“Mommy has a wonderful idea. How about we go to the town fair?”
Jasper shook his head. He was aware enough to know he presents as a little boy and didn’t want to be seen in public as such.
“What’s wrong baby? Are you afraid of all the people?”
Jasper nodded.
“Is it fear or embarrassment?”
Jasper blushed.
“I get it you are embarrassed cause you look like a little boy right?”
Again, Jasper nodded.
Molly took a different tactic. It was silly for him to be embarrassed. No one would connect the adult with the child.
She kneeled down to eye level and looking right into his eye. “Mommy has a great idea. We can go to a place and get cotton candy and ride rides and maybe even get on a Ferris Wheel and play games. Wanna go?”
The 4 year old Jasper couldn’t hold back, swept up in just the projection of the emotion, he was almost jumping up and down with excitement.
Molly smiled as she thought what a difference an approach can make.
The fair was hosted by their little town and it was a fun little event. They held it at the park. Registration took place at a side entrance to the Recreation Center.
“Well hello, and who is this little angel?” The young woman at the registration desk asked.
“This is Jasper.”
Well hello young man, who is this beautiful woman you are with?
Jasper giggled.
“I think you will have a wonderful time here.” The woman behind the desk said. “Will someone else be joining you?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Well, let me get you going. You can see all the rides and games and concessions are just over there. Your admission is for everything including water but concessions and obviously the stuff the vendors are selling. We have preschool activities till 2 and the daycare, which is set up inside, is open till 8. We close at 10.”
Molly was signed in and a white wrist band placed around her arm.
Jasper had a pale blue wrist band place on him.
Molly and Jasper had the photo’s taken.
Then they were off to play.
Molly always like these kind of things, but somehow being with the 4 year old Jasper made her just want to live vicariously through his enjoyment. She rejoiced in his amusement.
“Lookit mommy over there.” He kept saying as he dragged her from attraction to attraction ride to ride game to game. Finally finding a new one.
“What is it baby?”
He spotted the squirt gun game and wanted to play.
“Baby do you need to go potty.”
Anxious to get to the squirt gun game he paid little attention to anything else “No. I not some baby.” Jasper did feel a little like he had to go, but he always felt that way.
Jasper felt odd having to stand on a box to play. He missed the clowns mouth most of the time and lost to a big kid at the end. He had fun and the nice man gave him a little plastic hippo for playing.
“Look mommy I won.” Jasper had no idea why he was so proud of this stupid little hippo. But he couldn’t stop himself from bragging to his mommy about it every two minutes.
“I’ll trade you.”
“What?”
Molly had just bought a cotton candy and held it right in front of Jasper’s face.
“But, but….”
“I’ll just hold the hippo and give him back when you are finished.”
Slowly Jasper surrendered the hippo and attacked the fluffy pink cloud of sugar.
With a hand on his back Molly guided her little man off to a bench so she could sit while he ate.
This is a lot of fun isn’t it Jasper.
All he could do was make a kind of grunt of agreement.
“Imagine that this was our future, me a mom, and you.” Molly’s mind wandered, when she started the thought, she was thinking they were ready to raise a family to be a mom and dad.
Jasper wasn’t really paying attention, he once again grunted in agreement to an unfinished thought.
Molly repeated herself, “me a mom, and you … you heading off to… to ..” she noticed the sticky mess caked all over Jasper’s hands, face, hair, shirt. “to….preschool…. yeah off to preschool… oh, too late, we need to get you to daycare.” The latter thought drifted to getting him inside to get him cleaned up.
Molly let the moment settle as she watched Jasper lose interest in the cotton candy.
Noting the time and wanting to move things along, she made an executive decision and pull out the beans.
“Baby are you ready for another dose?”
Jasper nodded with a big smile.
Just as Molly reached into the little bean bag, no other than Cindy Sue Alcott their 12 year old next door neighbor walked up to her “Well hey there.”
Molly didn’t need to be talking to her at the moment. Quickly and without really looking she snagged a bean and fed it to Jasper.
“Well hello Cindy Sue aren’t you he prettiest thing around today.”
The young girl blushed.
“Who is this adorable little guy?”
Before Molly could answer, Cindy Sue continued “I can babysit if you need me?”
“That’s nice of you. If you can forgive me, I need to tend to him now. With that Molly leaned over pretending to tie his shoe. While down there, she got good look at his pants.
“Baby is there something you want to tell me?”
Jasper shook his head.