Dog Walks

Sadie the Dog is finding her place in our house.  The kids are finding their dog styles, too, which are often revealed in the daily walk.

• Will is serious and confident, yet casual.  
• Clara is determined and quick, regularly just racing up the hill and back.  
• June is joyful, often ending with her little self losing the leash.  
• John is still working out his relationship, a not-so-complicated mix of jealousy and love.    

So far, my own relationship with her reminds me all too much of others:  I cart her most everywhere we go, but I don't often give her my full attention.  I suppose that I put faith in numbers.

Synchronicity

There is nothing better than biking home from school on a blue sky day and hearing an approaching train.  The tunnel is always just a tunnel.  We've biked through it a million times.  But today, a train passed over.  In John's eyes, it was a miracle.

100 Bulbs, 100 Flowers, Part II

The 100 daffodil bulbs we planted in the Fall (here) are blooming.  They're beautiful.  It's a lesson in delayed gratification.  But, mostly it's the joy of Spring.

Between Seasons Hike

This weekend, Will and Clara and I hiked the Mesa Trail, one of my favorites.  The air said Spring, but much of the trail said Winter.  Due to all the ice (and a wrong turn), we misjudged our timing and barely finished before dark.  But, I didn't mind.  Being in the woods with my (oldest) kids, time stands still.   It's a feeling I seek daily.

Ballerina Discipline

June takes ballet on Saturday mornings.  It's a little dream world.  The simplicity and the discipline is so appealing to me, partly because of the stark comparison to our everyday life:

Ballet:  Beautiful, clear music.
Home:  Music, and 100 other noises on top.

Ballet:  Fold sweet pink clothes as your get ready for class.
Home:  Throw everything, everywhere, and generally miss whatever the desired placement may be.

Ballet:  Stretch, long neck, look up, reach out.
Home:  Hunker in and scramble to move in 10 directions at once.

Ballet:  Singular focus.
Home:  Constant multi-tasking.

Ballet:  Little dancers coordinate moves, flow together.
Home:  Little "dancers" seem always to be going in opposing directions.

Ballet:  Room is virtually free of any clutter.
Home:  Not a single room is free of clutter.

Ballet:  Floor shines, reflects sweet little dancing bodies.
Home:  Floor is covered with milk and orange juice and spit up and I won't elaborate any more.

Ballet:  Everyone seems so peaceful, so poised.
Home:  Poise is not even on the priority list.  Peace is always the distant dream.

I really do love June's ballet.  She loves it, too.  Maybe even for some of the same reasons.  In fact, I have a new idea.  I think our whole family should start doing ballet.  We could experience a complete transformation.

A Sign of Spring

Signs of spring are appearing:  birds, bulbs, mud on trails.  My favorite so far is a product of children on the trampoline, rather than ice.  John's hair feathers out just like a dandelion.

Boxcar-ish Adventure

Clara is reading "The Boxcar Children" series.  In it, the four kids' grandfather repeatedly offers them  adventures on a plate.  In Clara's most recent book, "Surprise Island," he introduces them to his own family island and leaves them there for the summer.

I thought of him as I introduced my four to... a gap between our fence and the neighbor's.  Not exactly an island, but it did provide some adventure for the day.  It even has promise for occasional returns in the summer.