Today flew by. Drew left for Seattle close to noon, an hour later than he'd wanted to, but we both got up late and I needed to finish slogging through the take-home exam for my marketing class (and thank heaven it all ends Tuesday night because I REALLY need that night to be free again, to say nothing of all the hours I've squeezed in homework and reading. I can't remember the last time Drew and I unwound upstairs on Saturday nights by renting a movie. Or, hey, just reading books!) So, he and Rachel ate breakfast and did some auxiliary grocery shopping while I raced through the third and last question of the exam. Then it was time to leave for a gathering of the chavurah. Rachel was very sad to see Drew leave but was OK as soon as we left. The chavurah was at a lovely house in the Southwest Hills of Portland -- felt like being in a treehouse -- and unlike the last chavurah, she found plenty of ways to amuse herself with toys and stickers. (Many thanks to the chavurah hostess, whose name I forget, for sending Rachel home with even more stickers. She has a daughter who has outgrown them and the stickers had apparently been sitting in a closet, forgotten and lonely, for years).
About 90 minutes after we got there Rachel announced, "I want to go home for nap." "Bless your heart," said one of the grownups, who has two girls slightly older than Rachel. Of course I was going to oblige, since our next event began at 4 and I really wanted her to get an hour's nap in. I put her to bed at 3:15, returned to the take-home exam...only to hear the little patter of feet at 3:45, just as I'd finished talking to Drew, who had just arrived in Seattle. I sighed, gathered Rachel and myself together, and headed to Laurelhurst, a couple minutes' drive away (and site of Laurelhurst Park, where we had Rachel's 3rd birthday celebration last year). The event was a house party for a candidate for Oregon attorney general, held at the house of the Willamette Law professor who runs the international law clinic. And a more stunning house I cannot imagine. It was right across the street from the park, the interior was old but tastefully gorgeous, roomy kitchen, perfect landscaping, etc. etc. I definitely chose the wrong profession to pursue.
The professor, a mom herself, had thoughtfully arranged for two babysitters to take all the kids of the adults at the event to the park, and Rachel was a bit hesitant but once she realized she was going to the park she was fine. (And she apparently forgot I had told her she could watch movies at the event, because I'd been told there was a media room, but it never happened. OK by me; Rachel got out on the fresh air on a cloudy but rainless day). When she returned, she sat next to me and colored quietly, then disappeared into the backyard with the other kids. When I found her she was watering the flowers with a plastic toy watering can she'd found, using water from the water feature installed out back. "It looks like she's going to be a gardender!" one of the babysitters squealed, and I had to laugh, since I have not a green thumb on my body and my poor garden, or what passes for one, is a MESS.
Afterward I called Mom and Dad, and Rachel asked very nicely, "How's Valerie doing?" (I think she misses her cousin very much.:)). Then dinner with my friend Sarah and her son Noah; he and Rachel are becoming quite close. We went to a brewpub where they have a play kitchen and lots of toy food, which Noah and Rachel were very happy to keep bringing us until there was barely any room for the real food. Noah told Rachel he and his mom were going to Baskin Robbins after dinner, and so of course Rachel asked to go, and she asked so nicely (and covered me with hugs and kisses afterward) that I couldn't refuse. Noah got pink peppermint ice cream, some of which ended up in Rachel's hair, and Rachel got vanilla which she barely finished. Sigh...I hate good ice cream going to waste and I can't stand vanilla. The kids ended up playing some kind of "Open, Sesame!" game until the moms told them to stop, and then Rachel and I headed home, I got her into bed and asleep more quickly than usual and FINALLY finished the damn take-home exam. That ends virtually all of my written work for the class; the last class period is Tuesday and it will consist of presentations by the smaller groups in the class who are taking it for credit; I'm just auditing.
And how, having taken Tylenol PM to deal with my aching back from yesterday's all-day chorus coaching session, I am heading to bed. This next week I am going to take it (somewhat) easy.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
When did she get to be 8??
Drew measured Rachel the other day (yes, Mom and Dad, we've set up a part of the wall in the kitchen where we measure Rachel periodically and record the results). She has grown a whole inch in two months! Yay Rachel! It seems like she's all arms and lets these days. I promised her last night that even when she grows up she'll be able to come to Mommy if she's having a bad day and put her head in my lap, and I'll stroke her hair and she'll feel better. Because pretty soon she will be too unwieldly to snuggle in my lap!
In keeping with her rapid growth, lately it feels as if she's growing 2 months in brain power every day. Last night while Drew was making dinner (I had been away most of the day at a coaching session for the chorus in preparation for international competition this fall) Rachel and I decided to color in her room. I suggested that we need to go through her old clothes and toys and decide which things she's outgrown and give them away. "Good idea!" she said. "Great idea! Excellente!"
Um, sure. We decided Monday night, when Drew is in Seattle, would be a good time.
In keeping with her rapid growth, lately it feels as if she's growing 2 months in brain power every day. Last night while Drew was making dinner (I had been away most of the day at a coaching session for the chorus in preparation for international competition this fall) Rachel and I decided to color in her room. I suggested that we need to go through her old clothes and toys and decide which things she's outgrown and give them away. "Good idea!" she said. "Great idea! Excellente!"
Um, sure. We decided Monday night, when Drew is in Seattle, would be a good time.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Rachel's grow-up plans
"When I grow up, I want to be a vetrinarian," Rachel told Drew the other night. "So I can take care of Bun Bun, and if you guys have a pet and it gets sick, then I could make it better."
(Bun Bun is the official bunny rabbit of St. James).
***
At the aforementioned party at St. James, we got lots of compliments about Rachel. Teacher Liz, who had her when she was in Toddler 1s, reminded us how smart she always thought Rachel was. "You guys read to her a lot, don't you?" she said. "She has a really big vocabulary. No wonder she and Tessa are friends; they both say words that are really amazing. She's going to be a scholar someday!"
(Rachel the classics professor???)
Another teacher, noticing Rachel playing with Devin, said, "Rachel is so sweet and soft-spoken, and Devin is Miss Snap! So it's good they're friends; they're so different."
***
The other day when I took Rachel to Sunnyside Park (Drew was in Seattle), she noticed a little girl with a purple purse and a pink strap. Yesterday morning she asked if Drew and I could buy her a similar purse -- with a zipper and a strap -- and she'd give away a little pink purse she has to Tessa. YES, Rachel, we said, astonished as always at her thoughtfulness.
"When are you going to buy me the purse?" she asked immediately.
Drew and I passed it off into the indefinite future. Maybe a certain little girl will get one on her birthday.
(Bun Bun is the official bunny rabbit of St. James).
***
At the aforementioned party at St. James, we got lots of compliments about Rachel. Teacher Liz, who had her when she was in Toddler 1s, reminded us how smart she always thought Rachel was. "You guys read to her a lot, don't you?" she said. "She has a really big vocabulary. No wonder she and Tessa are friends; they both say words that are really amazing. She's going to be a scholar someday!"
(Rachel the classics professor???)
Another teacher, noticing Rachel playing with Devin, said, "Rachel is so sweet and soft-spoken, and Devin is Miss Snap! So it's good they're friends; they're so different."
***
The other day when I took Rachel to Sunnyside Park (Drew was in Seattle), she noticed a little girl with a purple purse and a pink strap. Yesterday morning she asked if Drew and I could buy her a similar purse -- with a zipper and a strap -- and she'd give away a little pink purse she has to Tessa. YES, Rachel, we said, astonished as always at her thoughtfulness.
"When are you going to buy me the purse?" she asked immediately.
Drew and I passed it off into the indefinite future. Maybe a certain little girl will get one on her birthday.
A bittersweet farewell
Tonight we (Drew, me, Rachel) attended a retirement party for Jo-Ann Rausch, the woman who runs St. James' preschool. It was wonderful and yet so disconcerting to see all of Rachel's former teachers from infants and mobiles and Toddler 1s and 2s. I've forgotten some of their names, which is sad -- at one point, they were so important in our lives as I worried and worried whether I was doing a good job as a mommy. It was reassuring to drop her off at daycare and know that she was well-taken care of by women who were experienced, confident and caring.
I got there a little late, only to find Rachel and her friend Devin running up and down the halls screeching. At one point Rachel asked me to "save me from the Daddy monster!" and hid behind me. She was unusually affectionate tonight; she kept coming up to me and hugging my legs. I thanked Jo-Ann for taking Rachel back after Drew returned from New York, and I told her that the daycare we used in Salem wasn't as good as St. James. Looking around at all the people who had come to the party (it was in the basement of St. James), I told her, "This is a tribute to you," and then I told her I needed to go because I was about to start crying, and she said she was about to start crying too.
