Eli, Joe, Dad, Thanksgiving, frog

Eli and Joe came over today for THREE days during Thanksgiving break. They'll stay with their Mom on the last days. But today, we had to figure out what we wanted to do. So each of us took a sheet of paper and wrote down our favorite activities. Eli wanted to buy a pet--that was his number one choice. Joe wanted to go to ComixZone for Garflied comics. Both Eli and Joe wanted to go to the Sponge Bob movie. So we did. [It was very fun! we also got to get a new frog. we named]* him Twinky. Yes, Twinky. He's green, very fast, medium-sized, and very froglike.

Eli came to the top of the attic stairs the other day and looked thoughtful. He paused. "Dad," he asked, "is everything either a want or a need?" I wasn't exactly sure what to do with this question. Humm. I tried to hedge, but Eli typically would have none of it. Yes or no. So I said yes, which was wrong! He said, "What about an eggplant, huh? That is neither a want or a need." Somehow I felt like I missed something important, but I wasn't sure what it was, like feeling a surge in the ocean under you and knowing that somthing big just passed by, but not really seeing it.

We were a little at sea, anyway. Eli was unsure yesterday if he wanted to go to Jacqueline's for Thanksgiving; today, he seemed a lot more ok with the idea--I wasn't going to force him--and we agreed to go. Therefore, I do not have to scrounge around for a last-minute Thanksgiving dinner. The idea even struck me of going to a restaurant, but that really seemed pitiful, so I was relieved when we decided to go.

We went and the four boys (Jacqueline's two and my two) played for hours while the adults talked. Adults are so boring! They talk and talk and talk. They hardly ever want to ride on each other's back or scoot across the floor on their backs. There is no good reason for this.

By the time the three of us headed back, we were all tired. Joe and Eli fell asleep in the back seat and I drove. It was dark out now, of course, only a month from the solstice, and the highway was empty and black and I thought a lot about how thankful I am that we have each other.