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Serendipity

Today I had two not very fun outings to do: First, get my licence plate tags renewed, then go get new shoes for Amanda and Luke. Amanda had lost her shoes about a week ago, and Luke seemed to be butting up into the toes of his shoes.

We did the more unpleasant one first, finding our way to the DMV in a 1970s shopping mall with dingy store fronts---not a hustling bustling hub of commerce. I was surprised when first, the line to get the tags renewed was short and pleasant, and second, one of the stores in the mall had set up two huge model train displays, complete with Thomas, ferris wheels, a mountain with miners, lights, trees, a battleship, etc. I watched a family of 3 kids aged from 4 to 10 come in. They were all fascinated, even the 10 year old who wanted to be cooler than his brothers. Needless to say, Amanda loved the trains and Luke loved the buttons.

Then I went to get the shoes. It turns out that both Amanda and Luke had not outgrown their old shoes yet, and the lady taught me how to recognize when Luke's shoes would be too small for him. Then we bought the exact same pair of shoes that Amanda had lost, except 1/2 size larger (a bit too big for her), and for only $15. I love Stride Right sales. (Grandma J.: the next stride right 2 for one sale is in March. Go after the first two weeks, and expect to wait, but you get great deals). The kids behaved well, right up to when we left. Not at all what I had expected.

I love having days when we can just go with the flow, and accept the good things that happen without trying to get too much done or be in a big hurry. My favorite part of the trip: when we got home, I found Amanda's lost shoes! Not bad for a day of boring errands.

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