Free to Roam in the Germ Farm

The letting-go has already started. *sniff*

A couple of weeks ago, I took T Junior to Southcenter mall. We were looking for birthday presents. We were unsuccessful. We were cranky. Well, I was cranky (post-Babies 'R' Us breakdown). T Junior was bored.

Luckily, da-da-dum!, the mall has an elaborate play area for toddlerish children. The Germ Farm, I call it.

I never let T Junior play in one those types of places before. Mostly because he only started walking a few weeks ago. But, also, because of the scary salmonella sepsis hospitalization he had when he was 5-months-old.

I was feeling brave, but T Junior wasn't wearing socks. I whipped the umbrella stroller into Crazy 8 and bought the cute ones I'd seen about 20 minutes before. We hustled to the play area, I slid my new purchase onto his feet, cuffed his jeans and set him free.

"Bye, Mama. I'm a big boy now! I don't need you any more!"
Well, he didn't ACTUALLY say that...

I was close to tears as I watched him playing like a big boy. He wasn't scared at all, he just mixed in with all the other bacteria hosts kids.

He squealed and screeched while he waddled around, his arms bent with his hands up by his stomach, which sticks out like a beer belly when he walks. A shiny string of saliva connected his chin to his tummy.

I was so proud of him for being so fearless. I was so proud of me for letting him go.

Then, a little girl about 6 in a pretty pink princess dress, bumped him with her elbow and he fell down. I willed myself to stay where I was. The girl immediately turned around and helped him up. She bent over and looked in his face and said something, which I guess was probably, "Are you okay?" He seemed fine. She patted him on his head and then pranced off. T Junior toddled after her.

Last week, we went to Bellevue Square so that I could have lunch with a friend and former co-worker. We ate quickly at the Nordstrom espresso stand and then hurried up to the third floor for the Kids' Cove.

This play area is much larger (and cleaner) than Southcenter's. It has a boat theme with lots of plastic coated foam play structures: a tugboat, a Washington State ferry, fish, rocks, a lighthouse, plus a ton of other stuff. (And, there were many dispensers full of foaming Purell hand sanitizer. Yay!)

"Hi, Bish." T Junior at the Kids' Cove in Bellevue Square Mall.

Again, I set my baby boy free. My friend and I sat back and chatted. T Junior explored. Every once in a while his little blond-bald head would disappear. But even before I could get up to get a spot on him, his little question-mark face reappeared around the bow of the ferry or the hull of the tugboat. He was checking on me! I waved. He cracked a huge smile and waved back in his own herky-jerky way.

A few times, he even ran to me with his arms out like Peter Boyle's Frankenstein, threw his whole body on my legs and hugged.

Then, faster than I could say "I love you," he was off again, roaming free in the Germ Farm.