The Waiting Game

I may be a professional waiter.  Not restaurant kind, the kind you become when you are a mom.  Why doesn't anyone ever tell you about that part of parenthood?  All you hear about is the sitting up all night with them as cute, little babies.  The hours I spent doing that was a drop in the bucket compared to the hours I have spent watching and/or waiting at dance rehearsals, basketball games, soccer, church functions, Frisbee, co-op classes, 4-H events, appointments (this is a fraction of the list) and today, Dancer's last behind the wheel session. 

 

I have gotten good at this part of parenting.  Actually it is easy now, doing it with a toddler was a test of my sanity.  I should give credit to Spark too, he has put in hours of waiting being a younger brother which has now made him a very patient kid.  When he was a toddler, Dancer danced at a facility with a pro shop that was open to the waiting area.  I swear I put that pro shop back together every single week because a toddler can take down a rack of shoes and leotards faster than Black Friday shoppers.  I think the place counted on me every week to straighten all their merchandise.

 

Over the years I have knitted and crocheted a few afghans, read, walked miles and miles (although you would never tell it by my back side), window shopped, geocached, had crazy conversations with other moms (like the one where the mom explained to me that they don't really kill chickens for chicken nuggets, they just cut a piece out of their thigh or breast and sew them back up when she thought it was barbaric that we clean and eat our own chickens).  On the flip side, I have made some wonderful friends while waiting.  If it can be done while sitting on a hard bench, or in a car, I have probably done it. 

 

Today we perused the aisles of Walmart. I often wonder if they think we are shop lifters since we can spend a couple hours in there and not hardly spend a dime. You can usually find Spark in the video game section.  If he isn't looking at the games he is at the demo game they usually have set up to play.

 

McDonald's is also our friend (that could explain my back side).  Spark played Yu-Gi-Oh and

 

 

we take advantage of the Wi-Fi.  The Kindle is definitely the waiting mothers friend.

I was happy to have Spark with today because since he has gotten old enough to stay home alone he doesn't like to come with as much.  I keeping thinking about how soon it will only be him to wait for and then I will always be by myself.