Reading At the Red Rock

Today our playgroup went to the Red Rock coffee shop in Mountain View for story time before we went to the park. The stage at the coffee shop was strewn with pillows for the children to sit on, and most of the moms sat at the tables near the stage. A few of the Highway staff read books to the children for about an hour. It was fun for all... except for Brandon. He reacted, as I thought he would, with abject terror at the entire prospect. I decided not to bring my stroller, as the Red Rock isn't a big place. Brandon held on to my shirt, and then my legs, and then the diaper bag with such strength that I literally thought he would pull me down, or that I would drop Caitlin. Someone actually volunteered to bring my chai mocha (tasty, by the way) to the table. He probably knew that I would eventually end up scalding my child as I spilled the tea all over Brandon. Thanks, Clay. I really appreciated that! Oh - and they have oatcakes. I seriously love oatcakes, and haven't had one for about 5 years!

Caitlin was having a great time. She crawled around in a small area, happily babbling, listening to the stories, and clapping (her new thing since last Friday). There were a couple of friends from Highway who love babies, and were very happy to entertain her - and she was very happy to be entertained. But Brandon... that's another story. He begged me to hold him for the first 45 minutes. Did I want to hold him? No.... I wanted him to go up on the small stage (a whopping 5 feet in front of me, maybe) with his friends and happily listen to the readings . You have to remember that this is the same kid who would happily read books all day. His definition of a good time involves 3 things - riding his tricycle, playing trains, and reading all the books in his bookcase. Brandon read along outloud, quietly, in sync, to "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" as John Riemenschitter read it to the crowd.This boy has memorized entire books before. It's not as if he doesn't like to read or be read to. He's just so timid. How am I ever going to get this kid to attend preschool with new kids if he won't even sit in a room with all the kids he actually knows?

All in all, the reading at the Red Rock was a success. I hope we can add it in rotation to our regular schedule after the new year. Maybe Brandon will appreciate it more and not be so scared if we are there on a more regular basis. Maybe I won't be so uptight about my little boy being so unwilling to open up to new experiences if he can assimilate after a few times. I had visions of him screaming as I leave on the first day of preschool... but I'm getting over that. Let's just *hope* this is a phase of toddlerhood that Brandon is going through (hey, I can dream, can't I?) . But seriously - I think this is just Brandon - for life.