Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Birthdays and Anniversaries

The birthday of our marriage. It's been a good day. Adam took me (and Conor, though to his credit, he did make some calls to our friends to try to arrange a babysitter, but without luck. I'm thrilled that he even thought to do that, and taking Conor was a joy anyway.) to our favorite little Italian place in Montrose for dinner. I was craving me some Chicken Parmigiana! Dinner conversation with Adam is never dull. And never politically correct. Hardly ever even couth. But funny. Entertaining. Endearing. Yes, he is. I give glory and deep abiding gratitude to God for pulling us through this last year.

On another note. I love conversations with little kids. I try to get to know each of my little piano students on a personal level. Find out who they are, what they love, what their lives are all about. I figure if they know I care about them, they're more likely to do what I say. So far it seems to be working. One mother told me last week that her son said randomly during the week, "I wish I was Miss Jenna's boy." Ouch. (to her), but it touched her that her son loves his piano teacher, and it made me all weepy for him.

But today I had some fun dialogue with Alex. He's 5. Well, on Sunday he'll be 6. Here's how I know.

"On Sunday is my birthday and so we're going on a Disney Cruise for 7 days and so I won't be at my lesson next week."

"Wow, a Disney Cruise! That sounds like fun! Will you get a cake for your birthday?"

"I don't get cake. I get all the Disney characters."

"Oh, I see. And who is your favorite?"

(after a long pause) "I don't know, but they'll all be there. You should come to our house to see my piano. It's bigger than yours. It's this tall (he shows me with his hands) and this big (he shows me with his hands)."

"Sounds beautiful. Maybe someday I can come see it. You are one lucky little boy, you know."

"I know."

"I mean, I've never been on a cruise!"

"I've been on two boats."

"Well, I've been on many boats, but a cruise is different."

"Well, with the cruise that makes three boats I've been on."

"Yes, that's true."

"My dad and my mom and my brother and my grandma and grandpa are coming on the cruise with us."

"Sounds nice. Where are you going on the cruise?"

"To the beach."

"Oh, I see. So, what does your Dad do for his job, Alex?"

"Paperwork."

"He must work very hard."

"He works all day and all night doing his paperwork. He always works."

"Well, he must be looking forward to this cruise then!"

And my last question remained unasked. If you give a child a 7 day Disney cruise for his 6th birthday, what do you do for his 7th birthday, or heaven forbid his 16th? They'll think of something.

*Don't forget to enter the MikaRose giveaway! You have until Friday at midnight! Go here for the details!

8 comments:

Lesley said...

My thoughts exactly...what do you do for a really big celebration if you get a cruise at age 5!

We had some little girls visiting last week at church, and I remembered them from last year when I was teaching their class, and like you I like to grill, er I mean find out about kids and create a rapport. So when I told them I remembered them they were thrilled and I heard them telling their parents, "They remembered us!"

And your hubby sounds like a fun dinner date---my favorite conversations are usually un-PC, and uncouth!

Megan said...

Adam should have called... We'd have been happy to play with Conor! Happy anniversary!

We miss having our dinners with Adam. Maybe you guys should come down?! (Seriously!) :)

Brillig said...

"Paperwork."--HAHA that's hilarious. And yeah... what DO you do for the 7th birthday? Yowzers.

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Wow, I can hardly imagine spoiling my child to that degree.

I can imagine that chicken though, yummm!

Momo Fali said...

When I was very, very little, my Dad told me he'd take me to Hawaii for my 16th birthday. I had a lot of LONG years waiting for that trip. He kept his promise and I will never forget our amazing Hawaiian adventures. We still laugh about how much fun we had. Sigh...seems like yesterday. I hope to do the same thing for my daughter when she turns 16. I guess my husband better get busy on HIS paperwork so we can afford it!

Misty said...

awe... amazing what kids see... There was a time in our life when Genny would have said the same about her daddy. "all day and all night."

Sad.

Wonder Woman said...

I read your blog all the time but don't always comment.....'cuz I'm tired, 'cuz I have more blogs to read, 'cuz I can't come up with something clever...

But I'm commenting today. Congrats on 3 years and finally learning to keep your mouth shut. :o) Your posts are always great.

Laurie said...

Adam sounds just like Ken. They would get along great and you and I would too so now I just need to figure out the minor travel details. Happy Anniversary. One year, one day, and sometimes just one moment at a time!

As for the cruise, WOW! My kids are thankful to get a treat and a toy and I usually feel broke after just that much. I guess it's all in the paperwork.