Bad news first

I recently mentioned our forced family funtime adventures and you were probably thinking “What’s that?” and “Sounds fun!” and “How can I get involved?” and “Can I have forced family funtime adventures in my own community?”

You can.

Early on in Baby Grady’s life, it was obvious to us that we did not have the sort of baby who would be toted about happily (or sleepily) to brunch, museums, street fairs, races, the movies, dinner, wine tasting, etc., and so on with all the things the other babies on Facebook are doing.

Admittedly, we dealt (and continue to deal) by staying home a lot and going on lots of walks and hikes. But every few weeks or so, I get a bee in my bonnet to try something a little more ambitious. So we go on a forced family funtime adventure and inevitably Baby Grady weeps. Hike and lunch? Weeping before we made it to the lunch part. Indoor birthday party? Weeping. Outdoor birthday party? Weeping. Farmer’s market? Weeping. First Friday? Weeping. MarsBeer at the pub with the other rocket scientists? Weeping. The beach? Weeping.

This past weekend was FFFA time. I announced that we would be taking Baby Grady for his first ride on the Tilden Steam Trains and then out for a snack on the roof deck at Triple Rock. Jasper said okay because he is exceedingly patient with my big ideas and also there’s really no good in stopping me once that bee has gotten into my bonnet.

So off we went. And the steam trains were a total bust. Whether it was the noise, the other people, the wind, or a general distaste for travelling by rail, we couldn’t say. But Baby Grady was not happy and it was sad.

After that we were going to take him to the Little Farm to see if that held greater appeal. He’s started to be highly amused by our dogs, so logic dictates that he would also enjoy goats. When we arrived we discovered that he had just fallen asleep, so we decided to head on to the pub and let him get a little nap in.

When he woke up, we found a perfect shady corner on the roof deck, with an older baby at the next table over. And, well, Grady loved it. He chewed on the menu while waiting for the food, and then he mauled some french fries. I had a drink and no one wept. It was amazing.