Adventures with Moolah, Part I

This is an old story, from late summer. I started writing it right after it happened, and then put it on hold several times. It's a good post for the weekend.

Moolah's World

In the morning, Moolah likes to have a daily schedule. Who is taking her to her daytime family, Mama or Daddy? What happens next? When does she get to watch Joe?

This was a Monday in late summer. Daddy would take her to her daytime family. Yes, Ace would go with her. She could play with Zoey and Dima. She needed to eat lunch, nap, and use the potty. Later, Mama would come and it would be time for Boot Camp.

In the afternoon, I got to the daytime house to collect the children and change into my workout clothes. There was a shirt, pants, socks, hat, but no shoes. I couldn’t work out in the park without shoes. But Moolah had been promised Boot Camp. So, I had to improvise a “special treat” in lieu of Boot Camp.

“Hey, Moolah, let’s go to the park instead of going to Boot Camp.” I hoped the promise of slides and swings will be sufficiently distracting.

Daytime Mama suggested that we go to the nearby elementary school, where she often walks with the children. “Moolah knows the way,” she said.

“Yay! The school!” Moolah responded. Daytime Mama told me to go right, up the street, and turn at the first dirt road. She loaned me a front carrier for Ace. We set off.

We walked up the street.

“Hut, 2, 3, 4. Hut, 2, 3, 4,” Moolah said. Daytime Mama told me later that she sings that chant to keep the children moving forward in a line to and from the park.

We got to the dirt road and Moolah turned left. I saw blackberry bushes. I started to say “Hey, look at these. Blackberries are yummy. Try one.” Too late. She had already gone over and started picking berries, she brought one to me. “Here you go, Mama, this is a good one.” Moolah and I had never picked blackberries, I had not considered that she picked them at her daytime house. But, here they were, lining the road leading to the park. Of course the children stopped and picked blackberries on their way to the park.

We ate some berries and moved on. I had no directions from here. I had a general idea of where the school was, but this didn’t look like what I expected. I didn’t have to worry, Boo went straight there, winding right between two houses and through a fence.

We walked over the asphalt where there were hopscotch courts, tetherballs, and a giant map of the United States. We stood in the Rainy State, the Sunny State, and the Snowy State. I put rocks where important family member lived. We went down the slide. We swung on the swings and climbed on the steps. She showed me the ladder that only the 4-year-olds could go on. She told me that she could climb on all the swinging poles except the highest one because she did not use the potty yet.

Here I was in Moolah's world, in a place I had never been, and a place where she was completely familiar and comfortable. It was odd and wonderful evening.