Save The Drama for Yo Mama

Yesterday, Luke had a friend over from school. This was not just any friend though. We are talking about one of the friends. We hear about this little friend every single time I pick him up from school. I had made the mistake of telling him a few days before that this friend was coming over and he asked me about it constantly. You would think that after four years of being a parent, I would know not to say anything about a play date that far in advance, but it made it sooooo easy to get him to do anything all weekend. (Let's clean up these toys. We want it to look nice when G comes over. Eat up those green beans. You want to have your energy when G is here.) Yes, I am aware that these tactics are not recommended in any parenting books, but it was soooo convenient!

Of course, the night before his play date, Benjamin got a fever. We had our last 3 play dates canceled due to sickness (either ours or theirs) and I just couldn't bear to cancel this one. He had been looking forward to it for four days and he even ate all of his green beans! So, my dad came to our rescue and watched Benjamin for a couple of hours while Luke's friend was here (Ben of course did not mind a bit. One on one time with a grandparent is always a major treat).

Anyways, the Luke and his friend had a wonderful time together. They played cars, made a boat and ran off energy for about an hour and a half. They had a blast together and it was a very special treat for Luke. None of the kids were ready for it to end, but G's mom and I promised that we would try this again soon.

On the way out the door, G's mom mentioned that the kids could watch a little Scooby Doo movie on the car ride home. As they pulled out of the driveway, Luke waved from the window and then turned to me with a look that I know all too well.

This particular look is one that you might see if someone had shot your dog. He stared at the floor with his saddest eyes he could muster. He slouched his shoulders and walked so, so slowly with his head hanging down.

a re-enactment

"What's wrong Luke?"

"I'm having a rough day."

"What? You just had your good friend over. You played and had a wonderful time. You even got to have apple juice and animal crackers. What could be so bad?"

"I don't have a Scooby Doo video."

Seriously??