I had to run some errands yesterday after work and when I was done I could see that the southbound traffic on Route 8 was going. to. be. horrible. So, I fired up the GPS, told it to avoid highways, and directed it to take me home. (note to self, better set that back before I go to visit my folks for thanksgiving – otherwise, super-duper long trip)
I had some music playing and the route seemed pretty clear and everything was fine until I took a turn a little too sharply.
The GPS went flying off the dashboard and headed right for the passenger side floorboards. On the way down, the cord dragged on the volume control and cranked it up. Like, all the way.
We went from a peaceful car ride to the GPS yelling at me from the floor and Aimee Mann screaming at me from the speakers.
I got through the turn safely, turned down the music, and carefully retrieved the GPS from the floor. Everyone got settled down and we were on our way.
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I got home and set to work on an origami wreath for Jim. He liked the thanksgiving one I had done for work and “hinted” that he’d like one too. I got the paper folded and glued, then started fixing a late dinner. The food was close to being done when I got a text from Jim at photography class. Turns out his professor had to bring her 6 year old son with her today – and he’d been there all day. And would I be interested in sharing a little origami lesson with him?
I thought about it a moment and then quickly agreed. Watching someone take pictures as a 40-something year old can be a little boring at times. Watching people talk about photos as a 6 year old must have been a boredom nightmare.
So, dinner turned into lunch the next day and a hot pocket went in the microwave as I got some paper together. I ate the hot pocket – pepperoni and cheese – and planned what folding projects a 6 year old could handle.
I drove to campus and found the classroom – and met Jim’s teacher and her son. The little dude was quite excited and we sat down to work on some projects.
He had fun picking out the paper and we started on a bird – which I switched over to a butterfly since we needed an easier warm-up. Next was a bird, then a dragon, a peacock, and a cube. It’s a careful balancing act since I wanted to encourage him, keep him on track, and end up with something that actually worked while still letting him do most of the folding.
We folded for maybe an hour before it was time for class to end and I quickly made him a goldfish while Jim was getting his stuff together. The grateful mom wondered if I was a teacher since I was good with kids – but that level of focus is exhausting for me.
I left him with a box of treasures, hidden math lessons, and maybe an interest in paper folding of his own.
And the day was saved.