Whee!

Summer proceeds with persistently hot weather and aggressive storms. Our July of vacations is over and we are finding new and interesting things to do for entertainment as the long days of summer continue. Mornings are often spent in the backyard picking up mulch and stray leaves. A small inflatable pool keeps him occupied, but not in the traditional sense. Rather than sitting in the water and splashing around, Benji has taken a liking to using measuring cups to pour water onto the patio, or his shirt, or his shoes - whatever he finds first. We play ball, or what should be called "Mama go get it again", and we watch the ants. Who knew there were so many ants? Bubbles are fun. Walking from the backyard to the front yard, sliding down the grass (an Auntie Joyce stunt, thank you so much) and climbing up the steps before heading to the backyard to do it all over again and again is fun. And few things beat standing in the gutter at the bottom of the driveway and picking up rocks that have collected since the last time we stood in the gutter at the bottom of the driveway. And for the extremely hot days, we overdose on Letter Factory, Curious George, musical mayhem a la Levitt, dancing, coloring, reading and running around the house. I mean, are we having fun yet or what?! I'm certain Benjamin is having a blast. He is still my little Smiley McGee. But Benji would trade all of the activities listed above for a chance to go to the park.

There is a great park in McLean, Virginia called Clemyjontri, created by a parent of four who desperately wanted a safe play space for her children with special needs. (The funny name is a combination of all of the names of the children in her household.) It is wonderful, with a beautiful carousel and tons of creative play equipment for all sizes and capacities. Ben, along with thousands of others, loves this park. Whenever we say park he proclaims "Whee!" Smaller parks, like the one around the corner from our house, will also elicit a "whee" and much to my surprise, so will pictures of swings or slides in books. He definitely associates parks with fun times. I, on the other hand, am on the fence. I mean, while he is "whee"-ing, I am standing in the hot sun ready to catch any body part that doesn't quite make it up the steps, I am pretending to enjoy my conversation with a neighborhood mom who irritates me to no end, or I am grabbing dirt and sticks away from his mouth, telling him "stop" every time he heads for the moving swing, and trying to convince him that sitting in the little car with the wet puddle is not a good idea. Oh, and did I mention that I'm sweating profusely? I have many words that come to mind related to how I feel when I'm at the park....surprisingly "whee" is not one of them.

I caused pretty major park drama the other day when I allowed Benji to leap into an ankle-deep puddle. He loves puddles and during a summer of drought they have been pretty scarce. So when I saw him heading for it I was not mortified by the concept of him jumping around in it. Two well-intentioned moms immediately came running to my aid when they saw Ben heading for it, grabbing his arms and blocking his path. He squealed his discontent and I explained that it was fine - he was allowed to proceed. Other kids saw this and started heading for the puddle, too, as if I had approved it for all of them because Benji was allowed. Oh my. I think I made several enemies. Moms were pulling their screaming kids away, trying to explain that it was not OK to jump in puddles, or it was OK for Ben but not for them, which even to an adult doesn't make any sense at all. Why do I care if he jumps in puddles? It's water. We live a block from the park. In this heat he will dry off by the time we get home. His socks and clothing can be washed, his shoes are well-loved and will be retired shortly, and if it keeps him content for 5 minutes, that is 5 less minutes I have to spend trying to be a one-woman sideshow. I thought it was really cute. I encourage Benji to enjoy discovering the world around him, even if that means I have to sweat a little, do a little more laundry and endure glares from stricter parents. This very moment, there is a neighborhood mom who is blogging about this horrible mother who allowed her son to get all wet and dirty in a puddle. You know what Benji and I have to say about that? WHEEE!!