We have canned sixty-seven jars of pears. Saturday night Savanna and I didn't get back to my house until 3:30 in the morning. Sunday we finished everything up right before Matthew and I went up to Portland to get Noah from the airport. For our last fourteen jars, Savanna and I waited until Annetta had gone to bed (she worked graveyard that night) and then quickly added cinnamon to the syrup. It tasted divine. Now I'm wishing we had thought of that long ago.
Savanna and I are contemplating picking more pears, but Annetta has forbidden us to. We might have to go around her and can them without her help, because I really think we need more cinnamon pears. Besides, we took thirteen jars of pears into the local sort crew at UPS today, so we need more to hoard on our own shelves. I think local sort loves us. We bring them goodies a lot. And besides, who doesn't love home-canned pears?
I am so incredibly tired. Matthew let me stay in bed until 9:00 this morning, which is almost unheard of, but I've had a headache leaving and returning all day today, and I also had to take a Benadryl. Oh, Benadryl, I love you so much, but you make me so very sleepy!
I got a new phone today, a Sony Xperia. I have been thinking about it for quite a long time. It is the only waterproof smartphone around (the rep said her friend took his scuba diving and took underwater pictures with it) and it has a 20.7 mp camera. I haven't had a chance to test the camera yet, but I am looking forward to taking and sharing lots of pictures of my children again. Hurray! I haven't put a memory card in it yet, but I've put a lot of my music on it, as well as all of The Chronicles of Narnia, a few other Lewis audio books, a great deal of Tolkien audio books, and the Marissa Meyer audio books, and I still have 10 GB of space left. This pleases me greatly.
I suppose I should go collect my children from my parents' house now. I love Tuesdays; I can hang out with Annetta and Savanna and write without constant interruptions from children. One evening a week where I can just be a writer. Time to go be a mom again!
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Pears, pears, pears!
I opened my eyes this morning to see Henry jumping up and down on my bed, exclaiming, "'Ake up! 'Ake up! 'Ake up!" I couldn't help but smile. He was so very excited and glad to see me! He then started counting, "Wee, two, dee, wwww, bye, socks, seggy, eet, why, tie, GO!" and began running back and forth in the hallway. [As I type this, I am seated at the dining table supervising Henry's snack and Rowan's breakfast, and all of us are taking turns saying, "Chugga chugga CHOO CHOO!"]
Yesterday we canned pears. I mean, we canned pears. We had a System this time, and it definitely helped ease the burden of canning. I came up with the Plan (mental back pat here) which consisted of this: Peel and slice pears into 5-gallon food-grade buckets (filled with iced salt water for preservation) at my house, then transport to Annetta's for putting in jars and processing.
This plan initially had some setbacks, since I forgot to stop at the store and buy food-grade buckets. I called the local grocery store and they said they didn't have any. So then my genius mother-in-law, Carol, suggested that I call Dairy Queen. Stars above! They had five, and said they sell such buckets for $1 each! Haha! I zoomed over and bought three. I figured that was all I needed, which turned out to be correct. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten all five, since I'm sure I could find uses for them. Oh well.
So I took them home and scrubbed them out. Before I went to Dairy Queen I had parked Rowan on the toilet (yes, with adult supervision staying at home), and while Savanna and I scrubbed in the basement, we heard Rowan start yelling loudly for Mommy. Savanna went up to see if she could help, but returned saying that ONLY MOMMY was acceptable. So up I went with the clean buckets, which Savanna took over, and I went into the bathroom. Rowan was still on the toilet. I went closer and he said, "Mommy, I peed in my hair."
Me: "You did what?"
Rowan: "I peed in my hair."
Me: "However did you do that?"
Rowan: "Well, it just went--" His finger described an arc from his lap to his hair.
