Tate, my mom and I went to the Bayou City Art Festival in Memorial Park this morning. Tate had me up at 5:39, but we persevered. Well, ok I let him watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Thomas the Train on my phone for almost an hour while I dozed. At least he was watching Mickey Mouse in French! Oui, Francais!
When I finally made it out of bed we had breakfast and he played a bit while I got ready us ready for our day. Now this can take at least an hour or more. Between potty breaks...him and me, cleaning up from breakfast, doing a load of laundry, getting his snacks and lunch prepared (always bring our own due to his allergies, 2 people dressed, make-up and hair for one, teeth brushed, well it takes some time. And with a toddler who wants to do most everything himself, well that add about 20 minutes to your timetable.
The 3 of us walked over to the festival and headed straight to the 'Creative Zone' where Tate had an absolute blast. He, ok I, made him a personalized necklace. He made 2 mosaic picture frames (stickers glued around a frame) that turned out quite cute.
He also painted a pet rock, though we left it there to be adopted by someone else. Way too messy to get home :)
We did amble around a bit looking at the actual art offerings, but headed home after walking only about 1/4 of the festival. My mom bid us adieu and Tate and I headed up to Spring to spend the afternoon with my dear friend Susan and her family. And Tate cooperated by napping in the car for about an hour though he swore up and down he didn't want to go night-night.
Once at Susan's we just hung out outside all afternoon. The kids played (her 8 year old and 6 year old) while we sat back and watched and refereed. This is what I envisioned motherhood to be. Hanging out with one of my best friends while we sat back and watched our kids play. The next generation. The ease of being with someone you've known since you were young (for us college teenagers) where you don't have to say anything, you can just be. Someone you trust completely and love unconditionally. She is my family. And though this is the first time since 1989 that we have lived in the same city together she is as inherent to my family as my sisters are. They've been here 4 years, and are sadly moving in mid-June, but Tate and I will be on a plane heading north in the not very distant future.
The kids threw water balloons, played cars, caught lizards (ok not Tate :) ) and ran amok. Tate loves them both, but it's pretty obvious he is over the moon about Katherine! He follows her everywhere and mimics every single thing she does. (hmmmm...the lure of the older woman...) Susan and I just sat back and watched our children and enjoyed each other's company.
Motherhood. Friendship.
It doesn't get any better than this.
1 comment:
What a great day! Sounds like it was just what everyone needed--friends and fun!
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