It is a well known fact that I spoil Sydney and Drew. Even though they have plenty of toys, I like to buy them each a toy for birthdays and Christmas. I buy them clothes. I do have a budget, and I usually stick pretty close to it.
The one thing I don't want is for Sydney and Drew to think it's all about money. I don't want them to love me because I buy them things. I do not want them to think money grows on trees, and there's a never-ending supply. That's one of the reasons I spend time with them and try to do things with them. I want them to understand that my coming home to be with them is much more important than the little something I put in my bag for them (and I've actually stopped this practice of bringing something in my bag for each of them. Sydney asked me about it this time. "What did you bring me?" I explained that I brought myself, and she didn't need anything more because she would have presents at her party.). I also don't want them to think 'doing something' translates to going to the mall and going shopping. Sure, that's fun to do, but we aren't going to do it every time.
There was an exhibit at the Bennington Museum that I wanted to see. It was a special exhibit of Grandma Moses' paintings, and others done in that primitive style. I have always loved Grandma Moses. I feel a special connection to her. She lived most of her life in Rensselaer County, and was discovered in Hoosick Falls- which is about 15 minutes north of my hometown. She has kind of a folk hero status in New York and Vermont. Her paintings speak to me. I can see my ancestors doing the same tasks depicted in her paintings. I get her paintings. And I have always loved them. I wanted to see this exhibit while I was home last week, but I was supposed to watch Sydney on my one free day (Friday). I talked it over with my sister, and she said she thought Sydney would like to go to the museum with me. I asked Sydney, and she was thrilled. I planned a whole adventure for us, one that would not cost a fortune.
We decided to pack a picnic lunch for the two of us. I did this because I knew my two options in Bennington were McDonalds (which I don't eat) and Friendly's (which would mean she wanted ice cream at lunch, and I was trying to avoid that). We bought things at the store and then Friday morning the two of us packed our picnic. She must have thought we were going for a long time- we packed three drinks for each of us. We also took fruit and cookies. I took a piece of leftover pizza from the night before, and she took a Lunchables. We borrowed a cooler from Dad, and took Mom's old table cloth. It had rained the night before, so I also grabbed a couple of old towels in case the picnic tables were wet. Before we took off, Sydney asked Dad to move her booster seat from the 3rd row in the Rav to the back seat. She wanted to be closer to me while I was driving. I love that my parents have a Rav 4, just like mine. I am finally comfortable driving one of their vehicles!
We couldn't have asked for a better day. It was in the 80s, but with a nice breeze. The sky was clear blue, filled with sunshine and white cottony clouds. As we drove the half hour to Bennington, Sydney and I talked. Somehow, we got on the subject of my Grandpa Wager, whom she calls Grandpa Lewie. Grandpa died in 2000, so he never met Sydney. But we have talked about him, and she has his picture. She wanted me to tell her stories about him. She listened carefully as I talked.
Our first stop was the 'Old White Church'. The official name is 'The Old First Church of Bennington', but we always called it the Old White Church. Until the roads were redone a few years ago and a bypass was built which means you don't have to go into downtown Bennington, the church was the first thing you saw in Bennington. Route 7 in NY becomes Route 9 at the Vermont State line, and it brings you right to the church. Before you turn left to go down the hill into town, the church stands in front of you big, proud, and glorious. To me, the church has always been the perfect picture of Vermont: a pristine white church, with a white picket fence on the side, and a lane full of sugar maple trees. In the fall, the trees are filled with orange, red, and yellow. The church dates to 1806. The first Sunday School in Vermont was held in this church. We frequently visited this church as little girls, and even as teenagers. You can drop in practically any time and tour the church. Services are still held every Sunday, and at Christmas they light the whole church with only candles. Someday, I'm going to have to go to the candlelight service, it has to be just so beautiful. My sister and I both always loved the church. Sydney likes to know what her Mommy was like as a little girl, and she is fascinated with church, so I thought this was a good stop. As we pulled up to the church, Sydney said in this kind of breathless voice 'oh, it's beautiful!' Yes, I feel the same way.
