As soon as we got there my eldest returned his books and the rest of us went over to the kids section. I think I turned around for 0.01 of a second when my three year old took off running down the hall with about 25 adults looking on with interest as to whom this child belonged to, and how long it would take the parent to realize one was on the loose. In my defense, I think three-year-olds put Olympic athletes to shame. I knew my 9-year-old could sprint faster than me, albeit I can run pretty fast but I saw that Sruly already made himself at home so I quickly recruited my son to intercept his sister before she reached the elevators. Touchdown! Even the security guard seemed amused. Or so I thought. He was probably just relieved that someone had come to claim the toddler and bring law and order back to his library... or so he thought. My son, proud of his accomplishment at racing his sister to the elevator and winning even though she had a good few seconds on him, carried her back screaming and protesting. Finally all together again, we headed towards the children's section.
We must have come in kind of breathless with somewhat of a run because when we suddenly came to a stop, collecting ourselves and me taking another head count, I awkwardly felt about 15 sets of eyes on us. Now, I usually try to avoid the computers and only allow my kids to go to the books - being the earthy crunchy parent that I can be, but this time I welcomed anything that would keep at least two in one place. By the time I finished scanning the room, making sure everyone was safe, I lost one already. Oh, wait, there he was. Sruly was defiantly making himself at home. I took down a book off of the shelf and called him over to come and sit down with me to look at the book. He came over, sat down, looked at the first few pages and then looked at me with a look that said, "You have got to be kidding me Ma! We both know that I can identify everything in these pages and then some, and this is just something to keep me busy." Then he looked at me in the eyes and I knew he read my face. I was in trouble now. I smile spread across his face. He knew exactly what he had to do to get a rise out of me. Here we go I thought. I had prayed for so long for him to come out of his own little world and become aware of his surroundings and do things that typical children do and yes, I can confidently say he knows exactly what is going on, more than what he lets on I might add, and YES, he was definitely acting typical!!! It's a good thing he is cute....
So while I was busy with Sruly, I kept a close eye on my three year old who made it her mission to read all of the books she could get her hands on. And yes, my others were still at the computer for all of you who began to worry about them. I half hoped, alright, I really hoped I would find another mom with a child with special needs but all I saw were what looked like to me a room full of first time parents all trim and fit, looking like they had just come from an awesome Pilates class, hovering over their perfectly dressed and well behaved children who probably never saw junk food in their life and begged for Humus for dessert.
Well, all in all I think it was a pretty good trip. This time we didn't have any mishaps in the bathroom, we didn't wipe out an entire shelf, ok last time it was two shelves... no one needed a change of clothes, we only had one short melt down and I didn't have to hand out any bribery... which was a good thing because the "perfect parents" probably would have fainted and anyway I forgot to bring my little stash. So yes, I felt it was a success, but I think I will stick to the zoo...
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We must have come in kind of breathless with somewhat of a run because when we suddenly came to a stop, collecting ourselves and me taking another head count, I awkwardly felt about 15 sets of eyes on us. Now, I usually try to avoid the computers and only allow my kids to go to the books - being the earthy crunchy parent that I can be, but this time I welcomed anything that would keep at least two in one place. By the time I finished scanning the room, making sure everyone was safe, I lost one already. Oh, wait, there he was. Sruly was defiantly making himself at home. I took down a book off of the shelf and called him over to come and sit down with me to look at the book. He came over, sat down, looked at the first few pages and then looked at me with a look that said, "You have got to be kidding me Ma! We both know that I can identify everything in these pages and then some, and this is just something to keep me busy." Then he looked at me in the eyes and I knew he read my face. I was in trouble now. I smile spread across his face. He knew exactly what he had to do to get a rise out of me. Here we go I thought. I had prayed for so long for him to come out of his own little world and become aware of his surroundings and do things that typical children do and yes, I can confidently say he knows exactly what is going on, more than what he lets on I might add, and YES, he was definitely acting typical!!! It's a good thing he is cute....
So while I was busy with Sruly, I kept a close eye on my three year old who made it her mission to read all of the books she could get her hands on. And yes, my others were still at the computer for all of you who began to worry about them. I half hoped, alright, I really hoped I would find another mom with a child with special needs but all I saw were what looked like to me a room full of first time parents all trim and fit, looking like they had just come from an awesome Pilates class, hovering over their perfectly dressed and well behaved children who probably never saw junk food in their life and begged for Humus for dessert.
Well, all in all I think it was a pretty good trip. This time we didn't have any mishaps in the bathroom, we didn't wipe out an entire shelf, ok last time it was two shelves... no one needed a change of clothes, we only had one short melt down and I didn't have to hand out any bribery... which was a good thing because the "perfect parents" probably would have fainted and anyway I forgot to bring my little stash. So yes, I felt it was a success, but I think I will stick to the zoo...
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LOL i hate taking all mine to a library at the same time. i can't seem to keep track of everyone either. and they pull out as many books as is humanly possible for a child of their size to carry... sometimes i wonder if its because i don't take them enough, however, i'm pretty sure a "quite place" like that is designed for a 1:1 ratio of parent/adult to child. not for our frum family dynamics... oh well! maybe when they are bigger
ReplyDeleteyou are brave for even trying!
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