It does pay forward

We went to Fiber Arts today. I struck a deal with the kids. We would go to FA and stay till 3:30 and afterwards, I would take them to Toys R Us where they would buy, with their own money, some Ben 10 toys (a nearly weekly ritual anyway).

The kids felt very shy. I have been inconsistent with attending FA and though the kids are fairly familiar with the FA crew, we were at Kate's house for the first time today. Ada really set the stage when she offered them candy from her Easter basket. Kinder enjoyed what may have been his first ever peanut butter cup and First was grateful and excited by the whole roll of Smarties that came his way.

Kinder perked up, between the candy, Curious George book we read, and the pretzels and cookies that were on the snack table. He is more social than First and he quickly became involved in taking turns on the treadmill with a bunch of kids and then playing with legos with Elliott. And he wove one row of his potholder.

First stayed close to my side as I fingerknit the long jump rope I am working on. He spotted a puzzle that he had just seen at Will and Olivia's this weekend and he worked on that. It was nice to see him build up to feeling comfortable asking Kate things like where the clock was in the kitchen (he was keeping an eye on the time like nobody's business).

My favorite moment was having my hair sprinkled with glitter by Ada.

After two pleasant hours, it was time to go. I left without my bag, which I discovered as we got out of the car at Toys R Us, so we ended up having one of those cozy late afternoon rides in the car where it's cold outside but toasty inside from the slanting rays of the sun. Kinder fell asleep for awhile. It was an additional hour to go back to Kate's and then back to TRU.

Fate was smiling though because as the kids wrestled with the question of what to do because they only found one toy (4 inch Four Arms) that either of them wanted, I happened to spot across the aisle, in completely the wrong location, a small batch of toys. Among them, a 4 inch Heat Blast, also much coveted.

At the register, as I pulled out First's twenty from my wallet, he said he would pay for Kinder's toy, too. Kinder piped up quickly, "thank you", I swooped in for a hug and a kiss and a compliment, and in my heart, I thanked Ada for her candy generosity earlier in the day. It was lovely to witness the linking of such simple and soulful acts of giving.