Throughout the day, both Ed and I had it in the back of our minds that City Park Jazz might be a possibility this evening. But suddenly it was almost 5 o'clock (the concert begins at 6), it was stormy, and we had to decide quickly not only what to have for dinner tonight, but whether we should make a run for it. At the last minute, we both showered and dressed, loaded the wagon (for B) and my sling (for E) into the car, along with our two darling boys, and headed out. We picked up assorted picnic fare at Whole Foods on the way, and as the rain rolled in we both worried we made the wrong decision -- but we figured if it was raining when we got there we could just turn around and head home. ...
The park was crowded when we arrived, and the concert was underway. We stopped first at one spot, began to set up, and decided to move a little closer to the festivities. And then, as it turns out, in a sea of a few thousand people, we ended up about 30 feet away from some friends -- they had seen us walk up and as we were unloading our gear, they came to say hello. Naturally, we moved again so that we could all picnic together.
And what a little twist of fate it was. Blanden and his friend Gavin had a blast. First, they ate -- Blanden likes to picnic. Then, they played soccer. And then ... slowly but surely, inevitably, the soccer ball rolled into an enormous mud puddle only 15 feet away. For an hour we were all amazed that the puddle hadn't yet attracted the little ones. But Ed kept saying it was only a matter of time ... and he was right!
For the next hour or so, the boys squealed with delight and pure glee as they raced back and forth through the muck, getting faster and braver and dirtier with every run. Not only did they bring smiles and laughter to their parents' faces, but to everyone around us who was watching -- and to all the passersby. We are pretty sure that our boys will be showing up tonight on at least a dozen Facebook postings from strangers, as it was amazing how many people stopped by to laugh with and admire them, talk with us and reminisce about the pure joy of being a child, and ask to take their photo on their camera phones.
After all was said and done, Ed took Blanden to the restroom to hose him down as best he could, then Blanden rode back in his diaper (and a clean one at that, because even the diaper was muddy). Usually Blanden falls asleep on the way home from City Park Jazz and we carry him straight to bed, but tonight we definitely made time for a very bubbly bath. And alas our fears of being rained on did come to fruition, but it was only as we were packing up to return to the car and after we had a wonderful time. To quote one of Ed's favorite phrases, "Luck favors the courageous."
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