Friday, June 28, 2013

Yesterday, Last Year and Tomorrow



The girls understand that some things have already happened and some things have yet to happen -- but it's how they quantify the time that gets interesting. 

Grace: Remember last year when we went to the doctor? (It was last week.)

Claire: Yesterday, when I was a baby, I cried a lot. 

And "maybe tomorrow" is a catch-all for Grace's optimism. 

Grace: Can I have more pop?
Me: No, you've had enough.
Grace: Maybe tomorrow? 

Grace: Remember last year, when we ate popcorn and watched a movie? Can we go again?
Me: We will in a few months. They aren't any kids movies out right now. 
Grace: Maybe tomorrow? 

The fact that we are still wearing our PJs at 2 p.m. probably doesn't help with the time confusion. But that's a conversation for another day. 

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Gubby


Grace: My mom couldn't come over today because she's sick.

Me: Your mom? 

Grace: Yes, my mom had to go to the doctor to feel better.

Me: Aren't I your mom? 

Grace: No! My other mom. 

Me: You have two moms? 

Grace: Yes, but my other mom couldn't come today because she's sick.

Me: What's your other mom's name? 

Grace: Gubby. 

Me: Does Gubby do laundry? 

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Izzy's Last Chapter

This post is dedicated to our Izzy girl, who warmed the hearts of everyone she met. 


In the past six months, Izzy was free. She felt the wind in her hair, watched the ground pass by between each gallop, the sun on her face as she picked a spot to sprawl out and take a nap. She was a true country dog, with acres of fields and woods to explore and neighbors to visit. 

Stan, the nice dog-loving man who so generously offered to take Izzy last fall, told us that she would frequently visit the neighbors and hang around for part of the day. They had all come to love her and would call Stan to let him know, "Izzy came to visit again today." 

But her country days weren't all sunshine and butterflies -- she was picked up twice by the puppy police for running a little too far. 

Really though, that's the essence of Izzy. Despite her outrunning her boundaries, tearing up blankets, pillows, flower gardens, walls, escaping the fence we built for her, escaping the electric fence we bought for her, running through ponds and coming home wet and stinky -- all we could do was love her. 




You'd look in her eyes and you almost felt like you were looking into a person's eyes. She was the size of a small horse, but her spirit was so beautiful and kind. 



When she was a puppy, a few weeks after we brought her home, we realized she had a bad case of mange. We took her into the vet and they told us it would probably get worse before it got better. They weren't kidding. She lost all of the hair on her head and the mange wreaked havoc on her body. But after several months of battling it and several visits to the vet, she overcame it. But in the process, she made friends with every person in the vet's office. They all knew her by first sight and would come out of their offices to greet her when they heard she was coming in. The vet we were using at the time would tell Izzy how beautiful she was -- even when the mange was at its worst. At the time, I thought what a great person she was to show so much love for a dog that wasn't her own, but looking back, I can see that Izzy's kindness had won her over, too. 


We found out yesterday that Izzy passed away three weeks ago. 

She would have been seven in December. 

At the time, it didn't seem like the best Valentine's Day present, but now I know — there was no better present than a dog that emanated love. 



Farewell, good friend.



Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Summer Lovin'


I'm head-over-heels in love with this summer so far. 

And just to give you some perspective, in the last three weeks, our master shower started leaking, our toilet broke, the refrigerator started leaking, our dishwasher broke beyond repair and my van is making the most horrific sound when I turn on the AC. To most reasonable people, that does not sound like a great start to the summer. 

But I've never been reasonable. 

The girls are out of preschool for the summer, so our strict bedtime routine is more flexible and our mornings way more relaxed. 

They are getting so independent that balancing work and them isn't quite as challenging as it used to be. (Still challenging, just not the rocking-back-and-forth-in-the-closet kind of challenging) 

So, we're just doing our best to soak up these summer moments. Popsicles, snail hunting, sand castles, giggles, late-night ice cream, picnics under blue skies. 

For now, I'm blissfully happy. 

Please remind me of this five weeks from now when it's too blazing hot to go outside, my kids are whining, I have loads of work to do and I'm rocking back and forth in my closet.