The Q-View

Today was pick-up-Dom-Day, and it did not get off to a good start.

Dom was acting like an adult when I got to the house, which is to say he was in it’s-still-dark-out-and-I-want-to-stay-in-bed-and-its-only-Wednesday(!?) mode.

The battle to get dressed was raging before I stepped through the front door. Sorry, but I had to chuckle. I was in on soooo many of those confrontations 25-30 years ago. I was almost nostalgic. Today, I didn’t have to be anywhere on time; I hadn’t fought with Dom about going to bed the night before; I could be dispassionate.

While Michael took a hurried shower, I took over the negotiations with Dom. We went through five shirt changes. I thought we had settled on a short-sleeve, two-button pullover, but Dom insisted that the collar wasn’t tight enough and wanted a change.

“How about this Batman shirt?”

“I hate Batman.”

We took a break from shirts, so Dom could go upstairs and get his “boots that light up” to replace the pair his mother had left out for him.

We got those on.

And reviewed left and right!

Back to the shirts.

Dom asked me what my favorite color was. “Red,” I said because he was holding a red shirt, and I thought it might expedite matters.

So, Dom selected a tasteful long sleeve sweater-shirt with multiple blue and green horizontal stripes. He let me help him put it on.

Now that he had ownership over how he dressed, Dom was much calmer. I reminded him that I had some new cars and trucks for him in the Pilot. That spurred him to head for the door sans coat, but I wasn’t going to argue.

“Watch out for the black ice,” he warned me as we headed for the car seat.

“You, too.”

The day, fortunately, reverted to a normal ride to Montco.

Dom asked for a pretzel rod.

“Thanks”.

We passed a corner store and Dom noted that he didn’t get “blueberry taffy” the last time he was there.

“I like blueberries, too,” I said.

Dom liked the cars I gave him, though TBT, two of them were recycled. He had left them at our house last summer. Dom spent much of the ride playing out scenarios involving the cars.

“This car is red,” he said at one point, perhaps trying to leverage his choice of a shirt that was not my stated favorite color.

“That’s more orange,” I said. “That’s a shade of red.”

“What’s a shade?”

I gave a woeful explanation involving items that are close to red. I was pathetic.

When an ambulance went past us with lights flashing and siren blaring, I told Dom that it was going to pick someone up and take them to a hospital because they were in an accident or sick.

Dom relayed that hospitals are where they fix “sore tummies” and make people better.

“That’s what your mom wants to do.”

“Yep.”

Nearing daycare, I was asked who my favorite superhero was. It is actually Batman, but I already knew today’s opinion on Batman.

“Spiderman,” I said.

“I like The Hulk.” I thought he would have said Spiderman because of all the shirts, toys, etc. he has.

“Why?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

We discussed how nice it is that superheroes protect us.

By the time we started hitting the speed “mounts” on the MCCC campus, Dom was ready for his day, albeit 15 minutes late.

He grabbed onto my leg, as usual, as we went over to the sink in pre-k to wash-up.

“You’re supposed to roll up your sleeves,” he told me.

“My bad. Thanks.”

He sat down to talk over the logo on a classmate’s shirt, and my mission was complete.