Everything in the Whole Wide World

We woke up with no plans on a Saturday.  Just me and my minions with a world of possibilities.  I asked Jude what he wanted to do today and he said “Buy nunchucks.”  I asked Silas and he said “Choo choo.”  I asked Mimi and she said “Hello Kitty.”

And mama said, “Yes, yes, and yes.”

Stop one: BART.

Although they’ve been on trains before this time they were just the right age to get some of the concepts down like what trains go where, how the map works, and the under the bay tunnel. Jude and Silas were particularly concerned about that. “No wawa.”

  

Yellow line paranoia.  Or the yellow line that give me heart palpitations.

The most exciting part of the BART train was the ticket situation.  I think Jude and Silas are free so I taught Mimi how to use the ticket, hold Jude’s hand and bolt through before the gate closed on them.  It was hilarious.

I adore this picture.  My three looking over the horizon in wonder.

We took BART right into the Powell Station which dumps you out into the fabulous food court at the bottom of the Westfield Mall.  And right around the corner is Mimi’s dream store.

Mimi, being overwhelmed by the merchandise.

Then we went outside and took a walk.  I am very carefully training my kids how to walk in urban areas.  I am militant.  I have a very rational fear of them bolting into traffic. 

Met some monkeys on the way.

We walked down Market a block then up Stockton then down Campton to Grant and there was the Dragon Gate.  To my kids this was like the entrance way to Disneyland. 

 

All the people who are happy to be a family, every single day of the year, no exceptions.

In we went to merchandising central.  Thankfully it was all cheap.  The lady was really sweet (an excellent saleswoman) and showed us not only what the kids wanted but a better version than they had imagined.  Mimi wanted a purse but left with a dress and shoes.  Jude wanted nunchucks and Si a sword, they left with a kit of 6 ninja weapons each. 

We trekked down a few blocks and found a walk-in-order-at-the-counter restaurant (my favorite kind with kids).  The food was good, there was plenty of seating and a decent bathroom.  All goals accomplished.

It’s interesting walking around with children because they notice and engage with the things I take for granted.  If there’s a street performer they want to stand right in front of them and listen.  There was a fairly impressive quartet playing odd Chinese instruments and I had to pull my kids away from them to get where we were going. 

Next up – our favorite SF park.  Located at Grant and Clay, this park is filled with old Chinese people playing their tile games and hanging out.  It’s a cultural experience and I almost never hear English spoken when we’re there.  The park is clean and feels safe.  Everybody smiles at us and says hello. 

Today was special because it was the Chinese Autumn Moon Festival so there was a free show with pretty dancers in elaborate costumes.

My ninja boys staged a battle on the green.  See the Chinese Gaming ladies behind them?

Afterwards I had another mini-adventure planned for the kids: hailing a taxi.  I taught them where to stand and what to look for and how to wave one down.  Mimi caught the first one she saw and was beside herself with joy.  They thought they were in pig heaven all piling in the back of the taxi for the short ride back to BART.

The train was empty so they had a ball using their new weapons and freaking me out by trying to lay down on the yucky seats or sneakily stealing a lick of the window (Si. Gross.)

Then home for late naps.  Yippee! 

Afterward dinner and housecleaning, in which they earned some ice cream.  Off to get gelato and play by the fountain near H&M.  Guess who fell in.

Evening meditation on the way home to prove to me that they were not too rowdy and deserved ice cream.

Then home for bed.

Goodnight, Spidey.  (The mask came off before he slept, don’t worry.  But he is snuggling his swords.)

I am so thankful for days like these.  Adventures are what Cr@vens do best and my kids are getting more portable.  I don’t have to lug too much stuff around and they can walk a reasonable distance.  While it is difficult taking them somewhere other than the park down the street it is worth it for the memories and familiarity and exposure to lifestyles other than their own.  There was only one really hard part: when the first star came out and the kids wanted to make a wish.  Mimi wished that her dada would come live with us and go on our adventures.  As good as our day was she still felt like there was someone missing and that breaks my heart.  But Jude wished for “Everything in the whole wide world.”  While I cannot make other people to fulfill Mimi’s heart’s desire, I certainly am working on Jude’s: doing my best to give my children everything in the whole wide world.