Sigh. At least he'd pooped in the toilet, which is good. I wiped his bottom and asked Carol if she would be willing to shower him. (Mother-in-law of the Year!) Henry tried to run in and supervise, so Savanna took over managing him while I plunged the toilet and mopped the bathroom floor. Then finally, finally, we were able to get to the pears and implement The Plan.
It worked remarkably well. Savanna and I set ourselves up with a cutting board each, knives, peelers, and waste containers, and the bucket of ice water between us. We each had a box of pears on our other sides. Peel, slice, dump, repeat, without having to pause for packing or processing. When our waste containers got full we dumped them into another 5-gallon bucket, which at the end was poured into our garden composter. Nothing wasted!
It took us longer than anticipated; that is, about three hours. Dinner was ready by the time we finished with those pears, but we didn't want to take the time when it was already so late. We loaded up the pears and Rowan and set out for Annetta's. Rowan did eat dinner at home, since he wasn't helping with the pears. Matthew kept Henry, thankfully! The two buckets of pears fit perfectly inside a clean laundry basket and we buckled it into the seat beside Rowan so it wouldn't slide around. We're geniuses, I tell you!
We got to Annetta's after 7:00 p.m. She had the jars already washed and ready and the syrup prepared (1 part sugar to 4 parts water), so it was a simple matter to pack the jars and put them on the canner. Then the calling began.
"Mom, how hot should we have the canner?"
"Mom, it's not steaming yet. Should it be steaming? Do you think it's boiled dry?"
"Mom, it's steaming now, but not from the hole, just from around the edges of the lid. Is it going to explode? --Okay, we pushed the lid down and now the steaming is coming out the hole."
"Mom, how long are we supposed to let it steam?"
"Mom, do we just take the lid off when we think they're done? --How long do we let them cool down?"
We eventually declared her to be The Canning Doctor, and Annetta said she should have her own radio show. My mom got a good giggle out of that. Eventually we did get those pears canned, 18 jars. Combined with the 11 from Saturday, that means we have canned 29 jars of pears! We have another large box to go through tomorrow, and I'm contemplating picking more. We'll see what my fellow cohorts think.
Next month I think I'll can apple pie filling again. Mmm, I can hardly wait!
Yesterday we canned pears. I mean, we canned pears. We had a System this time, and it definitely helped ease the burden of canning. I came up with the Plan (mental back pat here) which consisted of this: Peel and slice pears into 5-gallon food-grade buckets (filled with iced salt water for preservation) at my house, then transport to Annetta's for putting in jars and processing.
This plan initially had some setbacks, since I forgot to stop at the store and buy food-grade buckets. I called the local grocery store and they said they didn't have any. So then my genius mother-in-law, Carol, suggested that I call Dairy Queen. Stars above! They had five, and said they sell such buckets for $1 each! Haha! I zoomed over and bought three. I figured that was all I needed, which turned out to be correct. In hindsight, I wish I had gotten all five, since I'm sure I could find uses for them. Oh well.
So I took them home and scrubbed them out. Before I went to Dairy Queen I had parked Rowan on the toilet (yes, with adult supervision staying at home), and while Savanna and I scrubbed in the basement, we heard Rowan start yelling loudly for Mommy. Savanna went up to see if she could help, but returned saying that ONLY MOMMY was acceptable. So up I went with the clean buckets, which Savanna took over, and I went into the bathroom. Rowan was still on the toilet. I went closer and he said, "Mommy, I peed in my hair."
Me: "You did what?"
Rowan: "I peed in my hair."
Me: "However did you do that?"
Rowan: "Well, it just went--" His finger described an arc from his lap to his hair.
Sigh. At least he'd pooped in the toilet, which is good. I wiped his bottom and asked Carol if she would be willing to shower him. (Mother-in-law of the Year!) Henry tried to run in and supervise, so Savanna took over managing him while I plunged the toilet and mopped the bathroom floor. Then finally, finally, we were able to get to the pears and implement The Plan.