As I walked back to my car, parked several blocks away, I was struck by how wonderful life can be sometimes and how I need to remind myself of that more often. We have a real community of friends, and if we end up staying here for good, then Rachel has a group of kids she will essentially have grown up with. I heard lots of stories tonight about how kids start off together at St. James and then, although they disperse to different public schools around the city, the friendships often last -- even past college and graduate school. I love that Rachel has a little posse of friends who she loves and who love her.
I also ran into Kathleen McDonald, the church receptionist who used to be the office manager of the Oregonian. She told Drew she follows me on Facebook, and tonight she said, "I read your posts, and you're right where you should be." She also reminded me that when I left the Oregonian two years ago, she knew I'd land on my feet. I reminded her that she told me a while ago that I'm doing things I'd never get to do if I were still at the Oregonian.
And to that I say, AMEN, sister.
I got there a little late, only to find Rachel and her friend Devin running up and down the halls screeching. At one point Rachel asked me to "save me from the Daddy monster!" and hid behind me. She was unusually affectionate tonight; she kept coming up to me and hugging my legs. I thanked Jo-Ann for taking Rachel back after Drew returned from New York, and I told her that the daycare we used in Salem wasn't as good as St. James. Looking around at all the people who had come to the party (it was in the basement of St. James), I told her, "This is a tribute to you," and then I told her I needed to go because I was about to start crying, and she said she was about to start crying too.
As I walked back to my car, parked several blocks away, I was struck by how wonderful life can be sometimes and how I need to remind myself of that more often. We have a real community of friends, and if we end up staying here for good, then Rachel has a group of kids she will essentially have grown up with. I heard lots of stories tonight about how kids start off together at St. James and then, although they disperse to different public schools around the city, the friendships often last -- even past college and graduate school. I love that Rachel has a little posse of friends who she loves and who love her.
I also ran into Kathleen McDonald, the church receptionist who used to be the office manager of the Oregonian. She told Drew she follows me on Facebook, and tonight she said, "I read your posts, and you're right where you should be." She also reminded me that when I left the Oregonian two years ago, she knew I'd land on my feet. I reminded her that she told me a while ago that I'm doing things I'd never get to do if I were still at the Oregonian.
And to that I say, AMEN, sister.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Sunnyside Park
Man, it felt good to go back to Sunnyside Park today, which we did right after preschool because it was so warm and sunny that I couldn't bear to waste the day -- especially since the weather is supposed to start crapping out tomorrow and remain that way the rest of the week (although someone told me it's supposed to be nice weather this weekend). We stayed there until 7:15, which means everything was late tonight including Rachel's bedtime. But I didn't care; I really wanted to give her as much playtime as possible.
Anyway...it's amazing how many more things she can do on the play structure these days. She climbed across the highest portion of the rope ladder and ALMOST made it across the monkey bars without my help! (I held onto her legs with the lightest touch). I applauded her wildly.
At first she was a little afraid of going really fast on the tire swing. Some older girls were on it and a dad was pushing them high and fast, in circles, and Rachel held back. But then, all of a sudden, she decided it was OK to try fast, and she begged me to let her swing with the older girl who really wanted to go fast; the second girl didn't like that so much). When the older girl got off the swing, Rachel insisted I swing her in circles, high and fast, and she yelled with delight the whole time: "Faster! Faster!" I only wish Drew had been there; he could have pushed her higher and faster.
Sigh. My little girl is growing up.
Anyway...it's amazing how many more things she can do on the play structure these days. She climbed across the highest portion of the rope ladder and ALMOST made it across the monkey bars without my help! (I held onto her legs with the lightest touch). I applauded her wildly.
At first she was a little afraid of going really fast on the tire swing. Some older girls were on it and a dad was pushing them high and fast, in circles, and Rachel held back. But then, all of a sudden, she decided it was OK to try fast, and she begged me to let her swing with the older girl who really wanted to go fast; the second girl didn't like that so much). When the older girl got off the swing, Rachel insisted I swing her in circles, high and fast, and she yelled with delight the whole time: "Faster! Faster!" I only wish Drew had been there; he could have pushed her higher and faster.
Sigh. My little girl is growing up.
The return of Peya and Nevaeh
...Bet you thought we were all done with those two, didn't you?? Peya and Nevaeh, Rachel's other family, the people who are raising all the babies, who live in a house/apartment near ours. Not a chance. At the rate Rachel is including them in our lives, we'll have to drag them along on family vacations, on the hunt for a suitable college, to the wedding rehearsal dinner....
Tonight Rachel told me that the kids at St. James went to the river to feed the geese. "Afterward they all took naps," she said (the geese, not the kids). She said they fed the geese a kind of cracker called Saltines.
"You know what my favorite snack was when I was a kid?" I told her.
"What?" she asked.
"Saltines with peanut butter and chocolate chips on top," I said. (It's true, I used to chomp them down when I went to David Hochron's house in high school. We washed it down with lemon/lime soda from PathMark).
"Peya's favorite snack is applesauce with FLOWERS in it," Rachel said. "And chocolate chips."
"Really?" I said. "That sounds kind of yucky."
"Peya asks me to get chocolate chips," she said. "Then I take the babies to the diaper changing place. And then I'm so tired that I take a nap."
Um, whatever.
Tonight Rachel told me that the kids at St. James went to the river to feed the geese. "Afterward they all took naps," she said (the geese, not the kids). She said they fed the geese a kind of cracker called Saltines.
"You know what my favorite snack was when I was a kid?" I told her.
"What?" she asked.
"Saltines with peanut butter and chocolate chips on top," I said. (It's true, I used to chomp them down when I went to David Hochron's house in high school. We washed it down with lemon/lime soda from PathMark).
"Peya's favorite snack is applesauce with FLOWERS in it," Rachel said. "And chocolate chips."
"Really?" I said. "That sounds kind of yucky."
"Peya asks me to get chocolate chips," she said. "Then I take the babies to the diaper changing place. And then I'm so tired that I take a nap."
Um, whatever.
Rachel tells Mommy a story
"I'll tell YOU a story," Rachel said as we were cuddled in bed tonight, after I sang her some songs.
"Once there was a big, old house at the top of a hill. And the people who lived in it were very old and they had a lot of children. But the children were ghosts. And there were so many children that the parents were worried they would tease them, so they went away. All except one of the children. One night she woke up and said, 'Mommy?' and no one answered. 'Daddy?' and no one answered. 'Anybody?' and no one answered. And the next day she said, 'Sally'? 'Russ'? Those were the parents' names. And nobody answered."
There was more, but this is all I remembered after I kissed her tonight, she put her little arms around my neck and reached up to kiss me. She is one imaginative storyteller. I guess our plans for her being a biochemist/lawyer will have to wait.
"Once there was a big, old house at the top of a hill. And the people who lived in it were very old and they had a lot of children. But the children were ghosts. And there were so many children that the parents were worried they would tease them, so they went away. All except one of the children. One night she woke up and said, 'Mommy?' and no one answered. 'Daddy?' and no one answered. 'Anybody?' and no one answered. And the next day she said, 'Sally'? 'Russ'? Those were the parents' names. And nobody answered."
There was more, but this is all I remembered after I kissed her tonight, she put her little arms around my neck and reached up to kiss me. She is one imaginative storyteller. I guess our plans for her being a biochemist/lawyer will have to wait.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Sweet little girl
"Mommy, I want to get close to you," Rachel whimpered tonight after I sang her three songs. ("Sing me a song you used to sing to me when I was a baby," she said when we were cuddling in bed together).
She reached her little arms around my neck and pulled me close. "I love you but I'm worried you won't love me," she said.
"Rachel, I will ALWAYS love you," I replied. "You're my daughter!'
"Will you love me even when I grow up and go to college?"
"I'll love you even more," I assured her.
"Will you love me even when I die?" she said.
"Yes," I replied.
"I'll love you even when YOU die," she said. "You will always be in my heart."
She reached her little arms around my neck and pulled me close. "I love you but I'm worried you won't love me," she said.
"Rachel, I will ALWAYS love you," I replied. "You're my daughter!'
"Will you love me even when I grow up and go to college?"
"I'll love you even more," I assured her.
"Will you love me even when I die?" she said.
"Yes," I replied.
"I'll love you even when YOU die," she said. "You will always be in my heart."
Fabulous sunny Sunday!
Rachel and I had a terrific day today. It was hot, around 80 degrees, and Rachel wore the most adorable outfit EVER -- cute little pink and blue madras shorts from Mawmaw (thank you, Lil and Richard! I hope you got Rachel's thank-you note!) and a blue shirt with a moose on it I had brought back from Vermont last year. She paired it with sunglasses and sturdy shoes; I put blue and pink hair clips in her hair and we were ready to go to Doug and Linda's. Today will go down in history: RACHEL LEARNED HOW TO USE A WATER GUN. She had fun playing with the neighborhood kids and with Andrew and Jack.
