Busy Busy Day

I did real work today. I chased a baby girl all over creation for ten hours. It has been a few months since I had this duty and I had completely forgotten how hard it is. I didn’t notice how hard it was while I was doing it. It wasn’t until she went to Target with her mother and grandmother that I realized how exhausted I am. It’s more mental than physical. I had forgotten that when there’s no one to hand the baby off to, there’s no one to hand the baby off to. Today was also one of the best days I’ve had all summer. LMJ is a bundle of fun and imagination. We went to Disneyworld today, including stops at Animal Kingdom to see the tigers (rawwrrr) and to ride the dinosaurs, and Magic Kingdom to see Mickey Mouse and his crew, to ride Dumbo the Elephant, and to ride the Magic Carpets. We went to Publix to get some cheese and fruit – she doesn’t know about wine yet but she may be on her way to becoming a sommelier. We went to the zoo. We rode horses. We went to work and we went to school. All of this happened in her imagination. I was just along, happily, for the ride. In reality we went to the park where she still treats other kids like they’re trying to rob her. The funniest part for me was eavesdropping on a conversation two moms were having. It wasn’t really a conversation. It was a White mom talking to a Chinese (not Chinese-American) mom about all things Chinese. About somebody she knows who’s been to Beijing (she pronounced it Beiy-Ching), about Hong Kong, it was a little embarrassing. The Chinese mom, who lives down the street from us, which is how I know she’s not Chinese-American, is American enough to nod and mmmm as the knuckleheaded mom rambled on. After walking to the park and playing, LMJ had no intention of walking home. I dodged her and made her chase me half way home before she realized it wasn’t a game and that she was being tricked. At which point she stopped and asked me very nicely to carry her. The rest of the day flew by with her being the sweetest two year old girl in the world, and me realizing how lucky I am to spend this much time with her. But now I need a drink.