I tried to be careful when I was in the toy store today. I was thinking about what D.J. would like, of course, but I was also thinking about what Tammy and David want him to have. And there are also a few things (that I know of) that they don't want him to have. So I tried to be a judicious shopper, while still thinking like a small child. It took a little more brain power than I'm used to using.

The prime directive is, Don't go overboard. There's only so much stimulation a five-year-old can handle before he reaches the overload level. With all that will be going on at the party Saturday, I'm already trying to think of alternative ways to give him my presents. Maybe I'll even hold some back for another occasion. I don't think he'll feel at all deprived.

Anyway, I had fun wandering around the store. At first I thought I wasn't going to find anything, or (shudder!) that I might actually have to ask a clerk (or a mother) for help. Some shelves were disturbingly bare, and others had so many varieties of whatever it was that I got a little dizzy looking at it. I had no idea Transformers and Ninja Turtles could still occupy so much space, even in the biggest toy store there is.

But I was there to see it all, and in seeing it all I managed to come up with enough ideas to satisfy myself. I don't think I have to worry much about satisfying D.J. I'm pretty sure I have that covered. I kind of wonder if he knows what Transformers and Ninja Turtles are, though, since I don't think they have shows on Nick Jr.

Anyway, I got some things to challenge his mind and some things to work his wiry little body out. Even if I've forgotten something, I still have the rest of the week to fill in the blanks. I doubt I'll have to do that, though.

Class was fun tonight. We got to interview each other, about where we live and work and how long it takes us to get from one to the other. So I was forced to talk to a few people, as the teacher wandered around helping. There's a wide range of levels of dedication in that classroom. (That's a polite way of saying that some people do the work, and some don't, and in an exercise like this it's easy to tell which is which.)