It worked remarkably well. Savanna and I set ourselves up with a cutting board each, knives, peelers, and waste containers, and the bucket of ice water between us. We each had a box of pears on our other sides. Peel, slice, dump, repeat, without having to pause for packing or processing. When our waste containers got full we dumped them into another 5-gallon bucket, which at the end was poured into our garden composter. Nothing wasted!
It took us longer than anticipated; that is, about three hours. Dinner was ready by the time we finished with those pears, but we didn't want to take the time when it was already so late. We loaded up the pears and Rowan and set out for Annetta's. Rowan did eat dinner at home, since he wasn't helping with the pears. Matthew kept Henry, thankfully! The two buckets of pears fit perfectly inside a clean laundry basket and we buckled it into the seat beside Rowan so it wouldn't slide around. We're geniuses, I tell you!
We got to Annetta's after 7:00 p.m. She had the jars already washed and ready and the syrup prepared (1 part sugar to 4 parts water), so it was a simple matter to pack the jars and put them on the canner. Then the calling began.
"Mom, how hot should we have the canner?"
"Mom, it's not steaming yet. Should it be steaming? Do you think it's boiled dry?"
"Mom, it's steaming now, but not from the hole, just from around the edges of the lid. Is it going to explode? --Okay, we pushed the lid down and now the steaming is coming out the hole."
"Mom, how long are we supposed to let it steam?"
"Mom, do we just take the lid off when we think they're done? --How long do we let them cool down?"
We eventually declared her to be The Canning Doctor, and Annetta said she should have her own radio show. My mom got a good giggle out of that. Eventually we did get those pears canned, 18 jars. Combined with the 11 from Saturday, that means we have canned 29 jars of pears! We have another large box to go through tomorrow, and I'm contemplating picking more. We'll see what my fellow cohorts think.
Next month I think I'll can apple pie filling again. Mmm, I can hardly wait!
Monday, August 25, 2014
Pears and Makeup
Yesterday I got up much too early, took Matthew to work, then drove back home to meet Savanna. She drove out from her house and we planned to go over to Annetta's right afterward. Except.. my children were still asleep and I didn't want to wake them. And then Annetta texted and said she wouldn't be ready until at least 11. And then, between one thing and another, we didn't actually get to her house until about 12:30.
Well.
We had a long, drawn-out lunch, Neta made us coffeecoffeecoffee, we dawdled a bit more, and then--OHMYGOSH IT'S 2:30 IN THE AFTERNOON!!!! Uh, and Matthew was due to be done with work by 5:00. So Annetta, Savanna, Robin, my mom, and I set to work. Sav, my mom, and I were peeling and slicing the pears, Robin packed the pears into jars, and Neta (wo)manned the canner.
Then, catastrophe. Mom had Annetta arrange the jars on the canner, then told her to put the dome on top. Annetta asserted that she couldn't find any dome. Mom started panicking, wondering if it had been left at her house. Annetta continued to insist that there was no dome. Then, suddenly: "Hey, do I have this upside down? It kind of looks like a dome."
Oh, we giggled. My mom laughed so hard she almost toppled over. Eventually it got sorted out and the dome was put right-way-up on the canning base.
When Savanna, the kidlings, and I had to leave to pick up Matt from work, we had six jars of pears canned (plus one broken), several peeled & sliced pears waiting to go into jars, and lots of green pears that needed to sit for a few more days. Not the most productive, you might say, but it was a start. We plan to continue on Tuesday.
This morning Savanna and I started jogging. That is, she jogged near her house and I jogged near my house, but at the same time. Then I grabbed Rowan and Lili and headed over to her house to pick more pears. We got A LOT. Lili made instant friends with Jax and Bailey, Savanna's dogs. We brought the pears home and had lunch, then Savanna and I headed for Salem to get her a cosplay costume.
