Because it's a special occassion...

I think Jason and I may have been building up our trip to Kansas City a little bit too much.  Charlie walked into our room this morning and asked, "Do we go to Kansas City this morning?" 

He was brokenhearted when he heard we don't fly out until tomorrow and practically despondent when he realized he had to go to school today (apparently his sick day on Monday didn't just spoil me).

Anyway, in an effort to cheer him up, I told Charlie that if he had a good day, I would pick him up early from school and take him on a special errand.  There is a new bakery on Main Street we've been meaning to visit, and this seemed like the perfect excuse.

So we spent the ride to school reviewing the four key components to a "good day"

1. Listen
2. Obey
3. Take a good rest
4. No Time Outs

I managed to wrap up all my work by 3:30 and made a beeline for the Toy Box.   On the way there I had sweet visions of Charlie and I walking into the bakery holding hands, picking out yummy treats and then joyfully sharing them on a park bench. (Yes, I chose to ignore the facts that he refuses to hold my hand unless he's in the street, won't share and it's 90 degrees out...but I digress.)

Scanning the nap sheet as I snuck in to grab his backpack, I was overjoyed to see that he'd actually napped today (unlike yesterday), so I continued on to the playground where it took him less than 10 seconds to make it to the door once we'd made eye contact.  Apparently he remembered our deal.

En route to the car (following a nasty incident with the heavy door and his left foot), I started to tell him about my plans, and he interrupted to say, "I want a rope."

Clearly understanding my baffled look, he clarified, "Like a food rope."

Ummmm....what?

After a short discussion we determined that he wanted a Super Rope of the sort I used to beg for when I was a kid then only eat two bites of when I realized they don't taste as good as Twizzlers.

Unwilling to let go of my vision so quickly, I tried to talk him into a cookie or brownies or cupcake, but I eventually conceded.  Now I just had to track down a Super Rope.

First we tried Walgreens, where the clerks had never even heard of such a thing.  Then we tried the gas station (isn't that where we bought them 30 years ago???), and still no luck.  Thankfully, the lady there asked if we would be interested in a Nerds Rope...not quite as long, but as the name suggests, covered in Nerds. 

We walked hopefully back to the candy section and after a short study, Charlie decided that yes, the Nerds Rope would suffice.  Unprepared for such an affordable treat, we charged 90 cents on the Bass Pro card and made our way to the car.

So much for an idyllic, mother-son afternoon enjoying fancy treats.  Charlie gobbled up his rope before we got home, but made a good point passing the fire station, "I get this because it's a special occasion." 

And I suppose it is.  Isn't every good day a special occasion?  In fact, since I didn't indulge in a sugar-laden delight this afternoon, I've decided to see if Jason wants to share a bottle of wine over our spaghetti and meatballs tonight...might as well extend "the special occasion" to the rest of the family.