The cat went the forest to catch field mice.
the girl
First Sprinkles
Warm weather means water.
Surprise!
“Oh, L!” is a common refrain.
Little Hands
Little hands are good at threading little beads onto little strings.
And with a young lady who sometimes has little patience, that’s no small feat.
The creative process has its demands, though, and if the motivation is there, the persistence and patience are not far behind.
Little hands are also good at opening big letters — big in their size and their significance.
“L, you have mail!” I call out as I enter. It seems her friend from school has written back.
Cartoon Time
We don’t want to be draconian with our rules, but television certainly must have certain limitations.
Thirty minutes a day.
Changes
It was sometime during second or third grade, I believe, that I first realized I wasn't seeing the same things my classmates were seeing. I'd somehow discovered that if I pulled on the corners of my eyes, I could see better. The teachers noticed, said something to my parents, and shortly after that, I had my first pair of glasses.
The Girl, it turns out, has the opposite problem: she's far-sighted.
The optometrist tells us it's something she could outgrow in a few years.
There are some things, however, she's likely to retrain for several years to come.
Gardening with the Girl
The first video that was entirely the Girl's idea.
Wants and Needs
Wants and needs are easily confused. Birds, for example, need water like all creatures. They don’t need berries, but their sweet flavor and high water content makes berries particularly attractive. Our recently-installed netting, however, frustrates our flying friends from fulfilling both wants and needs (though it does little for alliterative flourishes).
Flowers need attention, as do little girls (and, I would imagine, little boys, though we won’t be collecting anecdotal evidence for a few more weeks yet). And the best attention is often so seemingly slight: a pat, a hug, a kind word.
Spring Work
Spring is a time of expectation and rebirth. Or simply birth. With four weeks remaining until the Boy's due date, it's time to complete the final preparations: clothes need washing, cribs need assembling,
and final days as an only child need enjoying. We're all bursting at the prospect of a new member of the family, but I suspect that it won't take long for the Girl to start remembering how peaceful a Saturday afternoon could be when she was flying solo.
But there will be things only she can help with for several more years: her place as the special helper is secure for the foreseeable future.
So is mine.
Canvas
When your medium is chalk, the world is your canvas.
When your family includes a rambunctious five-year-old, escape is your standard.
