10.27.09
Remains of the day, remains of the garden
Yesterday evening, I took the camera out to the backyard to try to capture the strange and beautiful pearlescent light that’s been hovering lately. While my eyes saw things as bathed with silvery light, it was just too dark for shooting without a tripod. These couple of shots are the least blurry of the bunch–the first is looking over the backyard to the west, and the second is of my asparagus berries. Pretty, huh?
I’m just waiting for the first killing frost–so far, the nasturtiums and the artichoke act like it’s still high summer, but wowsa–is it ever cold this morning! 36 degrees while I stood out with the kiddos for their morning bus a few minutes ago.
As we trudged up the hill toward the east, A. said, “Look at the fogwork! It’s beautiful.” The clouds were cresting and curling in that same amazing light as our teeth chattered and we kissed goodbye for the day.
10.13.09
Little sponges
On the way to the airport, 5-year-old A. says to me:
“I know a good way to get money for a Wii, Mama. There’s a thing called My Gold Envelope where you send gold jewelry, gold watches, or any gold you have lying around. The gold goes to a refinery, and they pay you by turning it into cash. A small amount can be enough for a down payment for a car or a flat screen t.v.”
Oh, really?
“Uh huh. And there’s also a thing called Bump-Its and they last all day long. They bump up your hair and they’re super-secure so they won’t fall out! That would be good for you, Mama.”
Uhh, no. No, no no no no no. And no more Qubo!
10.01.09
They don’t call history his story for nothing
S., trying to choose a historical figure to depict for a school project, and frustrated by the ideas K. and I have been pitching to her:
“I don’t want to dress up as a boy and I don’t want to be a dead wife!”
08.23.09
I’d rather not
…get a tetanus booster in the arm again, though I will in 10 years’ time. Maybe writing it down will lodge it in the old memory bank–I got a tetanus booster in August of 2009!
Next time, when the nurse says, “Hmm–we don’t have a record of you getting a tetanus booster. Has it been more than ten years?” I won’t blithely answer, “I’m sure it has. Let’s do it today, can we?” And then realize two days later, when my arm is swollen and cranky and ouchy, and my in-house doctor says, “Oh, yeah, that can happen when you get tetanus boosters closer than two years apart.”
Oh. Wait.
08.11.09
New game/old game
7:15 pm last night:
K. and S. are playing checkers on the ferry from Friday Harbor to Anacortes. The boat is lurching more than usual, and S. looks up from the board.
“Ugh. K, are you gonna insult me if I say I’m a little seasick?”
“No, of course not…weirdo.”
S. laughs, and I think what a good sport she is, how they’re bantering without fighting, and a warm motherly glow spreads through me until I realize S. is cackling with glee at finally jumping two of K’s guys in a row.
06.25.09
A kind of animal
A’s sorting out rational thought these days, and yet his mind seems dominated by the absurd and the imaginative a lot of the time. It’s something precious that wanes with late childhood. Some conversational tidbits:
I let the girls walk to the library from the orthodontist by themselves a couple of days ago, a distance of a block, and traversing a pedestrian crosswalk. After they left, A. said, “If S. dies, someone will have to get her bedroom.” I said, “S’s not going to die!” “Says who?” he said, breezily.
Walking back home hours later, I guided A. off the road when a car turned onto the road towards us. “Why’d you do that?” “Because I don’t want you to get hurt.” “I can die if I want to.” “No, I love you too much. That would break my heart, A.” “Yeah, you’d have sleepless nights,” he said, giggling a little.
[eta: I think this might come off as a touch psychopathic, but he's approaching it as he would anything else that is far removed from reality, e.g. If he turned purple I'd be upset. If he grew three heads I'd be upset. If he died I'd be upset. The last is no more real than the first to him.]
Yesterday morning, cuddling in bed, he grasped both of my hands. “Hah. I’ve got both your cousins.” “Hmm? Are my hands cousins?” “Yep. They look alike.”
Last week while we were having dancing night, A. said to me, “I’m going to grow up just like Papa. Know why?” “No, tell me.” “Because I’m his kind of animal.”
06.06.09
Thanks for the compliment, love
Dance night again in the living room, where B. and I are showing off some African dance moves.
S. says: When Papa dances like that, it’s awkward. (We both beam at her.) But Mama, when you dance like that, it’s really awkward.
04.29.09
They don’t miss a chance
(Yesterday’s dinner conversation)
Me: I found the most delightful children’s book at the library this afternoon. It’s by Edward Gorey, and it just starts mid-thought. I love it, seriously, like almost as much as Maira Kalman’s stuff–this is #2.
K: Well, just remember to flush.
04.24.09
One measly dollar
I learned about the Measles Initiative a couple of days ago from a fellow student who was selling buttons. A joint project with the Red Cross, the CDC, the UN Foundation, UNICEF, and WHO, it’s been remarkably successful in the past 8 years.
However, measles still remains a major health risk in developing nations because it’s one of the most contagious diseases known–and the vast majority of deaths are children under 5.
P.S. How did the word “measly” come to mean small or impoverished? from L. misellus “wretched, unfortunate,” dim. of miser “wretched.”
03.18.09
All warm inside
Sakai Intermediate School, 11: 44 a.m.
Me: (wrapping up weekly book discussion) Okay, guys, it’s time to gather your things for lunch.
5th grade girl: Aww, I don’t want to leave. This is my favorite part of the week!
