Holt picked going to work with me for a half hour and then he wanted to round out his hour at home playing vids. We left the house about 8:45. Holt and this mutt that lives at 84 have taken a real liking to each other. You should have heard the dog when we pulled into the parking lot...whining and yelping with glee. Holt and Ely (the dog's name) played for awhile outside and then Holt and I went in to get a nutritious breakfast from the snack and drink machines...Strawberry Pop-Tarts and a Dr. Pepper...no wonder he picked 84 Lumber to spend his time with me.
The kids always get a snack and a drink when they come to work with me. I can still remember being four and five years old drinking grape and orange Nehis with my dad in the fellowship hall of FBC Laurel where he worked. Good memories.
Holt and I were sitting at my desk when my manager (Jeff) comes running toward my desk with Ely in fast pursuit. You should have seen Holt's face light up like a Christmas tree (Ely doesn't EVER get to come in to the building). Ely jumped up on Holt almost knocking him to the ground as Holt giggled like a school girl. Jeff told Holt that since it was so hot outside that he thought Holt and Ely would enjoy playing inside until we left. He is good people. Holt decided to forgo playing pinball on my laptop since the dog was inside. Holt gave him treat after treat that he had brought from home (sorry Walter) and they both finally ended up in the chair with Holt petting Ely and Ely licking Holt's hands. They love each other.
Carolina decided to go to Chick-Fil-A to eat a biscuit and play on the playground. She looked so pretty and I could tell she felt like a princess. She asked me last week when we could spend some time together again, just the two of us. We sat down outside with our biscuits and a few bird flew up. We tossed them parts of our biscuits, watching them fight and chase each other. As one flew off, Carolina said "If I were a bird, I would be afraid of heights." I responded by saying, "No you wouldn't, you could fly and would never fall." She said, "What if a hunter shot my wing when I was high in the air?" How else could I respond besides, "OK, maybe you're right."
She played on the playground for awhile, jumping off things and trying to gain my approval (of course, she did) and then we left. She made me promise not to forget to tell mama that we fed the birds.
Then we went to Target to look at toys for her birthday and Christmas. She loved just being able to stroll through the aisles pushing buttons and listening to the toys talk/ make noise/ dance/cry etc. About the third aisle that we went down she looked up at me holding onto my hand and said shyly, "I wish I could live here." I remembered my childhood and understood exactly where she was coming from.
On our way home she said, "I didn't pick out any Princess and the Frog stuff to put on my list. I like the princess. She's pretty, but she comes with the frog and...you know...he's a boy." I now have this in print to remind her later on.
As we were pulling into the driveway, she was remembering a stuffed puppy from Target that she really liked and said, "It would've been fun to have had Walter (our Border Collie rescue) when he was a puppy. He and me are the only ones in the family who are 4 years-old. When I was a baby I wasn't a puppy." And then she laughed. She is funny.
Juliana opted to take me to 4-Way restaurant which is a landmark in downtown Cartersville from way back. She had eaten there with her mama, but this was my first trip. Juliana and I always cherish our dates. When my chili cheesburger was placed in front of me, J and I looked at each other with the look of "what is that?" It was a plate of chili with a chili burger plopped right down in the middle of it. Best chili cheesburger I've ever had. Yumsters! We left there and spent the last of our time at the river, remembering old times (like geese chasing mama and her in Conyers, finding her pet turtle, Slowpoke, falling and getting her first skinned knee and ruining her tights and not knowing which one she was more upset about). We laughed like we always do and also took some pictures of the geese and each other. I realized that, unlike the other two, we were not only making new memories...we were reminiscing about old memories. She is grown up. That is OK. She makes a good grown-up.
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