Birdyhead

Where did the summer go?

Just in time for the new school year Theron outgrew his shoes. We went to the mall last week to search for new ones and he was amazed at all the stores. Now Theron has been to a mall before, he's been to that particular mall even, but he acted like it was this new, wonderous thing (and I didn't even let him into the really good kid stores like the Disney store or candy by the pound). We couldn't get new Spiderman shoes in his size, so we kept walking and looking. Finally in Mervyn's he found his lovies - a pair of brown and orange and silver Sketchers. Theron's a good consumer, he's heard of Sketchers and he wanted them for that alone, but the major selling points were a) a tiny flashlight keychain that came with them and b) the claim that they are "fast and safe". So he tried them on. They were fast all right. It reminded me of that time he wore a hole in a new pair of shoes in one day when he was at the Italian ladies house as a baby in a walker. He'd run back and forth across the patio all day long. They called him the Roadrunner. Or the time after he was walking when Ashley put a new pair of sneakers on him and he just started running. And he'd fall down and then get up again, and run and run and run.
Anyway, so at least his feet are taken care of for now.
Also in preparation for school we need to be getting to bed earlier. Bedtime keeps slipping later and later. The later it gets, the surlier the boy gets. And he'll do anything to delay the inevitable. Theron can talk his way out of anything and the only reason he doesn't (always) get away with it with us is that we're on to him. His therapist says to try not to engage him but I tell you, it's hard. So last night he pushed it till it was almost 10 o'clock and we had had it. While he sat in time-out Ash and I had a conversation in the kitchen about what to do. Now, one thing about Theron that's very predictable is that he is nosy. And like all nosy people he knows that the most valuable information comes from subterfuge. It doesn't matter that we have told him to his face what he could lose if bedtime keeps going this late, there's nothing like a dispassionate conversation in the kitchen he thinks he's not supposed to hear to get him to really listen. Ash and I decided that lights out comes at a specific time and if he's not ready in time for bedtime stories then he'll start losing them. When we came to get him out of time-out he was very polite and agreeable. Then he went into his room and very industriously starting picking up and doing his jobs. He said, "yes, m'aam" and was giving me the thumbs up. I'd tell him to do something and he'd say, "It's a deal!". As he was gathering up his laundry - -oh, I should say, one gets the impression with Theron that he imagines himself as the star in his own tv show. I know he watches too much tv, we're guilty. You can tell he's always trying on personalities for size. I'm really glad he's over his Bob the Builder nervous giggle thing. ANYWAY, so last night he's picking up his clothes, really well, and he shakes his head and tells me, "I'm getting out of this going-slow business". I could picture him in a fedora, newspaper under his arm, in a black and white movie. Next stop, Speedyville.
Movie review: We saw Ratatouille with Alan. Loved it. I especially love that they emphasize good hygiene, as when Remy makes the other rats who were helping him in the kitchen go in the dishwasher first.