After a lunch of hot dogs, chips and juice (thank you, Linda!) we walked to a cool fountain at a shopping center near Doug and Linda's house. It was newly installed, and Rachel would have had a lovely time if Mommy hadn't forgotten her bathing suit in the trunk (OK, I just didn't want to go through the hassle of changing her out of her clothes and changing back into them). She got a little wet, which was fine. Then we walked back and I made sure Rachel drank lots of water before we took off for a welcoming party for admitted Northwestern students (the first such party the alumni association has ever had). Rachel charmed everyone, as usual -- the house was stunning and I was worried that she'd get her brownie-covered hands on the pale silk upholstery, but the owner of the house reassured me that everything was fine -- he has two kids who actually live there and are 9 and 11. Whew!
Then it was home for a snack of graham crackers and milk, then a short nap, then to the Belmont food carts for dinner (disappointing -- it's a bit early in the season, but at least Rachel ate a lot of fried chicken), Ben and Jerry's for ice cream, and then a sunset walk around the neighborhood (where I kept Rachel entranced with stories until she announced she was really tired from walking. Luckily we were two blocks from home).
All in all, a wonderful respite from the crappy rain and cold weather we've been having. I love sun!!
After a lunch of hot dogs, chips and juice (thank you, Linda!) we walked to a cool fountain at a shopping center near Doug and Linda's house. It was newly installed, and Rachel would have had a lovely time if Mommy hadn't forgotten her bathing suit in the trunk (OK, I just didn't want to go through the hassle of changing her out of her clothes and changing back into them). She got a little wet, which was fine. Then we walked back and I made sure Rachel drank lots of water before we took off for a welcoming party for admitted Northwestern students (the first such party the alumni association has ever had). Rachel charmed everyone, as usual -- the house was stunning and I was worried that she'd get her brownie-covered hands on the pale silk upholstery, but the owner of the house reassured me that everything was fine -- he has two kids who actually live there and are 9 and 11. Whew!
Then it was home for a snack of graham crackers and milk, then a short nap, then to the Belmont food carts for dinner (disappointing -- it's a bit early in the season, but at least Rachel ate a lot of fried chicken), Ben and Jerry's for ice cream, and then a sunset walk around the neighborhood (where I kept Rachel entranced with stories until she announced she was really tired from walking. Luckily we were two blocks from home).
All in all, a wonderful respite from the crappy rain and cold weather we've been having. I love sun!!
More stories
"Mommy, let me tell you a story," Rachel said tonight. "There were a lot of girls who worked in a factory. And the people locked the door and there was a fire. And all the girls died." This is how I found out that Drew's idea of a bedtime story is telling Rachel about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire.
We ended up taking a walk tonight after a glorious day in 80 degree sunny weather. I told Rachel a longer version of the Triangle fire. "Can you say 'garment district?' I said. I also told her about sewing, and sewing machines, and immigrants, and explained that Grandma and Grandpa were immigrants from Belgium, which means that Rachel is part Belgian...and after I was done she wanted me to tell her a spooky story. So here's how it went:
At the edge of a town a lot like the neighborhood we're walking through now was a house. Now, unlike the houses we're passing right now, with pretty flowers and gardens and lights in the windows, this house was always dark. No one came in and out of it. Some of the neighborhood families had knocked on the door once in a while only to be greeted by the sound of a child crying. Kind of like how you cry, Rachel. So cry!
(Rachel pretended to cry).
One day a new family came to town. The family had a girl, Tallulah, and a boy named Russell. They heard the stories about the crying sound that could be heard from the house. Cry, Rachel!
(Rachel pretended to cry again. Presently she got sick of this and I had to do the pretend crying).
Tallulah and Russell were curious and one day after school, they knocked on the door. They heard the same loud crying sound and no one answered. They went away but came back the next day, and the next, and the next. Finally, after five days, they decided to try one more time. They knocked on the door and when there was no answer, they turned the knob. And to their surprise, they were able to enter. They walked inside and saw furniture that was covered with white sheets. The walls had dust all over them. They walked up the long staircase and heard the crying get louder. The followed the sound into an upstairs bedroom, opened the door, and saw a little girl lying on a bed. She was a ghost and she was in a while dress. She was crying very loudly and then all of a sudden, she disappeared. The kids were so scared that they ran downstairs and out of the house.
Well, Tallulah and Russell still hadn't found out any more about why the crying was going on, so they went back the next day. They followed the crying again, opened the bedroom door and saw the same little ghost girl lying on the bed. But this time there was a doctor next to her with a stethoscope. "Come in, children," he said in a deep voice. "What do you want to know?"
Tallulah and Russell were terrified and spoke in trembling voices. "Why is the little girl crying?"
"The little girl's name is Sarah," the doctor replied. "It's 1901, and Sarah is 10 years old and she has an incurable disease. Her parents had several babies that died, and Sarah was the only one who lived beyond her 2nd birthday. Now she's dying and her parents are very sad because she's the only one left. And she's sad because she knows they'll be sad when she dies."
"Can't you fix her?" Russell asked boldly.
"No," the doctor said. "The medicine to cure her disease hasn't been invented yet. It's invented in your time, not Sarah's time. There's only one thing that might cure her."
(At this point I asked Rachel if she wanted a cheerful ending and she shook her head).
"Her parents were so sad when she died that they couldn't bring themselves to bury her," the doctor said. "So she stayed in her bed, and the parents kept the light off. So she's been lying there ever since."
"The only thing that can cure her is if you stay with her all night," the doctor said. "Other little kids tried to do that but they got scared and ran away. But if you stay with her all night, the crying will stop and the lights will come back on."
(At this point Rachel said that if she were Tallulah, SHE would have run out of the house to her mommy and daddy and asked if she could stay with Sarah all night. Then she would have come back. "Very good, Rachel," I said. "But Tallulah and Russell couldn't go to their parents so they just decided to stay.")
Well, that night they stayed with Sarah. And it was very scary. Sarah kept crying and crying and near morning, the crying got louder and louder until she started SCREAMING and the kids were very scared but they stayed with her and didn't leave.
And in the morning, when Tallulah and Russell woke up, the light was filling the windows and into the room, and Tallulah and Russell saw that Sarah had disappeared. Then they took each other's hands, walked downstairs out of the house, and went back home.
We ended up taking a walk tonight after a glorious day in 80 degree sunny weather. I told Rachel a longer version of the Triangle fire. "Can you say 'garment district?' I said. I also told her about sewing, and sewing machines, and immigrants, and explained that Grandma and Grandpa were immigrants from Belgium, which means that Rachel is part Belgian...and after I was done she wanted me to tell her a spooky story. So here's how it went:
At the edge of a town a lot like the neighborhood we're walking through now was a house. Now, unlike the houses we're passing right now, with pretty flowers and gardens and lights in the windows, this house was always dark. No one came in and out of it. Some of the neighborhood families had knocked on the door once in a while only to be greeted by the sound of a child crying. Kind of like how you cry, Rachel. So cry!
(Rachel pretended to cry).
One day a new family came to town. The family had a girl, Tallulah, and a boy named Russell. They heard the stories about the crying sound that could be heard from the house. Cry, Rachel!
(Rachel pretended to cry again. Presently she got sick of this and I had to do the pretend crying).
Tallulah and Russell were curious and one day after school, they knocked on the door. They heard the same loud crying sound and no one answered. They went away but came back the next day, and the next, and the next. Finally, after five days, they decided to try one more time. They knocked on the door and when there was no answer, they turned the knob. And to their surprise, they were able to enter. They walked inside and saw furniture that was covered with white sheets. The walls had dust all over them. They walked up the long staircase and heard the crying get louder. The followed the sound into an upstairs bedroom, opened the door, and saw a little girl lying on a bed. She was a ghost and she was in a while dress. She was crying very loudly and then all of a sudden, she disappeared. The kids were so scared that they ran downstairs and out of the house.
Well, Tallulah and Russell still hadn't found out any more about why the crying was going on, so they went back the next day. They followed the crying again, opened the bedroom door and saw the same little ghost girl lying on the bed. But this time there was a doctor next to her with a stethoscope. "Come in, children," he said in a deep voice. "What do you want to know?"
Tallulah and Russell were terrified and spoke in trembling voices. "Why is the little girl crying?"
"The little girl's name is Sarah," the doctor replied. "It's 1901, and Sarah is 10 years old and she has an incurable disease. Her parents had several babies that died, and Sarah was the only one who lived beyond her 2nd birthday. Now she's dying and her parents are very sad because she's the only one left. And she's sad because she knows they'll be sad when she dies."
"Can't you fix her?" Russell asked boldly.
"No," the doctor said. "The medicine to cure her disease hasn't been invented yet. It's invented in your time, not Sarah's time. There's only one thing that might cure her."
