We woke up on The Boy's 10th birthday to darkness and torrential rain. The Sister came home around 7:45am from seminary soaking wet (the high school kids in our church attend an early morning class every school day from 6:45-7:30am). She knew that The Birthday Boy had requested Jamba Juice for his birthday breakfast, so she came dripping in and volunteered to make the run since she was already drenched. The Boy got out paper and pen and started to revise his list of services. Passing out flowers to people on the street -- probably not an awesome idea when people are wrestling with inside-out umbrellas and their pants are about to fall off from being so water-laden.
He started his services by drawing a cool picture for the family.
He got a plastic container of mythical creatures for his birthday and wondered out loud if the fact that he had given some to The Girl could count as a service. I suggested that he think of something that he might not have done if not for the day of service... While we were conversing, The Boy looked down at the mermaid he was holding:
"I wish she didn't have the bikini top on."
"Well then you would see her..."
[With eyebrows wagging up and down] "Yeah."
"I guess you're officially ten... wow."
[Cracking up by him and The Girl; holy-cow-looks, grimaces, and smirks exchanged between me and The Sister.]
The Dad made an effort to come home for an hour or so to help coordinate some of the services, so I attended a luncheon that had a discussion led by a brilliant professor. It was a small group, but contained some fascinating people -- from Ultraviolet (now in her 70's, she had been a pupil of Salvador Dali, and an Andy Warhol superstar/Factory member) to the 14th president of the Mormon Relief Society. The discussion was brilliant -- and yet the take away concept that most resonated with me is to remember how hard it is to be a kid when we are "teaching" and controlling... As adults we choose whom we associate with and where we spend our time (we might hate our job and think we work with a bunch of twats, but when it comes down to it, we still get to choose), while kids for the most part don't get to choose where they spend the majority of their day, and with whom they spend it. It's a reminder that I think is going to help me have a more generous perspective as a parent.
When I got home I was disappointed to hear that most of the kid's services were done. Due to the weather, they kind of cranked them out. List of services he ended up doing:
1. Drew an awesome picture for family (he's been intrigued by some police towers that we've seen around the city, so he drew a very detailed illustration of what he thinks the dashboard/panel looks like inside of one)
2. Bought strawberries for The Girl
3. Bought pineapple for The Sister
4. Made cute stickers ("you and your piano are a great pear", etc...) and put them on fruit and delivered it to our neighbor/piano teacher
5. Bought a bag of groceries and handed it politely to a homeless man
6. Gave an umbrella to a man that was getting soaked... I wasn't there, but apparently the man was a real piece of work -- he referred to The Boy as "Scout" (which is pretty awesome) and proceeded to bump the umbrella back and forth with his arms like a hacky-sack... by all reports he was very grateful for the umbrella. The Boy's quote: "He didn't have many teeth, and he was kooky, but I felt like he was the right one to give it to."
7. Wrote a very nice letter to a friend who moved away
8. Put a quarter in the gum ball machine at the candy store down the street, so if a wishful kid without money goes up to it he/she will get a service
9. Gave cookies to our doormen
10. Picked up soggy trash in Central Park
We still had the afternoon in front of us. We decided to go to the American Folk Art Museum. It's tiny, not far, free (donations appreciated), and has a very fun gift shop. Currently they have one of America's largest weathervanes on display, and a William Matthew Prior exhibit that inspired us all to give portrait painting a go next week... Not that we thought: oh, I can do that, but more because we were inspired to try the flat folk art style, and work on capturing specific characteristics to set apart the subject, rather than attempting an "exact" reproduction. I'm not even going to mention the topless pin-up gal pictures that were part of the "Women's Studies" exhibit... Let's just say that there was more eyebrow wagging and cracking up...
The rain mostly stopped by this time, so we decided to go on a walk in the park. It was the most beautiful it has ever been. There were few people because of the weather, and everything was glistening and so, so green. The lilacs are all blooming and there's an enchanted spot where a pink-purple lilac bush is next to a blue-purple lilac bush that is next to a white lilac bush and when the kids brushed their hands against the wet clumps of blossoms they said that the water on their hands smelled like perfume. It was all as perfect as life ever gets.
The Boy asked if he could dance up on the bandshell, and since it was his birthday...
I would have wandered in the park much longer, even though the rain started up again, but Judd the Red Chicken had purchased some new army men at the gift shop, and wanted to get home to try them out before The Dad came to get us for dinner.
He requested Dino-BBQ up in Harlem, and we knew the birthday gods were smiling down on him when we were seated next to his favorite picture.
Presents, banana splits, and a movie... And his day was done. Being as he wasn't born until 11:28pm PST, he didn't really turn 10 here until... the 9th...
So I won't feel too bad that his birthday post isn't going up until now... I simply was unable to outlast the kids... I fell asleep during the beginning displays of sexual tension between Truly Scrumptious and Dick van Dyke (wow... with those two names it just sounded like a rather bad adult-only movie, instead of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang... ah, geez... where HAS the innocence gone???).
He woke up this morning and I asked how it felt to officially be ten: "It feels like nine." It is mysterious how that happens... We never do feel our age... Except in shocking moments like when we suddenly realize that the mermaid would be improved without a top, or disappointing moments when you can't keep your eyes open any longer even though it's only like 10pm...
