My Thursday Lunch Date

During the summer, our local community college runs a program called Kids College. They offer a series of week-long classes, three hours long each day, geared to specific age groups starting with kids in first grade. Our girls did Kids College when they were growing up, and that was 15-20 years ago, so this continues to be a popular program. I mentioned it to Elysian because I thought her son (hereinafter referred to as WS for blog purposes) might enjoy it. He’s six. Also, sometimes moms need a break.

[I have made it clear that Ali and Elysian’s boys are welcome here any time as long as we’re home. They might get to watch truck videos on YouTube or they might be put to work, depending on what we’re doing, but I want them to feel like this is a home for them, too.]

This week, WS has been taking an afternoon class on ocean creatures. The only drawback about this program is the driving to town part, as it’s too far to go, drop the kid off, and come home, so it’s just easier to stay in town. I told Elysian that if there was a day she needed to get something done at home, I’d be happy to drive WS to Kids College and run my errands during those three hours. She asked me on Tuesday if I could take him yesterday, as she thought she might try to get all her meat birds processed. I said that was fine. As it turned out, my stylist had an opening at 2 p.m.—and I was desperately in need of a haircut—so it worked out perfectly. To give Elysian a bit more time, I asked her if I could take WS to lunch with me beforehand.

One of his upcoming classes at Kids College is on Japanese food and culture, so she asked me if I would take him to the Japanese steak house (she paid for our meals). They cook your food on the grill while you watch. I thought that would be fun, so at 11:30, we walked in and were seated at the grill where they proceeded to cook our food in front of us. The part where they set the grill on fire was a big hit:

WS is a pleasant, curious kid, and although he might be a bit reluctant at first, he’s usually willing to try new foods and new experiences. We both had the grilled shrimp and vegetables.

We played a game of looking for out-of-state license plates while we were driving around and came up with about 14 of them by the end of the day, everything from South Carolina to Arizona. I got a giggle out of the fact that someone at Kids College thought I was WS’s mom—it has to be the mask, because I’ve also been carded while wearing my mask. I didn’t say anything, but I thought, “Oh my, I am 54 years old and old enough to be this child’s grandmother!” and that made me laugh.

It was a good day.

***************************************************

I’ve got a huge bucket of peas waiting to be shelled and blanched. I cut the grass in the backyard yesterday morning—hopefully for the last time this summer, as we usually don’t have to cut it past July—and I have one more section to finish this morning and trim with the weed whacker. We’re in for some of that heat, now, that has hit the rest of the country. We’ll have to get some hose laid and the sprinklers set up this weekend. I expect things to start taking off.

And I want to get back to working on that Noon and Night block project, as I have become a bit obsessed with it. I am starting to wonder what other blocks have languished in oblivion in the past hundred years.