Deer Haiku

Image: Cindy47452 via Flickr

four more wait, watching,
while this one tests our brakes –
an unhurried deer

Finally

Since the beginning of the school year, Mr. D has been proclaiming, "T is the nicest boy in our class." For the longest time we've been wanting to invite him over and see for ourselves.

Finally, the winter break nudged the stars into alignment and we were able to get these two young men together for an extended playdate. First, a little outdoor action:

Then, a trip to Ice-Land! Young master T had never been skating before, and was initially skeptical about our offer. Mr. D worked his persuasive charms: "There's a railing you can hold onto. Wear double pants and that way if you fall down it doesn't matter so much. If you don't like it, we can just stop and get cocoa." Finally T gave in. And then, once he got out on the ice, he loved it! He fell over and over again, but was absolutely unbowed, and got better and better, little by little.

Here's T yelling, "I feel like I'm gonna fall!"

And here he is an hour later.
("I want to do this every day," was his parting quote.)
A good time was had by all.

(And we continue to think that Mr. D
has great taste in friends.)

Boxing Day

Boxing Day pretty much equals Lego day at our house.

My help is rarely required, these days.

Sometimes, I help anyway.

(Thanks to the Sassafras Santas
for this particular edition of Boxing Day delight.)

Christmas

There's nothing quite so sweetly satisfying
as Christmas in your jammies.

Here's T holding up a postcard I made for her
of her "home course" at Anstruther.
Clearly she didn't need anything else. (Good thing, too.)

Mr. D was thrilled with his "big presents" (here he's showing off his much-longed-for Eli Manning jersey; yay, Grammy & Grampy!)

And also quite taken with "found" presents
such as this empty wrapping paper tube.


The surprise smash hit of the morning was
a bag from Santa full of all sorts of disguises.
(Disguise pictures have been removed
at the request of
He Who Prefers His Cover Not Be Blown;
leave a comment if you MUST receive
a disguise picture via email.)

(PS: The new camera seems to be
working out well so far.)

Beliefs

I believe in haiku.

I believe in moseying.

I believe in celebration.

I believe that images have power.

I believe in singing. Out loud. Preferably with a friend.

I believe that we should all be permitted to wear what we please.

This last from a gal who has spent the entirety of Boxing Day in her jammies. (When Mr. D and my partner came back from a bike ride into town and back today, he greeted me with a jaunty: "Hello, Pajama Mama!")

I am an opinionated person, with passionate and deeply held beliefs.

I would do well to remember more often that others feel the same way about theirs.

I believe in compassionate listening and reflexive kindness.

And I believe that we are all of us works in progress.

(Thanks to the women of
Sunday Scribblings, who this week
unwittingly gave me an excuse
to go poking about in old posts.
New pics tomorrow, maybe?)

Snow, then rain –

the geese arguing loudly

overhead

Image: Jacqueline-W via Flickr

(A few Christmas pics
will go up soon, I promise!)

Ongoing Traditions

Saturday morning wrestling: year three
(Here, Mr. D is trying to "post up" out of the down starting position.)

Neighborhood caroling: year two

Former neighbors returning for the caroling party: year one

Mr. D waits until hot chocolate cools down
without being prompted to do so:
possibly the first time ever!

(All photos taken w/ my brand new Fuji Finepix F60.
Indoor shots are a little grainy: I haven't used any flash modes yet.
I also haven't read the manual,
which is provided as a .pdf document on CD.
Will consider the next week or so this camera's "try out" period.
Stay tuned...)

Late

We were going to be late.

And it had already been a long day.

I was pretty sure, having already been introduced to the features of multiple forts in detail, that I could live without a personalized tour of this one.

But as soon as I saw the tears well up in his eyes, I knew I'd need to reconsider.

I turned out that he'd saved the best for last.

This was his treasure shelf, full of things that he had found (or bartered for) over the course of the whole week.

It was difficult to overstate the specialness of each treasure. Each one had a story.

I stood listening, awash in memories of what it felt like to treasure the found.

And I let go of "late."

(Thank you to the women
of Sunday Scribblings
for their continuing inspiration.)

Real Life Conversations

Mr. D: Let Tama pitch. She's a great pitcher. She can throw it to heaven.

Then, a little later: Here, Mama, you can have this last bite. I know you like crusts.

Me: Thank you, sweetie, that's very kind of you.

A few minutes later:

Mr. D: You know, it's a little bit harder to be kind to the people in your family.

Me: Really? How so?

Mr. D: Well, you can't say things like, "So how was your day?" because you were with them, so it doesn't make sense to ask.

Me: So you mean that some of the ways of kindly showing interest aren't really available to you if you're talking about family members?

Mr. D: Right. (pause) But kisses and hugs do the trick.

Update: Yes, he actually said "do the trick." And yes, we are the luckiest moms ever.