go and I suggested Baskin Robbins. He had only ever been to Dairy Queen for ice cream. Oh boy, this is going to be a fantastic time! As we walk to the door, he says "They only sell ice cream here?" Yes, they only sell ice cream here. Cool. As we wait in line, I asked him if he has a favorite ice cream flavor. He doesn't know. He looks a little lost, yet very excited. He peers through the glass at all of the big ice cream tubs as I tell him what flavor each holds. He decides on an Oreo Mint sugar cone. Me too! We take our cones to a table outside. As he studies his ice cream cone and begins to lick it, he watches me and mirrors my ice cream eating strategy. I don't say a word and let him just absorb the whole experience. He ends up with ice cream dripped all down his hand and all over his mouth with a huge grin and a very happy story. He says this is the best day ever, except maybe that first day we spent together. How sweet! Once home, we read two books and he went to sleep right at 8:30. I asked if he thought he'd have trouble going to sleep with Joey not being home yet and he didn't think he would. He didn't. So independent and confident!

Nate had estimated he'd drop Joey off at home around 9:30 and I decided it was further evidence that I'm really a mother that I watched each minute from 9:00 to 9:45 tick by while busying myself on phone calls and the computer. I finally called Nate just to see how far away they were. He was home by 9:51 and quietly in bed by 10:03. Nicely done! I think I may have a struggle on my hands in the morning when I try to get him up at 7:30 to go play his second flag football game, but I'm so happy that he had a great night!