Quality Time

Gage landed in McConnelsville with two feet running.  In a matter of hours he visited the fair, the fire house, and Jo-Ad's, a health food store run by Mennonites in my hometown.   It's funny that he can't wait to go to "Pat Bailey's" so that he can go to Jo-Ad's... I mean, it's a bulk food market.  But, to Gage, I think he realizes that most of his 'goodies' come from Jo-Ad's.  He knows it's a big treat.  If it weren't for their kindness and their abilities to really, really cook those whole food dishes, we'd be a little lost on giving Gage tasty meals.  

  I have not received a report on today's activities because today is all-tractors, all-day at the fair and I'm sure he won't be home until the sun is well beyond the horizon.  It's such an awesome gift to have grandparents.  I grew up with extreme fondness for mine and to see Gage bond with my parents is one of the best things about having children.  We had debated long and hard about putting Gage into preschool this year because he is just ready for the next challenge on many levels.  In the end, of course, we decided not to because the pros to keep him home simply outweighed the pros of sending him to preschool.   Last night we factored in another priceless reason why we're glad we didn't send him yet:  trips to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I mean, he couldn't do this if he were in school and there will be plenty of years spent in school.  There just aren't plenty of years to build this relationship.  Luckily, Gage will always have this bond.  It's as natural as it is with Austin and me.  This is the first time that Leila could do an over-nighter without me, but we decided to let Gage have this special time.  Afterall, the days are numbered when the tables will be turned and he'll be off to school when Leila will still be able to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa.  

In the meantime, Leila is getting quality time with us, but it's funny because she seems a little lost without Gage here, too.  She's also getting a cold and sleeping a lot so I don't necessarily know what to do with all my 'time'.  It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that she has never been an only child as Gage was for 2 1/2 years.  She really misses the interactions so I let her watch Blues Clues (Gage's ritual) this morning when I was getting ready for work.  We're bypassing all that Baby Einstein stuff with her because she's always tagging along and watching along with Gage.  I warned Austin that he better be prepared to start doing some girl things because the playing field is even now and the boys will, indeed, need to be able to explore their feminine side and share outings to include things other than heavy equipment, farm equipment, trains, and airplanes.   Austin said, "Oh sure, no problem, we'll start looking at convertibles instead of trucks."  Funny.