Autumn Sunday in the Yard
the boy
The Boy and a Soccer Ball
Not-So-Best Friends
Staring
Clipped
“Jew!” the Boy cries, pointing feverishly. Yet we’re not playing I-Spy in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The Boy is just thirsty, and he clips most of his words. Our cat, Bida (“Poor thing” in Polish), becomes “Bia.” Big sister’s name gets the middle vowel and consonant removed, so she becomes simply “La.”
October Sunday
“What do you want to do this afternoon?”
“We could head to the pumpkin patch we usually go to this time of year.” Yes, but that’s almost a forty-minute drive one way.
“Maybe we could go to the park.”
“Which one?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Conestee?”
We were there last week, though. And the other park we frequent is across town.
Our options don’t sound very relaxing, and for a family with a sick boy, an almost-sick girl, and two always-exhausted parents (K more so than I, I’m sure), relaxation is at a premium.
So maybe some sandbox time followed by a game of Roll the Pool Balls at Each Other. E’s a natural. He’s going pro — I can sense it already! He’s got such original techniques, feeling, sniffing, even tasting the ball.
Of course he always puts safety first: he never even considers approaching a Roll the Pool Balls at Each Other table without a helmet.
Workin’ ’round the House
A little mowing…
a little mopping…
a little pet care…
a busy day.
“I don’t know”
Clearing Out
"I've outgrown them," L explained as she packed up her Barbie odds and ends -- including her beloved Barbie Camper -- to be taken down to the basement for storage until an eventual yard sale or something similar.
But the Boy is into vehicles, and he spotted the camper, and he took it out of the box for a spin.
Saturday
Saturday is usually a day of hustle and bustle in our house, a day of constant movement and seemingly unending motion.
Yard work, repairs, cleaning, cooking, child care, soccer games, shopping -- it makes the day pass in a flash. And I never really notice just how busy we usually are until we aren't. With both kids a bit sick, today became a stay-at-home day.
And except for some cleaning and a bit of cooking, with some grading squeezed in here and there (40 out of 50 complete) and the Girl's Polish schooling, it was an uneventful day.
It's hardly something to complain about, though. Nothing on occasion is just fine.