When Kelly Comes to Town!

I love it when Kelly comes to town! It instantly forces us to get together for the occasion. I see friends who live in town and who are available to see anytime, however, somehow I never seem to see....until Kelly comes to town! It's tradition to meet at Mission Burrito which is perfect because the food is good and there is a playground for the little ones to play. It's so refreshing to catch up with friends, to hear updates on their lives, to hear about their kids happenings and to get ideas of what to do at the next phase of growing up. I really enjoy the time we spend together.

Years ago while working at the elementary school with most of these friends, we used to order out to Mission Burrito on a weekly basis. Kelly and I were quite the instigators for this regular treat. We almost always ordered burritos-in-a-bowl-to-go; all with different condiments and special requests. Such good and delicious memories!

This visit to Mission was a bit traumatic for Bella, initially. Okay - she was really just having one of those semi-irrational temper tantrums that almost 2-year-olds do. There was much fussing while getting her jacket on in the car. She absolutely refused to put on shoes*. I thought by walking her in a public place with people starring at her would make a difference, but it didn't. She continued screaming and kicking as we walked in and the crowd stared. We greeted Kelly with screams. When I put her down, she laid right in the middle of the floor yelling and screaming. I would have let her cry it out, except the man eating alone about 3 feet away didn't seem amused or understanding. Outside we went. More screaming, more laying on the concrete. She finally managed to get her jacket off...which is what I guess she wanted the whole time. Yep, 50 degree weather, no shoes, no socks, no jacket, just capri pants and a thin shirt. Oh well! I remind myself frequently that kids don't catch colds from the cold.

The rest of the visit was without incident. She ate and played with the others for a couple of hours. What a relief! In the end, a good time was had by all!

*Ordinarily, Bella loves wearing her shoes. She very often just has her "biaper" and shoes on without anything else. She has a real aversion to socks these days...which has created very stinky shoes and the recurrence of her nick name, Smella.