elves driving; ice skating; happy birthday Reid & Katie

I'm taking Monday through Wednesday as vacation days from work to minimize the time that Kyra will have to spend in Day Care. Kyra woke up this morning and couldn't find the elves. She searched the house and asked if I'd seen them, no. She repeated this cycle several times resulting in no elves to be found.

I needed to go to the grocery store this morning. In the state that we live in, legally it is okay to leave a child of her age alone for up to two hours. I gave her the option of going with me to the grocery store or staying home with the pups. She wanted to stay home. She had her cell phone, I had mine, she knew where I was going, how to contact me and when I would return. As I walked out into the garage, I saw the elves and called her to see what they were up to. She asked if there were Krispy Kreme donoughts in the car, since Colleen's elf had brought home Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Unfortunately, no... But of course I couldn't resist buying Krispy Kreme doughnuts when I saw them in the grocery store.

After grocery shopping we went ice skating. We used to go a lot when Kyra was younger. I love ice skating! My most prominent memory was from a business trip to Kentucky (or was it Tennessee?) years before Kyra was born. I had one day off work a week during that business trip and it was too cold to go running, so I went to an ice skating rink and skated for hours instead. It was so pleasurable!!! Oddly, I can remember that day as if it were yesterday. As soon as Kyra was old enough to skate, I started taking her. We even bought ice skates. But then I tore my ACL... I haven't skated since I had knee surgery. I was too afraid for years. But today that fear didn't even pop into my mind until I was telling Kyra about how we used to go often when she was younger... She immediately glided out onto the ice as if she's been ice skating for years... She said it was just like roller-blading which she does regularly at Day Care during the summer. I was wobbly at first and was jealous of her finesse. I tightened my skates, then traded them in for another pair. At last I was able to glide as fast as she. We had fun skating together around the rink. No longer holding hands, as I once-upon-a-time held her up as a 5-ish-year-old, but skated along together, racing occassionally as the crowd thinned. She loved it! I loved it! We should do this more often!!!

Today is my nephew & neice's 7th birthday. This evening I called to wish them happy birthday; Reid was happy to talk to me and seemed to have had a great day. Katie wasn't feeling well, though. Happy birthday!!!