Dad at Gymboree

Yesterday I stayed home from work. Usually my mother-in-law, RA, comes over on Mondays while my wife works from home. It's a good arrangement for us - RA gets to see Oliver, my wife gets to work from home, Oliver gets to spend time with mom and grandma, and we get to save the money that would otherwise be spent on day care. This Monday, however, was the second anniversary of my father-in-law's death, so RA didn't want to come over. I had an extra holiday that I needed to take, so it worked out well for all of us.

In the morning I took Oliver for a preview class at Gymboree. He had fun climbing the ramps and throwing the balls. He was not as thrilled with the parachute or the singing, but there weren't any tantrums. At the end of the class, I'm sure that he would have been happy to play some more, but it was time to go.

Dad was a little more uneasy about the whole thing. It wasn't that I thought the place was dangerous or something. It was more that I was the only post-pubescent male there. Given that it was 10:00 on a Monday, I shouldn't have been surprised, but there were seven mothers there with their children. It also seemed like they were all regulars, so I wasn't really included in their conversations. By the end of the class I was quite happy to pack up my child.

Maybe I'll check again on a weekend.