Confessions of a Kindergartener

This weekend was one of those weekends where I had around 50 options as to what I could do. What was my choice?

I stayed home. I needed a "weekend off." It was really nice... I came home Friday afternoon and spent the evening with my parents. We went to Chili's for supper and watched a movie together, and then I just "hung out with myself" the rest of the night. :-)

I didn't start my day until 11:30 on Satuday... it was NICE to sleep in :-) I spent the majority of this day getting caught up on business problems with Kristi. We are getting an over-abundance of phone calls to do Christmas cards, which is GREAT! I told her we may just have to quit school and work full-time for our business (which would be fine by me) although I think that we would be wise to actually get a degree. I'm only a year away from my bachelor's, and I wouldn't trade anything for college life.

I find it interesting that even though I formulated it in my mind ahead of time that I was going to stay home all weekend, social life still seems to intrude upon my life. On Saturday night, I turned down my first offer after re-evaluating the fact that I really did need to work on a project. Needless to say, the project made extraordinary progress until 8 p.m. when I decided I should go get dinner. Katelyn, my life-long "AP" (accountability partner and AWESOME friend) called me to come hang out with her, and I just couldn't say no. I went and spent time with her with my little bag of McDonald's for supper (healthy eating has always been a strong point in my habits). We talked and played Roco, a game that was actually pretty fun and required some strategic thinking. Gab, Brooke, and Julia all ended up coming to hang out with us, so it was a fun girl time.

Today after church, my mom, Melissa and I went shopping. I think one of the main reasons my mom wanted to go was to get Melissa walking... she's due soon and my mom is determined to speed up the process of her having this baby. I just think it's funny. My dad was watching the 3 Steffen kids, so we met them and Tate at Buffalo Wild Wings to visit Laura, my long-lost friend, who waitresses there. I love that girl and never get to spend time with her any more, it seems.

So, guess who I got to sit next to? My 5-year old kindergartner nephew, Noah.

"So Noah, do you have any girl friends?" I asked him.

"Yes," he answered, his eyes sparkling as he hit my face. (Noah is a very hyper child, so visualize every one of his answers from here on out being accompanied with a smack to my face or with his whole body being thrust in my direction with forces capable of knocking me off my chair).

"Who is it?" I ask. With that, he smacks his hand over my mouth.

Then, he answers, "Cassidy."

"Is she cute?"

He ponders. "Yeah. She's pretty."

"What does she look like?"

"Um... she has blue eyes, and reddish hair, and pink finger nails."

I smile at his cuteness and turn to my mom. "Hey mom," I say.

With that, I get another smack of his hand over my mouth. "You can't tell!"

I give out an evil laugh. He keeps his hand over my mouth and exclaims, "I'm keeping my hand here until your food comes."

What a funny kid.

During the course of the meal, we counted to 100 together, played Rock-Paper-Scissors, and got yelled at by "Grandma" for being loud.

Later, back at my house, I was in my room, finally away from the kid, and he comes bounding in again. Great.

"T, what are you doing?"

"I'm cleaning my room. I have to put some stuff away."

"I'll help you."

"How? You don't know where anything goes."

He lets out a laugh and says, "Then tell me."

He's a smart one. And I did- he actually helped me while I cleaned, and entertained me.

"T, do you know what I do sometimes?"

"What?"

"I get up really really late and go to my dad's room, and I bug him."

"Why?"

"Just because. I want him to wake up."

"Why would you wake him up?"

"Because I think it would be funny to keep him up all night, and then in the morning, he'd be really tired."

"What does he say to you?"

"He says, 'Go back to bed.'"

"Then what?"

"Then I keep bugging him. And he says, 'GO BACK TO BED!'"

"What if you don't leave?"

"Then, he tries to get me, but I trick him. I run underneath his legs and all around the room and hide, and he can't find me."

I was dying laughing as he told me this story.

Sometimes, I need the musings of children like him to remind me of the simple pleasures in life. Noah is a smart kid... he's quicker than you'd believe and is always two steps ahead of everyone. He has his daddy's wit and humor, and knows how to brighten your mood, but also knows how to bug you until you feel like going crazy (probably a trait inherited by me). He excells hugely at sports... I kid you not, I think the kid was more talented me at every sport possible at the age of 3 than I am now. I see great potential in Noah's future... oh, and here he comes.

He is standing here now, so I asked him to give you all a message. Here is what he said:

"I had a great day today because I went to Sunday School and I really had a great day cuz I love school very much. Sometimes after school I like running down in the basement. I like playing with Naomi and racing with daddy. I like racing with Oliver, too. (T: Who wins?) Me. I like playing freeze tag with daddy and my friends. I like helping mommy feed the baby and all that stuff. I like playing baseball and football with daddy. My favorite meal from mommy is grilled cheese and pancakes (not together). My dad makes really good eggs. I like playing every sport (he is currently listing a lot of sports that I will not type). I like everything in the world, and that's all I guess."

Well, all... it's been fun, but I should probably go play with Noah a little more before he leaves. I love you all!

T