That adventure was certainly interesting, but we discovered the really funny thing when we got home. Carol asked if we'd seen Rowan. I said no, and headed up the stairs to the bathroom. I found my makeup bag open, powder all over the counter, the mirror of my eyeshadow case broken, and creamy cheek glaze all over my brushes. Oh my! I went out to the train yard to find Rowan and found him with very read eyelids and eyebrows. Such a funny boy!
He's sleeping now, and I suppose I should be, too....
Well.
We had a long, drawn-out lunch, Neta made us coffeecoffeecoffee, we dawdled a bit more, and then--OHMYGOSH IT'S 2:30 IN THE AFTERNOON!!!! Uh, and Matthew was due to be done with work by 5:00. So Annetta, Savanna, Robin, my mom, and I set to work. Sav, my mom, and I were peeling and slicing the pears, Robin packed the pears into jars, and Neta (wo)manned the canner.
Then, catastrophe. Mom had Annetta arrange the jars on the canner, then told her to put the dome on top. Annetta asserted that she couldn't find any dome. Mom started panicking, wondering if it had been left at her house. Annetta continued to insist that there was no dome. Then, suddenly: "Hey, do I have this upside down? It kind of looks like a dome."
Oh, we giggled. My mom laughed so hard she almost toppled over. Eventually it got sorted out and the dome was put right-way-up on the canning base.
When Savanna, the kidlings, and I had to leave to pick up Matt from work, we had six jars of pears canned (plus one broken), several peeled & sliced pears waiting to go into jars, and lots of green pears that needed to sit for a few more days. Not the most productive, you might say, but it was a start. We plan to continue on Tuesday.
This morning Savanna and I started jogging. That is, she jogged near her house and I jogged near my house, but at the same time. Then I grabbed Rowan and Lili and headed over to her house to pick more pears. We got A LOT. Lili made instant friends with Jax and Bailey, Savanna's dogs. We brought the pears home and had lunch, then Savanna and I headed for Salem to get her a cosplay costume.
That adventure was certainly interesting, but we discovered the really funny thing when we got home. Carol asked if we'd seen Rowan. I said no, and headed up the stairs to the bathroom. I found my makeup bag open, powder all over the counter, the mirror of my eyeshadow case broken, and creamy cheek glaze all over my brushes. Oh my! I went out to the train yard to find Rowan and found him with very read eyelids and eyebrows. Such a funny boy!
He's sleeping now, and I suppose I should be, too....
Saturday, August 23, 2014
New Faces, Old Friends
The pears are picked! Tomorrow we'll be canning them!
Today my brother Eric and his wife Heather hosted a dinner for her sister Judy, who is visiting from Norway right now along with her husband and stunningly gorgeous baby. Nearly all of my family attended, along with practically-sister Andrea and her husband, and our friend Ben. I actually got there on time, which is a huge accomplishment. I was even five minutes early, with two children in tow. I think I deserve an award, particularly since we were the very first to arrive.
I asked Heather what I could do to help and she sent me to the store. Gotta have cups and ice, people! By the time I got back most of the others had arrived, and Rowan, along with Ken and Elliott, was on the tire swing circling around Ben, who stood as still as stone. It didn't take Rowan long to panic and ask to be let down. I think he was afraid of crashing into Ben.
Since Eric and Heather's children are now teenagers (!!!), they have no child-appropriate toys, so I brought a small bag from our house. Oh me oh my! How can one small bag of toys explode in such a way that they cover every available walking surface? Just in the den, though, so that's something. Henry spent a lot of time zooming cars around in there, until he and Brent collaborated to run into the path of the tire swing. Thankfully there were many watchful people around to keep them from harm!
The food was positively scrumptious, although my children refused to eat in favor of playing. This happens at nearly all family get-togethers. Henry did enjoy the blackberry pie my mom made, so much that he smeared the front of my t-shirt with berries. (Bernd later pointed and laughed and said, "You look like a mom!" Well, yes, Bernd, I do. And yes, I laughed.)
