Wednesday, May 7, 2008

fun with kids and strangers

One of the many effects of having kids around is that strangers are much more open. Here are two examples from our time watching the 'Beeks.

After church on Sunday we went to Mendez Brothers for lunch. While taking our order, the waitress noted the strikingly blue eyes of the kids. Then she looked and Jill and me and became confused. Upon learning the situation, she told us about her experiences in military families. She also told us to pass along how grateful she was for Bob's service and sympathised with Susie's extra workload at home while he was away.
After lunch we took the kids to our apartment for some play time and exploring. One of the buildings in the complex is 3 stories high with an elevator and external staircases. The kids ran up and down and rode the elevator. On the 3rd floor, someone had their door open, so the kids stopped outside it and peered in. I was on the ground floor watching when the resident invited them in. I hadn't met anyone up there before, so I ran up the stairs to join them. She had already offered them some candy (okay, now I was getting mildly concerned. But I think that most (all?) candy poisoning stories are myths. And who keeps poisoned candy in a gated apt complex?) and offered me a piece also. I ate it and was fine. The kids were fine, too, whew!

The woman loved the girls' matching blue church dresses. She expressed surprise that it was Sunday. We ended up having a nice talk about her roommate Johnny's model trains (he wasn't there; kids thought he was her son), how she was nearly out of money (the kids reply: "our daddy has lots of money"), and how she was about to take a walk with small weights for exercise.

Back on the base, one of the sprinklers near the house was broken and produced a nice stream. I showed the kids how to make a dam, and much fun ensued.


Otter Pops are still as good as they ever were.
J mixed red chalk and water to make a very effective war paint on his chest and face and pants and... A little warm water and scrubbing got it off outside.

2 comments:

boqpod said...

We watched 3 kids for a weekend back in CO years ago (before Abigail) and had the exact same experience. The kids were all blondie/blue-eyes. Beautiful kids! I never knew how much people talk to you & ask, "Where'd they get such blue eyes & light hair?" while looking at two brown-eyed, dark-haired baby-sitters :)

I was also amazed how the kids automatically knew their routines with seat-belts and shoes-off at McD's :)

Leyla said...

By the way the waitress needn't be quite so confused. Brown eyed and brown haired people have a chance of having a blue eyed child (that happens often enough, especially if one or two of the grandparents -from different sides, of course- have blue eyes) It's the opposite that's impossible. Still a fun experience!
-geeky me :)