A rainy morning, so the Boy made frequent trips to the back door to observe.
Watching the Rain
the boy
Watering
How to Fall Asleep
Note to the Little Man: If you're really serious about falling asleep easily, there are a number of things you have to do. Many of them don't impact you: lower stress, get some exercise, eat well, etc. However, there is one basic step you could do that would dramatic increase your chances of falling asleep quickly: stop moving around!!!
Crackers and Blocks
Having a one-year-old means finding a plastic block at the bottom of the animal crackers' box...
Fitting the Pieces
Dear E,
I wish I could tell you that life is like the puzzle you struggled with today, that there are a few missing parts and with a little trial and error, you can figure out where they fit. Life is a puzzle, but it's more like the puzzle "Dalmatains," with a mass of similarly patterened pieces that seem almost impossibly random.
You'll struggle at times to make the slightest bit of progress, only to find yourself wondering if perhaps you didn't force a piece here or there after all. "Maybe they don't fit quite that snuggly," you'll say to yourself as you plod off to bed one night.
But rest assured, there is a bigger picture, it is accessible (if not difficult), and it is beautiful.
Your Dad
Saturday at the Pool
Our first day at the pool this year as a family, but alas, the Boy, still recovering from some upper respitory infection, cannot get into the water.
Instead, he stays with Nana and Papa, forever pointing to the pool, forever needing distracting. It's so unfair, so inexplicable: everyone else takes turns in the water, and the poor Boy is stuck.
For the Girl, it's a continuation from last year: more development, more courage -- diving, diving, forever diving. With a new set of flippers, she's able to get deeper faster.
"But Tata, it hurts my ears to go that deep."
She also adds a new trick or two, like diving into the water through the ring.
"Perhaps I could try that," I suggest.
"I've got to get the camera for that," K replies.
"I didn't think you'd make it," she replies with a smile.
Watching Cartoons Together
Sorting
There are a ton of pictures to go through -- close to 500. How? K and I both get carried away sometimes.
And so after the kids are in bed, the first load of laundry done, and a bit of cleaning and sorting completed, K goes to bed and I start going through the weekend's pictures, many of which I should have posted Friday evening.
Dozens upon dozens of pictures from the beach. The Boy walking toward the water; the Boy walking away.
The Girl playing in the sand; the Girl playing in the water.
But once again, it's late, and my cognitive abilities/willingness are setting like Friday's sun, though not as gloriously.
The upshot -- plenty of material for the next few days.
Two Days in Charleston
Two days to cover due to various issues yesterday -- how can I do it? Over 300 pictures in those two days. Most should be deleted, but there's not even an once of willingness to go through them all on the netbook computer I've brought with me. So I pick a few representative ones and save the others for later -- and the same goes for the stories behind them.
But how could I fail to mention the walk along the Battery, with multi-million dollar homes on one side and a beautiful bay that completely fascinated the Boy on the other?
And how could I leave out the excitement of the Boy when he first saw the ocean? L's first reaction was panic and fear; the Boy's first reaction was squealing excitement
And the archeture of the Charleston area, from the classic Charleston look (neither colonial nor European but a strange mix of the two with hundreds of other influences) to the modern engineering wonders.
How could I leave out the story of a biologist's visit to Angel Oak, our walk on the Folley Beach pier, the visit to Middleton Place? I shouldn't, but I shall. A cramped keyboard, sleeping children, and a tired soul tell me that it's okay to tell only a portion of a story. If it's a good story, the rest will wait.
Back Home
The Boy on his four-wheeler at Sunset Park.
Full speed at all times.
Looking at his clothes, though, I find myself thinking, “K, shouldn’t you be dressing our son a little more warmly?”
Of course it’s only here we’re wearing sweaters in June.