(At this point I asked Rachel if she wanted a cheerful ending and she shook her head).
"Her parents were so sad when she died that they couldn't bring themselves to bury her," the doctor said. "So she stayed in her bed, and the parents kept the light off. So she's been lying there ever since."
"The only thing that can cure her is if you stay with her all night," the doctor said. "Other little kids tried to do that but they got scared and ran away. But if you stay with her all night, the crying will stop and the lights will come back on."
(At this point Rachel said that if she were Tallulah, SHE would have run out of the house to her mommy and daddy and asked if she could stay with Sarah all night. Then she would have come back. "Very good, Rachel," I said. "But Tallulah and Russell couldn't go to their parents so they just decided to stay.")
Well, that night they stayed with Sarah. And it was very scary. Sarah kept crying and crying and near morning, the crying got louder and louder until she started SCREAMING and the kids were very scared but they stayed with her and didn't leave.
And in the morning, when Tallulah and Russell woke up, the light was filling the windows and into the room, and Tallulah and Russell saw that Sarah had disappeared. Then they took each other's hands, walked downstairs out of the house, and went back home.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Naptime accident
Rachel had an unexpected "accident" today while napping -- not only did she pee all over the bed (and I had just finished washing and folding all of her laundry) but she pooped in her pants. "Mommy!" she called from the bedroom while I was working on business school homework (Drew was out running errands before we left for a dinner party at my friend Deni's house). "I pooped in my pants!"
I came running. "Oh Rachel, Rachel, Rachel," I scolded her. "Why did you DO this?"
She started crying. "I had a bad dream," she sobbed.
"What was your dream?" I asked.
"I dreamed that there were a lot of alligators and a lady who was hurt and the alligators were discussing how to hurt her more," she said. "And I got so scared that I pooped."
I have no idea where THAT came from.
"Maybe we shouldn't be telling you scary stories," I suggested gently.
"Yeah," she agreed. "Maybe when I'm older."
I wiped her tears and cleaned her up. Hoping she has a peaceful night.
I came running. "Oh Rachel, Rachel, Rachel," I scolded her. "Why did you DO this?"
She started crying. "I had a bad dream," she sobbed.
"What was your dream?" I asked.
"I dreamed that there were a lot of alligators and a lady who was hurt and the alligators were discussing how to hurt her more," she said. "And I got so scared that I pooped."
I have no idea where THAT came from.
"Maybe we shouldn't be telling you scary stories," I suggested gently.
"Yeah," she agreed. "Maybe when I'm older."
I wiped her tears and cleaned her up. Hoping she has a peaceful night.
Breakfast story
Here's the story I told Rachel at breakfast today. (Tell me a spooky story with a cheerful end," she said). Can you guess the literary influences?
Once upon a time there was a little boy named Sammy, who lived in a house on a little hill -- kind of like ours -- and there was a big maple tree in his front yard, just like ours. There were really colorful leaves on it in the fall -- red and yellow -- and blossoms on it in the spring. Sammy really wanted to climb the tree but his parents wouldn't let him. Then one day, while they weren't looking, he climbed to the very top...and came CRASHING DOWN! His parents came running outside to see what was the matter. Sammy was hurt and so his parents put him on a stretcher and raced to the hospital. The doctors said Sammy's legs were broken and he would never be able to walk again.
(Cue the look of horror on Rachel's face).
Well, after that Sammy couldn't play with his friends because he couldn't run, or jump, or ride a bike. He started thinking that he couldn't do anything because he was in a wheelchair. He had made that one mistake -- climbing a tree without his parents' permission -- and it cost him the use of his legs. He got sadder and sadder and angrier and angrier until he just stayed inside all day in his wheelchair, looking outside. His mommy kept telling him to go outside and get some fresh air but he refused to do so.
Then one day, a family moved to the house next door. They had a little girl whose name was Susie. She went to Sammy's house, knocked on the door and he opened it. "Hi," she said. "My name's Susie. Do you want to come out and play?" "NO," Sammy snarled. "I DON'T," and then he closed the door. Susie tried several times to get Sammy to play but he always said no.
(Rachel started getting teary at this point).
Now, Sammy's house had a big backyard that was haunted by a goblin at night. "WOO, WOO!" went the goblin. Goblins, of course, are scary creatures. This goblin was so scary that you never saw what he actually looked like; you just saw his shadow. "WOO, WOO!" he'd go at night.
(Rachel covered her ears).
Then Susie came over one day, absolutely determined to get Sammy to come out of the house. She told him about the goblin in his backyard, and they decided they were going to attack the goblin that night. The only way the goblin could be killed, though, was not by knives or guns, but by throwing a stone in the middle of the shadow, and then the goblin would just crumple and disappear.
So that night, when Susie knocked on Sammy's door, he was ready. The moon was up, so it was bright outside -- bright enough to see the goblin's shadow. Susie and Sammy sat in the backyard and waited. Sammy reached down next to the arm of his wheelchair, gathered a couple of rocks, and then they saw the goblin's shadow. Sammy threw the rock at the shadow and then all of a sudden the shadow turned into little sparkles and then just disappeared. The goblin was gone.
"See?" Susie said. "Anybody who can kill a goblin can do pretty much anything, even if you're in a wheelchair. Just because you made one mistake doesn't mean your life is over!" Sammy agreed, and the next day he went out to play with his friends, and he went back to school, and he never again did he believe that he couldn't do anything because he was in a wheelchair.
(I was thinking of "The Secret Garden" when I made this one up, but now I see it has elements of "The Trumpet of the Swan." Rachel, by the way, loved it).
Once upon a time there was a little boy named Sammy, who lived in a house on a little hill -- kind of like ours -- and there was a big maple tree in his front yard, just like ours. There were really colorful leaves on it in the fall -- red and yellow -- and blossoms on it in the spring. Sammy really wanted to climb the tree but his parents wouldn't let him. Then one day, while they weren't looking, he climbed to the very top...and came CRASHING DOWN! His parents came running outside to see what was the matter. Sammy was hurt and so his parents put him on a stretcher and raced to the hospital. The doctors said Sammy's legs were broken and he would never be able to walk again.
(Cue the look of horror on Rachel's face).
Well, after that Sammy couldn't play with his friends because he couldn't run, or jump, or ride a bike. He started thinking that he couldn't do anything because he was in a wheelchair. He had made that one mistake -- climbing a tree without his parents' permission -- and it cost him the use of his legs. He got sadder and sadder and angrier and angrier until he just stayed inside all day in his wheelchair, looking outside. His mommy kept telling him to go outside and get some fresh air but he refused to do so.
Then one day, a family moved to the house next door. They had a little girl whose name was Susie. She went to Sammy's house, knocked on the door and he opened it. "Hi," she said. "My name's Susie. Do you want to come out and play?" "NO," Sammy snarled. "I DON'T," and then he closed the door. Susie tried several times to get Sammy to play but he always said no.
(Rachel started getting teary at this point).
Now, Sammy's house had a big backyard that was haunted by a goblin at night. "WOO, WOO!" went the goblin. Goblins, of course, are scary creatures. This goblin was so scary that you never saw what he actually looked like; you just saw his shadow. "WOO, WOO!" he'd go at night.
(Rachel covered her ears).
Then Susie came over one day, absolutely determined to get Sammy to come out of the house. She told him about the goblin in his backyard, and they decided they were going to attack the goblin that night. The only way the goblin could be killed, though, was not by knives or guns, but by throwing a stone in the middle of the shadow, and then the goblin would just crumple and disappear.
So that night, when Susie knocked on Sammy's door, he was ready. The moon was up, so it was bright outside -- bright enough to see the goblin's shadow. Susie and Sammy sat in the backyard and waited. Sammy reached down next to the arm of his wheelchair, gathered a couple of rocks, and then they saw the goblin's shadow. Sammy threw the rock at the shadow and then all of a sudden the shadow turned into little sparkles and then just disappeared. The goblin was gone.
"See?" Susie said. "Anybody who can kill a goblin can do pretty much anything, even if you're in a wheelchair. Just because you made one mistake doesn't mean your life is over!" Sammy agreed, and the next day he went out to play with his friends, and he went back to school, and he never again did he believe that he couldn't do anything because he was in a wheelchair.
(I was thinking of "The Secret Garden" when I made this one up, but now I see it has elements of "The Trumpet of the Swan." Rachel, by the way, loved it).
Sunny Saturday! Yay!
