He asked for cookies as I was buckling him tightly and I handed over the bag of veggies I brought for him. Those will do. Frustration set in as the ziplock bag just seemed to get in the way of quick consumption. I found a park, one that seemed out of the way so we'd go a bit unnoticed.
Problem one: it's been raining.
Problem two: mud.
Problem three: Liam hates to be dirty.
At this point, Liam is parched. Like he's never had water, ever in his life, parched and he most definitely needed me to do something about it. I set my camera up, trying to ignore his "I wants..." Every other second though, he's crying for water, I pose for a picture, then toss his ball, he cries louder. I notice that I'm playing fetch by myself. I also notice that I keep throwing the ball in the mud. I made Liam go get the ball because it went into a huge puddle and well, this would be the day I'm wearing tan fabric flats. He cries when he slips in the mud. And then,
"I want nilk!"
I successfully got three pictures of tree leaves and a blurry tall chic in the background. Success.
A jogger passes by as I pretend to play it cool with my tripod and screaming child. We're good, lady, no need for your laughter and sympathy eyes.
I bail on the outfit idea and walk through the slippery mud back to the car to put the ball and camera away. Liam cries because he thinks we're leaving. There's a slide in the distance that must be slid.
We head towards the slide and he points out a mouse. Well no, that's a squirrel. He repeats "skirl" and then insists it's a mouse. We find a water fountain which is liquid gold at this point. It's mostly just fun to play in the water and I struggle to hold him, avoiding the mud that's all over him, and pushing the button at the same time. We carry on to the playground and he climbs up and down and decides to slide down the slide. He never does this on his own and usually requires a bit of parental motivation. I enjoy my view from a nearby bench when I hear his little cry. Of course, there's a puddle of dirty water collected at the bottom.
Wet and muddy, it's time to go! Dinner is calling. I was in no mood to cook so Taco Cabana it was. I felt accomplished, even still. Park and dinner out! As I slow to a stop at the drive thru speaker, Liam begins to yell whisper for chocolate milk. I hand over the $9.42 and retrieve my food and I hear the voice in the back seat, "chicken nuggets?"
Of course he wants nuggets.
We got home and began to eat our dinner together. Mid-bite I remember to pray, tell Liam "Oops, gotta pray to Jesus." He looks at me, sets down his food, and takes my hands. It was then, that everything felt right.
In case you're wondering how the pictures turned out...
