Sunday night randomness

This was a nice weekend. It was gorgeous here - sunny, breezy, in the 70s - so we spent a lot of time outside, mostly taking R to assorted playgrounds and making him chase us around the soccer fields (i.e., wearing him out). The result? Utter blessedness! I got R into bed at 8:15 Saturday night, and he was asleep within 5 minutes! I came downstairs by 8:25!!! (He woke up later, and I ended up sleeping in his room, but I did have several hours of lovely relaxing time before that and even a couple of hours' sleep in my own bed.) Tonight, even though we were out at our friends' house a little late, A got R into bed by 8:30, and again he fell asleep within minutes. Woohoo!

On Saturday morning, we toured a brand new fire station in our town during its open house. The old firehouse was really dumpy (we used to vote there when we lived on the other side of town), so it was really nice to see this beautiful new building for the firefighters. And, they were so excited and proud. Their kitchen was WAY better than my kitchen (stainless steel appliances!), the bunk rooms were very spacious and comfortable, and the living room had some really huge leather comfy sofas, plus there were the beginnings of a gym in the basement. Considering that the town was actually considering closing that station altogether at one point, I'm really happy for the firefighters that it turned out so well. I've learned a lot about firefighters because of R's interest in them (and their trucks), and I have so much respect for them. So, yay for the new swanky fire station!

Yesterday, when I took R to the park in the afternoon (and we were playing fire station), we had an incident. R wanted to use one of the climbing structures as our fire truck, but there were already two other boys there. R started telling them to leave, one of the boys told him, "You're mean!" and when I told R that the playground is for everyone and he needed to share, I watched in horror as he picked up a rock and hucked it at one of the kids. ACK! Luckily, he's only 3 and can't aim very well. The rock sailed way over their heads and did no damage. But I was stunned. I pulled him aside and made it very clear that that behavior was unacceptable, and he got it. He really did. He apologized several times, including later that night and again this morning, and promised he'd never do it again. Today, when we went to the park to meet up with our neighbors, he got frustrated with having to wait his turn for the slide and then decided he didn't want to play with his friends anymore. He and I just wandered off to the fields, while he mumbled about being sad, frustrated, and not wanting to visit with anyone. It was definitely an improvement over rock-throwing, but it's just so unlike R to not want to share and play with other kids. :-( Any advice about how to help him channel his anger and frustration appropriately? (A just told me that R took a swing at him on Friday night when A was trying to get him to go to bed. *sigh*)

I went to church today for the first time in ages. As I was getting ready to go, I was tempted to instead grab my Bible and head up to the big hill in my town that overlooks Boston (and the sunrise) to have my own quiet worship time, but I headed to church anyway. And, it was fine. It was a little interesting because I was listening to some great gospel music on my way there and was very surprised to see that one of the songs I had been singing was actually the opening hymn for the service ("I Love to Tell the Story"). But I had to smile because the way I'm used to singing it and hearing it is not the same as the Lutheran way. (Think Stones or Springsteen songs sung with an opera voice.) But the sermon was by the church's intern (a seminary student), and it was very moving because it was about how music and hymns help us express things that maybe we cannot say in spoken words, for whatever reason. I definitely find that to be true.

And, on that note, I am currently obsessively listening to the David Crowder Band. I am not usually a fan of contemporary Christian music, but my brother-in-law sent me a video link to their song, "Everything Glorious," and I was hooked. So much so that I decided to go see them when they come to Boston in November. And, Trish agreed to go with me! I'm very excited. First of all, I can't remember the last time I went out to see a band that wasn't made up of our friends (i.e., partially obligated). And, second of all, their music is very exciting and moving, and I'm really interested to see what the concert atmosphere is like. Can I really feel comfortable worshipping in that setting? I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out!

Finally, we're watching the Red Sox-Indians game now, and I remember why I pretty much gave up watching the Red Sox years ago. It's just too tense and potentially heartbreaking. (Plus, if I have to see Terry Francona spit one more time, I'm going to throw up. Blech!)