Ben Would Walk 500 Miles
Thursday afternoon, on a lark, I decided to go for a walk with Ben. He didn’t ride in a stroller or the backpack; he held my hand and pulled me along the sidewalk as fast as his little legs could churn. He held Buddy, his favourite stuffed green hippo in the other hand, and was babbling with excitement.
He made it all the way to Quantum on his own speed – that’s about 6 blocks, with one of those blocks the length of a football field – and halfway back before I had to carry him. Walking set the tone for the weekend.
Friday evening, after I installed the two air conditioners at the end of 28+ degree day, Ben tried to put on his sandals. When simply standing on his footwear didn’t cause them to magically attach themselves to his feet, he picked up his shoes and carried them to the front door. Then, he proceeded to try to turn the handle.
Dina and I got the hint, and brought him over to the park. He ran up the path to the park with his big blue ball in his hands and, after about an hour of playing around with the other kids, he held our hands and we walked back home. Not once did he try to make a break for it. He was just happy to be walking in between his parents.
When we finally got him home and asleep, Dina and I watched the second disc of Harvey Birdman, Attorney-at-Law. A couple of episodes had us laughing out loud, but the rest devolved into a collection of in-jokes far too quickly.
On Saturday, we had big plans for going shopping, but we had to keep our priorities straight. After breakfast, Ben wanted to go to the park. Of course, he always wants to go to the park, and we’re only too happy to oblige. Dina stayed home and took care of some cleaning while I brought Ben to the park. He kicked his ball around with some other kids, spent some time in the swing, laughed as I blew soap bubbles, and then tried to bury himself in the sand.
The other kids at the park found this very amusing.
I brought him home after about two hours, whereupon he fell fast asleep in his nice air-conditioned room. I thought that a nap was such a good idea that I followed suit.
Ben slept for about four hours, which put an end to our hopes for an afternoon excursion. However, the evening was cool and sunny, so we made other plans. We decided to walk with Ben to the video store and rent a couple of movies.
Once again, Ben held our hands and marched along with a great sense of adventure. All the grandmas we passed along the way smiled. After the seven blocks or so, we arrived at the video store. Dina scouted for movies while I put back all the movies that Ben pulled down to the floor. He kept trying to give me a copy of The Whole Ten Yards, but I had to decline. Then he handed me Aliens vs. Predator, which was at least in the right ballpark.
After renting the movies (Closer and Finding Neverland), we went next door for ice cream, gave Ben a plain cone, and then went to a nearby park to enjoy the treats. Because this was a new park, Ben spent most of his time running around in circles.
With the ice cream finished, we headed home. For part of the time, I carried Ben on my shoulders, but he kept trying to fling himself backwards, which caused no end of stress and aches in my triceps as I tried to keep him still. So, after a couple of blocks of being carried, he walked the rest of the way.
We let him lead us and, guess what happened? He led us straight to the park for some more playtime.
The evening’s entertainment was Miyazaki’s film Porco Rosso, about an Italian mercenary fighter pilot who happens to be cursed to live in the body of a pig. This movie was originally an original in-flight feature on Japan Airways, and it proved so popular that it earned a theatrical release.
The movie is high-flying fun, so I can understand why.
Sunday, after a pancake breakfast, we headed out to the mall to get Saturday’s shopping done. Our first stop was a toy store, where we picked out Ben’s birthday present. Dina had handed him flyer a couple of days ago, and he seemed really interested in a play airport set. So, that’s what we got him. He was very excited to see the toy in the store.
Fortunately, he forgot all about it once we put it in the car. I love shopping with little kids – you can get your feedback without spoiling the surprise!
Then, Dina went clothes shopping and I wheeled Ben around in his stroller. Well, after all the miles he’d logged over the last couple of days, you can imagine how long the stroll lasted. He fussed until I took him out of the stroller and held his hand. Then he was happy to walk laps around the mall.
He conked out as soon as we got home.
Later that afternoon, I drove down to Bill and Cecil’s place to help them install their air conditioner. I was responsible for lugging the unit, supplying the level and the shims and a spare two by four. Jon was at the apartment, so we had a fine time yakking about the upcoming Warlord CCG expansion while we wiggled the air conditioner into place.
Once that was done, we all hopped into the car and, after a short stop for provisions, went over to my place for dinner and a movie. The dinner was, unsurprisingly, hamburgers (hmmm….burgers…) and the movie was Closer.
We howled with laughter at some of Clive Owen’s lines. Brilliant stuff. I never thought the words “I forgive you” could sound so cheerfully surgical. Now I wonder how Clive would have handled Jude Law’s part as Dan in the stage production.
Natalie Portman was amazing as Alice (and she looks pretty good as a blonde, we were all surprised to see), and Jude Law and Julia Roberts were fitting as the sad-sack characters, Dan and Anna.
Closer is a film I’ll have to watch again.
When the movie ended, everyone left, and Dina and I walked carefully past Ben’s room so as not to wake him up.
Comments
Affiliations
