At supper, Reid asked what we were going to do after supper. I asked what she wanted to do and she said that she wanted to go “some bery far away, like Daddy’s work.” Ken suggested that Reid and I could go to Dairy Queen for ice cream. And bring him an banana split, of course.
After supper, I (selfishly) wanted to use the bathroom alone. I went upstairs as Reid protested loudly and with great enthusiasm. Ken later told me that she was saying, “I like to watch!” I’ve always suspected that about her. Reid followed me upstairs and sat outside the closed door and wailed. I had privacy, yes, but neither peace nor quiet. As we went back downstairs, I offered to carry Reid but she gave me a “I’m punishing you” look and said, “No.” I started down the stairs and Reid realized the flaw in her plan. Everyone has to learn about not cutting off your nose to spite your face, eh?
After a bit, I ran up to get Reid some clothes to wear out and she followed me. She was rocking on the Curious George rocking toy that I “loved” the eyes off of when I was a child and having a great time. I asked her if she would rather play with her dollies in her room than go out for ice cream. Of course, she said she wanted to do both but I told her she had to choose. She said she wanted to stay and so she played with her dollies and I sorted through her chest of drawers. That kid has many shirts and no small number of pairs of pants, in her size and the size she’ll grow into. It’s good that I did this, I found a couple of summer shirts that had eluded me when I got out her summer clothes. Grandma Joyce has mentioned the existence of some freshly sewn pants and so Reid is all set for fall and winter clothes. And I thought I might need to hit a Target when we were in Chicago! (I can hear Ken’s groan when he reads this – the very thought of more clothes will make him groan ;+)
Once Ken had finished cleaning up from supper, he joined us in Reid’s room. At one point, e offered his assistance to Reid as she struggled to put shoes on one of the dolls. She assured him that the shoes were too small for that particular doll. I was allowed to try, though, and as I accomplished the impossible, Ken protested that *he* could have done so. I’d have liked to have seen his big man hands working on the fiddly little shoes. He is much more dextrous than I am; it’s the contrast that appeals to me. Ken’s hands look very much like my dad’s. I love to look at them at anytime, come to think of it.
Reid took advantage of this time together to serenade us with a song of her own devising. She sang loudly and happily. Ken said he was sure the teenage boy in the next townhouse, the one who listens to loud bass music quite early and all through the day, appreciated her volume. (But we don’t complain about him since he respects the usual quiet hours and we’re able to sleep, unlike our neighbour on the other side.)
All was well, swell even, until I gave a 3 minute warning and Reid asked to go out for ice cream. When I reminded her that she’d chosen to stay home and play, she told me, “I choosed two.” I agreed that choosing both would have been nice but that wasn’t the deal and it was time for bed. Reid said, “Let’s go sleep.” She ran to the other end of the room, stretched out on the carpet for at least 5 nanoseconds and jumped up with a “I no tired.” What a scammer. As I finished getting ready to put her to sleep, she climbed into the armchair, stood on her head and wailed. She knocked the pajamas that had been sitting on the arm of the chair to the floor and looked around for something else to take a swipe at. Ken said that when she noticed the box with too-small clothes in and on it, her eyes lit up. He choked back a laugh, which caught my attention, and I noticed what she was doing in time to intervene. What a kid. What a man.
There was a bit of storm still in her but eventually Reid fell asleep. This morning, Reid asked about going for ice cream before she was even out of bed but she didn’t mention it tonight. We reminisced about the fun of playing with dollies in her room without any mention of the troubles. We’ll do it again, I’m sure.
Thank goodness I was able to convince Reid that she didn’t need to keep her nose crinkled like this all of the time she has glasses on.
There were four more mirrors between this one and the front door. Reid checked her reflection in each. Based on the smile on her face, she liked what she saw.