Halloween 2013
the girl
Sign Language
Early Morning with the Boy
The Boy’s sleeping schedule is somewhat more flexible than we’d probably really like it to be. It probably has to do with that stubborn illness that’s been lingering.
Some days, he sleeps until eight; other mornings, he’s up at half-past five. It would be infinitely convenient if the former days tended to fall on the weekends and the latter during the work week, but infinity and convenience are rare companions. And in the end, isn’t convenience overrated?
Besides, when we’re the only two up — K already out of the house and L asleep — it’s reminiscent of the early weeks. Tiring weeks, but always magical in the morning.
“Magical morning my foot,” K might say. “I remember how you complained!”
Reading
Autumn Sunday in the Yard
New Friends
Saturday Soccer
It’s been a tough soccer season, the mirror image of last year’s spectacular season. We’ve had some tough losses this year, and the only win thus far came last week, when L was home with a bad cough.
This week, she’s back, playing all positions: goalie, defender, mid-fielder, forward.
The irony of that statement is that she often played all those positions at the same time — all the kids do. A sort of herd soccer. They’re beginning to learn about positional play, but they get excited, each and every one of them, and soon, there’s a little herd of green and blue jerseys, all attacking the ball.
Today, there is such hope: we are up one-nil for the first quarter. The green team equalizes, in a sense: one of our players shoots into his own goal trying to clear the ball. Soon, though, we’re up three one.
And then comes the barrage of little number five on the green team: a little blond girl shorter and faster than everyone else on the field, with phenomenal ball control. She shoots one, two, three goals within five minutes.
So we lose, five three. Well, four three. One doesn’t count. But of course it does. But of course, it doesn’t.
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.
Explaining in Poland
I’ve only now been getting around to the videos from Poland.
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.
