...and it's over.

Spring and summer has come and gone already. 80 degrees last week, and last night we had snow. I wore a tank top and shorts for three days in a row. We went swimming. I had the ceiling fan on. Proof below that summer was here.

 

 

Flying Solo

My (other) Happy Place.

That is to say, I have many...two of which are in upstate New York where Doug's mother resides. She has a small farm, which the kids (and me!) love to visit. Of course, that is a happy place too, but I'm talking about a place that is almost what I would imagine heaven to be like.

The children, the dog and I all made a trip out to visit the farm this past week while Doug is down South with Bowdoin for Spring training. We always have a lovely time. This time was no different, except that I was introduced to yet another place I'd be happy to spend perhaps the rest of my life. A property not far from Judy's house, the owner has given permission for her to come anytime and walk with her dog. So, we did just that, two days in a row. The second day was 70 degrees, and absolutely perfect. I wanted to just lay down in one of the many fields separated by stone walls and trees, in the complete quiet, and just absorb the sun. I mean really, how many places can you go now and get complete quiet? Not many, I think.

It is so important, for me, that our children know nature. To have the quiet, expanse and freedom to study and explore it. Beck is safe to run on as far ahead as he likes, testing his independence, while Cora stops to feel every blade of grass. And, particularly on the last day of our visit, we had no agenda, no plans, no hurry. So we lingered, Cora and I, while Judy and Beck went on ahead with the dogs. I sat down, and waited patiently for her to come to me. When she finally arrived, she threw her arms around me, and handed me a thoughtfully picked handful of dried grass. We laid together on the ground, smelling the awakening ground, and cuddled a bit before strolling the rest of the way back through the fields.

How much more lovely could one day be? Such is my idea of Heaven.

Beck playing in Papa's old room

The next day...

Her.

She's my ham. My cheese. My silly little girl. She likes to be held upside down, and swung by her feet. She sits in anything that will hold her...and in things that won't. She likes to be tickled. She loves to dance. She sings to me from the backseat of the car if I ask her to. She gives hugs, and kisses...lots. She tells me when she needs her diaper changed by pointing, gets the diaper, and then lays down on the ground for me to get on with it. She is so dear, and I want her to stop getting older for just a little while. Because now she no longer needs my hand when we walk, and what's more, doesn't want it. She puts her shoes on by herself, and if she can't get them on, she puts on someone else's that are bigger. She knows what she wants. I love every inch of her.

The remainder of February

How we spent some of it:

In the kitchen. Forever in the kitchen.
Always with helpers.

Changing diapers...sometimes beaten to the job.

Reading. Lots of reading. Especially on the days we don't
make it out of our pajamas.

Knitting.

Eating. 

FOUR

I can't believe I left off one of the two most important days of the year. Well...in excuse, we were all sick for, like, most of February. Anyhow, Beck turned four, and most of his friends from preschool came to play. It was actually a really lovely day, and a reprieve from the dreariness of, in my opinion, probably the worst month of the year. Beck's only request was a "raspberry cake", which Lulu more than succeeded in producing; Chocolate cake with dark chocolate Ganache and piled high with raspberries. Four. Where did those years go??