my friday night date

Hayden is like the weather.

Not impossible to predict, but often unpredictable. Good on most days without perpetual natural disasters, but occasionally a stretch of gloomy. When he is fair & calm, his warmth feels contagious to your mood like a gorgeous day. But just like the weather, when a storm does hit, hell hath no fury like a child in complete meltdown mode.

So, we try to keep an eye on the weather the same way we think ahead in terms of his schedule, & we attempt to prepare ourselves the best we can. That could mean an umbrella, or a plan B, or both.


To that point, every now & then we decline invitations. I know this sounds awful but there are certain situations, when skipping something is sadly the better option.

People who really know us & know Hayden... they understand. People who do not understand, well... you fill in the blank. (Usually the people we choose to surround ourselves with are certainly not the latter.)

So with a bit of regret we declined a birthday party invite the other night. It was being held at a party place which would be total sensory overload for H... but the best thing ever for most kids his age. We are forced to pick & choose when to say yes according to factors such as venue, day, time, & how many guests he will or will not know.

Meanwhile, I learned that our PTA was hosting a Mother/Son Event at the upper elementary school the same night. I really wanted to go with H but I know better than to expect that he will eagerly accompany me.

Then of course in true H last-minute fashion, he decided he would go with me based largely on the fact that I allowed him to wear the dreaded "blue" shirt again (it's actually turquoise) which he has recently been obsessing over.

Had a tough time getting a picture before we left, but before long we were off! I even caught him smiling on the way in.
And then next thing I know... there we were:

We stayed for about a half an hour & then he told me he was ready to go home. On our way out of the school we stopped in the bathroom & he peed :) Another successful dry-boxer-brief outing!

Nothing particularly unforgettable happened during those 30 minutes but I think I will remember them for the rest of my life.

(He sure left some nice H's on the table:)


That's right, folks.
Hayden was here 5/3/13.

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