The Wrap-Up

Late Sunday night the Gator said he'd like french toast for his special birthday breakfast.

At our house we celebrate birthdays first thing in the morning. Just like Christmas, only instead of Santa, there's the birthday fairy (okay, not really on that fairy part).

But essentially, after the birthday person is in bed, their place at the table is transformed into "It's Your Special Day" land, with the birthday placemat, plate, balloons, and all the gifts fit to be seen. (unless it's yours truly. I haven't resorted to blowing up balloons for myself yet. I'd rather curl up with a good book than spend time decorating. I digress.)
Anyway, I told Gator that I didn't have bread to make french toast, and offered waffles, pancakes, cereal, eggs, smoothies, goulash&succotash, or liverwurst with earthworm guts as alternatives. He was torn between the last three options, but ultimately selected waffles. Whew!

Still, we've had a lot of waffles lately. And I, too, love me some good french toast. So I decided right then and there, I'm a modern woman. I can bake some french bread (as if those two concepts are even logical together) .

I don't bake bread. I'm a yeast flunkie in fact (a point I'd love to remedy someday, but fear for my waistline if I ever do). But for my Gator I determined to do it. In addition to completing the other 84.245 tasks I intended to finish before going to sleep.

I was up most of the night. Bread worked out, everything else got done (except number 39.573 on my list). The morning celebration was a hit. Gator was delighted with his gifts and the breakfast.
Doc was able to be there with us (he had a late morning as it was the first day of his surgery rotation...oddly the schedulers don't do orientation at 5a.m. Go figure!) and good times were had by all.

The day passed pleasantly enough. After indulging myself with a nap, I took Gator and his buddy to ToysRus...a store I positively loathe. Not watching commercial tv as a rule, my kids didn't know Mc Donalds served breakfast till last month...and I definitely don't relish them discovering all the toys that exist in the world that we can't/won't buy.

(Photoshop-free proof that I was on the premises of this, my toy nemesis)

But Gator had gotten some money from his grandparents and was dying to purchase a specific Lego Star Wars set. Of course is was a "hard to find" one (even listed that way on the Lego website. What's up with that?) So after calling all over town and checking every Walmart, Target and toy store in the county, I located The Item at a store only 25 minutes away. It took an hour in that pit of commercialism to finally escape, and we returned home to await the arrival of some friends who were flying in and planning to have dinner with us before heading on to their destination.

Gator and his friend were happily putting the new set together when I told him it was time to get ready to go to dinner. That's when things started to go down hill.

We'd had a conversation about graciousness last weekend. I know he got the concept (illustrated using Agustus Gloop and Charlie Bucket as examples), and his behavior all weekend was terrific. He's really growing, I thought happily to myself. But apparently by last night, his newfound grace was no longer tenable.

I get that he had a new toy consuming all his free brain molecules. I get that I'd dragged him away from it to do something so heinous as eat dinner. With friends from out of state. At his favorite restaurant. I get all that. But suffice to say, things deteriorated from there and the night ended badly.

I love this kid. But great balls of fire he can be so difficult. I want nothing more than to help my children develop a pervasive sense of gratitude and humility. Is that too much to ask?

Of course the first thing this morning he was all smiles and kisses upon my cheek again. Two steps forward three steps back. At least some days.

(Above is the array of stamps used to send one of the packages he got. So Fun!)