Early yesterday evening I took the kid to the bookstore, Borders in Ann Arbor. We picked out some books – Max got a great Lilo and Stitch “early reader” book and Maggie got a Fairy Realm chapter book – and looked around for a while. Fun! I love looking around bookstores, and I love it that my kids love doing it too!
After we were done there, they wanted a snack, so since I’d recently gotten a Starbucks gift card as a thank-you gift for speaking at a class, we went across the street to Starbucks.
The kids got little hot chocolates, and I had a wonderful Decaf Skim Mocha the size of my head. Maggie had a big ol’ slice of iced lemon loaf and Max had a big pumpkin muffin. (I sort of snurched from both of their snacks!)
So we’re sitting there, in the middle of Starbucks in downtown Ann Arbor, with a bunch of college kids from UofM hanging around studying. Maggie and I were chatting but Max was looking around silently for a while, munching his snack and scoping out the place.
Then he leans in to me and says, very quietly, Daddy? I think there are a lot of people here who are trying to look cool.
And I looked around. And he was right.
I thought that was pretty perceptive for a 6 year old.
So then, the three of us had a quiet conversation about a bunch of the people there, and the difference between just trying to make yourself look ‘nice’ versus trying to look ‘cool’, and why we sometimes want to look cool.
A nice night.
Tony Caselli 
Ok, your kids are brilliant 🙂 I was at Borders last night too! my favorite thing to do when I need to relax is go to the bookstore and spend hours looking though the art books, reading plays writing down authors and titles that look interesting. I go to the kids section and look though the picture books, and then I go to the music section and listen to opera. Last night I was reading up in the cafe with a big pot of tea yummmy. Glad you had a nice night too!
How funny that you were there too! Too bad we missed you!
I’ll have to try listening to some opera, I’ve not done much of that ever, and not in a long time.
First I need a definition for “snurched”. I am not familiar with your strange language.
I think that sounds like a “cool” idea for a Starbucks commercial! I think it is so cool that you hang out with your kids like that…like they are friends. What a cool relationship to have with your kids.
Why do I use the word cool so much????
Cool! It’s just a cool word! If you’re in with the cool crowd, that is!
Well, like most parents, my kids and I have those moments like hanging out at Starbucks, and then we have those moments where I want to trade them in for a nice new entertainment system. *laughing*
We do get along pretty well, though – I love doing things with them.
I stopped at Borders on my way to work today, there was a guy snoring over a book in a chair. LOUD.
Dom
It’s a very relaxing place!! I’ve settled down in one of those comfy chairs, big ol’ coffee and a book, in front of the fireplace, and more than once dozed off!