WANDERINGS

The child and I decided to escape the house for awhile on Friday morning, but also wished to avoid all of the crowds and craziness of Black Friday. Therefore, we went for a walk with downtown Puyallup as our destination. The goal was to pick up the Thanksgiving issue of The Herald (formerly The Pierce County Herald, which was formerly The Puyallup Herald), the local weekly newspaper. We bought it from a newspaper box in front of the post office and went inside Central Perk, a local coffee shop, in order that I could get a peppermint hot chocolate and the child could eat her snacks, consisting of dried berries, cheese bunny crackers, and Cheerios.

As soon as we sat down the rain began to pour from the sky, adding to the record monthly rainfall (for any recorded month) for the area. So, we waited out the rain. It was rather nice, because the two of us just had to slow way down, be in the company of one another, and wait. When the rain mostly died down, after about half an hour, we started wandering back home. We passed the barbershop that I frequent and there were no other customers. That meant an unexpected visit to the barber. The child read books and waited patiently while my hair was cut.

After the haircut, the child and I wandered home, out of the cold and back into the warmth of our home for lunch and naps.

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An aside: the barbershop I go to is owned by two brothers, one of whom lives half a block from me. The one who is my neighbor is also an artist who has created a website of stories for children called Fletcher Hill. (Check it out!) If he cuts my hair then the two of us oftentimes end up discussing his website and any changes that have occurred since he last cut my hair. This time the other brother cut my hair.