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The Lent Project: Day 30

Happy Pi Day to all my geeky friends! That also means Kelly's birthday is tomorrow so I have a cake to bake today.

Last night we took Cole and Leda to an after-hours playgroup at a local children's museum. Now, when i say local I mean local...we're lucky to have maybe 4 in the area and this was on the other side of our suburb. We'd never been and were some of the first to arrive, but it eventually got pretty crowded.

We had set a pre-museum deadline of one hour because it started at 6pm and we weren't sure how to handle the fact that it was the kids' bedtime. As it was, however, 7pm brought lots of screaming from Cole as we asked him to leave. It was a combo of having fun and being tired...I think the extra hour would have made things worse though Kelly felt pretty guilty about making her children leave something they were really enjoying.

Cole went straight for the train table, obviously. But they eventually found everything from magnets and drums to playhouses and treehouses to keep them busy. Leda is all smiles and runs around from place to place trying to see as much as possible. Cole mostly finds an activity and sticks with it...and is getting better about playing with others. On the train table especially, there have been other little boys the last two times and we laugh that there is no communication. But also a polite respect for space--so odd considering how he plays horribly with his sister. Cole will pull a train around the table then get to another little boy and they just look at each other and wait to see who wants to pass. Then the other goes whichever direction or picks whatever train car or track setup is left.

In a few weeks there is a similar meeting at a gymnastic center that I think Cole will enjoy.

* * *

We have a new Pope! And he's interesting. That's really the only word to describe him. He's not perfect, but perhaps an attempt to make multiple groups within the Church happy? He's definitely old so not someone they plan on having around for decades, I would guess.

My former religion professor was a Jesuit in his younger days and I'm sure he would be intrigued that we have our first Jesuit Pope. Also first Latin American.

He's deeply conservative though which may not make him a good choice for some crowds--like the liberal nuns. But we'll see what he focuses on. He's also deeply committed to the poor and has a history of some relationships outside the Church with other faiths and he has a history of not getting along so well with the established hierarchy so he may not be so caught up in the splendor.

I just like anytime the word "stole" makes it into current events as a noun!