Walking into the church, I held her hand as her little feet maneuvered the giant white marble steps. I told her this didn't look like her church, but she still had to behave like it was. When we first walked in, the tour guide looked at Sydney with concern. Sydney proved to her that there was no reason to be concerned, just because Sydney is five. She behaved like a perfect little lady. She listened to the tour guide talk about the church, and we went into the balcony to see the side where the boys sat (and carved into the seats with their hunting knives) and then we went to the other side of the balcony to where the girls sat (and behaved like perfect angels, according to the tour guide). As we were walking out, Sydney spotted post cards and asked if I would buy her one. Of course! When we left the church, she once again said it was such a beautiful church.
We piled back into the car, and drove down the hill to the museum. Sydney was amazed by the beauty of the exterior of the museum too. We went in and bought our tickets. Well, my ticket. Children under 18 are free! Really! I think we'll be making a lot of trips there in the next 13 years.... We started walking through the galleries. She was very good: not touching things, talking in her inside voice. She asked a lot of questions, and I answered them the best I could. When we got to the 'Primitive Exhibit' that I wanted to see, she became an art critic. I'm not a person to stand in front of a painting and study it. I look at it, and move on. Which is very handy when you're with a five year old. Other patrons were studying the paintings, although the museum wasn't crowded. If Sydney saw a painting she liked, she vocalized it. If she saw one she didn't like, she let me know that as well. Sometimes she said "What were they thinking with this one?" I had to laugh! We liked the same ones, and disliked the same ones. One painting of Grandma Moses' was of a baseball game. Sydney liked this one the best. She said "Look! She painted the Valley Cats!" The Valley Cats are the minor league summer team in Troy. She goes to their games.
The museum had a lot of interactive things for her. I didn't remember those when I was a child, but maybe they've added them. There were areas for her to color her own pictures. Grandma Moses used to cut out pictures from cards or magazines that she liked. She was especially fond of Courier and Ives prints. Then she traced the picture into her own painting and filled in her own details. The museum had a station set up for children to do this, and Sydney made some beautiful pictures. One of the cutouts was of a toucan, and Sydney put it in the tree on the paper. As she drew her pictures, she made little stories about them. I let her take all the time she wanted. We weren't on a schedule, and I felt it was good that she was using her imagination. In the car gallery, she was able to design her own car. There was also an area where you could draw silhouettes. I drew hers first, then she drew mine. She didn't really understand that you were supposed to sit sideways and draw the profile. So she drew my face as a round circle. She put my crazy hair (her words) on, and gave me eyes and a nose and a mouth. When I looked at the picture, there were three dots on my face below my mouth. I asked her what the dots were, and she said 'those are your chins'. Then she instantly said 'oh, I mean, this one (pointing to the one in the middle) is your chin, and the other two are your cheeks'. Whew. Much better!!!
There was one room in the museum that she found fascinating, and I was surprised. It was the room commemorating the Battle of Bennington (which, by the way, was fought in HOOSICK, NY; not Bennington, VT). There was a 3D replica of the battlefield. She thought this was the most interesting thing. I tried to explain it to her, but how do you explain a pivotal battle of the Revolutionary War to a five year old? How do you explain the Revolutionary War, or any war, to a five year old? I promised her that when she studied it in school, I'd bring her back to the museum, and to the nearby monument, and to the battlefield. Our tour of the museum ended in the gift shop, of course. I bought a pair of earrings for myself, and a couple things for Sydney and Drew.
By this point, it was nearing 1pm and we were both hungry. We went to the car and got our picnic, then sat in the nice pavilion on the museum grounds. I spread the tablecloth over the table and we sat there eating our lunch, looking over the surrounding mountains. It was very peaceful, and very sweet to share a picnic lunch with her. Sydney thought it was great that I knew all these cool places to go. She asked how I knew about them, and I told her MeMe (that's what she calls my mom) used to bring her mommy and I there. The day was a complete success, and she declared that she'll go back to that museum and that church. She told everyone what a good day we had. It was a very cheap day (except for the gift shop) and we spent quality time together. It is something we'll both remember. In another year or so, Drew will be old enough to come with us, and I'll make special memories with him too.
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