things

so many cool things on the internets right now. a partial list:
vintage eyeglasses on etsy (see david's in action above)
shari's spiderwebs (amazing)
cup & saucer collective (two lovely ladies making beautiful things)
kate miss (i want a necklace)
speaking of necklaces, i want this one from habitat too.
if we're talking about habitat, i want these too
a pizza from delancey, dessert too.
photo walks are always a good thing in my book
sart is right, i can feel the transition coming
and last, but certainly not least, remembering senator kennedy
i am certainly no political junkie, but i have a long standing soft spot for the kennedy family. years ago i watched the ken burns documentary and cried and cried for what could have been and i am not much of a crier either. so today i feel a sadness again for what could have been.

first kindergarten, second and one not pictured

last week was our first week of the new school year. it was a long week. we all had to adjust to new bedtimes and getting up early. myself included. collette's favorite things about kindergarten are:
seeing her best friend margot everyday
seeing eliot on the playground

and that's all we can get out of her. well, today david managed to get her to say what she liked about school besides seeing margot. apparently it was reading a book. i'll take these all as good signs. she's not crying and she doesn't refuse to go. if she doesn't want to talk about it, eah. her decision. i'll pump the teacher for information at back to school night.

eliot is already loving second grade. we are looking forward to this year, because they get to "travel" around the world and study different cultures, food, languages. it's a good year.

and arlo. well that sweet arlo. she's doing just fine too. more than fine really. as a third child, she is taking full advantage of having time to herself in the best way possible. that's right, laying full length on the couch. because you third borns out there know, you never get the whole couch to yourself, you have to fight for your portion tooth and nail. when we leave in the morning, david says she lays out and luxuriates in all the space. smart girl. very smart.

fleeting

i saw it yesterday. just a flash, but i knew it just the same. we were at the doctor's office for collette's five year check up. he had just finished up and we were waiting for the nurse to come in to give collette her two shots. she was sitting on the table, and i was standing next to her. there was a brief conversation, do you want to hold my hand? yes. do you want your shots in the arm or the leg? arm. do you want to watch or do you want to put your head on my shoulder? watch. the nurse came in and stood by us. and that's when i saw it. collette sat up straight, squared her jaw and got ready for the shots. and the expression on her face. it was fleeting yes, but in that instant i realized it was an expression she will use her whole life long. every time she squares that jaw to take on something, it will be there. the same one at five years, 25 years, and lord help me 85 years. and it was heartbreaking and fantastic all at once. and i felt five myself and 25 and 85. and i squared my jaw and held her little tanned hand.

this is our last week of summer vacation. eliot starts school on monday and collette marches right on into kindergarten on wednesday. they are ready. they are more than ready, and here i find myself dragging my feet. kicking the dirt, listening to cicadas not wanting to let the time go. and i know now that a huge portion of my love of summer is my love of childhood. of the magic of summer. of the laziness and heat and sweat and boredom and joy of summer. last week i was in oklahoma for work, and tuesday evening i was roaming around a borders books looking for something. i was poking around the bargain table and found a book of greek mythology and i was whipped back in time to my 11 year old self. that summer i found a big book of mythology and i devoured it. i laid in my bed and read it cover to cover then started back at the beginning again. oh sure, i know zeus likes to dabble with pretty young ladies and do all these crazy things, but those were not the stories that held me. my favorites always were the stories that took something we know and found a different way to explain it. i love persephone the best. i love that greeks decided that the reason we have a winter is because she ate those six little pomegranate seeds, and for six months of the year her mother roams the earth in sadness, missing her daughter and the world goes cold because of it. how lovely is that? how much more fascinating is that than talk of axis and climate and seasons? and really isn't it the secret of childhood? that time when we are on the cusp of becoming adults and learning how the world really works, but we still have the stories. the bright explanations that make us laugh and clap our hands? don't get the idea that i live in a dream world. i very much live in the real world, with a real life and a real family. but there are times when i like to take a small retreat. and i indulge more so in the summer. and i love it. so i find myself sad that this is our last week. but what can i do but square my jaw and face it? if collette can, certainly i shall too.

(i've been reading a lot of steinbeck, can you tell?)

eleven

today i have been married to david huffman for eleven years. today is a very good day.