Ken and Ben took it in turns to keep the tire swing going almost the entire time, much to the delight of Rowan, Elliott, and Eiley. I think Rowan might have two new heroes! (And afterward Ben thanked ME for letting him play with my children! I say, sure, take them! No, really, go right ahead and entertain them for several more hours! Maybe I'll get something done around this house!)
Darling little Mira pulled herself all the way to standing for the first time tonight, and we got to witness it. So precious! She also tried to eat Rowan's light-up crocodile. She's already so adorable!
I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening, and I just might take Heather up on her offer to come over more often, so her yard & house will get cleaned up more often. Maybe I should start having people over here, if it magically gets the house clean. ;)
Today my brother Eric and his wife Heather hosted a dinner for her sister Judy, who is visiting from Norway right now along with her husband and stunningly gorgeous baby. Nearly all of my family attended, along with practically-sister Andrea and her husband, and our friend Ben. I actually got there on time, which is a huge accomplishment. I was even five minutes early, with two children in tow. I think I deserve an award, particularly since we were the very first to arrive.
I asked Heather what I could do to help and she sent me to the store. Gotta have cups and ice, people! By the time I got back most of the others had arrived, and Rowan, along with Ken and Elliott, was on the tire swing circling around Ben, who stood as still as stone. It didn't take Rowan long to panic and ask to be let down. I think he was afraid of crashing into Ben.
Since Eric and Heather's children are now teenagers (!!!), they have no child-appropriate toys, so I brought a small bag from our house. Oh me oh my! How can one small bag of toys explode in such a way that they cover every available walking surface? Just in the den, though, so that's something. Henry spent a lot of time zooming cars around in there, until he and Brent collaborated to run into the path of the tire swing. Thankfully there were many watchful people around to keep them from harm!
The food was positively scrumptious, although my children refused to eat in favor of playing. This happens at nearly all family get-togethers. Henry did enjoy the blackberry pie my mom made, so much that he smeared the front of my t-shirt with berries. (Bernd later pointed and laughed and said, "You look like a mom!" Well, yes, Bernd, I do. And yes, I laughed.)
Ken and Ben took it in turns to keep the tire swing going almost the entire time, much to the delight of Rowan, Elliott, and Eiley. I think Rowan might have two new heroes! (And afterward Ben thanked ME for letting him play with my children! I say, sure, take them! No, really, go right ahead and entertain them for several more hours! Maybe I'll get something done around this house!)
Darling little Mira pulled herself all the way to standing for the first time tonight, and we got to witness it. So precious! She also tried to eat Rowan's light-up crocodile. She's already so adorable!
I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening, and I just might take Heather up on her offer to come over more often, so her yard & house will get cleaned up more often. Maybe I should start having people over here, if it magically gets the house clean. ;)
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Fruit of the Harvest
Tuesday we picked pears. We have two pear trees in our backyard, and while they're not as full as we'd like them to be, we did get an overflowing crate full from one of the trees. The other tree we plan to pick today.
 |
| This picture taken before we made it overflow. |
Rowan and Henry were delighted to help us in this task. Rowan climbed the ladder in search of pears. Henry climbed just because he likes climbing. I took him up with me once and showed him how to pick, but he wasn't interested. Oh, and yes, three of us were still in pajamas. Also we hadn't had breakfast yet.
Daddy and the boys tried using the ladder all at the same time.
We had lots of fun and I took way too many pictures.
Next time I think I'll write the whole blog first, before putting the pictures in. Otherwise I get lost and take up too much space.
The rest of my day was fun, too, since I got to go to Annetta's for my weekly writers' group (nameless thus far). We didn't do any actual writing this time, but we did record a song! My parents and Melody took turns watching my small children, for which I am extremely thankful. Savanna turned up at Annetta's just as I had to leave to get Matthew from work; I'm glad she made it! When she came back to my house we stayed up *ahem* a bit later than we should have, gabbing and plotting, as all good Slytherins do. I really should stop staying up too late, but it was nice to have uninterrupted conversation for once.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Poop, and Other Matters of Significance
Today Rowan pooped in the toilet. He requests that I share this information with Savanna especially, since he got a roll of Necco candies for it. I would assume he wanted to share the Necco with her, but he's eaten them all.
