Unselfish Saturday

Larry, Billy & I went to the Palisades Mall on Saturday. It's the second biggest mall in the US, and we're there almost every weekend.

Billy had a birthday party to go to Saturday. It was laser tag party for his best friend, Jacob, at a place behind the food court. I figured I would drop him off, then go get my nail done, buy a new outfit for myself, and then sip some coffee while surrounded by shopping bags, looking oh so chic & child-free. But, when I got to the party, he was already showing signs of stress, he was afraid that the vibrator in the laser tag vest would hurt. He wouldn't be calmed by my assurances, so I stuck around. Laser tag seems to invoke aggression in normal kids, but this party was made up of special needs kids: so some where afraid of the dark, some didn't like the weight of the vests with their sensors, lights on the shoulders, front & back, that vibrated when the kid took a hit, but mostly it brought out the Rambo in 7-year-olds, as it proved to one kid who decided that shooting my son wasn't enough, and hit him with the gun, too. Billy & I hugged & dried tears, and had a Dr Phil moment. Then it was pizza time, and Billy doesn't like pizza, so Jacob's dad got him some french fries from Nathan's.

The kids did a rock climbing wall, that's actually on a vertical conveyer belt, so it's like an endless climb up. The group was very supportive, cheering each other on to climb higher & faster. Larry joined us & got a turn on the rock wall, too. The party was over a little after 7pm, and I don't know about Billy, but I was tired.