catch up

catch up

of plight and friendship

I am a worrier. We all know that I am. I worry about the plights of things. I worry about bees. I worry about their little unnamed plague and how it could affect the world as we know it. I worry about them so much that I bought my mom a bee hive from Andrew's Recyclables in Seattle. Recycled timber made into a bee hive that needs no upkeep. Perfect. Surely a safe home for some of the buzzies while the scientists figure out how to save the entire world's bee population. Keep in mind that my mom complained more about a bee sting during our visit home than her recovery from the major abdominal surgery which was the cause for our visit home. But, she is an avid gardener and I thought it wasn't a self-serving a gift until the complaints began.

I also have a fear of bees. Walking home through the fields from the Tickled Trout yesterday, I noticed quite a few bees amongst the wild phlox and flowering mint. Then, I had a vision of a giant killer swarm of Scottish bees surrounding me, stinging me to death, and leaving my warped and stung body where it dropped with only the Highland Cows as witness. I've not claimed my worries or fears are reasonable.

Sure enough, around the bend and over the creek there was a field flowering Scottish something growing on both sides of the path. A bee for each blossom. A buzz for each stamon. Truly, the air hummed. I thought that I had psychic powers, that I had foreseen my death amd that death was my next step through the field. There were even Highland Cows chewing their cud in the rare Scottish sun.

Then my phone rang. It was a friend calling to tell me her woes. I don't even remember getting through the deadly fields or up the path or even through the park to get to the train station home. That's the best thing about my friends. I am fearless in their company.

boredom

A basic tennant of my parenting philosophy is that it is good for a kid to be bored. So bored that it is better to hang your head off the edge of a slide in the young summer's sun and wonder, just why you've not fallen off into the sand pit. So bored that it is entertaining to figure out that you don't hear so well with headphones on your temples versus your ears and you don't hear at all when you chew through the cords hanging off the headphones.

Boredom is the source of great creativity. It lets your mind wander and your soul settle - barring electrocution before said soul settles. G wouldn't love her ears quite so much and Bug wouldn't respect gravity that much more if they weren't delightfully bored during our visit to my parents' last week. I bring toys when we go out as a family because I want to finish conversations not because I don't want my kids to be bored. Boredom takes energy and explanation and lots of quiet and lots of talking too. It is the perfectly balanced activity. We've only got 7 weeks before Bug starts proper schooling. I've not signed him up for any summer activities this year. Rather, I think we will get dressed when we want, explore the city when we want, and get bored on trains and subways and long walks. I hope it's enough time to be bored.

Minnesota

We've just returned from a visit with my family in Minnesota. As usual I've got too many stories and thoughts careening around my head, to pick one would be impossible. Best to let time do the sifting and find a picture that sums the visit up nicely. I think this one does the job.