Joseph asked to go to the park Sunday, but we quickly found it was too cold for comfortable play. So in the interest of letting him run off some small-boy steam with other kids (and maybe letting us sleep through the night), I took him to a McDonald’s playland.
I knew it was going to be interesting when he climbed into his booster seat and leaned over with a glad cry of “there it is!” “It” was his current favorite book, one in the Magic Schoolbus series. He began reading as I drove, and when we got to Archland, he asked if he could please bring it in with him. Not being hypocritical enough to refuse him when I had my own book in my hand, I perforce assented.
And guess what? The slides and gerbil-tubes had no allure, compared with the siren call of a book. Other children could run; he had a book and a mommy who could help him over the hard words. His happy meal had a toy in it (the real attraction, as he doesn’t eat meat if he can help it) which was promptly stashed in mommy’s purse for “later”. He did ultimately go and play, but not until we had read that book through twice – once with the occasional boost, and a second time so he could do it all by himself.
No question about it – he’s our kid!
I told you so!