Girl Time

It 's a crazy day, or week for that matter, and I can tell Sadie is starting to feel neglected by the way she is acting...that kind of attention-getting behavior that drives you crazy.  Finally I notice what is going on and tell Jason, "I'm taking Sadie out!"  It's 8:30 in the evening on a Monday night, when most kids are nestled in their beds.  Well, we get up around 8:30am most days, so needless to say, we are night people.  This girl could go until midnight easily, and happily so if we let her!  And tonight, she will!  We set out to have what we call "Girl Time."  You might as well hear the theme song, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in the background of this evening.  Sadie is pumped saying, 'It's going to be so much fun!"  And Mommy needs it just as much.  We head out in the car as I tell Sadie we're not going very far, just about 3 songs away.  So she's happily asking me about each song, "What's this song called?"  I can tell she is having a great time, and that she knows that this evening is about her.  I'm about to pump her full of sugar, so I'm trying to think of some fun stuff to do afterwards as we work off the buzz.  I decide to take her to the Avenue (shopping center) to get ice cream, that way we can walk around and I can teach her about window shopping, as I realize it's getting late and nothing will actually be open.  Plus, there's tons of green grass to get run around in, and a Books-a-Million to feed our book addictions.  First we go to Marble Slab, with 9 minutes to spare before closing, and purchase a chocolate ice cream waffle cone with M&Ms.  Mmmmm....  Sadie let me have a few bites. :)  Heading off to the storefronts, Sadie's pants painted with chocolate, we point oohing and ahhing at the latest fashions, discussing our favorites.  She connects William Sonoma back to a friend at church, "Oh, just like my friend William!"  We discuss getting her ears pierced while walking by Claire's, but that's a topic for another day.  Throwing a penny into the fountain (another first), she wishes for a doll, and we make way for the bookstore.  She leads me around the store to everything she wants to look at, asserting, "Mommy, come here.  Come look at this!"  Letting me know she clearly is the one in charge and that this is her territory.  After reading a few books and checking out all the toys, I am fortunate she doesn't have a fit when the store closes at 10 o'clock and we have to leave.  She is loving every minute.  We piggy-backed it back to the car, as she remarks how "beautiful" the Avenue looks at night.  We stop for a little rendezvous in the Avenue's circle where the grass, benches and gazebo sit.  We kick off our shoes and run through the grass, squealing like little girls (wait, one of us actually IS  a little girl!)  We play hide-and-seek, ring around the rosie, roll down the hill (another first), play chase, etc.  A random man even stops his car on the road to yell through the dark of the night, "You guys are having way too much fun!" It is so hard to get her to leave, so once again, I have to come up with something else, for I know she isn't ready for the fun to end yet, and frankly, neither am I!  Where could we go!?  I think to myself.  The baseball fields would be a fun place to check out.  She's never been, and if there is a game, we could watch them under the bright lights and talk about the game.  And if there wasn't a game going on, we could run the bases and have fun ourselves!  So she is happy to hear when Mommy unravels there is more to come.   As we get in the car she asks how many songs....Three, I say.  And three songs later, we get out the car at the ball fields on Rockaway in Senoia.  A game is going on: two teams, 40-60 year-old men in t's facing off.  Her face lights up at this new experience.  We climb our way to the top of the bleachers and I begin to explain all about the game...the dugout, the running the bases, how they win.  We awe at the balls flying high in the sky.  She loves it.  Actually, she says she wants to play baseball when she "becomes a boy."  Happily, I explain to her that she will always be a girl, and yes, they do have girl teams as well!  The game soon ends after a few innings, and we descend the bleachers next to no one and head back to the car.  Sadie reluctantly walks with me, demanding that we play baseball right now!  I have to smile at her persistence, but no, we have to go home now.  After relaying our night to the only boy still awake in the house, she crashes on our bed in my arms.  Already I am looking forward to the next time "the girls" hit the town.  Next time maybe we'll do something extravagant...like ride bikes at Wal Mart. :)  I owe it to my mom, the one who taught me that breaking the rules (the minor ones, such as sugar limits and bedtimes) are just meant to be broken.