Birthdays, Perfectionism, Athletics, "Maybe"

Last night was a ridiculously chaotic one around the Reynolds home. Shaling had soccer from 5:00 to 6:30; she had an all-important birthday party (more on that later) that started at 4:30, but that we planned to attend after soccer; she was spending that night at a friend's house. Preston had a friend coming over to spend the night. I am watching over a neighbor's house, cat, & plants while they're gone. We are leaving TODAY for a 3-day weekend with Grandma & Grandpa Reynolds in Monticello, Indiana (therefore, I needed to do laundry and pack bags). The kids will not be coming home with us, but instead will be traveling on to Fort Wayne, Indiana to stay a week with Uncle Scott & Aunt Barbara. We got a last minute phone call yesterday afternoon that a bedroom furniture set we knew were inheriting sometime would be delivered in a few hours.

If that doesn't already sound like I need to be locked up in an insane asylum, I decided to make what turned out to be the worst decision of the day.

I went to Wal-Mart.

On a Thursday night before a holiday weekend.

On the eve of the 1st of the month.

It was freaking nuts horribly busy. Trying to park was my first tip-off. Cars were driving through the parking lot as if the drivers were still on their learning permits. Inside the store, I was losing patience fast with people blocking the aisle, cutting me off, etc. And those with whom I was not losing patience, were losing patience with me being in their way. I only purchased 7 items, but when I looked the direction of the Express Lane, there was between 15 and 20 people in line, so I opted for the regular lane. It seems usually whatever lane I choose ends up being the wrong one, but last night was surprisingly (and pleasantly) different. That was perhaps the only part that went smoothly. Even leaving the parking lot was a nightmare, as I got cut-off more than once and had to survive a bottleneck to finally exit. I honestly felt like honking my horn and shouting with a maniacal laugh in a celebratory voice, "Hey, world, I made it out alive...A-L-I-V-E."

Anyway, back to that birthday party. It was a bowling birthday party for Josh (XiaoXiong), who is one of the two boys that arrived home to Rochester in April. They are from Shaling's orphanage and to her, they are her big brothers. Shaling was excited about it and made him a birthday card out of construction paper, water paint, and markers. She drew a picture of him and labeled it "Josh", after asking me how to spell his new name. She worked on it for a very long time, even falling asleep while doing so. She was meticulous with her work, so I was a bit taken aback when during the car ride to the bowling alley, she looked at it again and told me, "Look, Mom. Not for XiaoXiong. Uh-Oh." She spotted some imperfection that I could not detect and simply decided it wasn't good enough for him. She told me, "garbage", and wadded it up to throw away.

This was her first time bowling and like any athletic endeavor we've tried, she looked like a natural. She picked up several challenging spares. I concede it was with bumpers in the gutters, but her throws were relatively accurate and she aimed well. All of that being said, her most memorable throw of the night was when she threw a gutterball with a bumper in the gutter. That produced several chuckles. She really enjoyed it, so we're going to have to do a family bowling night soon.

I'm learning the hard way that Shaling doesn't get the concept of "maybe". She is hung-up on the fact that some of her friends have cell phones and she doesn't. She is not discouraged by the fact that Preston doesn't either. She presses and presses for when she might get one...10? 11? 12? 13? I once told her "maybe, 13". Well, Josh's birthday that we are celebrating is his 13th. So, on the way to the bowling alley, she clapped in hands together in a burst of joy and said, "XiaoXiong. 13. Phone!" Besides not understanding "maybe", she also doesn't understand the idea that each mother has their OWN rules.

Speaking of athletic endeavors, Shaling just wrapped up a 4-night soccer camp (her first taste of soccer). Despite the fact that she picked up the sport quickly, showed aggressiveness and hustle when dribbling the ball, and even won an individual kicking contest, she has informed us that she doesn't like soccer. She hasn't said why, but I strongly suspect it has more to do with the fact that none of her friends were there than it does with the sport itself.

I truly hope any of you reading this have a safe, fun, and relaxing holiday weekend. Happy Birthday, America.