Spending Time with K

S has, blessedly, been in town for the last few weeks, giving me freedom to do many things without all of the children in tow. While that hasn't included pedicures or haircuts or frilly things, that has included going to the grocery store by myself. That is a huge blessing in and of itself.

Last Thursday, I got to spend the afternoon with K. She was in desperate need of tennis shoes, something she could run in during PE. Her Keds from last year were just fine but it's really hard to run in those on the gym floor. I took her to a local shoe store, had her measured (she wears a 13.5, for those interested), and looked in the sale room. Alas, there was nothing in her size so we headed across the street to the discount shoe place. There, they had some cute and not-so-cute shoes and, after steering her away from ones that had glitter and hearts and all sorts of horribleness, we found the perfect pair.

When we got to the car, she asked if we could get ice cream. So we did. We sat inside, enjoyed our cool treats, and just talked. I took pictures of her blue tongue (blue from the cotton candy ice cream) with my cell phone and even let her call Nana using our OnStar in the car (a very handy feature).

The bottom line for me is that I got to spend time with her, just her, without any distractions. I sometimes forget that she's as much fun as she is, that she's learning at an alarmingly fast rate, and moving into the young lady phase. I know that she's growing up, that these times will be fewer and further between. That makes me treasure them even more.