Written by My kids love chocolate milk. Love it. Life expectancy for a bottle of Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup in our house doesn’t even register in minutes (it was Nestle Quick powder for me when I was a kid). I was watching the other day as Kendra performed the chocolate milk ballet, set to the sounds of Ethan blindly grasping for spoons in a drawer he can open but with contents he cannot see – refrigerator door open, lift milk, step-turn-spin-kick, door swings shut, step, dodge-running-child, hop-toy-raise-milk, catch falling glass (pause – whew!), step, turn, spin, rest. Then the pouring. Then comes the spoon, and the rhythmic, whirring, clicking process that pulls all that chocolate off the bottom and off the sides and makes one great treat from two good things that would otherwise exist separately. READ MORE »
Posts by
98 degrees of separation
We inched into the parking lot…my head on a swivel… eyes constantly searching for the white gleam of a reverse light, or the tell-tale signals of a parent approaching his or her vehicle in preparations to leave – the hurried walk, head down or glancing at a timepiece; the jingling of the keys; the bewildered stare, mouth agape, searching for the sedan in the sea of SUVs. The parking lot was crowded. Like the mall on Christmas eve crowded (maybe not in THIS economy, but like it used to be). Crowds of parents and students and siblings poured in from across the streets as many were turned away and were forced to park in the adjacent neighborhoods. I inched further along. Jaden and Dillon were nattily dressed in their 1st Day of 1st Grade clothes, and Ethan was in his favorite little brother attire: Small Paul Monkey print T-shirt and cargo shorts. A mini-van inched back. Victory! READ MORE »
These little lights of mine…
Kendra and I had a homework assignment from Jaden’s and Dillon’s new teacher due on the first day of school. We needed to write a letter to the teacher about each of their talents and characteristics. We had done similar assignments before with Logan, and may even have done something like this for them last year or in Pre-School. But somehow this one bothered me… as they get older, I grow increasingly concerned about people taking shortcuts in learning who they are. Any action I perceive as someone trying to compartmentalize them is immediately met by me with resistance…slowly approaching mild hostility. I understand that they are identical, and that it can be difficult to distinguish one from the other solely on appearance. But after spending any time with them, and making an effort to know either of them, it becomes apparent almost immediately who each is based on mannerisms or expressions, even posture! Each definitely has his own light… READ MORE »
Into the deep end
Jaden sped off in a rhythmic walk…trot…walk…gallop…across the scorching “cool deck” around the pool toward the base of the high dive. He stared up the 10ft ladder briefly, then steadily made his way upward. Rung after rung. He pulled himself up onto the long blue board and walked cautiously out beyond the handrail. He was not unfamiliar with diving boards. He and Dillon had been jumping off of them since last summer… just never at this height. I stood and watched as he smiled nervously and then shook his head. He returned quickly to the ladder. A lifeguard came over and helped him back down the ladder. I didn’t say anything to him about it. I just smiled at him and waved from across the pool. He was processing it all, and I needed to let him do that. Jaden took a few turns off of the lower board, and as he was swimming out, I noticed Dillon at the top of the high dive. Dillon looked around… he waved to me… and jumped off the edge; smiling the whole way down. Jaden watched and went back to the line at the low dive. READ MORE »
Not Yet
There was a time when I could go to the store, get what I need, and get back in the same amount of time it takes us to corral all the kids and get them in the car today. Everything was hassle free – errands, dinners out, movies, travel – I had more time in the day than I knew how to fill. I hate that time. I don’t miss a second of it. But it will be back… shortly…and it looms hauntingly in the back of my mind. READ MORE »
