Just a Walk in the Park

After spending the last three days digging out the family debris of summer and painting a few walls in my spare time, the "mother guilt" alarm bells were clanging pretty loudly as far as little L was concerned. So this morning I put on my "good mother" hat and suggested a picnic in the park. It all went pretty well until we got to the front door to leave. :)

L pushed hard to wear the "BEEEAUUUTiful" collectible leather clogs that Nana had given to K and which she'd unearthed in K's closet, but I held firm that the park was no place for collectible footwear, and tennis shoes prevailed (worn with a conglomeration of various and sundry clothing items that L had chosen from her drawer plus a purse full of jewels (costume jewelry) which seems to be her latest obsession.)

I told her to hop in the car, and at this point she made it quite clear that she strongly wanted to ride her bike (a tricycle, actually, that has a handlebar behind it that an adult can push and steer.) Although I had reservations about appearing to give in, I conceded the point mostly because of the extra jiggle here and there that I've been noticing lately. Fitness first, right? It's a bit of a hike to the park anyway, but we made it longer by detouring to DQ (did I say "fitness"?) to get our lunch.

Upon walking into DQ, L immediately pointed to the green Arctic Rush and asked if she could have "that green drink." "Sure, no problem," I said. Then I asked her if she wanted a cheeseburger, hot dog or chicken strips. "Chicken strips," was the clear reply. The drink arrived, and her immediate response was, "Why isn't it purple?"
"Because you said you wanted a green one."
"But purple is my favorite color, you know."
"Well, you got green this time...taste it..it's delicious.
She grudgingly agreed.

We continued on to the park, and when she opened her food bag she excaimed, "Where's the cheeseburger with ketchup?
"You said chicken strips. I got you chicken strips just like you said!"
"But I LOOOOOVVVEEE cheeseburgers!!!!"
She tried to eat the chicken strips and fries, mainly because I threatened to haul her home immediately if she didn't, but they just wouldn't go down her throat. Nothing would...until I pulled my carefully chosen "Grilled Toast Ultimate BLT Specialty Sandwhich" out of the bag. That, apparantly, went down her throat just fine because she ate the whole thing, at least the whole middle part with all the good stuff in it. I got some crusts which still smelled like bacon and had a few dabs of mayo here and there. When I tried to take a nibble of her abandoned chicken strip, though, she told me that I couldn't eat her food. I told her to take a hike.


Well, she played, she swung, she bossed all the other little kids at the playground around, although to their credit they pretty much ignored her. Then it was time for the LONNNGG walk home, and L's legs were tired because even though I pushed her, she still had to pedal.
"Mom, do you see that car over there? There's nobody by it."
"Yes I see it."
"Can we take it? I don't want to walk home."
"That would be stealing, Lily! God doesn't want us to steal!"
"Oh...but, Mom, we NEED that car and it's all alone."
" The person it belongs to would come back from their walk and be sad because their car would be gone."
"They could come pick it up at our house. C'mon Mom!"

At this point I decided I needed a nap as much as she did, and we made it home without incident. L is now out cold in her bed with almost none of the usual protests, so I guess you could say that it was worth it.