Family Matters
Last Saturday we had Ambrosia over to play while Kelly went to the funeral of her friend’s son.
Despite the sad reason for Ambrosia’s visit, we all had a wonderful time with her. Ambrosia wanted to play dress-up, so I got out all the stuff and we all dressed up as princesses in flowing silk scarves, tiaras, turbans, boas, and veils. Luckily we had enough magic wands to go around and we all danced to Enya in our princess costumes. It was very fun. Lucas and Ian got into it as well. Later we rode tricycles to the park and we played there.
Baby Tidoo, Lucas’s dolly, has taken on an even greater importance in the family over the last week.
• Tidoo gets to eat doughnuts for breakfast
• Tidoo eats whole bowls full of salt
• Tidoo likes trains as much as Lucas does
• Tidoo goes on play dates
• Tidoo and Kimberlee are good friends
• Tidoo is sick and doesn’t want to go to school some days
And other stuff…
Saturday night my parents took me to dinner and to see Jack Gallagher’s new one-man show “What He Left,” at the B Street Theatre. I’m planning to write more about that another day. Suffice it to say that it was a great show and it brought forth some interesting stories from my father.
Grandpa Glen came over for dinner last night. When I reminded Lucas about this in the afternoon before Glen arrived, Lucas said, “Oh good. I love my Grandpa Glen.” I was careful to relate this story to Glen last night. Unfortunately, Grandpa Glen seems sometimes to feel like he’s missing out on Lucas’s development. We don’t see him as often as we see the other, closer grandparents. It was a nice evening, without too much political discussion, and grandpa read Lucas several stories and listened to the endless train talk with the degree of fascination that someone who doesn’t listen to it constantly can still muster.
Lucas’s relationship with Jackson (a new boy) at preschool is improving. In fact, Lucas seems to be slowly accepting the new students from Mulberry Cottage, which recently closed its doors, into the Hidden Treasure fold. (At first he was resisting making new friends.) Lucas told me last night that Jackson hasn’t been “playing guns at me” and is playing trains with Lucas instead. “I like that much better.” He also reported that he spent some time yesterday talking with Abigail, another new student. “Abigail is nice. We talked a while.” Max, however, is still playing guns. Lucas is convinced that Max hates him. This social stuff is tricky.
February 1, 2006 at 11:34 pm
I just wanted to mention that I read your notes about Lucas with great interest. Sometimes they are funny and cute, sometimes I understand your frustration and worry.
February 2, 2006 at 11:47 am
Thanks! I appreciate that.
I am sometimes insecure about posting so much about Lucas. I wonder how it makes me appear to other people, e.g., completely obsessed, neurotic, boring, without a life of my own, etc. Usually I can talk myself down from that ledge by reminding myself that people don’t have to read it, and that I’m writing for myself, Lucas, and Ian, not for public notoriety.
Maybe someday these anecdotes will be valuable to him; maybe they’ll help him to know me and know how much I love him. Maybe when he’s an adult, he’ll read them and be able to say, “See? Now that’s why I need therapy!“