become a big sister

missed me last week when I had to miss due to a court hearing, which is good, but the school staff didn’t tell her I’d e-mailed them, which is terrible – she and her friends just thought I’d quit coming.

I took her a Happy Meal, which had the cutest toy this week – a wind-up Rexy the Dinosaur from Night at the Museum 2, which only works when you insert the “golden tablets” card in his back. Fortunately, I saw the movie at the drive-in last weekend and was able to converse with the kids about it. :)

I also tucked into my pocket the bubbles vial from a wedding reception, which was a big hit on the playground. She’s done with soccer now, but still runs really fast when we play tag!

Spending a little time with kids, especially running around outside, is so good for the soul. I love it!

I received a little card with info today in the mail, which includes my Lunch Buddy’s teacher’s e-mail. I need to attend a court hearing Thursday, when I’d usually have my gig with my Little Sis, and I was able to ask about whether I can go Friday instead. Yes indeedy, e-mail is the greatest thing ever invented. Thanks, Al Gore! :D

great time with my Lunch Buddy! I stopped on the way and picked up a kids meal at Hardees, which had a Madagascar 2 theme (little puzzle inside, stuff on the sack). She told me a little about her Dad this week, and mentioned that one of the rooms had newly-hatched chicks, so after lunch we went and peeked at them, since the preschool teacher was nice enough to let us in. Then finished up on the playground.

Also, I ended up talking to one of the lunch room/recess ladies, who I noticed had braces on both lower legs and was walking with a limp. She explained she has a degenerative nerve disease, somewhat akin to MS. But she seems to have maintained a decent attitude about it, and I told her I really admired her. Then she told me it was her 13-year-old son who really has it rough – he’s on a waiting list for a kidney transplant, and has to do dialysis every night. Wow. Yet another humbling reminder of how insignificant my problems are. Though there’s really not much I can do for this family, I’d sure like to think of something that could at least give a little emotional lift now and then.

good visit with my lunch buddy today! I brought her a Happy Meal with apples instead of fries, and she loved it. We talked a little more about her Mom – who’s apparently not only working really hard, but also going to school. They have to get up at 5 a.m., and her babysitter then takes her to school. Wow – tough schedule. :/

I asked her how soccer is going, and she said good – they are playing a team with 7 & 8 year olds this Saturday, and since she’s only 7, I think she’s expecting it to be hard. I asked if she ever scored a goal, and she smiled and said yes – lots of times. I’ve noticed on the playground what a fast runner she is; I’ll be she’s a good soccer player. I’d like to give her info on kids races at some point – she’d probably kick ass at that!

They had some kind of a special morning, and she mentioned she had touched a snake! I don’t think she was wild about the idea, but was proud she had the courage to do it anyway.

The last 10 minutes she reaaaallly wanted to play outside, so we did, but as usual, I found it hard to keep track of her and fend off some of the other kids. I’m doing a rain dance next week – if it’s pouring, this wouldn’t be a problem. :)

I had a good phone conversation with the “match” coordinator on how things are going so far. She gave me some good ideas on future visits, and said she’d be calling every other month or so to touch base. The level of support in this organization is great.

I also sent in an order for some flowers for their annual Plant Sale fundraiser. A hanging basket for each of our Moms for part of their Mother’s Day gift was the majority of the purchase.

was awesome! I ate a school lunch (for the first time in over 30 years) with my lunch buddy, and we played outside afterwards. I wore my flat shoes and casual pants so I could truly play with the kids this week.

I bought a few inexpensive Easter things for my Little Sister, who I’ll go see tomorrow again. Since she liked doing the puzzle together last week, one of the items I bought was a little puzzle with bunnies & flowers. :)

my Little! I brought her a Monsters vs. Aliens Happy Meal, which she thought was great and immediately snarfed down, while figuring out all the features of the Missing Link action figure. We had a good time talking, waving to friends and cousins walking past, and got partway through a Shrek puzzle. I’ll go back Thursday – can’t wait!

And I meet my “Little” this Friday! She’s a 1st grader whose single Mom works a lot of hours, and her brother who was a few years older died last year.

was this morning, and surprisingly it took a whole hour. Bad timing; today was a very chaotic day and I didn’t really have time. Hopefully I’ll be accepted, though.