Family Updates

Spring Has Sprung!

Last Saturday Johann was bouncing off the walls, so I suggested we go to Olde Mystick Village for puddle jumping and duck feeding. We’d just had a good rain, which meant all the low lying areas of the sidewalks there would be full of water. Enough stale bread, bagel crusts and crackers had accumulated to feed the ducks. And it was so warm we only needed to wear jackets. It was the perfect day to go. Eric had to talk to Hansina, so we made a short detour to the yarn shop on the way. Johann was so excited about our final destination that he jumped around the shop shouting, “Spring has sprung! Spring has sprung!”

Once we got there we instructed Johann to stop splashing when other people were nearby so he wasn’t getting other people wet. Then we let him go. Some onlookers seemed pleasantly surprised when they saw us deliberately steer him toward the big puddles or tell him he missed one. Two grandmothers stopped to thank us for the show and complimented us for not only giving permission for the puddle jumping, but also taking pictures to further condone and record the event for posterity. They told Johann they loved watching him have so much fun. Everyone smiled, except for one sour-puss, who decided to walk in front of me into my personal space just to tell us how much of a mistake we were making by allowing this. We politely deflected this man’s remarks. Thankfully Johann was so busy jumping, he was oblivious. But I thought as the man went to his car, how does this affect him? What business is this of his? Johann is our son and we are raising him our way. Be it family, friends or strangers, what is it that makes people think they have the right to meddle? I’m glad I’ve learned not to be that way anymore. I guess some of the meddling stems from the person’s own insecurities, fear of critcism and inability to accept differences.

We continued on our merry way, feeding the ducks in four different locations and Johann jumping in puddles inbetween. Lynn from the yarn shop told us about the ducks there that were hers, a gift from her son. Once they got to a certain size, she had to find a new home for them. So we made a point of going to feed Ms. Lynn’s ducks. We stopped into one of the shops there to see if our neighbor, Danielle, was working that day. Johann played in the children’s kitchen area for a while. Then it was back to the car for a change of clothes and the drive home.

Danielle stopped by after she got off work. Her father’s dog just had puppies and she is finding homes for them. The puppies had finally arrived and she offered to let Johann see them. So we went outside with them for a little while. Johann had so much fun playing with the puppies and talking with Max, a 6-year-old who happened to be walking by with his parents. They stopped so that Max could pet the puppies too. After such a full day, eventually we all had to go our separate ways, but not before Eric captured the precious picture of Johann holding one of the puppies.