This morning Rachel came into our room at 8 a.m. Which is a perfectly reasonable time to get up, except that we had been up late the night before (I was catching up on Mad Men episodes after a particularly stressful week), and so Drew told Rachel she needed to let us sleep more (she had told us on Friday night, "Can I go upstairs and color while you guys sleep tomorrow morning?" YES, Drew answered emphatically). She closed the door sadly, then a few minutes later knocked on our door again (yes, at least she knocks). Drew told her to go away, more firmly this time, and I echoed him. She started crying and Drew murmured to me, "New house rule: No knocking on Mommy and Daddy's bedroom door unless the house is on fire."
YES.
Drew eventually took Rachel upstairs and I kept hearing, "Wow! Wow!" Turns out he and Rachel were playing baseball, and the knocking sounds were the balls (which are soft, remember) hitting the walls. He continues to be more and more impressed by her skills. "You'll be ready for tee ball!" I told her when she came downstairs. "Yeah, yeah, yeah I'm ready for tee ball," she said dismissively. Ah, she's already a teenager...
***
At breakfast, Rachel said, "You did a good job of making this banana bread!" "Thank you!" I replied. Glad we're raising a kid who knows to to express gratitude.
***
"Hey Mommy," Rachel said. "Wouldn't it be funny if a ball had little feet and a mouth and some eyes and hopped downstairs for breakfast? Like all the balls going downstairs for breakfast?" And then she laughed.
***
"Tell me a story," she commanded a few minutes later. "Make it spooky, but with a cheerful end."
And that made ME laugh.
YES.
Drew eventually took Rachel upstairs and I kept hearing, "Wow! Wow!" Turns out he and Rachel were playing baseball, and the knocking sounds were the balls (which are soft, remember) hitting the walls. He continues to be more and more impressed by her skills. "You'll be ready for tee ball!" I told her when she came downstairs. "Yeah, yeah, yeah I'm ready for tee ball," she said dismissively. Ah, she's already a teenager...
***
At breakfast, Rachel said, "You did a good job of making this banana bread!" "Thank you!" I replied. Glad we're raising a kid who knows to to express gratitude.
***
"Hey Mommy," Rachel said. "Wouldn't it be funny if a ball had little feet and a mouth and some eyes and hopped downstairs for breakfast? Like all the balls going downstairs for breakfast?" And then she laughed.
***
"Tell me a story," she commanded a few minutes later. "Make it spooky, but with a cheerful end."
And that made ME laugh.
Friday, April 20, 2012
"How can I resist that face?"
That was my response when Rachel walked into the bathroom yesterday morning, smacked her hand gently against my leg and said very sweetly, "May you please make banana bread?"
"HOW can I resist that FACE?" I asked (her eyes looked like two perfect blue buttons).
Later, when I was with her in the kitchen I said, "I've got an idea. How about YOU make banana bread?"
"NOOO!" she said, horrified. Later she added, "you're the better maker!"
She offered to make "cupcakes," -- the little toy ones that she got for her third birthday. She leaves them everywhere -- on the kitchen table, next to the shower, on my bedside table. I think it's her way of telling me she loves me.
***
Drew asked Rachel to start washing up before bed last night and she said "NO," quite firmly. He didn't know if she was kidding or not.
"Don't you EVER talk to me like that," Drew said sternly. "When I ask you to do something, you need to to do it."
Rachel started crying.
"I'm worried you'll throw all of my books into the garbage!" she said.
"Sweetie, even if I were mad at you I'd never throw your books away," Drew said.
He was gratified that books mean so much to her but puzzled at her fears. "It's like she's reading 'Bleak House' under the covers at night, or something," he observed.
***
Rachel had a sad face earlier this week as Drew was getting dressed before going into the kitchen and getting together breakfast.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" he asked.
"I'm worried you're going to get all the food and there won't be any left for me," she said sadly.
After reassuring her there was plenty of food, Drew asked, "Rachel, why do you worry so much?"
"I worry about EVERYTHING!" she replied.
"HOW can I resist that FACE?" I asked (her eyes looked like two perfect blue buttons).
Later, when I was with her in the kitchen I said, "I've got an idea. How about YOU make banana bread?"
"NOOO!" she said, horrified. Later she added, "you're the better maker!"
She offered to make "cupcakes," -- the little toy ones that she got for her third birthday. She leaves them everywhere -- on the kitchen table, next to the shower, on my bedside table. I think it's her way of telling me she loves me.
***
Drew asked Rachel to start washing up before bed last night and she said "NO," quite firmly. He didn't know if she was kidding or not.
"Don't you EVER talk to me like that," Drew said sternly. "When I ask you to do something, you need to to do it."
Rachel started crying.
"I'm worried you'll throw all of my books into the garbage!" she said.
"Sweetie, even if I were mad at you I'd never throw your books away," Drew said.
He was gratified that books mean so much to her but puzzled at her fears. "It's like she's reading 'Bleak House' under the covers at night, or something," he observed.
***
Rachel had a sad face earlier this week as Drew was getting dressed before going into the kitchen and getting together breakfast.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" he asked.
"I'm worried you're going to get all the food and there won't be any left for me," she said sadly.
After reassuring her there was plenty of food, Drew asked, "Rachel, why do you worry so much?"
"I worry about EVERYTHING!" she replied.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Social bumblebees
Barely back and we're already in the swing of things: I worked on homework all day while Drew took Rachel to dance and swim class and to the farmer's market. Then it was time to get ready for a lovely gala for Oregon Ballet Theatre (the same one I drank too much at last year and had to have someone take me home. Thanks again to Aunties Amanda and Jenn for baby-sitting that night!). Fortunately the gala coincided with the monthly Parents Night Out at preschool, so Rachel had her pajama party to prepare for while Drew and I got dressed. She was very good while we suited up in our formal clothes -- she closed the door to her room and drew pictures and played with a numbers puzzle. When we were finished, she was enchanted with my outfit (a black skirt with black cutout roses, a velvet sweater and ruffled shirt) and asked if she could wear it when she got older. Of course I said yes, which led to her obsessing on that idea the whole night. She even cried when we picked her up: "I wanna wear the outfit NOW!"
The gala itself was fabulous -- some beautifully dressed women, some who were severely taste-challenged (they were too old for the clothes they were wearing or the clothes didn't fit right) and the scent of money in the air (which, since this is Oregon, smelled more like wood chips than Chanel No. 5). The food wasn't as good as last year but I got to talk to a dancer who was seated at our table, and with my friend Melissa (who had invited us) and her husband Steve. I love being invited to these galas but it is depressing to be around these little slips of women with muscular arms and long, lean bodies. Yes, they're ballerinas and yes, they have to juggle other jobs while they're not performing, but I still wish I looked like them.
Rachel was unexpectedly weepy and clingy tonight -- maybe because she knows Drew is headed to Seattle tomorrow after nearly two weeks with us. She has somehow got it into her head that she looks "boring."
"I look boring," she'll say, or, tonight, "I'm not pretty." We always reassure her she's pretty (on the inside AND out, I emphasize), but she keeps repeating firmly that she's not attractive. Where she gets these ideas, I don't know. I'd curse the American fashion and beauty industry, but Rachel doesn't watch commercials and it can't be her little friends at preschool who are telling her these things. Or can it??
The gala itself was fabulous -- some beautifully dressed women, some who were severely taste-challenged (they were too old for the clothes they were wearing or the clothes didn't fit right) and the scent of money in the air (which, since this is Oregon, smelled more like wood chips than Chanel No. 5). The food wasn't as good as last year but I got to talk to a dancer who was seated at our table, and with my friend Melissa (who had invited us) and her husband Steve. I love being invited to these galas but it is depressing to be around these little slips of women with muscular arms and long, lean bodies. Yes, they're ballerinas and yes, they have to juggle other jobs while they're not performing, but I still wish I looked like them.
Rachel was unexpectedly weepy and clingy tonight -- maybe because she knows Drew is headed to Seattle tomorrow after nearly two weeks with us. She has somehow got it into her head that she looks "boring."
"I look boring," she'll say, or, tonight, "I'm not pretty." We always reassure her she's pretty (on the inside AND out, I emphasize), but she keeps repeating firmly that she's not attractive. Where she gets these ideas, I don't know. I'd curse the American fashion and beauty industry, but Rachel doesn't watch commercials and it can't be her little friends at preschool who are telling her these things. Or can it??
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Home again!
Rachel was a terrific traveler home. She didn't whine or fuss once (she also didn't sleep on the plane, which we had hoped she would do). I ended up racing through my b-school class homework so I could relieve Drew of the responsbility of reading to her and telling her endless stories. Sleep, kid! I kept saying silently. For heaven's sake, SLEEP! Instead, she ended up falling asleep AFTER the plane landed, our bags were piled on the sidewalk and we were waiting for a cab to take us home. Rachel curled up on the bags, I put my coat on top of her like a blanket, and she was out.
Today she talked to her teachers and friends about her adventures in New York. Apparently her class had made a "countdown calendar" to mark the days until she returned. How cute!!!
