Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Nine

So I met BioMom nine years ago tonight.

We were at a party of a mutual friend and toward the end of the night it became clear that the very next day was BioMom's birthday.

I asked her how old she was.

She answered the literal truth, rather than how old she would be in a mere two hours.

I should have known what I was getting into.

Happy Nine Sweetie!

I'll leave the other relevant number here in its ambiguity, just like you did.

Sunday, August 08, 2010

The High Dive, A Summer's Metaphor

It has been such a great summer.

One of those strange ones where time seems to be moving slowly enough to really dig in and enjoy it.

Other people I talk to are astonished at how quickly the time has flown -- It's AUGUST already? -- whereas I am slowly getting ready to go back to school.

It has been a good, long summer.

We belong to a local "big" pool. This is to say that we regularly go to a pool in which the kids can actually swim. There are these great wading pools literally every mile or so in Minneapolis that we also visit regularly, but this year both kids wanted a bit more.

So, a couple of weeks ago, we were at the big pool and Big all of a sudden noticed the diving boards.

And, of course, immediately wanted to jump off of them.

Both of them: the low AND the high.

He's a fairly decent swimmer, so I was not opposed.

After a few low-dive jumps, he decided that he'd try the high jump. He got all the way up there, walked to the end, and, seeing that it was a bit higher from that perspective, decided to wait until later. The life guard had to bail him out.

That entire night he went on and on about how he was going to go off the high dive the next day.

The next day, the pool was closed to his great disappointment.

The day after that we were all good to go and he did it! I had to capture it on a video this year because he looks so little on that big board.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Overturned..... Unconstitutional!!!

Judge Vaughn's ruling of California's Proposition 8!

Monday, August 02, 2010

The Wide World Comforts Her

I just love the book When Sophie Gets Angry.

The art is fabulous and the story is a great way to introduce to kids the idea of being really super angry. How to be in and sort out angry feelings.

In the book, the girl gets mad at her sister and runs away to her safe spot, her familiar tree, and, clearly, her home-away-from home.

I love that she is free to run and that no one is chasing after her. No one is worried that she'll be abducted or hit by a car.

I kind of want to live where she lives and climb that old beech tree.

Here's my rendition of a climactic point in the book on our sidewalk.