more of summer's delights

Some parents like to debate whether age 2 or 3 are harder (me: neither -18 months was hardest), and while it's true that the fussiness and drama do not disappear with the "terrible twos", I also really love this age, with both boys. I love to hear them think out loud, to reason, even empathize, to see them collaborate (and they really do get along very well), and to have long conversations with them. Even if some of those conversations are now about death, or human reproduction. I love to see them ride trikes, hop, and hang from the monkey bars, even if the other mothers look at them, then look at me, and just say, "wow". I'm loving being around my friends' 3 year olds too --I think I just really like this age. Anyway -the stuff they say is so darn funny right now, that I really ought to write more of it down.

Yesterday, N was trying to get O to sing a song with him ("Go Now In Peace", a sweet little round they learned in church that we often sing to each other as we leave the house), and O was going a little too fast for N's liking. N said, "You are going much too fast, Ollie! Is that necessary? I don't think that is necessary!" Today, Ivy was barking in her kennel, and I said that I'd be right back after I went to get her. As I was putting on my Wellies (Rain! We finally have rain!), O said, "It's OK, Mama - she fell silent." Is it obvious that we read a lot of books?

Last summer, I was still doing the twin mom head-bob at the playground much of the time: one-two-one-two, always counting kids and putting out fires. This summer, I bring a book or a magazine, looking up regularly while keeping my place with my finger. Last summer, a trip around the block still took at least 30 minutes, and we still used the stroller much of the time. This summer, we often leave it at home, and J and the boys take buses and trains all over town. They ride trikes, and Big Wheels, and even a two-wheeler with training wheels. A trip around the block can happen in minutes.



(And stop snickering about those helmets, you Dutch relatives, you. Nobody looks out for bikes here, and I hear way too much about head injuries in my line of work.) Of course, O is just as interested in examining the bike as riding it... Thanks to Auntie Me*agan, they know names of bike parts I don't know.



Last summer, no nap meant brace for an afternoon of mayhem and tears. This summer, they can usually roll with it, and they often just play in their rooms anyway.



Especially if they can eat cake instead. I love how they sit all up in each other's business and not minding a bit. I wonder if they'll ever stop doing that? Will they sit together on one bed in their room when they're teens, 90 degrees to each other with one boys' legs on top of the other's? I can kind of picture that.


Speaking of getting in somebody's business, would you look at Zo*e trying to knock a boy well over twice her weight off that ball? O was totally oblivious.





Both boys adore corn. Tonight I was brushing N's teeth, and he asked me to "leave the corn in, please". Um, no. Both boys just saw the dentist, who said they have fantastic teeth, both in surface and structure, and that they could well get through childhood without a single cavity and no braces. I don't want to mess that up.




Here is N trying to play in the sandbox, which is being overtaken by our "volunteer" squash. The plant has 8 acorn squash on it - all due to a stray seed that apparently didn't quite make it into the compost pile. I wish more things worked like that: Didn't quite make it to the bank? Free money for you! Miss the laundry hamper? Have some free socks and underwear!


Playing "smash Daddy".


N has a habit of playing just beyond where the swings would konk him in the head - a habit I've been trying to break all summer.


Compared to years previous, the boys have little interest in toys, at least at home. They prefer sticks, and rocks, and leaves, and straws, and pretty much any tiny random object. When they're really lucky, Daddy will even help them fashion these random objects into vehicles. This one, of course, requires direct supervision. Daddy drives way too fast if you don't watch him.


O is a diligent corn shucker. N was upset I wouldn't let him use our hairbrush to brush the silk.


We had a huge National Night Out party a few weeks ago. From the boys' perspective, this meant that all the grownups on the block went crazy, blocked off the street, made all the cars go away, cooked a bunch of good food, and played in the middle of the street. Their wooden shoes were very popular. Rarely a day goes by that a boy doesn't mention that amazing day that we all hung out in the middle of the street.


And here we have N going "tomato hunting", which he often asks to do after naptime. His saying that gives me visions of him shooting little yellow cherry tomatoes with a tiny little gun, like from the Playmobil sets my brother used to have as a kid...

