Kid and Caboodle

One of my co-workers was late to work today because of “a polar bear at the Metro station.” Later he showed us a local news story on the Web as proof:

‘Polar Bear’ Deemed Safe; Columbia Heights Station Reopens

The polar bear was fake; what caused the delay was the need for security staff to make sure it did not contain any explosives or other dangerous substances.

What a strange town I work in ….

It is getting close to summer, according to the calendar, but one would never think so to look at the weather today.  Right now my thermometer says it is less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit outside.  I had to get out my winter coat  this afternoon before I could go pick up my son from school.  It has been raining for the last three days; I think my plants are starting to drown.

I’ve been working from home for several days now due to illness Friday and a transportation problem today.  Got to the Metro this morning to discover that the tracks were flooded between two stations between my home and work.  There was a train at the station, but it was absolutely packed.  I got on, but after 10 minutes it still hadn’t moved, so I got off.  Because of the flooding situation, the trains were sharing a single track and thus coming and going less frequently than usual.  If I had stayed, I would have had to wait at least 20 minutes more to get on a Blue Line train to go one stop before getting off to wait for a shuttle that would take me to a Yellow Line station, where I would have had to get off and join the crowds waiting for the next train into town.  I decided my time would be better spent working from home today.  I got home just as my husband and son were leaving.  My husband reported no problems at all during his commute.  Humph.

I think I’ll go to bed early today.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day than today was.

Yesterday I put together my first beading project — a necklace for the young daughter of a friend. Although I used the wrong type of thread so can’t knot it properly, I think the end result is attractive. Considering how young the girl is, it is probably better that I not make the necklace a set length anyway; if for some reason she wants to continue wearing it as she grows, she would need to be able to continue adjusting it. Since the beads are not secured tightly on the thread, they also can be taken off and sewn onto a book bag, blouse, or some other object if desired.

I had an entertaining train operator during my evening commute. As we were leaving L’Enfant Plaza, he said, “The next stop is in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Now leaving the District. Say, ‘bye-bye.’” That woke me up!

Last week I ordered some waterproof windbreakers for my parents. My father had admired a jacket I had worn often during our Taiwan trip and asked me to get him one. I asked him whether or not he wanted me to give him one as a birthday present in August, but he said he wanted one right away since he does a lot of gardening these days. So, I ordered him one, and threw in one for my mother at the same time. My mother called me this evening to thank me for them. She said that they had arrived that afternoon and that she and my father were eager to try them out; they were thinking of going for a walk that evening even though it was drizzling. I guess they really like the windbreakers!

Getting up at 5 a.m. is tough, but I’m enjoying being able to choose where I park in the garage in the mornings. I also got window seats during my commutes to and from work today so actually was able to nap. And, of course, I am enjoying being able to just drop everything at 4:30 every afternoon and go home!

A friend of mine whom I haven’t seen in about half a year will be in town this weekend. I’m looking forward to sharing with her some of the special teas I got in Taiwan and showing her the sunroom. Hopefully it will be pleasant Sunday morning so she can really appreciate it. We also plan to attend the Cherry Blossom Festival downtown on Sunday and it would be nice to have good weather.

Overheard while riding the Metro this morning:

Train Operator: Arriving at Pentagon next.

Woman: Where is “Pentagon Next”? Is that close to where we’re getting off?

Friend: We’ll be on this train for a long time. We’re getting off at Chinatown.

Woman: Chinatown! What country are we in?

I am really proud of my son today. This morning we did a test run of the schedule he will start next week, which will be a lot tighter than it is now. I have been getting him up around 7:15 every morning and getting him out the door about 8:45. This morning, though, my son got himself up at 6:37, ate all his breakfast, got himself changed after breakfast, brushed his own teeth, got his shoes and coat on by himself, and got in the car and sat in his car seat by himself. We got out of the house at 7:39, and got to his school by 7:52. I was very impressed and told him he had earned “two gold stars” for being so cooperative. (I don’t actually have any gold stars to give him, but I intend to go buy some ASAP.)

This evening my son also behaved very well. Due to a problem with the subway, my husband couldn’t pick him up before the school was scheduled to close. A co-worker and neighbor who works an earlier shift than I do — at least for now — offered to pick him up for me. My son, who is very wary of strangers, asked her to call me at the office so I could reassure him that it was ok for him to go with her rather than waiting for my husband. She reported that he continued to watch her warily, but did not make a fuss when she put him in the car. I am very proud that my son remained cautious and checked with me about this person who was a stranger to him before letting her take him away from the school. I am also very proud about how well-behaved he was with her after I reassured him that it was ok to go with her. (My husband ended up arriving at his car at about the same time my co-worker picked up my son from the school, so they simply arranged a location to meet.)

Things worked well tonight, but the next time the subway delays us I think I might ask a different neighbor, whom my son knows, to pick him up from school.