Another weekend over. A Boy said last night that he's very happy to be getting back to class tomorrow. I reflected how these dratted weekends seem to be getting in the way of the school week.
We went to the Air Show this weekend. It's the first time I've gone to see it even though it's a long standing event that happens every year. I thought since a Boy had just turned five that he'd enjoy watching all the airplanes and got us two tickets to give to him on his birthday. As it turned out, children 6 and under get in free, so we invited his friend Olivia to join us and gave the extra ticket away when we got to the site. Mamma elected to stay home since she works at the airport, why the heck does she want to come out and see more airplanes.
It was a full day. Breakfast, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Air Show. For me, the only one without a hat, it turned out to be a long day in the warm September sun and I ended up getting a crispy September sunburn. Mamma was nice and went out to the store that night to get a helping bottle of Noxema. The Boy found it on the table the next morning and said he really liked the way it smelled. Later, after I'd put some on to cool my red face, I asked him how I smelled. He had a deep sniff and declared, "Yum!"
The Air Show was great. The only down side was that the line-ups going in and out were long and tedious. It took us an hour to make the usual 20-minute trip to the airport. We had to park on the side of the road since the lots were full and a bus took us the rest of the way to the venue. We stood in line for about 10 - 15 minutes as a fleet of buses went around collecting patrons.
The show officially kicked off with the US Navy's Blue Angels. As they roared, looped and twisted overhead with afterburners on, the Boy screamed out over the noise:
Boy: THIS IS WHAT I CALL A SHOW!!!
Different aerobatic and aeronautic displays went on for the rest of the day and we filled the pauses with tours of all the different planes on the ground. The day's last event was the Snowbirds. Where the Blue Angels are a testo-fest, Tom-Cruise-in-Top-Gun display, the Snowbirds are a ballet in the sky.
After the Snowbirds made their last pass, the crowd of thousands started heading for the gates. Suddenly, there we all were, standing in a huge gaggle, waiting for a bus to take us back to our car. An hour later, most of us were still there. Naturally, for a five-year-old, this would be a restless time. Olivia, the little girl, seemed content to stand patiently. But the Boy was more active, regularly straying out of my comfort zone, moving just a bit too far away from me, venturing a few too many places deeper in to the throng and I'd have to call him back.
Me: Be more like Olivia. Olivia's being very good.
Boy: Am I being good?
Me: Yes, you're being good, but you're marginal.
Boy: What's that?
Me: It means you're being good, but you're almost being bad.
Later (yes even later, tempus fugit at the air show but buses don't) and we're still surrounded by hundreds of others waiting for a bus. The Boy looks up at me and says,
Boy: Am I still being marvelous?
And how else could I answer but tell him, Yes.
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