I hope you're finding equally worthwhile ways to spend your time as summer wanes. The boys start twice-weekly preschool next Friday, the Sunday School year starts next Sunday (and I'm teaching the K-2 kids this year), and their early childhood class the week after that. Busy, busy, but I know that we'll all be happier having someplace to go as the colder weather comes.
A far cry from leisurely playground afternoons in the sun, though.

home economics

The state of the economy has been hard on a lot of us here lately. If you’re not in the U.S., it’s hard to describe what a dramatic change it has been compared to a year ago. Not a week seems to go by without someone in our church announcing they’ve been laid off. Foreclosure and For Sale signs dot the neighborhood, and we’ve had people come by the house looking for work. People are taking the contents of their house outside to sell in “garage sales” that are really desperate attempts to come up with a mortgage payment in time, or selling their wedding rings on company bulletin boards. We’ve been somewhat personally affected as well – we’ve lost tens of thousands in equity in our home (just about everyone has), and it’s been hard to keep a full piano studio, lessons being a luxury that not as many can now afford. I managed to dodge a round of layoffs recently, but not all my colleagues did. The cost of food, gasoline, health care premiums and heat are up dramatically, far beyond yearly wage increases, and unemployment is at a thirty-year high. We are getting by, but times are lean for almost everyone we know.

That said, I’ve been thinking lately about some of the good things that come out of times like these, at least for the ones like us who are still managing to get by. If nothing else, lean times teach good habits, and they also force people to take advantage of collective resources. We’ve actually had a wonderful summer. The libraries and farmer’s markets are bustling. Neighborhood festivals and campgrounds are the place to be this year (though we do have grandma to thank for the pony ride).

Less people going out of town meant more people out and about in the neighborhood, attending National Night out parties in record numbers and chatting over fences. I no longer feel like an eccentric puttering in my vegetable garden, because everyone seems to be giving it a shot this year, trying to offset skyrocketing food prices. Even chicken permits are exploding.

Picking pound after pound of delicious homegrown vegetables feels like being showered in abundance amidst scarcity.

This summer, we saw no big-screen movies. Like many people, we are driving less and using public transportation more. We didn’t hire babysitters –instead we swapped childcare with friends from church and in the process, got to know the other families with young kids much better. We didn’t go to many restaurants, but we had many lovely picnics and dinners with friends.

We didn’t go to the water parks, but we took full advantage of the parks and kiddie pools we pay for with our tax dollars.

I can’t imagine having enjoyed the past few months more if we’d done things differently – I really can’t. The neighborhood has never felt more like a community.

There are, of course, many people in America who are not getting by, who are making up the increasing amounts of request for assistance coming through my desk at work, who are losing houses, and going bankrupt, or homeless, or sitting on a street corner with a sign, asking for help from a stranger. Homeless shelters are overflowing, aid and jobs are scarce to non-existent, and times are truly desperate for a lot of people. I see it everywhere I go, and we don’t have much of a safety net in this country. We tend to rely on charitable programs to do that in America, but of course, giving is down in this economy too.

What it comes down to, is that I feel oddly fortunate – fortunate to be able to hone habits that will serve us through lean times and not, but also fortunate not to be among those who are losing homes and dreams and any kind of security. It’s an odd feeling – both sad and hopeful. I’m not sad about the fact that my local thrift store shelves are picked clean –it means that Americans are finally starting to get real about consumerism and its true cost, even some of the ones who have other options. I’m not sad about the fact that the buses and light rail cars are packed – these are habits we must embrace if we are to be realistic about the future. Those high energy costs aren't going anywhere. I'm certainly not sad about the fact that the libraries and parks are full of people enjoying what they have to offer.

But I look down the street at the For Sale signs, and wonder what will happen for the family behind those doors. I wonder what will happen to my city’s tax base, to the schools my kids will attend in a few years, to the people whose unemployment finally runs out. I wonder what will happen when too many people’s credit card bills finally overwhelm their incomes in a formula that applies to many of America’s households and spells a recipe for ruin. I wonder how much longer our country can run on empty, on credit, on deficit spending, on waning reserves of oil. Our own finances are being put more or less in order, but ultimately, we are all in the same boat, even beyond our nation's borders.

Zo*e and family over for dinner

The ladies are a big attraction among the little kids we know, and Zo*e liked them just fine. As you can see, we are experiencing quite a drought.




Ollie is always good for a hug from or for a relative.



Zo*e takes a gander at Mabel the Cochin hen.