Tonight I went to chorus rehearsal. Drew fed Rachel dinner, and while they were eating he started reading the NY Times.
"Daddy, don't look at the newspaper while we're having dinner," Rachel said very seriously.
"Really?" Drew said. "What SHOULD I be looking at?" (He thought she'd say, 'Me!')
"You should concentrate on your food," she said.
A few minutes later Drew tried to ask her about school and she looked at him, smiled, and said, "Less talking, more eating!"
Today she talked to her teachers and friends about her adventures in New York. Apparently her class had made a "countdown calendar" to mark the days until she returned. How cute!!!
Tonight I went to chorus rehearsal. Drew fed Rachel dinner, and while they were eating he started reading the NY Times.
"Daddy, don't look at the newspaper while we're having dinner," Rachel said very seriously.
"Really?" Drew said. "What SHOULD I be looking at?" (He thought she'd say, 'Me!')
"You should concentrate on your food," she said.
A few minutes later Drew tried to ask her about school and she looked at him, smiled, and said, "Less talking, more eating!"
Monday, April 9, 2012
Another fantastic day
Quick recap of the day:
--"It's a beautiful day for a train ride!" Rachel announced this morning, and it was true: the weather was perfectly beautiful and sunny and warm. Drew decided he wanted one day without driving, and we wanted to give Rachel the treat of riding into the city on MetroNorth and getting around by subway. She LOVED it (part of the reason being that I told her the story that I referred to in my previous post). "Today is my luckiest day!" she said as we emerged from the subway (we took 2 lines to get to Katz's Deli). "I got to ride on a TRAIN!" We met our friend Amy, from college, for lunch and then managed to find a playground near the deli. Rachel and played chase, and I had to pretend I was a unicorn and we were running together. It actually felt good to move my body for a while.
--She fell asleep on my hip on the way back. Drew met a very nice couple from Asheville, NC while I took a micro-nap until we got to the station in White Plains. Then it was on to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner (an unexpected pleasure, thanks Mom and Dad!)
--Rachel enchanted Grandma and Grandpa. She played very nicely on her own, then at dinner she sang all the verses of "Clementine," said the Shabbat blessings by heart AND sang the Hanukkah song. I couldn't bear to leave, but at 10 I said we really needed to get Rachel to bed. "I wanna stay and Grandma and Grandpa's house!!" she cried, and I couldn't blame her; we were all having such a good time. Grandpa and Grandpa reassured her that she could visit them again, and she gave them multiple hugs. Then we got into the car and headed back to our hotel.
Tomorrow we leave at 7, and we'll spend most of the day in the city meeting one more friend for lunch and taking care of a couple of errands. I leave with a very full heart and a longing to live closer to the ones I love. Thank you all for making this one of the most memorable vacations EVER!!
--"It's a beautiful day for a train ride!" Rachel announced this morning, and it was true: the weather was perfectly beautiful and sunny and warm. Drew decided he wanted one day without driving, and we wanted to give Rachel the treat of riding into the city on MetroNorth and getting around by subway. She LOVED it (part of the reason being that I told her the story that I referred to in my previous post). "Today is my luckiest day!" she said as we emerged from the subway (we took 2 lines to get to Katz's Deli). "I got to ride on a TRAIN!" We met our friend Amy, from college, for lunch and then managed to find a playground near the deli. Rachel and played chase, and I had to pretend I was a unicorn and we were running together. It actually felt good to move my body for a while.
--She fell asleep on my hip on the way back. Drew met a very nice couple from Asheville, NC while I took a micro-nap until we got to the station in White Plains. Then it was on to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner (an unexpected pleasure, thanks Mom and Dad!)
--Rachel enchanted Grandma and Grandpa. She played very nicely on her own, then at dinner she sang all the verses of "Clementine," said the Shabbat blessings by heart AND sang the Hanukkah song. I couldn't bear to leave, but at 10 I said we really needed to get Rachel to bed. "I wanna stay and Grandma and Grandpa's house!!" she cried, and I couldn't blame her; we were all having such a good time. Grandpa and Grandpa reassured her that she could visit them again, and she gave them multiple hugs. Then we got into the car and headed back to our hotel.
Tomorrow we leave at 7, and we'll spend most of the day in the city meeting one more friend for lunch and taking care of a couple of errands. I leave with a very full heart and a longing to live closer to the ones I love. Thank you all for making this one of the most memorable vacations EVER!!
Mommy's Story
Once upon a time, in a town called Sleepy Hollow -- the same town where Ichabod Crane encountered the headless horseman -- there was a big, old house at the top of a hill. The house had been abandoned for years and years and was dark and empty until an English family bought it. The family was named Deerfield, and the parents were Robert and Samantha. The kids were Peggy and Bobby. The father, Robert, worked in finance on Wall Street and was very busy during the day.
One night, soon after they moved in, the kids awoke to hear an eerie howling outside: "Whoo...whoo!" They ran into their parents' room and told them about the noise. But their parents couldn't hear it and became very cross that their children had woken them up. A couple of weeks later the kids heard the same noise..."whoo! Whoo!" and ran into their parents' room again and told them about the noise. The parents again couldn't hear it and were even angrier that their kids had woken them up.
A couple of weeks passed and the kids awoke one night, but they heard something different: the faint voices of children saying, "come play with us! Come play with us!" and Peggy and Bobby were frightened. But they got up and went in search of the voices -- and didn't find anything. The next day at breakfast they told their parents what they had heard, and their parents again said they hadn't heard anything -- but the mother, Samantha, started getting worried that the kids were hearing things.
The next night, Peggy and Bobby were determined to find out what was really going on. They grabbed their flashlights and went to the third floor of the house, the one that had three empty bedrooms. When they opened the door to the middle room, they found a room filled with cobwebs and furniture covered with white sheets and dust. And then they noticed two ghost children in old-timey clothes, dancing with each other. Then all of a sudden a stern woman's voice clapped her hands and called out: "Stop dancing! Time to wash the floors and scrub the walls and line up for porridge! Then you'll have to march outside for five hours to get your exercise! The kids started crying and ran out of the room. Peggy and Bobby ran downstairs to their bedrooms. The next day they told their mother what had happened. Their mother threatened to send them away to boarding school if they talked any more about hearing voices.
A few days later, Peggy and Bobby decided they wanted to do some research on the house. They went to the local library and asked the librarian to look up the address of their house -- 250 Caldecott Lane. The librarian looked it up but couldn't find any record of the house being there, either in the past or the present. Really puzzled by now, Peggy and Bobby wondered what was going on. They pressed the librarian for more information, and she told them that a hundred years ago, there was a tuberculosis sanatorium in Sleepy Hollow where parents sent their kids who were sick, so the kids could get better. But the people who ran the sanatorium were so mean than they really didn't take care of the kids; they made them work and march around outside. And one day there was a terrible fire that burned down the sanatorium and all the kids in it, but some of the workers survived. And a house was built for the workers near where the sanatorium had been, and they lived there until they died off, one by one, and the house was abandoned...until the day the Deerfields bought it and Peggy and Bobby and their parents moved in.
The night after that, Peggy and Bobby again returned to the third floor of the house and this time, they heard the sounds of music. The music was being made by a whole group of kids who were singing and playing on homemade instruments, and there a whole bunch of kids who were all dancing together. As Peggy and Bobby looked on, the kids held out their hands to Peggy and Bobby, and they got caught up in the whirl of dancers that went faster and faster until they all spun themselves into a big cloud of white dust....and disappeared.
***
That is the story I told Rachel on the MetroNorth train into the city this morning. As I was getting to the part about the librarian, a lady with short curly gray hair stood up to get off at her stop and said, "I want to hear the ending! I hope you're writing this down!" and then left. I thanked her profusely, completely stunned by the great, great compliment she had paid me. This was a story I completely made up, helped by visual clues along the way -- an apartment building with small windows and strips of wood that gave me the inspiration for the house; the woman with curly gray hair who have me the idea for the stern woman who ran the sanatorium, etc. It was the eeriest feeling, like the story just pulled me along. I had no idea how I'd end it until just a few graphs before the ending.
Oh, and Rachel's eyes were as big as saucers the whole time, and her lower lip was hanging down, and she was looking at me like...like...I was a story goddess, or something. I'll never forget the expression on her face.
"It was all derivative!" I protested to Drew when we reached Grand Central Station.
"Unless your name is Homer or Gilgamesh, all fiction is derivative," he replied.
I guess this old girl still has some stories left in her -- even though she's no longer a journalist.
One night, soon after they moved in, the kids awoke to hear an eerie howling outside: "Whoo...whoo!" They ran into their parents' room and told them about the noise. But their parents couldn't hear it and became very cross that their children had woken them up. A couple of weeks later the kids heard the same noise..."whoo! Whoo!" and ran into their parents' room again and told them about the noise. The parents again couldn't hear it and were even angrier that their kids had woken them up.
