Small Things
Or, things that make you go "hmmm." Or "ahhh." Or "phew."
We are fortunate to live within walking distance of the public library. (We are unfortunate in that the library also serves as the high school's media center, the school being across the street from the library, and therefore often crawling with idiot-ass kids, but that's another post.) Bob and I have been hitting the library a lot lately, as he's outgrown his own immense library. Last week, I noticed sign-up sheets for a couple of events sponsored by the children's section--a Halloween event next week, and a presentation by Lakeside Nature Center entitled "Things That Go Bump In The Night."
The nature center presentation was last night. Being a Tuesday, I assumed Ben would be working and signed us up. As it turned out, Ben didn't have to work, but I figured it would be a nice breather for him to have Bob and I out of the house for a bit.
So after dinner, Ben and Bob played a little Star Wars, and then Bob suggested we go ride our bikes before heading to the library. There's a park across the street from the library (have I mentioned we live in Mayberry?), so we decided to bike to the park, hang out until the presentation, and then head to the library.
The park was empty for a while, so we played tag and swung on the swings until another kid came to relieve me. He and Bob played on the equipment until it was time to head to the library to see what kind of things go bump in the night.
The presentation was held in the section of the children's library that contains books for the junior high/high school set. Along one wall is a fireplace and a couple of those Masterpiece Theatre chairs. There was a fake fire and cauldron in the fireplace, and the whole room was decked out with hanging paper bats, ghosts, and cobwebs. Bob was impressed as soon as we walked in. We found a place to sit on the floor and waited for the presentation to begin.
The flyer had promised a real live owl, a real live turkey vulture, and a real live spider. I was happy to do without the real live spider, but I was somewhat disappointed to see only one animal carrier on the presenter's table.
As a 33-year-old adult, I found the first 20 minutes or so excruciating. Nature Girl rambled on and on and on about the nature center and their work, then on and on and on about the barn owl she'd brought with her. Bob, however, sat on my lap and listened intently, unlike the majority of the other kids there. (One had to be hauled out screaming by his mother.) When Nature Girl finally brought out the owl, Bob took a deep breath and whispered, "wow, she's pretty."
He listened, he asked questions, he very generously waited his turn to handle the owl feathers and foot that were passed around and graciously passed them on after his inspection. When she got to the spiders--big ugly dead ones stuck in what I guessed correctly to be unsealed plastic cases--I decided Bob was handling this event well enough that I could relocate to the back of the room. He finds my arachnophobia a great source of entertainment, and I didn't want a spider--dead or not--stuck in my face. (Sure enough, he ended up pulling the lid off the case containing the biggest, ugliest spider--thank the goddess he didn't pull it out, but immediately realized this was trouble in the making and put the lid back on.)
After the cased bat skeleton was passed around, my butt was numb from sitting on the floor, so when Bob went to the restroom, I took the opportunity to escape. The presentation was over, anyway, and it was past bathtime. We hopped on our bikes and rode home.
Words can't express how great it was to take him to something like that and not be embarrassed by his behavior. I couldn't get over how he listened to the presentation that even I found boring as hell. To watch two girls--older than Bob--get reprimanded by the library lady for being loud and obnoxious, and not have to reprimand Bob, was very nice, indeed. And it just gave me a little more reassurance that I'm doing the right thing by him in taking him off medications and refusing to allow any other "professionals" to make him their research project.
I still don't know if Bob is just a normal kid with a difficult temperament who has had a rough few years, or if he has some form of mood disorder, or what. But I have, I think, decided he's really too young to tell, and all that can really be done at this point is to try to provide him with stability and discipline and encouragement.
As for the rest of my world, things are going okay, I guess. I have yet to hear from my Fearless Lawyer as to whether he's successfully continued this week's hearing due to the unavailability of our witnesses. The weather is turning and it's cold and gray outside. I still hate my job--today I got to search the statutes for loopholes that would allow our drunk-driving alcoholic client to walk free. And given the upcoming forecast and the fact a high percentage of Bob's class is out with a stomach virus, I'm not sure how the birthday fete will turn out. And my face has started to peel in a most-unflattering way.
