2 May 2017 - Adventure Log: 2 May 2017
"Dear Mommy, I went to the Bayview park again. I saw Jasmine and Treasure! I played with them. I got cookies for me and lifesavers for Treasure. I shared my cookies with Jasmine because she didn't have any. There was this friendly dog there. I climbed on the roof [of the playground equipment] again. There were a lot of little kids. They were cute. I also got water."  He also met a 9yo girl named Shannon who he said was very kind. He was gone for two hours. Well worth the $3 for reports like this.

4 May 2017 - Ian's new friend Shannon from the playground on Tuesday (who Ian said was so kind) just showed up at our door. They're heading out to ride their bikes around the neighborhood. #3dollaradventures

15 May 2017 - Ian, in the car yesterday: "There are some things that are great about black people and some things that are not so great."
Me, Shrop, and Laura: "..."
Ian: "The good thing about being black is they don't get sunburned. And the bad thing is that even though they aren't slaves anymore, some white people were unhappy to lose their slaves and have been treating black people badly ever since."
Me, Shrop, and Laura: "Pretty much."

So there ya go, folks. "The New Jim Crow" according to my seven year old.

20 May 2017 - Ian, a few days ago: "But Daddy is dead. I don't have anyone to go shopping with for your birthday!"

Ian immediately realized he could shop with Shrop except that Shrop is on the other side of the world today. So Ian and I decided to split up at Barnes & Noble for him to pick out presents for me tonight. 

I now have an adventure cat, a giant word search, a Clive Cussler adventure novel (?!), and a "life in color" journal. 

I couldn't resist getting Ian a book of his own - "Ramona Quimby, Age 8." We're having treats from the cafe and then are heading home for leftovers from the Greek Festival.

23 May 2017 - I know some of y'all have made some beautiful babies lately and their heads smell amazing, but I just went to the library for a meeting and sent my kid off on his own with a journal, a library card, and an hour to kill. That kind of freedom smells pretty great too.

23 May 2017 - Ian lost his [right front] tooth at lunch today.

24 May 2017 - This evening was both challenging and rewarding. The rain has been really doing a number on my mood. Ian has been struggling with all kinds of emotions. I feel like I'm not being as patient as I should be. 

And. We talked it out. Ian came in to talk to me and told me what he was scared about. We talked about rules versus guidelines and while you need to respect adults for their experience with life, they still fuck up. The most important thing about all of that, however, is that everyone fucks up and it's ok. 

I made some promises to him I know I can keep. He was scared to tell me if he was unhappy with me because I might send him to his room because I'm a grown up. I promised him I will never punish him for being honest about how he feels. 

I also empathized with him over being hurt by things that happened a long time ago. I told him letting go is hard for me too. We can practice together. Someone doing something hurtful doesn't make them a monster. And you can decide over time if their continued pattern of bad behavior warrants walking away. 

We hugged it out, read some Harry Potter, and snuggled before bed. And then I poured myself a glass of wine while the #therapycat took her place in my lap. 

I know all of this is payback for bragging about being past the parenthood stage of constant supervision.

28 May 2017 - Ian explained what he doesn't like about SCA events:

1) it's too hot or too cold
2) it's boring if there's nothing for him to do
3) sometimes the other kids are mean
4) he and I argue more because we're trying to get stuff ready

Sounds about right to me.

30 May 2017 - The best thing about playing Minecraft with Ian is how he pronounces granite with a long i (like dynamite) and corrects me whenever I say it with a short i.