Special Days

Last week was my last full week of being in NC.  I had returned to NC from PA on Monday night and dove right into the “special days” that were planned for my older niece and nephews.  Over the years of living here, I had tried to spend time with my niece and nephews by going on “special days” with them one-on-one.  Some that stand out for me when I reflect on the last four years are when I took Mason Noelle for her first manicure during my birthday week in 2012, when I surprised Clark with a morning at Bounce U complete with an ice cream treat on Valentine’s Day 2013, and surprising Braden by picking him up from school and playing with him during a special day where he was the center of attention.

So, first thing on Tuesday morning, Clark and I went fishing!  Throughout our morning of casting the line out into the water, I wondered if we would actually catch a fish and if we did, what would I do?!  You see, growing up, Dad or my brothers had always handled putting the worms on the hook and the fish if I ever caught one.  I certainly was not prepared for the nightcrawlers I had to purchase and place on the hook….and there were EIGHTEEN of them in the box….eek!!  Fortunately, we were able to use four of the worms before Clark declared the special day complete.  I happily threw the remaining 14 worms into the lake and Clark happily exclaimed we did a good job of “feeding the fish their breakfast!”  We did have two pulls on the line and saw two fish jump out of the water in the center of the lake but we didn’t catch any fish (whew!).  The day was a success to the four year old almost five year old who proclaimed Tuesday as being “the best day ever”.  

 On Wednesday night, after gobbling up her dinner, it was Mason’s turn for her surprises!  She sang “This is the Day” by Kim Kalman on the way to the store and was thrilled to learn she would be getting not one but two pairs of shoes.  In fact, she loved the new shoes so much that she wore one silver sparkly shoe and one multicolored flowered sandal the next morning.  After shoe shopping, we went next door to Sweet Frog’s for some frozen yogurt.  How that girl can eat sour patch worms and gummy bears in chocolate and peanut butter frozen yogurt without getting sick is beyond me.

 
Finally, on Saturday night, Braden accompanied me to mass where it was nice to have just one child to sit with in church.  We got in some extra cuddling time as we listened to the homily and he loved being the helper by giving Fr. Vince his present.  After mass, Braden loved conversing with Lynn, Jim, and Marci and didn’t stop chatting the whole night even as we caravanned over to Sweet Frog’s where Braden enjoyed his treat but not until we were able to sit outside in the setting sun.  On the way home, we made an impromptu stop at Panera where Braden enjoyed his apples and chocolate milk.  I thought for sure he would fall asleep but no, he was Mr. Chatterbox the whole way home.  His mom told me he fell asleep within minutes of putting his little head on the pillow though…probably dreaming about the “sweet froggies” we never got (he had not realized the name of the frozen yogurt shop was Sweet Frogs).

All in all, I think the final “Surprise Special Days” were successes with each of the kiddos and enjoyed my one-on-one time with each of them!!  I look forward to sharing in special days with them when they come visit me in Ohio!!

Baby Nick and Dusty Shamrock!