October 18, 2001 - Thursday
Harry, his mother, and I were all invited to dinner this evening at some friends' house. They don't have kids, but seemed remarkably ready to entertain the three of us. So, we brought Harry's booster seat and a few toys and had dinner. Somehow I was pretty confident that Harry wouldn't ruin the visit or embarrass us terribly, but I'd be lying if I thought it might not be a little awkward at times.

We'd been talking up the visit beforehand and it clearly got Harry interested. He was ready to go and all I had to do to get him ready to leave the playground after daycare was to remind him we needed to go to this dinner party. He was off and running for the car and actually telling me to hurry. And, after a little shyness, Harry was more than comfortable in their house. Of course, Harry was loud at times and I remembered how easy it is for parents to get accustomed to level of sound and just block it out. Hopefully, they had some idea that the noise would happen. Harry ate the dinner that had been prepared without complaint, but was too distracted to eat all that much and finished long before we were ready, especially in a social setting. So, his mother and I took turns talking to those still at the dining room table from the nearby living room.

Ultimately, beyond mere tolerance, our hosts were wonderful on several counts. She got Harry to break from his shyness almost immediately by bringing out some beads and attempting to have Harry make a little string bracelet. I don't think they finished, but the distraction did its due. There was also a glass bowl of very smooth rocks in the living room. Enough said. They served ice cream (with apple pie, though that was superfluous to Harry). And, he showed Harry their cats and, after dessert, brought out these wonderful plastic candle, kaleidoscope-like flashlights. With those new things to his aid, Harry seemed like a fine dinner guest after all, or, to the relief of his parents, at least not a bad one.


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