I blew up the wading pool again today. It needs to be done daily, if it's going to be used, since it's a few years old and apparently has a leak or five. It's always thrilling to try to blow something up while two excited children are trampling it underfoot. I've developed an art of kicking the pool out of the way with my foot just before four small feet land on it.
Henry has developed the art of standing on the edge of the pool and watching the water gush out. When we stop him from doing that, he uses his hands to press the edge down. He finds it delightful and entertaining. The yard and I find it soggy. I tried putting him in time out when he would do that, but it didn't help.
This evening Grandpa took matters into his own hands. He sat in a lawn chair holding the hose, to which was attached a sprayer nozzle. When Henry gleefully stepped once more onto the pool edge, he was greeted with a blast of water from Grandpa.
Oh my. Poor Henry didn't know what to think. He ran across the yard and sheltered beneath our pear tree (which reminds me, I really, really need to pick pears in the morning), giving Grandpa the Glare O' Death, which is absolutely hilarious coming from a two-year-old. After a few minutes he ran back to the pool and stepped on the edge again, and was once more given a blast of water. Back to the pear tree he ran, and we were treated to The Glare again.
It took three or four times before Henry figured it out. He stepped cautiously to the pool, looked around at Grandpa, then lifted his foot carefully over the side and set it in the pool. He waited. The other foot followed slowly, until he was standing fully in the little wading pool. He stood there with his back to us, still as a three-foot-tall statue, for a minute. Then he turned his head and peeked over his shoulder at Grandpa. When he saw that Grandpa sat smiling, and was not brandishing the hose, he laughed and started splashing in the water again--without pushing the edge down. Such a great lesson to learn!
Carol made roast beef hash for dinner tonight. Both Rowan and Henry ate it, despite Rowan saying that he doesn't like potatoes. He even said, "I'm full, but I can't stop eating!" Haha!
I suppose at some point I should fold the laundry that's been sitting in baskets at the end of our bed for three days....
I blew up the wading pool again today. It needs to be done daily, if it's going to be used, since it's a few years old and apparently has a leak or five. It's always thrilling to try to blow something up while two excited children are trampling it underfoot. I've developed an art of kicking the pool out of the way with my foot just before four small feet land on it.
Henry has developed the art of standing on the edge of the pool and watching the water gush out. When we stop him from doing that, he uses his hands to press the edge down. He finds it delightful and entertaining. The yard and I find it soggy. I tried putting him in time out when he would do that, but it didn't help.
This evening Grandpa took matters into his own hands. He sat in a lawn chair holding the hose, to which was attached a sprayer nozzle. When Henry gleefully stepped once more onto the pool edge, he was greeted with a blast of water from Grandpa.
Oh my. Poor Henry didn't know what to think. He ran across the yard and sheltered beneath our pear tree (which reminds me, I really, really need to pick pears in the morning), giving Grandpa the Glare O' Death, which is absolutely hilarious coming from a two-year-old. After a few minutes he ran back to the pool and stepped on the edge again, and was once more given a blast of water. Back to the pear tree he ran, and we were treated to The Glare again.
It took three or four times before Henry figured it out. He stepped cautiously to the pool, looked around at Grandpa, then lifted his foot carefully over the side and set it in the pool. He waited. The other foot followed slowly, until he was standing fully in the little wading pool. He stood there with his back to us, still as a three-foot-tall statue, for a minute. Then he turned his head and peeked over his shoulder at Grandpa. When he saw that Grandpa sat smiling, and was not brandishing the hose, he laughed and started splashing in the water again--without pushing the edge down. Such a great lesson to learn!
