One day last week, I was talking to one of the other mothers from Little Man's preschool class, because she was coordinating collecting money to give a gift to the teachers, and I was making the cards. While we were talking in the parking lot at school, one of her three sons said he had to go potty while she was getting the stroller out of the car, and I assumed that they would just hurry and go into the school. Instead, he pulled down his pants, she picked him up and slung one arm under his knees, holding them up in the air, pointed his pisser down and held it there with the other hand, and he peed right there in the parking lot next to her van. I am awkward in social situations under the best of circumstances, so I just stood there like a dork, giggling a bit. The whole thing was over in about 30 seconds; her son pointed out that "my tinkle is running towards you mom, watch out!" and she sort of hopped out of the way in mock horror, then looked at me and said "Sorry, I have 3 boys, you do what you gotta do" with a wry smile. I was in awe of her grace and matter-of-fact aplomb in a circumstance that would have had me both freaking and scurrying into the school to take care of the issue or setting up my portable toddler potty that I keep in the car for just such a situation (although then there's always the issue of disposing of the bag of hot stinking pee).
The whole rest of the week I worried that I had offended her by giggling like the moron I am, but she didn't seem bothered at all, so I approached her on the last day of school and asked if she would like to get the boys together. Little Man has an abundance of girls to play with, but few boys, and her three boys are all super close in age, I think something like 18 months between each. She emailed me that afternoon.
So, I am cautiously optimistic about the playdate at a local park tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed that I keep my feet out of my mouth and actually manage to make a new friend.
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Today we went to our local indoor pool (which is really like a water park) with good friends who live just a hair too far away from us, as well as my SIL and her girls. The pool has 7 water slides, two of them over 200 feet, plus one of those towers that dumps water on you at various intervals, three waterfalls, fountains, and is designed to look like a rocky lagoon that pirates have overtaken; there's even two water cannons that fire off occasionally. We had a ball, we didn't lose or drown a single kid (which, with 9 kids 9 and under, was a very real possibility), and then went out for pizza and beer after, and then came back here. They are friends that if they care about the major mess in my house they don't say anything or let it keep them from coming over to play. The only main difference between our families is that they are Mormon, so that keeps them from doing a lot of the same things that we do (only one of them drinks beer, for example; he wants to drop out of being Mormon altogether but stays because it makes his wife happy; they don't drink coffee, they have church for hours on Sunday), plus I cuss like a sailor am rather foul mouthed use a bit of off color language. I can relax and be myself with them without fear of condemnation. It was a beautiful day and I can't think of anything I would rather have been doing on Memorial Day.
Our friend is an Army veteran, so it is fitting that we spent the holiday together. Thanks to all you veterans and your families for making it so that we could have this day. May God bless you all and keep you safe.
Coming up: the promised rant about kids clothes, plus a recap of our foray into the city yesterday.
Um, I had boys too and I would have never thought to scoop them up and act like a human toilet seat. I think I'd have either told the kid to pee on the tire or rushed him into the school, using a, oh, say a TOILET!
LOL!
Good luck with your fledgling friendship. Perhaps she will fill your life with more of these interesting stories to share with us...
Posted by: Redneck Mommy | May 29, 2007 at 12:32 PM