Odds and Ends

The other day, it came time to do Mike’s homework.

“I want Laura to help me.”

“Why,” asked Jim.

“Because she’s smarter than you,” he replied.

A very perceptive little guy, I must say! The homework subject was spelling and Mike was required to find a synonym or antonym for 8 of his 10 spelling words. In order to accomplish this task, I taught Mike how to use a thesaurus. He balked at first, like he always does, but eventually came to like the thesaurus, my thesaurus, given to me by my 8th grade librarian (yes I was/am a nerd), before my family moved from Maine back to Southern Virginia, and as such, it has a degree of sentimental value…and thanks Mrs. Newcomb it did come in handy.

“Can I have this book? It’s really cool,” Mike asked.

“Well, no Mike, it’s mine and it’s kind of special. It’s also 20 years old. We can get you a new one,” I answered.

“Please?”

“No, Mike. Come on…drop it. You can use it when you need it until you get one of your own.” I answered.

Mike was undaunted. “Can we trade it back and forth. I get it first. I’ll take good care of it. I’ll give it back, I promise!”

(Can you believe all this was over a thesaurus? The kid is 8 years old. I am glad he’s learning the power of words!)

“No, Mike.”

“What about if you die, like in a car crash. Can I have it then?”

I laughed then. I don’t remember now how the whole thing ended…but the way that kid’s mind works never ceases to amaze me. Such tenaciousness can be a good thing if we somehow manage to turn it’s focus in the right direction(s).

We now have baby Basil, baby Oregano and Four O’Clocks pushing through the soil in our little peat pots. Woo-Hoo! I’m still holding my breath. I don’t know if this little experiment of starting my plants from seed is truly going to work. The plants are still going to have to grow a bit and survive transplantation before we’ll know if it’s a success. Hopefully it will work and I will have discovered an incredibly cheap way to pretty up my yard in the spring. All the supplies cost about $10.50…keep in mind we live in a tiny Baltimore row-home with a postage stamp sized yard. Doesn’t take much! I will have to buy more potting soil before it’s all over and perhaps another planter for the herbs…although my absentee neighbor has one sitting unused in his backyard in good shape. So I’m hoping to bum that from him the next time I see him!

David looks like a little boy in his summer shorts. It’s killing me! My “baby” is growing up. He’s also beginning those really interesting two-word sentences, “Socks, Mommy,” “Shoe, Mommy” and he says, “It’s ober ‘dere” when I tell him I don’t know where his blankie is. There’s a lady in my play-group who has a little one she’s nursing. Every time I look at them I think, “that was me, last year,” and I get a little sad. It is a tough time of life and its ending is certainly a mixture of sorrow and sweetness…like all new beginnings.

Ana is irrepressible as ever. She loves play-group, loves going to the mall( a rere occurrence), loves her tea parties and carrying her little pink purse. What can I say…she’s a girl.

Me? I’m beginning to treasure my time at the end of the day, in bed, all alone with her prayer rope. Why? Because it’s the only time of day that’s truly mine in any sense at all. The kids now get up when I do…so if I want to write I have to put on a movie (as I’m doing now) and I feel like a heel. At the end of the day, I can slow down and it’s just me and God…I whisper to him the names of those most important to me…and those who asked me to pray for them…and beg for mercy for myself as I live this life of wife, momma, friend.