Jock Strut

3rd grade football practice. Running the first plays of his life. Water break time. James jock struts to the chair where his brother sits on [his] mom's lap. He spits out the mouth guard, tips up his helmet, nods to mom, gulps down half the bottle of water. As the water drips off his chin, he produces a wide-mouthed belch, respectable in length and volume. He turns around to rejoin the practice, a whispered "'scuse me" is lost in the re-attaching of the snaps as he jock struts back to the field. There is much I'll never know about maleness. But James has found his - and has found it to his liking.

Just a little hello

Naturally, every year on the anniversary of my father's passing, I think of him. I was driving yesterday when I thought it would be nice to have some sort of sign of my Dad; to know that maybe he was thinking of me. I smiled, thinking that I may hear a song he used to play on the piano in the next day or so . I arrived at my chiropractor's office and said, "Hey Dr. Mike - how's it goin?" He replied, "Just another day in paradise!".

On the day of Dad's makeshift funeral, as we left the beach after releasing my Dad into the ocean, we passed two guys sitting on a bench, drinking, and as we went by, they said, "Just another day in paradise!".

I am thinking of you, too, Dad. I miss you.

Duh

While watching the epic battle of the stuffed animals last night (I was on the couch where the designated 'sick bay' was located for those injured in combat) Peetie's little Snowman was rolled into a ball and then "fart-rocketed into space, all the way past Pluto, AND he can breathe in space!" "Breathe in space?", I asked. Peetie shot me a look that simultaneously showed his irritation at the question and his disappointment that I didn't already know the answer. I went on, "Won't he melt?" To make sure I understood, Peetie hunched his shoulders, wrapped his arms around himself, shivered and slowly said, "it's very cold in space, Mom." He turned back to the space journey and then back to the battle, leaving plenty of time for me to comtemplate the vast gap in my outer space knowledge.

Fart Rocket

My girls played with stuffed animals who had great adventures by singing, dancing, going on car trips, etc. Last night, Lonely Puppy traveled through the bedroom by fart rocket power. The noise was deafening but as Peetie pointed out, "It doesn't smell!".

Lutsen and Duluth

I drove by the house I lived in when Kate was a baby and I remembered the phone number; it just popped into my head! I love the weather up north - if you are a little chilly, you can wrap up in a blanket or a sweatshirt and it is such a comforting thing to do. When people are in shock, you wrap them with a blanket; what can you do that is comforting when you're too hot? Not much. At least if you are cold, there are things you can do about it: light a fire, snuggle, use blankets and warm socks, hot chocolate or tea, etc. It's so loving to offer someone warmth if they are cold. Even saying "extra blanket" is a love-thing. If you're too hot, you're screwed. All you can do is sit there and be hot. Or, find an environment that is cold and start over with the above.

I ate the best fresh corn-on-the-cob I have ever eaten in my life at the Fisherman's Picnic in Grand Marais. I'm not sure I will ever want to eat corn again. James and I stopped at Perkins on the way up and although he initially sat across from me in the booth, he moved over to sit next to me for the rest of the time. Hard to describe how that feels. Peetie figured out how to shoot the arrows from the cheapo bow and arrow set we bought in Grand Marais. He named his new stuffed moose, Thidwick Crank. Or, T.C. for short.
Peetie vocab:
Anything that is not smooth on your skin= dimple
Nostrils = nozzles
Intestines = Einsteins

Roy, the orange, hairy caterpillar

Peetie has a pet caterpillar. He is very lively- except after the nap he took under the car (in his jar) while Peetie took his Kung Fu Second Degree Blue Belt test (he passed!). Roy became lively again after he had wind from the open car window blasted through the holes in the top of his jar on the way home. Peetie says Roy curls up in a ball if you shake his jar. Roy had a sleep-over with Peetie last night but is set to be released back into the wild by noon today. I'll post his picture as soon as I find the cord for my camera.