Today is a good day. Nathan is a sweet kid. I like making people happy.

Today when I went to babysit, Liz (Nathan's mom) told me that Nate had been up and down a lot during the night. "Because of the heat," she thinks. He's also sick. Allergies have caught up to him and now he's got a cough, poor kid. So I let him sleep in late today. He didn't get up until 11:30.

Lunch at the Boys & Girls Club is at 11:30, so I knew we weren't going till after he'd had something to eat. Nathan's dad, Ray, gets off work about one or two and picks up Nate from the Boys & Girls Club. So I was sittting there as Nathan was drinking KoolAid and eating popcorn, wondering what I should do today. Should I even bother bringing him to the B & G Club if he'd only be there for an hour or so? And on top of that, I know that he likes the B & G Club, but he sometimes would rather stay home. So after Liz called to see if he was up yet, I kind of talked out what to do with her. I decided, finally, to just let him stay home. We'd watch cartoons and eat popcorn till Ray got home. (I did call his work to tell him he didn't need to pick up Nate at the Boys & Girls Club.)

I wasn't sure how to tell Nate. If I let him stay home today, would he start asking every day to stay home? How would I handle that? On the other hand, what if he really wanted to go today? As I pondered over these questions, he said something about "before we go." He didn't seem overly thrilled, but he didn't sound resentful at all. Just like it was an accepted fact that we would go eventually, and he was okay with it.

And so I looked at him and said, "Why don't we just stay here until your dad comes home? It won't be very long."

"Really?" he asked, and this smile--this sweet smile just spread across his face. He wasn't even looking at me and it made me so happy to see him happy. I know, now, he'd rather stay home every day, but I couldn't do that every day, but I somehow knew he was all right with that. What a precious kid he is! It seriously almost makes me cry. What a sweet boy. I need to call up Kristi (she's the one who introduced the job opportunity to me in the first place) and go over and hang out with her and Hannah and just go on about how sweet he is. :D Kristi would love it; she was the one who told me time and time again, "He's a really good, sweet boy!" as I was deciding whether or not to take the job.

Speaking of taking the job, I offered to take it next summer, too, if she needed me. :) I had aspirations to go to May-Mac for a summer... But you know, I don't think I ever truly wanted to spend a whole summer there. Do not get me wrong--I love May-Mac so much! ...A week at a time. :) A whole summer might be a bit over the top. I could still go next year to May-Mac as an "adult sponsor" the week that the kids from my youth group go. I would love that, I think, especially if the Benjamins went, like they've been doing the last two years.

Aah... All these delicious ideas for next summer! I would do best not to get ahead of God, though. James warns us against that... I wonder what God thinks of what I could do next summer? I wonder if He'd show me if I asked?

Happily,
Stephanie

P.S. Farily OddParents is a hilarious cartoon! Today Nathan and I watched Fairly OddParents: AbraCatastrophe! :D