Marching Band and Mud Cakes

This might be one of my favorite days of all time.  Our neighborhood friend joined us on our walk this morning and the kids ended up playing in the ditch for 2 hours.  They made mud cakes and played "marching band."  There were no time constraints, no adult directions, and lots of activity.  The kids kindly shared their toys, took turns being the leader, and were totally engrossed in their own world without once getting bored.  Wide open space in more ways than one.  Ahhhhhhh...

Dog props

The reason we starting walking twice a day.  Thanks, Gib.














Shortly before this picture, my daughter ran towards the two boys in an all-out sprint screaming excitedly, "You guys!!!  I have BUCKETS!!!"

Journaling

I don't know why I started a blog.  Really how this site functions for me is as a journal and as a keepsake for my kids.  And yet, when I think of sitting down and journaling with pen and paper, it doesn't happen.  Something about knowing that your words will go out where someone can read them makes a difference to me.  Not that I necessarily want anyone to read them.  It's just that someone could read them. 

I do occasionally picture my high school girlfriends reading this and it makes me feel more connected to them.  That part feels warm and fuzzy.  It makes me feel like someone's watching out for me.  Thanks, girls.  xoxo

My daughter starts Kindergarten in 3 weeks.  I feel the loss of her now almost like I did just before my son was born.  I knew that a golden period of our lives was ending.  It was bittersweet - after all, she was gaining a sibling and I was gaining a son!  But I was losing the solidarity that she and I had almost exclusively for three years.  I cried like a baby over it!  I'm not quite weeping over the transition to school-age yet, but I'm sure I will be on the first day of school.  Every cliche out there about parenting is true; "They grow up so fast!"  "You'll blink and they'll be in college!"  When did life become a Hallmark card?!

I'm leaving for a two day backpacking trip tomorrow.  It's been forever since I've been out in the woods with all that time and space and nothing to do but walk.  Ahhhhhh...

The Beginning - July 14, 2012

I'm a single mom who lives in a townhouse with two young kids and a dog.  Not wanting our small courtyard to be the dog's bathroom, the kids and I walk the dog on a loop around the neighborhood and nearby bike path twice a day.  I chose the loop out of convenience; it's a fairly safe loop where I can let the kids run without fear that they will be run over by cars.  I started out harried and grumpy most mornings, wondering how I was ever going to get to work if I had to slow down to the pace of a 2-year old, a 5-year old, and an 11-year old dog every morning.  Now, after several months of our routine, I'm still sometimes harried and grumpy but I love it.  It's easily become one of my favorite parts of the day.  We have been able to carefully stroll through the seasons, collecting rocks and dirt in our buckets in the spring and moving onto berries and crab apples now that it's summer.  The kids stomp in puddles, look at bugs, explore the 'wilderness' that surrounds the drainage ditch and utility easement.  For someone who grew up exploring the woods behind her house all summer long who now lives in the forest-free suburbs, I'm so glad I can offer the kids a little space to run wild in nature every day.