Boy Day/ Girl Day

Yesterday we had Boy Day and Girl Day. Dave and Jonathan headed to Kennedy Space Center (Brevard County residents got in free!) and Anna and I went to the zoo for the morning. Jonathan had never been to the space center before, and judging from the pictures, I think they had a great time. Anna and I really enjoyed the zoo. I don't think I've ever been to the zoo with her alone. The otters were out and about, Anna got to feed a deer out of her hand (which took every bit of bravery in her little body!), and the weather was actually.... cool (sort of). Anna got her face painted for the first time: a rainbow. Jonathan was so excited when he came home he could barely get the words out to tell me about it! Both space shuttles were on the pads, which is a rare event. He was carrying the little map around and he pointed out different things they did. He is so much like his Daddy sometimes. They both have a wierd sense of memory about places and directions and maps. Whatever you call that. It's something I don't have.

Today I had a terrible headache and Anna was so sweet. She came and laid next to me on the bed and she kept patting my hand and arranging my ice pack for me. She was so quiet and gentle and she looked so concerned. It just about made me cry. Raising kids is like turning a wild little monkey chimp into a person. Parenting is no small feat, but the funny thing about it is that most of it falls on the kids. It seems regardless of what I may do or not do, they are both just racing towards adulthood and growing up. It takes so little effort on my part, in some ways. Even though every little thing can seem like a struggle sometimes, there are days when I just look around and think, Wow. When did this happen? They are both out of diapers, they are getting themselves dressed, they are getting themselves snacks and beverages. They are becoming more reasonable and rational by the day. I was so impresssed today that Anna actually knows how to be loving and to express concern. My kids are both at ages where they wake up every morning and just amaze me all day with the things they do and say. Overall, it was a good weekend.