Carol made roast beef hash for dinner tonight. Both Rowan and Henry ate it, despite Rowan saying that he doesn't like potatoes. He even said, "I'm full, but I can't stop eating!" Haha!
I suppose at some point I should fold the laundry that's been sitting in baskets at the end of our bed for three days....
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Trees, and Other Unrelated Topics
Henry fell out of a tree today.
Yes, that's right, I let my children climb trees. They need it. They need to climb, to explore, to discover, to leave the ground behind and reach for the sky. That being said, it was a very short tree and he fell only about three feet to the grass and bark dust.
He cried, of course, more from the terror of falling than an actual injury. I held him and cuddled him and stroked his hair, and within a few minutes he was running to a much larger tree, wanting me to help him up. I do draw the line at tall trees for Henry right now, although Rowan likes to climb them. For the rest of our time in the park, I kept wondering if someone would call CPS on me.
They didn't, or at least no one's showed up yet, but I could see the headline in my mind's eye: "Crazy Mother Lets Children Frolic In Dangerous Trees." I let my children have experiences that might hurt them. I let them explore and discover that some things are really not good ideas. I obviously try to keep them from anything that might be fatal or permanently injurious.
I really don't think that sheltering children from everything that could hurt them is a good idea. "The burned hand learns best," as Gandalf said. It's far better for them to learn their strengths and limitations while still in our care, rather than going crazy at age 18 and trying to stuff in all the cool child things they never got to do.
Jumping topic, someone messaged me today and said that she's having a very hard time dealing with an illness. An atrociously bad time, in fact. This person does not live close to me, so I'm feeling very lost about how to help her. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Do you ever feel like the world is moving too fast to comprehend, and think if you could just slow down one day, you'd be fine? That's how I feel. I keep thinking, if Matthew and I could just have one day off together with no children, we might actually be able to relax for a few hours. That doesn't seem feasible with Sunday being the only day Matthew doesn't work.
I'm tired, and I can't think of what else to write, so I'm giving you this lame ending:
Good night; sleep well.
May naught disturb your slumbers.
In quietness take your rest
And let gentle night surround you.
Yes, that's right, I let my children climb trees. They need it. They need to climb, to explore, to discover, to leave the ground behind and reach for the sky. That being said, it was a very short tree and he fell only about three feet to the grass and bark dust.
He cried, of course, more from the terror of falling than an actual injury. I held him and cuddled him and stroked his hair, and within a few minutes he was running to a much larger tree, wanting me to help him up. I do draw the line at tall trees for Henry right now, although Rowan likes to climb them. For the rest of our time in the park, I kept wondering if someone would call CPS on me.
They didn't, or at least no one's showed up yet, but I could see the headline in my mind's eye: "Crazy Mother Lets Children Frolic In Dangerous Trees." I let my children have experiences that might hurt them. I let them explore and discover that some things are really not good ideas. I obviously try to keep them from anything that might be fatal or permanently injurious.
I really don't think that sheltering children from everything that could hurt them is a good idea. "The burned hand learns best," as Gandalf said. It's far better for them to learn their strengths and limitations while still in our care, rather than going crazy at age 18 and trying to stuff in all the cool child things they never got to do.
Jumping topic, someone messaged me today and said that she's having a very hard time dealing with an illness. An atrociously bad time, in fact. This person does not live close to me, so I'm feeling very lost about how to help her. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Do you ever feel like the world is moving too fast to comprehend, and think if you could just slow down one day, you'd be fine? That's how I feel. I keep thinking, if Matthew and I could just have one day off together with no children, we might actually be able to relax for a few hours. That doesn't seem feasible with Sunday being the only day Matthew doesn't work.
I'm tired, and I can't think of what else to write, so I'm giving you this lame ending:
Good night; sleep well.
May naught disturb your slumbers.
In quietness take your rest
And let gentle night surround you.
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