A couple of weeks passed and the kids awoke one night, but they heard something different: the faint voices of children saying, "come play with us! Come play with us!" and Peggy and Bobby were frightened. But they got up and went in search of the voices -- and didn't find anything. The next day at breakfast they told their parents what they had heard, and their parents again said they hadn't heard anything -- but the mother, Samantha, started getting worried that the kids were hearing things.
The next night, Peggy and Bobby were determined to find out what was really going on. They grabbed their flashlights and went to the third floor of the house, the one that had three empty bedrooms. When they opened the door to the middle room, they found a room filled with cobwebs and furniture covered with white sheets and dust. And then they noticed two ghost children in old-timey clothes, dancing with each other. Then all of a sudden a stern woman's voice clapped her hands and called out: "Stop dancing! Time to wash the floors and scrub the walls and line up for porridge! Then you'll have to march outside for five hours to get your exercise! The kids started crying and ran out of the room. Peggy and Bobby ran downstairs to their bedrooms. The next day they told their mother what had happened. Their mother threatened to send them away to boarding school if they talked any more about hearing voices.
A few days later, Peggy and Bobby decided they wanted to do some research on the house. They went to the local library and asked the librarian to look up the address of their house -- 250 Caldecott Lane. The librarian looked it up but couldn't find any record of the house being there, either in the past or the present. Really puzzled by now, Peggy and Bobby wondered what was going on. They pressed the librarian for more information, and she told them that a hundred years ago, there was a tuberculosis sanatorium in Sleepy Hollow where parents sent their kids who were sick, so the kids could get better. But the people who ran the sanatorium were so mean than they really didn't take care of the kids; they made them work and march around outside. And one day there was a terrible fire that burned down the sanatorium and all the kids in it, but some of the workers survived. And a house was built for the workers near where the sanatorium had been, and they lived there until they died off, one by one, and the house was abandoned...until the day the Deerfields bought it and Peggy and Bobby and their parents moved in.
The night after that, Peggy and Bobby again returned to the third floor of the house and this time, they heard the sounds of music. The music was being made by a whole group of kids who were singing and playing on homemade instruments, and there a whole bunch of kids who were all dancing together. As Peggy and Bobby looked on, the kids held out their hands to Peggy and Bobby, and they got caught up in the whirl of dancers that went faster and faster until they all spun themselves into a big cloud of white dust....and disappeared.
***
That is the story I told Rachel on the MetroNorth train into the city this morning. As I was getting to the part about the librarian, a lady with short curly gray hair stood up to get off at her stop and said, "I want to hear the ending! I hope you're writing this down!" and then left. I thanked her profusely, completely stunned by the great, great compliment she had paid me. This was a story I completely made up, helped by visual clues along the way -- an apartment building with small windows and strips of wood that gave me the inspiration for the house; the woman with curly gray hair who have me the idea for the stern woman who ran the sanatorium, etc. It was the eeriest feeling, like the story just pulled me along. I had no idea how I'd end it until just a few graphs before the ending.
Oh, and Rachel's eyes were as big as saucers the whole time, and her lower lip was hanging down, and she was looking at me like...like...I was a story goddess, or something. I'll never forget the expression on her face.
"It was all derivative!" I protested to Drew when we reached Grand Central Station.
"Unless your name is Homer or Gilgamesh, all fiction is derivative," he replied.
I guess this old girl still has some stories left in her -- even though she's no longer a journalist.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
"You're my favorite Mommy!"
How can the day NOT be fantastic when it starts with your kid saying that to you first thing in the morning??
We played two rounds of "Old Maid," (which Rachel is getting quite good at) before heading to Grandma and Grandpa's for lunch and playtime with Valerie. Before we left, Rachel said, "I'm going to run to Grandma and give her a big hug, and she's going to scoop me up. And I'm going to say 'please' and 'thank you' and 'excuse me' when I burp and fart and....that's all the manners I know."
We, of course, laughed our heads off. Because, really, that about covers it for good behavior.
So, we spent a delightful afternoon in Mt. Kisco. Grandma made her famous matzo brei, which Rachel, disappointingly, did not like -- oh, that kid doesn't know what she's missing -- and then Grandma served the most amazingly decadent Passover cake from a local bakery. It had a crushed almond crust, and whipped cream/chocolate ganache filling, and mocha icing -- ah, I would LOVE to take it back to Oregon to get over the misery of not being able to eat flour until Friday night -- but that ain't happening so I'll just sigh and hope Mom gets it next year.
The kids were unbelievably adorable together. It's almost like they realize they're all they've got after their parents go, so they bonded very quickly and were incredibly nice to each other -- sharing goldfish crackers, hugging each other, each asking if the other wanted something. Grandma had a wonderful stash of toys that Valerie and Rachel pounced upon, and they ran through the house, shrieking, as all of us pretended to be monsters and chase them. "Let's go upstairs, Rachel!" Valerie yelled at one point, and I heard the faint tinkle of piano keys.
Then we went to the local park while Grandma rested, and Rachel insisted Drew and I play "chase" (her name for hide-and-go-seek) and the kids climbed all over the play structure, went down slides, swung in the swings, checked out a pond to try to see frogs or fish or geese (none were observable), and then, when everyone was tired, we made our way back to Grandma and Grandpa's for COOKIES (Rachel had three before I knew what had happened) and dark chocolate matzoh. We all decided to go to dinner at a local restaurant, where Rachel had penne with red sauce (unusual for her, since she doesn't like sauce these days) and then insisted on ordering chocolate chip mint ice cream -- and then ATE IT ALL UP! I was hesitant to let her order it because she'd never tried it before, but she was a good girl and finished it. I was so proud of her. So proud of her good behavior, her demonstrations of gratitude and how well she got along with her younger cousin. She really seems to love Valerie. Let's hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Great story of the day, told by Daniella:
Daniella, Darryl, Valerie and Tia (Daniella's friend Amy, whose family is from the Dominican Republica) were at a sushi place Saturday night, and Valerie announced, "We had a Passover Seder last night!" and began to sing the four questions. The woman to the right was from Eastern Europe and was very impressed with her rendition and told her how smart she was. The woman to her left looked at Daniella (red-haired Caucasian); Darryl (Chinese); Valerie (Caucasian/Chinese); and Amy (Latina), as if to figure out who was related to whom. As they all left to go to their table, Daniella heard the woman on the left say to the woman on her right, "Only in America!" You betcha, sister.
We played two rounds of "Old Maid," (which Rachel is getting quite good at) before heading to Grandma and Grandpa's for lunch and playtime with Valerie. Before we left, Rachel said, "I'm going to run to Grandma and give her a big hug, and she's going to scoop me up. And I'm going to say 'please' and 'thank you' and 'excuse me' when I burp and fart and....that's all the manners I know."
We, of course, laughed our heads off. Because, really, that about covers it for good behavior.
So, we spent a delightful afternoon in Mt. Kisco. Grandma made her famous matzo brei, which Rachel, disappointingly, did not like -- oh, that kid doesn't know what she's missing -- and then Grandma served the most amazingly decadent Passover cake from a local bakery. It had a crushed almond crust, and whipped cream/chocolate ganache filling, and mocha icing -- ah, I would LOVE to take it back to Oregon to get over the misery of not being able to eat flour until Friday night -- but that ain't happening so I'll just sigh and hope Mom gets it next year.
The kids were unbelievably adorable together. It's almost like they realize they're all they've got after their parents go, so they bonded very quickly and were incredibly nice to each other -- sharing goldfish crackers, hugging each other, each asking if the other wanted something. Grandma had a wonderful stash of toys that Valerie and Rachel pounced upon, and they ran through the house, shrieking, as all of us pretended to be monsters and chase them. "Let's go upstairs, Rachel!" Valerie yelled at one point, and I heard the faint tinkle of piano keys.
Then we went to the local park while Grandma rested, and Rachel insisted Drew and I play "chase" (her name for hide-and-go-seek) and the kids climbed all over the play structure, went down slides, swung in the swings, checked out a pond to try to see frogs or fish or geese (none were observable), and then, when everyone was tired, we made our way back to Grandma and Grandpa's for COOKIES (Rachel had three before I knew what had happened) and dark chocolate matzoh. We all decided to go to dinner at a local restaurant, where Rachel had penne with red sauce (unusual for her, since she doesn't like sauce these days) and then insisted on ordering chocolate chip mint ice cream -- and then ATE IT ALL UP! I was hesitant to let her order it because she'd never tried it before, but she was a good girl and finished it. I was so proud of her. So proud of her good behavior, her demonstrations of gratitude and how well she got along with her younger cousin. She really seems to love Valerie. Let's hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Great story of the day, told by Daniella:
Daniella, Darryl, Valerie and Tia (Daniella's friend Amy, whose family is from the Dominican Republica) were at a sushi place Saturday night, and Valerie announced, "We had a Passover Seder last night!" and began to sing the four questions. The woman to the right was from Eastern Europe and was very impressed with her rendition and told her how smart she was. The woman to her left looked at Daniella (red-haired Caucasian); Darryl (Chinese); Valerie (Caucasian/Chinese); and Amy (Latina), as if to figure out who was related to whom. As they all left to go to their table, Daniella heard the woman on the left say to the woman on her right, "Only in America!" You betcha, sister.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Reunion!
