The Aerie
Not many updates this week: my wife is a hermit.
She's off at a hermitage in outstate Minnesota, taking a five-day
writing holiday. So I'm at home with the kids, which is an interesting
experience. But it's not that hard: the twins are getting big and even
my youngest is becoming more independent.
Along with getting older, they're also getting stinkier.
I had the twins take showers this morning before school because, well,
they needed them. Then they had "track and field day" at school. And
after school, soccer lessons. The end result? They smell like
linebackers after a game. Another shower tomorrow morning I guess.
So I get up with them in the morning, get them organized and fed for
school, and see them out the door. Unlike their mother, I do not walk
them to school. It's only ten short blocks (about three long blocks)
and I charge the twins with holding their younger brother's hand
crossing the one mildly busy (four-way stop) street.
I have been walking over to retrieve them from school, though. Not
because they can't walk home, but in order to check out their schedule
books as they exit the school. So far, two days out of two, I've
caught one or both of the twins leaving homework notes in the school
and sent them back for it. Today I sent back my daughter to get one
item, only to have her lose another item on the way. By the time she
figured out that she'd left THAT item in the bathroom, it was half an
hour later. But a lot easier than going all the way back and forth to
the school!
Tomorrow I have a late-scheduled meeting (I can only work 8 to 2
daily), and I'll probably catch them at the park or my neighbor's who
I've asked to pick them up from school.
Last weekend was Moldy's last party. Going against his wife's explicit
instructions, I invited a bunch of former high school classmates. It
was amazing to see not only all the former St. Francis people, but
also all of the people who turned out for Moldy's party. Dozens of
people were gathered in their small apartment, and dozens more
gathered outside under awnings in the pouring rain where an immense
feast was spread under tarps.
Fudge! I just wandered into the laundry room where, following some
instinct, I gave the sump pump a jiggle. It must have been jammed: it
immediately gushed forth an immense, incessant volume of water. Way
too much water. So I stepped into our "new room" (the expansion we
added a few years ago which sits lower than the rest of the basement).
Sure enough, there was a half-inch of water in the whole thing! Such
are the joys of home-ownership...
Anyway, I grabbed some [1]photos of my old classmates. Lots of amusing
then-and-now shots.
And last Friday I accidentally blew a client meeting while snapping up
some [2]photos of the early spring bloom along the river. The
unretouched green of the grass, and the contrast of the spring leaves
against the damp bark of the trees are some of my favorite spring
scenes.
Enjoy! I'm gonna grab a mop...
[3]Last
Posted by Albatross at May 13, 2003 12:00 AM