dynamic elf

1:30 PM: Hmm, I wonder if there are any French classes for little kids around here.
2:00 PM: Hey, look! Oh, wait, those are all for 4-year-olds.
2:15 PM: Hey, look! One for 3-year-olds at the Alliance Française, which I've been meaning to go to for years! On Monday afternoons!
2:30 PM: *gets OK from boss to take Natalie to a French class every Monday*
2:35 PM: Oh CRAP, it starts TODAY at *3*.
2:45 PM: *leaves office, calling ahead to tell the teacher we'll be late*
3:00 PM: *gets carseat*
3:05 PM: *whisks Natalie into car*
3:19 PM: *parks illegally, walks into class*
...
4:00 PM: *pries Natalie out of huge French library with a couple of kids' books and a Babar video*

....and then we went to the kid gym in Arlington, which we can never drop in at because their "open play" time ends at 5 PM, and listened to the CD of French songs that they gave us on repeat for the next couple of hours, and had the best lazy afternoon together that we've had in a really long time. And I have a song about dancing marionettes in my head, and the memory of Natalie giving a very deliberate thumbs-up to the librarian as we walked away. Me too, kid.