At least my bangs are growing out.
We are fortunate to live within walking distance of the public library. (We are unfortunate in that the library also serves as the high school's media center, the school being across the street from the library, and therefore often crawling with idiot-ass kids, but that's another post.) Bob and I have been hitting the library a lot lately, as he's outgrown his own immense library. Last week, I noticed sign-up sheets for a couple of events sponsored by the children's section--a Halloween event next week, and a presentation by Lakeside Nature Center entitled "Things That Go Bump In The Night."
The nature center presentation was last night. Being a Tuesday, I assumed Ben would be working and signed us up. As it turned out, Ben didn't have to work, but I figured it would be a nice breather for him to have Bob and I out of the house for a bit.
So after dinner, Ben and Bob played a little Star Wars, and then Bob suggested we go ride our bikes before heading to the library. There's a park across the street from the library (have I mentioned we live in Mayberry?), so we decided to bike to the park, hang out until the presentation, and then head to the library.
The park was empty for a while, so we played tag and swung on the swings until another kid came to relieve me. He and Bob played on the equipment until it was time to head to the library to see what kind of things go bump in the night.
The presentation was held in the section of the children's library that contains books for the junior high/high school set. Along one wall is a fireplace and a couple of those Masterpiece Theatre chairs. There was a fake fire and cauldron in the fireplace, and the whole room was decked out with hanging paper bats, ghosts, and cobwebs. Bob was impressed as soon as we walked in. We found a place to sit on the floor and waited for the presentation to begin.
The flyer had promised a real live owl, a real live turkey vulture, and a real live spider. I was happy to do without the real live spider, but I was somewhat disappointed to see only one animal carrier on the presenter's table.
As a 33-year-old adult, I found the first 20 minutes or so excruciating. Nature Girl rambled on and on and on about the nature center and their work, then on and on and on about the barn owl she'd brought with her. Bob, however, sat on my lap and listened intently, unlike the majority of the other kids there. (One had to be hauled out screaming by his mother.) When Nature Girl finally brought out the owl, Bob took a deep breath and whispered, "wow, she's pretty."
He listened, he asked questions, he very generously waited his turn to handle the owl feathers and foot that were passed around and graciously passed them on after his inspection. When she got to the spiders--big ugly dead ones stuck in what I guessed correctly to be unsealed plastic cases--I decided Bob was handling this event well enough that I could relocate to the back of the room. He finds my arachnophobia a great source of entertainment, and I didn't want a spider--dead or not--stuck in my face. (Sure enough, he ended up pulling the lid off the case containing the biggest, ugliest spider--thank the goddess he didn't pull it out, but immediately realized this was trouble in the making and put the lid back on.)
After the cased bat skeleton was passed around, my butt was numb from sitting on the floor, so when Bob went to the restroom, I took the opportunity to escape. The presentation was over, anyway, and it was past bathtime. We hopped on our bikes and rode home.
Words can't express how great it was to take him to something like that and not be embarrassed by his behavior. I couldn't get over how he listened to the presentation that even I found boring as hell. To watch two girls--older than Bob--get reprimanded by the library lady for being loud and obnoxious, and not have to reprimand Bob, was very nice, indeed. And it just gave me a little more reassurance that I'm doing the right thing by him in taking him off medications and refusing to allow any other "professionals" to make him their research project.
I still don't know if Bob is just a normal kid with a difficult temperament who has had a rough few years, or if he has some form of mood disorder, or what. But I have, I think, decided he's really too young to tell, and all that can really be done at this point is to try to provide him with stability and discipline and encouragement.
As for the rest of my world, things are going okay, I guess. I have yet to hear from my Fearless Lawyer as to whether he's successfully continued this week's hearing due to the unavailability of our witnesses. The weather is turning and it's cold and gray outside. I still hate my job--today I got to search the statutes for loopholes that would allow our drunk-driving alcoholic client to walk free. And given the upcoming forecast and the fact a high percentage of Bob's class is out with a stomach virus, I'm not sure how the birthday fete will turn out. And my face has started to peel in a most-unflattering way.
At least my bangs are growing out.
posted by Mitzi Green at 2:42 PM
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