Show-off

Dennis attended a church event for 5th & 6th graders tonight. It was big fun for him, especially since they were having shaving cream battles and wrestling in jello. After an hour, they all went in to clean up and change, and while they were eating, they all got out their iPods and phones. Dennis went to the car and got his phone, too. It caused a stir, as it always does. "YOU have an iPhone? And you're in what, KINDERGARTEN?" followed by, "Mrs. Christi, is that really his phone?". Yes, I tell them. I give the reasons, as usual. It was cheaper than an iPod touch or any of the Leap Frog learning devices. He can Face Time or text his grandparents, who are in another country. He always hogged our iPhones before he got one. Sure, there are infinite numbers of learning apps. Sure, I can call him if he's in the men's room too long. It has its benefits.

He told me in the car on the way home that he loves it when kids react that way to him having a phone, especially an iPhone. It reminds him of how fortunate he is. And it makes him feel cool enough to hang with the bigger kids. He's always kind enough to let others play with it, so I fear a little less that we are teaching him rampant materialism. He's very excited that he has a Bible app that he can read on his phone.

There, I think I've convinced myself that I'm not a terrible parent. iPhones are just terribly useful devices, and I'm glad that he enjoys it.

Grieving

I haven't written in quite a while! Dennis is still his wonderful, witty, fun self. He can read now, and I wonder how much longer I can feasibly blog about him without causing him embarrassment.

Lots of changes going on around here. Both our pastors have been appointed to other churches and will be leaving at the end of June. While I intend to stay put, I wonder what will happen to my ministry with a major change of leadership. And I love both our pastors and am so sad to see them go. How many more loved ones will move away from us? Dennis is handling it well, I think, but I know he will be terribly sad when it's time for them to go. One of them is not going far, just a half hour away, but our senior pastor is moving to Pensacola.

I suppose it is part of the growing up process (my own) to stay behind while people you love go on to other callings, but it's so difficult to remain behind!

So Kindergarten will end in just over 3 weeks, and Dennis and I are hoping for a fun summer together. We are both ready for a break from the intensity of our current routines! David has just started a new job that he loves, but it is a half hour away, and I'm missing our lunches together!

I probably should write more when I'm less sad. I hope to report soon that Dennis and David will be advancing to new belt levels after their upcoming Taekwondo testing on Friday.

Why, indeed

We are early for Taekwondo tonight. This works out well, since Dennis' girlfriend is in the child care room in the gym and he gets to hang out with her for a few minutes.

Last night we asked him to go and get his backpack so that he could do his homework. He wanted us to go and fetch it for him, and David told him it was his backpack and he needed to get it himself. He sighed (loudly) and asked (dramatically), "Why do I have to be responsible for all the stuff that's mine???". Life is hard when you have to pick up your own Legos.

serving

I'm so proud of Dennis for participating in the community's Great Day of Service. We had been scheduled to help clean the city cemetery, but we were moved to the elementary school instead. I'm so glad we worked there. What a wonderful outdoor space the children have now! In addition to the outdoor classroom area, we finished the greenhouse, put in a butterfly garden, hung birdhouses, repaired the bicycles that the children get to ride, put in a fish pond, and built a labyrinth with a birdbath at the center. We planted fruit trees, hung giant colorful metal butterflies on the trees, and put out bird feeders all over. By "we" I mean the 20+ volunteers that worked there today. Dennis and I worked on the labyrinth, moving bricks around and securing them in the pattern that was sprayed on the ground and then dug. I feel good that we improved their play space, but I'm even more thrilled that my son gets to spend time learning in this wonderful space!

Alternatives

Dennis could not wait to tell me about the most exciting part of his day. He had to go to the bathroom while he was with his Daddy, and there wasn't one available. So I got this: "Guess what! I peed in a Gatorade bottle for the first time today!!!". Does this imply there will be more times? I think I'll not drink any yellow Gatorade I find around here for a while.

Whoopee

It's good to be the fun parent. David and I were at the Dollar Tree and I slid a whoopee cushion into our basket. At the register he gave me that look he gets. I explained my plan and got his surprised approval. We inflated and installed said cushion in Dennis' carseat when we went to pick him up just now. He was shocked to see it, of course, and we learned that he didn't know what a whoopee cushion is. Suffice it to say that he quickly caught on to its purpose, and we've had a very fun ride home. I love those giggles!

end of the adventure? NOT!

It's 5 AM. We are almost back home, another 20 minutes or so and we will be there. We were scheduled to land in Birmingham at 7:40. That didn't happen by a long shot!

We were just a few minutes late for takeoff in Belize, indeed were headed down the runway at a pretty good clip when we felt and heard a large bang. Instead of lifting off, the plane slowed and then stopped. It felt like we'd hit a very large pothole. The captain announced that he had to abort takeoff and we would return to the gate to check out a maintenance issue. We returned to the gate and I heard a tiny boy from farther back in the plane yell, "Look, Daddy, it's a fire truck!". We looked out the window to see two yellow trucks with the words "Airport Crash and Fire Service" emblazoned on their sides. The captain came on the speaker again and announced that one of the engines had failed and the fire trucks were going to look us over. Everything seemed fine, and we deplaned to wait for another plane to arrive from the U.S. to retrieve us. What followed were 7 (more) hours in the tiny Belize airport. Many of the shops were closed for Good Friday. The snack bar bakery ran out of food. We bought 2 $9 bags of Doritos (yes, $9 U.S.), the big bags, and water before all the shops closed at 4:30. The airline provided sandwiches and Cokes for our supper, and the new plane arrived to a thundering round of applause at 7:30. We quickly boarded to head back to the USA.

But, Delta couldn't get us from Atlanta to Birmingham until 9:40 AM. I have to preside over a big egg hung at church at 10:00 AM. So we called on Superdave to pick us up in Atlanta, offering money for gas and some for his trouble, and he drove us the 3 hours back to Birmingham to collect our van from the airport. We are actually driving through our hometown, and I'm hoping for a 2 hour power nap before heading to church.

Imagine 9 hours in a tiny airport with an active 6 year old boy. He was as good as he could be, and we know what a trial it was for him. He fell asleep before the plane took off and gamely woke up for the trip through immigration. He's a seasoned traveler now! He introduced himself to lots of kids this week. Tonight in the airport he started his conversations with "can you believe our plane broke?". He used his phone to film himself making a documentary news report at the airport. What a great kid!