I'm constantly amazed by how the simplest things can seem to bring joy to a child. Sometimes it takes a lot. Other times it can be something relatively small and insignificant. Spoiler alert: For my kids, it's generally the latter.
Last Tuesday marked the last day of Ellie's Christmas break. While it was certainly one that was full of adventures, activities, and lots of traveling, she found herself not quite ready to bid adieu to her break when Tuesday rolled around. Instead, she really wanted to have one final adventure. Seeing as how I was cognizant of that desire, I had planned ahead for us to drive down to Bonner Springs to check out the Moon Marble Company. I've been there before but it's been years since my last visit. I had told the kids of my plans in advance and Ellie was stoked to watch a craftsman create a marble in person. Unfortunately for dear Ellie, sometimes things don't go according to plan.
Despite my best efforts to stay healthy leading up to and following the Christmas season, I finally came down with a case of the stomach flu. Most of my day on Monday was spent with a variety of fluids rushing out of my body. Needless to say, I didn't feel well. Once Tuesday rolled around, I was definitely feeling a little better but I was cautious to take off towards Bonner Springs given how Monday had turned out. Therefore, I knew I needed to make a back-up plan for our day.
Sometimes, when making a back-up plan, simple is good. Therefore, I decided that with some library books needing to be returned, the simplest thing for us to do was to head to the new Green Hills library branch to hang out for a while. Even though the Green Hills library opened earlier this fall, Ellie hasn't had many opportunities to go and hang out there yet. Ethan and I go practically every week so that's caused a few hard feelings for Ellie since she feels as if she's missing out.
As soon as we showed up, Ellie wanted to head straight for the kids' area where she would sit down and enjoy coloring some pictures. Ethan, for his part, picked out a couple of books he wanted to look through and took a seat in one of the giant pieces of fruit built into the wall that doubles as seating. Yes, you read that right; there are giant pieces of fruit built into the wall for kids to sit down and read inside.
Soon enough, the time came for us to leave the library with a bag full of new books as well as some new pictures to color. Luckily for Ellie and Ethan, I had one more stop in mind as we headed home. That's right; it was time to go to the GO Car Wash.
Now, I realize that most people probably don't view the car wash as being an irresistible treat. However, my kids aren't most people and the GO Car Wash isn't an ordinary car wash. First of all, it's one of those car washes where a conveyor belt carries your car through all of the various stations, making certain that your car is absolutely spotless. Also, it needs to be said that the GO Car Wash understands the concept of showmanship. There are certain areas on the car's journey where there's not much in the way of lighting and the combination of soap and colored lights turns the windshield into a veritable kaleidoscope of colors until a few seconds later when your car travels through a legitimate waterfall.
While all of this is happening, Ellie and Ethan are absolutely mesmerized. The two of them are taking turns providing a running commentary of all that they are seeing. In fact, they are so enthralled that they insisted I pull out my phone and take a video to share with their mom.
Overall, while things didn't meet Ellie's high expectations for her final day of winter break, I'd have to say that it was a success. Ellie still got to have an adventure, albeit a little closer to home. Also, don't tell her, but I'm planning to take her to Moon Marble Company on MLK Jr. Day when she's off school. Shhhh!
#DaddyWrite
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