church day

My charming son and I spent a great deal of time at the church today. He accompanied me to the ministry lunch (briefly) before heading off to play with the other children while I sat in on a planning meeting. We came home after that but didn't stay long--back out to get David from work for his lunch break and buy groceries for the Women's Circle meeting tonight, then returning David to work, then back to church, etc. Dennis helped me set up tables and set up the buffet before the meeting and then ran off to watch the puppet team practice. I heard him a while later leading a pretend marching band of kids through the hallway (loudly), and then I heard the kids being set up with a DVD in a neighboring classroom. He checked in with me again as I loaded the car and prepared for the Alpha class tonight, and the last I saw him, he was headed into the elevator with some other preschoolers and one parent. Just after I finished loading the car with leftovers from my meeting and just before I settled in for supper with the Alpha class, I got the feeling that I should check on Dennis. I found all the children in the room Dennis was hoping to be in, "the yellow wall classroom" he calls it (which happens to be the room where I teach preschool every week when I volunteer in the two-year-old class). I heard him before I ever got to the room, saying "this is a hammer and here's what you do with it!". Scary, I thought, so I quickened my pace, but the nursery worker smiled and said they were all having fun with play-doh! This is so much better than what I imagined. When class ended later, I returned to pick him up, hoping that seeing Gran (who is taking the class with me) would encourage him to leave happily, but he was lying on the floor immersed on a book and barely glanced up at us. She deduced that he was afraid she was taking him home, so we assured him that wasn't the case and he left willingly. The nursery worker told me that he was the most fun kid--he'd decided that they would all play "Never Land" and he pretended to be Captain Hook and she was deemed Tinkerbell. I'm just thrilled that he willingly played a villain for once! And I'm excited that there will be new roles to play other than fireman or policeman (the current favorites).

His comments to me today were cute. He saw me in my church dress this morning and said "wow, Mommy, you look pretty!" and my heart turned to mush. And then, when I forgot to stop at the gas station and turned around, he said "didn't we just come from this way?" and I explained about missing my turn. He said "Mom, you're so crazy!". Well, yes, that's true!