Wonderful weekend

This weekend was a reminder of why I feel so lucky -- even though I'm no longer a newspaper writer and I'm earning less than I did even 7 months ago and my husband is away and sometimes I'm too tired to play with Rachel, which hurts me greatly.

Anyway. I'm lucky.

On Saturday we went to grocery store and spent much more than I thought we would -- it's the diapers and wipes that are killing us, folks. Rachel, could you please indicate a little more, um, active interest in using the potty? Thank you.

We got a late start (because we were tumbling on the rug in her room and I kept tickling her and then she tickled me and then I tickled her and then she climbed all over me and I was defeated) and got back just before we were scheduled to meet Doug and Linda and Jack and Andrew for a play and dinner and Christmas lights afterward. Result: The Little Girl skipped her nap entirely.

But she really liked the play, an hourlong production of Hansel and Gretel that was really more teen and adult-focused; the jokes ranged from WikiLeaks to Sarah Palin -- but Rachel was SO impressive! She laughed when the audience laughed and clapped when they did, and spent half the time sitting on my lap and the other half sitting in a seat next to me, clearly entranced by the live theater occurring in front of her. It was a lot of fun to watch, and I told Drew this morning that she may be ready for kids' theater (as long as it's not longer than an hour). Can't WAIT to start taking her to shows!!

We all trooped to a Thai restaurant for dinner, where Rachel refused to touch anything except jarred baby food (and, parenthetically, I am getting REALLY tired of lugging around her own rations, I feel like a newly arrived immigrant). It was cold and windy when we finished and I almost said no to Christmas lights at the Grotto, a religious display and chapel where my chorus has sung in past years, but finally figured, what the heck -- I should stop worrying about Rachel catching cold and just GO. And it was totally worth it! Lovely singing in the chapel (for which Rachel was wonderfully well-behaved; she figured out on her own that if she wanted to rummage through the diaper bag she needed to whisper her request) and gorgeous lights.

The next day our friend Amy came over with her boy Tony -- who Rachel adores -- and they had a great time. At one point Tony graciously took Rachel upstairs and they played while Amy and I actually had A GROWNUP CONVERSATION. After they left, I discovered that Tony had picked Rachel up and put her on the couch in the attic (I had asked her to rehearse beforehand: "Please, Tony, pick me up") and Tony left two "secret letters" for us on the blackboard: "Thank you" and "I love Rachle." Oh, wouldn't it be fantastic if they go to the prom together??

Then last night we headed over to my friend Miriam's house. Miriam used to live in the suburbs but now lives only 10 blocks away, near Grant Park, and we are already making plans to picnic there this summer during one of Portland Parks' free Concert in the Park series. My friend Deni, who is a grandmother but looks 10 years younger, was also there and both made a fuss over Rachel. We toured the fabulous house, which has been extensively renovated, and then sat down to dinner that all of us had contributed to. And all I can say is that Rachel was so self-possessed! She didn't keep interrupting me, she just ate her baby food (again), as well as some chocolate cake I gave her for dessert (and chocolate candy; yes, it was a very un-nutritional meal) but her face looked so cute smeared with chocolate that I couldn't resist. We all managed to have a fantastic talk until Rachel interrupted me: "Mommy, please change my diaper." I'd been having such a good time that I didn't even notice she'd pooped! Then a few minutes later she said, "Mommy, I want to go home." She had been so patient throughout all the grownup talk that I said sure (and it was way past her bedtime anyway), bundled her up and drove home. I got her down by 10.

And then I spent 20 minutes just sitting at the kitchen table, smiling, savoring the great weekend I'd had. I hope there are many more like these in our future!