Adventures at Saturday Market
Next weekend, Janette and Gabriel are going camping with family. Gabriel has been begging to go for months, but Janette and I felt ill equipped to do the whole camping thing on our own. Once, after I left Amazon.com, Janette and I stayed in a cabin in Index, WA for a week. We couldn't even start a fire in the fireplace. With pre-cut wood. Trust me, help is a good thing. She enlisted her dad for this expedition, and he is a retired Marine. I think they'll be in very good hands.
This is a Mom and Gabriel thing, though. I asked if there would be a cabin for Hannah and me to stay at, preferrably at a resort with a guesthouse, activities, maybe a casino: you know, my version of camping. Apparently, no, not this time out. They really are camping, so Hannah and I will be roughing it together at home.
So on Saturday, while Mom, Gabriel, and her dad went foraging for camping gear, Hannah and I joined my parents and sister on a Saturday Market adventure. We met at the Orenco Station Max, and headed in. This was our first trip to the Market this season. Due to construction, one row has been knocked out, but it was otherwise pretty much the same as last year, and that's not a put down. Saturday Market is hands-down one of the best craft marketplaces I have visited.
As we arrived, I made a bee-line to the Cloud Cup espresso stand in the food court area. My dad took Hannah down to the stage to listen to the music (her favorite activity). We met back up and cruised the market for a few hours. Highlights and lowlights:
Bought a wonderful triptych photograph of a monastary in Florida and chatted with the photographer for a bit. Great work throughout her booth. Hard to choose just one piece.
Moving between sides of the market, some woman tickled Hannah's feet (Hannah was in her Kid Kart/wheelchair) as she walked past us. I couldn't quite get something out of my mouth before she moved on. Kind of presumptious to be touching people's kids in public, isn't it? Just didn't make it out. I obsessed instead over the cup she held in one hand. It had bright yellow liquid in it. What the heck was that, and did I really want to know?
Hannah didn't nap; she drank everything in about the market instead. My sister and I sang for her amusement back on the Max, and Hannah seemed to have a great time altogether. Ner a tantrum to be found!
A woman, exiting the Max on our way back, said, "You are doing a wonderful job with her." I replied, "Uh, thanks? She's been very well behaved." Would others typically give you kudos for displaying your parenting skills? Or were we having another artificially-inflated Super Parent Moment because our family experiences disabilities? Well, we were singing rather loudly. Maybe this woman really liked my new version of "Paddycake" (set to the "Lollipop" tune).
In the end, Hannah and I arrived home, and she relaxed, playing on the floor for a while, then she fell asleep for a nice long nap. Janette and Gabriel remained out for a bit, so Dad got some beautifully quiet downtime to read the newspaper & try out his new coffeemaker. Ahhhh...
-- Dad
