Random Observations

I am happy to announce that after my "fall" on Tuesday night, I am back to my old cheery self.  No emphasis on old, please.  It just took a quiet day at home with very little running around to rejuvenate my mind and body from the insanity of my weekend.  With a refreshed spirit, I was able to enjoy my kids and spend some one-on-one time with each of them.  Even my big orange baby!

Isn't he precious!  He is currently in desperate need of a good grooming, though.

I love afternoons like yesterday!  The sun was shining, the boys horseback riding lessons were cancelled, and suddenly an entire afternoon was opened up. 

Avery decided that since it was sunny, he wanted to go for a swim.  When Avery wants to do something, he does it!  I can give him a million logical reasons why something should not be done, but he needs to find out on his own.  So, even though I told him that the river is still frigid cold because it was only a month ago that it was frozen solid, he put on his swim trunks and we headed to the shoreline.  As soon as his tootsies touched the water, he decided that perhaps swimming should wait for another day.  Of course he did not acknowledge that I was right, and I, being the mature adult, did NOT tell him "I told you so!".

Instead, he played along the rocks asking me questions the entire time.

Look at all the bug bites on his chest.  The bugs LOVE him!

One of the things I love about Avery is that he is an observer.  He notices everything!!  Like the time he explained that Grammie Skov has the best smile in the entire world because her smile is so huge that her cheeks scrunch up and almost cover her eyes.  The funny thing is that it is true, and even though I have spent more time on this earth with my mom than he has, he took the time to "see" her and to note what makes her so special.  I wish I could be more like that!  It truly is a gift!
Anyhoo, back to our question and answer period.  So, as you can imagine, some of Avery's questions are pretty tough to answer, and he forces you to really think about things.

Avery: "Mom, does water go on forever?"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Avery: "Does this river touch the entire world?"
Me: "Well, it does connect to the Bay of Fundy, which is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, which is connected to all the other oceans in the world. So, yeah, it does go on forever!"

Phew!  I managed to answer that one, but the next one I flubbed up a bit so please leave a comment on this post if you have the answer.

Avery: "The world spins right, mom?"
Me: "Yes."
Avery: "Why can't we feel it?"
Me: "Because we are so tiny and this world is so HUGE compared to us that we do not realize it is moving."
Avery: "Does it move fast or slow?"
Me: "I think slowly because if not we would see a million different sunrises and sunsets in a day. But we may have to ask daddy, though because I am really not sure."

Help!  Does anyone out there no the answer.  He was not impressed that I did not know, and later became convinced that while sitting on a particular rock that he could feel the earth moving.

He then moved on to fraternal and paternal twins, and was wondering why one group looks alike and the other does not.  As soon as I started to explain that moms have eggs, he broke into laughter and took off.  I guess he figured that I know nothing.  People are  not born from eggs, crazy lady!

Once Avery left me, I spent sometime watching Scout.  For him, the water was just the right temperature and he had no intentions of leaving just yet.  Scout is very funny!  He is a quirky dog, and one of the funniest things he does is dig up the rocks in the water and take them out. His first summer, Derrick would take him and the kids down to the river.  The kids always whined that our beach was too rocky so while they were all playing around, Derrick would pick up the rocks and throw them to the side.  He was convinced that if we did this that overtime, a LONG period of time mind you, we would eventually have a sandy beach.  Well, he has given up on that dream because the river's current seems to dump all the rocks on our beach. It's just the way it is.  Scout, on the other hand, has not given up, and whenever he is finished with swimming, he gets straight down to business.

He truly is a working dog!

I gave the kids until 4pm to do whatever they wanted and then we hit the books. I can't wait until school is over and we no longer have homework to do. I say we because my boys need to be continually kept on task and prodded along.  It is exhausting, and one of us usually throws a temper tantrum somewhere along the line.  Aah!  Sweet mommy and son bonding time! But, yesterday, was different. In fact, I was shocked at how cooperative they both were, and even more shocked when Elliot, after I announced that we had to work on his persuasive writing skills because the provincial exam is next week, did not storm the house in a fit of rage.  Not that he has ever done that when it comes to homework . . . ha, ha!  As we sat together and worked our way through the reasons why he wants a dirt bike, I noticed that he really did not need me that much.  He was spelling words on his own and he was able to come up with coherent sentences that logically outlined his reasoning behind wanting a death machine (my words, not his).  I was taken back for a moment.  Although this was definitely a proud mama moment for me because hallelujah he is actually learning something, I was sad because all of a sudden my little boy had a become an independent writer. 

Flash forward to suppertime.

After a lively dinner conversation, which will take up a whole other blog entry sometime, Elliot, who had cleared his plate, got up with plate in hand and said, "Mom, that was a great!  Can I go outside now?".

Stop the presses!

Who are you and what have you done with my son?

I was utterly flabbergasted!  Elliot is my pickiest eater, and mealtime always involves whining with some acrobatic maneuver, whether it be hanging upside down on the chair or teetering on the edge of his chair with just his tippy toes.  Trust me, the boy does not like mealtime.  So, when did he grow up and become this mature homework-doing, meal-eating, clean-up-after-myself kind of kid?

Well, my best guess is that it happened sometime overnight.

I guess there really is something to this double-digit thing!

Later in the evening, we all curled up to watch the finale of American Idol.  After "observant" Avery commented that he could almost see the girls' "private parts" because their dresses were so short and Elliot became fixated on the fact that Steve Tyler was caught smoking, Derrick and I figured it was probably time to put the boys to bed.  Ah, good, wholesome family viewing.  Thanks, again, cable TV! Thank heavens the boys were not up to see Lady Ga Ga's performance.  It was kind of getting hot and heavy with her and that guy on the rock.  Yikes!

In the end, it was just Zoe and I who stuck it out.  Although all that I learned about Zoe this particular evening was that she loves the white sneaker look (I can't go there), J Lo's pant suit and Scotty, I did have a chance to reflect upon our time together on Monday night at coaches' training for soccer.  This summer, Zoe is going to become a coach for our soccer club, and she is going to do a fantastic job!  I was such a proud mama the other night when she lead a group of adult women through a series of drills that you could use with the young kids.  She was so confident!  And she knew her stuff!  This girl truly amazes me each and every day. 

 I will be proud to pass my little ones over to her this summer.  She is going to have a blast with them!

Here is Zoe with a couple of the other youth who will be coaching this summer.  They are a great bunch of kids!

There you have it!  Aren't my kids awesome!  I am so grateful that I took the opportunity yesterday to rest.  The world we live in is so busy and and filled with so many distractions that we have to make a conscious effort to say, "I'm done!" and to step off the crazy train for awhile.   If we don't, then life becomes one garbled mess of varied experiences and sensations, which will eventually lose their meaning if we allow them to simply slip through our consciousness without reflection.  Luckily for me, I was able to reconnect after a quiet morning with just me and my thoughts, and by the time that big, yellow bus pulled up at the end of my driveway, I was prepared to truly "see" the people, and the big orange fella, that I share my life with.

Just a note of caution, when flinging one's self off the crazy train, one must tuck and roll. Always tuck and roll!

Tee hee!