Shell Bags

We've just come home from Mexico. It was a trip seeking simplicity, on the beach or in a pool. My goal was to strip away all things except bathing suits, and all thoughts not about the present moment.

Packing, however, was quite the opposite. It was all about gathering things and thinking of the future!

But in the midst of that shuffle, I was determined to make shell bags for the kids. I wanted them homemade, basic, accessible, and unique. Although June ditched hers for dancing on platforms instead, Will filled his with sea glass, and Clara filled hers with shells.

I was glad I made them, even if it meant bringing more stuff to Mexico and finishing them minutes before we first put our feet in the sand.

(This is Will in his present moment, making a sand angel.)

(This is Clara in her present moment, sizing up the sea.)

Will & Clara & June & John

Will and Clara and June and John

went down to the beach (to play one day)

and Will discovered a fish that shined

so brightly he kept it in a drawer by his bed;

Clara befriended a motionless dragonfly

whose body was blue like the ocean and head see-through like water;

June was chased by a weightless feather

and then danced like one to the sound of the waves;

John came home with sand in his toes

tiny little balls but as big as everywhere.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me or a John)

it's always ourselves we find at the sea

The REAL poem by e.e. cummings is one of our favorites: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15406

Echoes

Today, June and I walked through a wind tunnel. It reminded her of the echo sounds we make when we bike along paths under bridges. Then she said, "The echoes are like mirrors." In her beautiful head, she found a connection between echos and reflections. In my head, I found a connection between kids and poetry.

Celebrate

In our household, we have much to celebrate. Most recently, it was Jeff's slug birthday. Let me explain:

It all started with Will. When he was I think 3, he decided he was part tiger, which has stuck for, oh about a decade? But everyone caught on. A huge percentage of our conversation is consumed by talk about being 1/2 tiger, 1/2 dolphin, 1/2 horse, 1/2 eagle, 1/2 snake, 1/2 cat, 1/2 dog... (It's a great study in fractions.) Each animal association brings special powers, sensitivities, and insights. Jeff has caught on with some of the more obscure animals such as slugs, sloths, guinea pigs, worms.

The exciting thing is that all these alter-egos have birthdays! All you have to do is say, "Today is my jellyfish birthday," and shazam! Cupcakes for everyone!!!

It helps that one of Jeff's co-workers makes and sells amazing cupcakes on the side. She started her own "Be Sweet Bakery". As regular customers, the kids can generally pull off a birthday every month.

Preoccupied

Jeff and I have been a little preoccupied cheering on our newest walker in the family. He's so cute! Waddling around, falling often.

And suddenly, everyone mysteriously wants to pretend like they are babies, learning how to walk or learning how to talk. Even the oldest is inventing a new language to display those learning-to-speak traits. On top of that, in their games they suggest that John is 40. Ouch!

Is there a message here?

Here is the "goo goo gaa gaa" baby face of one of the participants: tongue out, eyes wide, mouth open. You know, like babies.

Family Art

This weekend, the seasons changed. I have loved our warm weather days - the biking and hiking and river sloshing. I could do that stuff forever. And parenting is so much... smoother in the summer, with all the fresh air and running around outside.

But still, a part of me looks forward to the cold weather. Here are a few reasons why:

• There's not so much conflict about what to do. Without the pull of summer sunshine, the choices are a little more limited, so it's easier to just sit around, read, eat.
• I like winter cooking - making soups, breads, hot chocolate.
• The shorter days means it's a lot easier to get everyone to bed, maybe even with time enough for a movie after.
• We light more candles, have fires, wear slippers, drink tea, cuddle up in blankets.
• The weather pulls us together. We stay closer to each other. Maybe even talk a little more. Read more. Play games. Do puzzles.
• I love winter outdoor activity - skiing, hiking, sledding, ice skating. But honestly, I don't get my hopes up too much. For one, I have to gear myself up for the winter layers on the kids. And often in the divide and conquer parenting, I get the young ones, i.e. those who aren't quite up for serious winter activity.
• Finally, I get to imagine that I'll actually finish, ok begin, all the sedentary projects I think about doing all the time.

All that said, today we resumed a cold weather ritual that I love: family art time. The girls both focused on color and hearts. Will worked in his art journal, which is filled with black and white sketches and designs. I cut vegetables for soup (that's art, right?) and drew things I hope to sew some day. And Jeff nursed his soccer injury and helped June. John slept, thus family art time.

I know that I'll long for summer days, starting easily in January. But for now, I am anticipating the old pleasures that the new season brings.

Tomatoes

While we were raspberry picking at Berry Patch Farm, I decided to commit myself to canning and bought 23 pounds of tomatoes. I had to take the plunge, or suffer 1,000 fruit flies and a huge guilt complex.

So I did it without regrets. (A not so patient John may argue otherwise.) I had only one casualty when the bottom of a jar burst off. Oops. Oh yeah, the water and the jars should heat up at the same time. As Clara would say,"Duh!"

So we can now look forward to yummy winter chili and soups, and hopefully NOT botulism.

Raspberries

We went raspberry picking at Berry Patch Farm outside of Denver and came home wishing we'd picked more. Clara would have stayed all day, but John had other ideas. One of which was consumption on the spot.

At home, we delicately separated them one by one and froze them on baking sheets, hoping they'd last for smoothies in the wintertime, but they barely made it a day. Maybe we'll go back.