I spent my Friday night sharing an ice cream cone and taking a long walk around the block with my favorite two-year-old. I should clarify by saying, sharing two ice cream cones, of which I had a total of two licks. Colin stared in horror as his first cone slipped right out of his hands and into the grass within minutes of exiting the Jeep. Since he has no regard for dirt, he attempted to pick it up and put the ice cream back on top of his smashed cone. The 5-second rule does not apply to chemically treated lawns, so I intercepted. His panic quickly subsided as I produced that second cone that I had the foresight of purchasing as we went through the McDonalds drive thru! Hey - this isn't my first rodeo...
After ice cream, I chased Colin out to the front yard where he grabbed his lawnmower and made a beeline for the sidewalk. After sprinting for about a mile (or at least what seemed like it), Colin stopped in his tracks. Out of breath, I stopped too, with a huge sigh of relief rushing over me.
While Colin is one to run at top speed, he's also one to stop and smell the roses, or in this case the lawnmower. A young boy in the yard we were approaching was mowing the lawn. Colin watched attentively.
As I caught my breath I fantasized about our future...
In a little over a decade, the days of Pat doing any sort of yard work will officially end. We'll have two strong (or in Jack's case huge) boys to mow the lawn, rake the leaves, and shovel the snow. Now, you moms of girls get the hair bows, glitter, and 80% of the Baby Gap plan-o-gram, but us mom's of boys....that's right...FREE LANDSCAPING. You can't put a price on that.
After we passed the boy mowing the lawn we slowly walked down the street, pausing to admire a few ant hills, and pick (sorry neighbors on Moorewood) some flowers. Then Colin stopped again. This time, he paused to watch a father and his 10-year old (ish?) son playing catch. He squealed in delight as he watched them throw the ball back and forth. It made me smile to think about what's ahead for our family...t-ball, soccer, and playing catch in the backyard. When we first toured our house, I asked Pat, "What did you like best"? I was imagining he was going to say, the potential for a Man Land in the basement, or the four bedrooms, or the huge yard. No. He said: "the driveway - it's perfectly level...ideal for a basketball hoop". I know in summers to come, I'll watch Pat and the boys outside for hours practicing their 3-point shot, or their curve ball.
As we rounded the final corner of our walk, after a brief tantrum because the "playground is that way", we ran into an old man sitting on his front porch in a Adirondack chair. Colin waved. He waved back and walked over to us. He asked how old Colin was "two" (while he held up three fingers), and what his name was (blank stare) and then complimented him on his Hawaiian shirt and lawnmower.
As we went on our way, he called after me and said, "Enjoy your walk...time goes much too fast".
I promised him I would.
And, when we got back to our house, instead of turning into the driveway, I took Colin's hand and we went around the block, again.
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