New tires are on and everything underneath has been lubed up. So far so good—no problems. I’m missing our bus.
So today we drove out to one of those hotel/swim parks that are popular in these obnoxiously cold states. We were meeting Ali’s sister and niece. We pulled into the parking lot where cars were absolutely everywhere, going every direction—the place had just opened minutes before.
We stopped outside the font door so Ali and the kids could run in while I circled the parking lot for a couple of hours looking for an opening. As I set Ouest down on the sidewalk a guy came up to me and said, “Hear me out, I’m here for the Minnesota Educational something-something-seminar, and I’ve got these four tickets for the water park that I can’t use. Take ’em, why let them go to waste?” I took the wrist bands, said thanks, and told him I’d try and pass it on (the act of kindness, not the tickets). He ran off in a hurry as I climbed back in the car.
The problem now was that Ali had already gone in with the kids to buy tickets, and the parking lot was a zoo. But then, just as I put the car in drive, another car began backing out of the very first spot in the first row, directly in front of me. I pulled in, ran inside, and caught Ali in plenty of time to save ourselves sixty bucks.
The sun shines on a dog’s…
We all had a fun time splashing around for the afternoon. Lowe went out of commission after about two hours and fell asleep on Ali’s chest right smack dab in the middle of the kid’s area, complete with one thousand screaming one-to-ten year-olds. Ouest continued her gung-ho ways by bombing the seven-story water slide solo. At the end of the day we hit the ten-story family tube slide. Before it came to a stop she was asking in rapid fire Spanglish if we could do it again.
Of course when the day of fun drew to a close she was in no mood to call it quits. Tears soon fell down rosy cheeks, and the papa who had spent the day as the greatest papa in the place, was reduced to being told he was mean.
So, basically, it must have been great.
8 Comments on “A Small Act of Kindness”
Grandpa trick..when it’s 30 minutes from time to go “OK it’s time to go 10 minutes” In 10 they whine..I give in OK ten more but with a long song and dance..in 10, Ok, 10 more but only one more time and then we HAVE to go..then we go and everyone is happy!! And I am a GREAT!!! Grandpa!!
Roger knows what’s up. BTW, that trick works on teenage daughters who want to stay out late, too. Pick an early time to be home and let them beg their way up to your real, and very secret, cutoff time.
I always gave my son 30 minutes warning when we had to leave and when I said time was up he complied. Of course I started doing this when he was young (so I could pick him up and walk away if I had to). Kids control so few things in their lives that if you give them information about what is going to happen they are much more cooperative. He is now 13. He doesn’t beg or wine but asks me as an adult if he wants something different then we have planned. Consistency is key.
We know all about giving our kids plenty of warning. Notice I didn’t say we had any problem getting her to leave, it was simply that she was upset about the decision to leave.
Binging….. So after a couple months last year, starting the Saga in San Carlos, I decided I needed to go back to the beginning. Phew, every last post, every last word. Do I get a gold star, some Mouseketeer ears? Congratulations on a life well lived. Looking forward to continuing the adventure but in slightly smaller does. And when you get to New Hampshire, a pizza and a twelve pack awaits you here, for sure!
Now what did I do with the crack pipe?
always tell your kids exciting and great things about 5min before they happen, one day my kids woke up and I said….get ready. we’re going to disneyworld today. spared me DAYS of when are we going?? complete opposite with no so nice things….warm up, at 30min we are xxxxxx….at 15 min reminder..we are xxxxx..can’t say they weren’t advised….LOL….from a gramma
Glad you were able to win both the parking and water park lotteries.
Good advice on the warning times. I am a new dad at 46 and I get a lot of good parenting examples from the bums. We had our baby in Peru and we hope the new bus makes it this far south. Also we have a home in St Louis (as well as Lima) that is always open for visits or a short stay – hint hint 🙂