Well, we made it to Blackwater Falls in West Virginia over the weekend. Packed the car, packed a picnic lunch and hit the road early Saturday morning. And it was well worth the trip! Escaped the 90 degrees in Cumberland and arrived to a lovely, clear 78 or so in Davis, WVA. Did some hiking, saw the falls. Ate some lunch at a shady picnic table. Did another hike. Saw a snake. Followed blazes along the trees (Jonathan is Blaze-Master). Stopped at the local brewpub (hey, Mom and Dad have to have SOME fun!), stopped for ice cream, then pointed the car toward home. All in all, a great day. Except for the brewpub. Brews were most definitely not up to par. To say we were disappointed was an understatement. Oh well, can't win them all - we've been to brewpubs from Alaska to Florida and Maine to California - they all can't be great!
So, what's on my mind today? Well, under the category of "kids say the darndest things...", we have the following story: Yesterday, I stopped by Jonathan's new school - the one where he will be starting pre-k in the fall - to chat about the error they made in our tuition bill and to talk about the tuition buy-down program because I was a little confused on a few points. I left Matthew with Mark at his office while I did this so I could at least concentrate a little on the subject at hand, but took Jonathan with me. So here we are, chatting with the nice ladies. When all the sudden, Jonathan takes it upon himself to mention to one of the women that she has "something" on her hand. Well, that "something" turns out to be a patch of pretty good eczema, from what I could tell. The woman handled it well - she tells him "oh, that's just some dry skin, honey..." But Jonathan wasn't done. "Hey, you have some on your leg, too!" And then: "And there's some on your foot! And more on your elbow!!!" He was really getting going now. At this point, my kid is standing there roving his eyes all over this woman, having taken it upon himself to inform her of every inch of eczema she had. Now I give this woman some credit. She was in her 40's, tanned, fit, attractive. She obviously didn't have too much anxiety about her condition, but believe me, once Jonathan started in, she pretty quickly removed herself from the room. And there I sat. Mortified. For the record, I corrected him the first time he mentioned anything. But I guess I didn't say the right thing - I quietly said to him something along the lines of "Yes Jonathan, you get that sometimes in the wintertime - we have to use that special cream, remember?" Which wasn't exactly true - he did get some seasonal eczema TWO winters ago, but hasn't had it since. I was just hoping he'd shut up! But he didn't. And the woman got away before I could really apologize. But then, to apologize would've perhaps brought more attention to it than need be, making her more embarrassed?
Ugh. Something new everyday. I guess we're at the age when I have to sit down with Jonathan and explain to him that it's not really polite to point out people's differences to them, no matter what it is. But will he get it at 4 years old? I'm waiting for him to walk up to some stranger and say "You're fat" or "Your skin is all brown" or "You don't have an arm!" And unfortunately, Jonathan will do this, because one thing he is not, is shy. A month or two ago in the grocery store, he found a penny. A nice, shiny, new penny. Let me tell you, he told everyone we passed, everyone we saw and everyone we came in contact with all about his penny, all about how he was 4 years old and how his brother kicked him in the head that morning. Most people thought he was just this little charming kid. I thought it was a nightmare. Now all the sudden, we've moved beyond talking to strangers. We not only talk to them, but we point out their medical conditions to the embarrassment of everyone in the room.
So now I have to teach him not to talk to strangers. Another shred of innocence lost. It makes me sad.
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