For not being a parent yet, this past week was certainly all about children. They're so darn cute (most of the time). Here are some highlights:
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| My dad and his two youngest grandsons. Freaking adorable. |
Des Moines Zoo -- I'm not a huge fan of zoos (I just want to unlock all the cages and let the animals run free, but that would cause mass chaos, etc., etc.), but I had the chance to meet up with my fam for a couple of hours at the zoo. There was an "Australia" section with wild wallabies hoppin' all over the place, right there with no fences between us! Craziness. All three of my nephews loved it. I was shocked by how much energy and money you lose when you take your children to the zoo. I mean, there was the entrance fee to get in, but then you had to pay more to feed the parakeets, more to ride the train, more to feed the fish, more to ride the camel, more to feed the goats . . . geez Louise, it's like you've gotta win the lottery before you can take your family on vacation. And do these kids understand how great it is to just sit on a nice bench underneath a shade tree once in a while? Nope. Go, go, go. I was exhausted after two hours. Thank goodness they're all someone else's children or they might have gotten eaten by a rhinoceros or fallen into the sea lion tank under my tutelage.
Baseball -- Our friend's son was playing in the championship game of the little league tournament Wednesday night. I don't think there was such a thing as a tournament game when I was in little league. They got trophies at the end and everything. It was a big deal. I just felt so bad for every kid that got out, though. I kept wincing, and I know everyone around me thought I was a dork, but I just wanted them all to have fun and enjoy being together without the pressure of having to win. I wanted to kick one old guy, he made me so mad. A little boy struck out, and the guy (I'm guessing it was his grandpa) yelled, "You can't just stand there watching it!" as he walked back to the dugout. I know the kid heard it, because he looked right at the man, and -- here comes the bad part -- the old man looked disgusted and just shook his head at the boy. The poor kid's head dropped to his chest as he shrank down onto the bench. I thought grandparents were supposed to be all about the unconditional love? Come on, spectators . . . kids have lots of years left to feel horrible about themselves. Can't we just let them have fun for a little bit longer?
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| I married into a pretty cool clan. ;) |
The Sound of Music -- We headed up to Willmar, MN, for the weekend to see Kevin's brother's family. His two neices were in the local community theater production of The Sound of Music. Emma, going into fourth grade, helped with props, and Caitlynn, going into second grade, played Gretl, the youngest of the Von Trapp children. We had fun with the whole family on Saturday, hitting the local pool and playing bags in the front yard after dinner. Sunday was the big show and both girls did an awesome job . . . but in reason #432 as to why I should maybe not be a parent, when Caitlynn sang "the sun has gone to bed and so must I" . . . I started to cry. Seriously. Freaking mess, sitting there dabbing the tears so no one would see. If I'm that proud of a little girl I've officially been the aunt of for only one year, what the heck would I be like if I were a mother? I'd be bawl-babying over every little thing. But then again, I suppose you parents see a lot of not-so-adorable stuff that balances out the uber-adorable, huh? Maybe I could handle it.
So to wrap this up, my big a-ha of the week: parenting looks hard. You go, guys. I'm wiped out after just a few days with the chillins, so I don't know how the heck you do it. Carry on. I'm cheering for you.
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