Adventures From Our Day

It was a regularly scheduled day-in-the-life around here yesterday. My agenda looked like it does most days:

• Kids all day
• Wind down in the evening
• Sleep

The up-side of such a mundane daily routine is that one can easily step it up a notch and little things go a long way.

Yesterday, I decided to take my Daycare Family on a walk. My ulterior motive (if everyone co-operated and all went well) was to check out a new 'tunnel' (a pedestrian underpass) that we had never walked through before. As I tried to explain that we were trying to find a 'new tunnel' to the kids, my 2-1/2 year old kept repeating "A blue tunnel??" We went back and forth many times. Me: "New ... not blue" He: "Oh ... a blue tunnel!" Me: "New ..." He: "Blue!" I finally, finally got him to hear the word 'new'. Then we rounded the corner and found our new blue tunnel!

The murals inside of these underpasses were amazing. We walked through a marine wonderland. Perhaps I was more excited than the kids. The pictures I took of the kids do not reflect the excitement that I thought was in the air. But I still thought that it was pretty fun and amazing to find such a treasure at the end of our hunt for the new (blue) tunnel. It was a 'win'!

We then went to check out the library (since we were in the neighborhood) and I started making conversation with a mom in the kids section without looking her in the eye. When I did look up, I realized that I actually knew this young mom. Double win!! This young mom could have (had all gone according to plan) been my step daughter. It was nice to chat with her for a while. She is definitely 'the mom' that I pictured her to be one day.

Our big morning adventure eventually brought us back home where we spent the remainder of the day.

The only twist to my regularly-scheduled-day was the fact that I had a dance lesson at the end of my daycare day.

Only ... this happened instead:

• 5:25 p.m. - A phone call from My Youngest (who was partaking in an after school activity). "I'm still at school ... there is a perimeter lockdown and no one is allowed to leave ... something about a gun". He was calm, cool and collected. So I picked up my cue from him and reacted in the manner that I assumed he was feeling.
• 5:45 p.m. - My dance instructor called to confirm that we had a lesson booked. I confirmed that I had marked this date on my calendar and "Yes ... only one small thing. One of my parents had yet to pick up their child and I still needed to clean up and get ready and (oh yeah) My Youngest's school is under a 'lock-down' ... if all goes well, I should be able to still make it in time for my lesson". I would call by 6:30 if I couldn't make it.
• 6:00 p.m. - My last-child-of-the-day was finally picked up!
• 6:10 p.m. - I cleaned up and got ready for my dance lesson.
• 6:30 p.m. - I arrived at My Son's school. And waited (and cancelled my dance lesson).
• 6:40 p.m. - My Son was one of the few kids that was released from the school. His biggest concern? He was absolutely starved. He had been considering committing his own felony within the lock-down and raiding the fridge in the Home Ec room.
• 6:50 p.m. - We were home. My Son was eating his supper shortly thereafter.

Although everything looked completely calm on the outside of the school, inside the doors it felt like a scene that could have been taken out of a 'Flashpoint' episode. The school had to be searched room by room and (I would assume that) the police would have to act as though any door they opened could unveil a person (with a gun) hiding out. My Son saw enough bits and bites from this police investigation that it would have all felt very real to him (thank goodness starvation distracted his attention from the drama), but (it sounded like) he made a choice simply not to worry. He shared that gift with me (thank you!!).

I just wrote about the wasted energy that the worrying places upon a person. My Son's conscious reaction not to worry felt like he had read my words (I know that he doesn't).

Instead, I would imagine that he picked up his cues from the administrators of the school, the police, (maybe?) by my example and (maybe??) a little bit of genetic make-up (his dad is a pretty calm, cool, collected guy on the exterior).

All is well that ends well. As My Son was one of the first few released, there was no wave of relief that overtook us (it was more important to get my guy home and fed). It was a good 'practise run'. It could have had a completely different outcome. It ended up being simply a good story that he will have to tell today.

Yes, it was an ordinary day. With a twist. A day of new (and sometimes blue) adventures. We just never know what our day will bring.

As long as it ends peacefully, with no one being hurt and appetites are fed ... I would say that it has been a very good day indeed.