Playgroup this week visited the Delaware Museum of Natural History. It's been hot and humid and we all needed a break from the sun.
Peter + the wolf
It wasn't the best outing, due in no small part to some persnickety employees who had nothing but huffs and puffs and irritation when our horde of 9 children stormed the gates. (For the record: yes, they were a bit loud and rambunctious. But they're FOUR, people! Also, not a mother was given the proper opportunity to calm excited children before the huffin' and puffin' started.)
Really, though, if I think about the day, what sticks out in my memory the most is that the children - all of them, really - were just so very excited to see one another and the museum. The day was full of joy.*
On our way home, we stopped at the Mexican ice cream shop in nearby Kennett Square. It was on our summer list, and it was worth the extra 10 minutes in the car. Sadly, though, in those 10 minutes Lucy fell asleep. When we arrived, parked the car, and started unloading I tried to wake her. She refused. In fact, she said, "I don't want ice cream, I want to sleep, don't wake me up." You can't argue with that, right?**
So I put her in the stroller, and Peter and I enjoyed a nice mother/son ice cream date. The ice cream was exactly what we hoped for, and although we didn't try the more exotic flavors (like avocado or corn), there's always next time. Oh yes, there will be a next time.
you probably can tell by Thomas's face that he wasn't allowed to have any
The danger of this situation, if it isn't apparent to you by now, is that I knew Lucy would wake from her nap and wonder about that ice cream we'd talked about as we left the museum. Really, what then? In fact, upon waking, her first words were, "did you get me ice cream?"
Luckily for us all, she woke just as I was pulling into Wawa for some gas on the way home, and the little tub of ice cream (with a cute tiny wooden spoon!) that I found inside was just what she wanted.
Oh, Wawa. What can't you do?
*Until it wasn't. Then it was time to go home.
**She has a history just this sort of behavior. Recall, for instance, this.
Comments