A Week of Firsts

This has been a week of "firsts" for us. Miss Beth took her first train ride on "James" (actually the Light Rail which looks nothing like James or any other steam engine). She also went ice skating with me today.

The train trip was a bit of revelation for us. It was my hare-brained idea to take the train down to McDonald's for lunch. My thought was that we could let the kids play in the indoor playland, get lunch and then take the 3 mile train ride back to the historic district. It is a short walk from the light rail station to our home. What could go wrong?

We managed to get down there without too much trouble. It was the trip home that was difficult. To be more specific, it was the process of getting from McDonald's, out the door and to the light rail station that was the most troublesome. In the span of ten minutes, Beth threw a stupendous fit on the McDonald's floor earning giggles from every other mother who had been there but at the same time, mortifying Mike. I was about to lose my cool as well. Elliott thought the whole thing was hysterical.

We don't really know why Beth suddenly decided to counter anything she is offered or asked to do. She just hit the point where nothing in God's green earth met her approval be they chocolate chip cookies, Mommy, Daddy, play, no play, eat, no eat...you get the picture.

We carried her out into the cold without shoes, gloves or a jacket because we couldn't get anything on her. In the process of walking out the door and down the street to get to the train, Mike announced that there was no way in H^&* that he was going to get on a plane with Beth to go visit his mother.

I admit that his prediction that we might not actually make it down to Arizona without grounding the airplane is probably correct. The latest decision is to send Mike and Elliott down there without Beth and me. ...I wonder who is getting the better end of this deal?

Oh, the other first? This is the first time that I admitted Mike was absolutely, 100 percent correct.