We spent most of today with friends -- we met Dave, a friend of mine from college, for lunch at a lovely restaurant in Montclair, where I had a delicious omelet (one thing about observing Passover and being in NYC that SUCKS is that I have to keep away from unleavened foods, which rules out any Italian bakery cookies, true Jewish bagels, etc.) and got a nice warm feeling from seeing matzo brei on the menu at Raymond's. Thank you, NJ!
Dave directed us to a great park called Brookhaven in Montclair that had two terrific play structures and lots of room to run. It was wonderful to let all that good sun soak through my bones. The weather here has made me realize how sick unto DEATH I am of the rain in Oregon. This spring has been terrible, and more rain is on the horizon when we get home on Wednesday. If we don't leave before I'm able to retire, then I'm spending at least 6 months of my retirement every year in the sunshine. I don't care if I have to live in the crummiest trailer park in, say, Arizona. I need SUN, dammit!!
Tonight we met friends of ours from Portland, Nikole and Faraji, and their baby Najya for dinner. (Najya really isn't a baby anymore; she's 2!). Rachel was so sweet with her -- she held hands with her, hugged her several times and patted her back when she fell asleep on Faraji's shoulder at the restaurant. She demonstrates every day what a sweet and gentle soul she is -- at the park today, Rachel noticed a little girl had fallen down and was crying, and she immediately went over and gave her a hug. Two women standing next to me noticed an commented how adorable and sweet she was. "She gets a gold star for that one," one of them joked, and I said, "a sticker. It's all about stickers these days!"
Dave directed us to a great park called Brookhaven in Montclair that had two terrific play structures and lots of room to run. It was wonderful to let all that good sun soak through my bones. The weather here has made me realize how sick unto DEATH I am of the rain in Oregon. This spring has been terrible, and more rain is on the horizon when we get home on Wednesday. If we don't leave before I'm able to retire, then I'm spending at least 6 months of my retirement every year in the sunshine. I don't care if I have to live in the crummiest trailer park in, say, Arizona. I need SUN, dammit!!
Tonight we met friends of ours from Portland, Nikole and Faraji, and their baby Najya for dinner. (Najya really isn't a baby anymore; she's 2!). Rachel was so sweet with her -- she held hands with her, hugged her several times and patted her back when she fell asleep on Faraji's shoulder at the restaurant. She demonstrates every day what a sweet and gentle soul she is -- at the park today, Rachel noticed a little girl had fallen down and was crying, and she immediately went over and gave her a hug. Two women standing next to me noticed an commented how adorable and sweet she was. "She gets a gold star for that one," one of them joked, and I said, "a sticker. It's all about stickers these days!"
Friday, April 6, 2012
A Very Pony Passover
..yes, that would be a FANTASTIC title for a Passover-themed My Little Pony book. Why didn't I think of it before??
In a word, tonight's Seder was AWESOME. Many kudos to my amazing sister for pulling it off. At first the girls -- Valerie and Rachel -- were quite shy; Rachel got a little sniffly when she tried to say hi to Valerie and interact with her, but Valerie didn't respond. Not surprising, really; she had just gotten up from a nap before we arrived. (We actually got to Queens a half-hour early, and we ended up taking Rachel to a playground and letting her run around for a while before walking to Daniella & Darryl's apartment. One thing I am learning on this trip: Rachel is the age when kids are like puppies: you have to run them regularly or they have too much pent-up energy. She kept moving and twirling every place we went today -- including a tiny, crowded pizza parlor and a Hungarian pastry shop -- and we constantly had to tell her to stop and watch out for the people around her because they can't always see little people. I felt terrible restricting her so much and decided it was because she wasn't in Oregon and she was feeling cooped up, but I think it's all kids her age who need regular exercise).
Anyway...at some point the girls warmed up to each other before the Seder started, ran into Valerie's room and everything was fine. They were both extremely well-behaved during the Seder -- which was, mercifully, under an hour -- and I believe Rachel even ate a decent dinner. Daniella put the kids with their dads at the kids' table while the grownups (Mom, Dad, Daniella, Amy and Jim) sat together. At the appointed time, the girls found the afikomen and they each got a My Little Pony storybook, a frog princess book and some pony and princess stickers. Of course the girls immediately asked for Grandma to read them the My Little Pony book and Grandma gamely sat on the couch and read, a little girl on each side of her. It was adorable beyond words -- until Daniella took over and then DAD sat next to Mom and me on the other side, and Mom turned to the same page in the storybook as Daniella...it was hilarious, you had to have been there. We all madly took photos, then finished the Seder and then the girls ran in and out of Valerie's room again, screaming with laughter. (Grandma and Grandpa had left by this time, which caused Rachel's first bout of crying; she wanted Grandma to read her another pony story and Grandma said she'd do so on Sunday when we'll all congregate at their place for a visit).
But the real sadness came when we insisted that Rachel get ready to leave and then she really, really started sobbing. "Why don't you stay?" Valerie insisted. "You can stay here!" which of course made Rachel cry even harder. "I don't think that's helping," Amy observed, and she was right. Drew hugged Rachel, then Valerie hugged Rachel, and we promised her over and over that we'll see Valerie again on Sunday for a nice long visit. And then, very reluctantly, we left...at 10:30!!
It's scenes like this that really makes me wish we lived closer. Wouldn't it be great, Daniella said to Drew, if both girls end up going go Columbia? And he answered with his vision: Valerie goes to NYU, Rachel goes to Columbia, and they both end up sharing an apartment in Chelsea. My vision: they both end up touring Europe together the summer after their freshman year in college.
In a word, tonight's Seder was AWESOME. Many kudos to my amazing sister for pulling it off. At first the girls -- Valerie and Rachel -- were quite shy; Rachel got a little sniffly when she tried to say hi to Valerie and interact with her, but Valerie didn't respond. Not surprising, really; she had just gotten up from a nap before we arrived. (We actually got to Queens a half-hour early, and we ended up taking Rachel to a playground and letting her run around for a while before walking to Daniella & Darryl's apartment. One thing I am learning on this trip: Rachel is the age when kids are like puppies: you have to run them regularly or they have too much pent-up energy. She kept moving and twirling every place we went today -- including a tiny, crowded pizza parlor and a Hungarian pastry shop -- and we constantly had to tell her to stop and watch out for the people around her because they can't always see little people. I felt terrible restricting her so much and decided it was because she wasn't in Oregon and she was feeling cooped up, but I think it's all kids her age who need regular exercise).
Anyway...at some point the girls warmed up to each other before the Seder started, ran into Valerie's room and everything was fine. They were both extremely well-behaved during the Seder -- which was, mercifully, under an hour -- and I believe Rachel even ate a decent dinner. Daniella put the kids with their dads at the kids' table while the grownups (Mom, Dad, Daniella, Amy and Jim) sat together. At the appointed time, the girls found the afikomen and they each got a My Little Pony storybook, a frog princess book and some pony and princess stickers. Of course the girls immediately asked for Grandma to read them the My Little Pony book and Grandma gamely sat on the couch and read, a little girl on each side of her. It was adorable beyond words -- until Daniella took over and then DAD sat next to Mom and me on the other side, and Mom turned to the same page in the storybook as Daniella...it was hilarious, you had to have been there. We all madly took photos, then finished the Seder and then the girls ran in and out of Valerie's room again, screaming with laughter. (Grandma and Grandpa had left by this time, which caused Rachel's first bout of crying; she wanted Grandma to read her another pony story and Grandma said she'd do so on Sunday when we'll all congregate at their place for a visit).
But the real sadness came when we insisted that Rachel get ready to leave and then she really, really started sobbing. "Why don't you stay?" Valerie insisted. "You can stay here!" which of course made Rachel cry even harder. "I don't think that's helping," Amy observed, and she was right. Drew hugged Rachel, then Valerie hugged Rachel, and we promised her over and over that we'll see Valerie again on Sunday for a nice long visit. And then, very reluctantly, we left...at 10:30!!
It's scenes like this that really makes me wish we lived closer. Wouldn't it be great, Daniella said to Drew, if both girls end up going go Columbia? And he answered with his vision: Valerie goes to NYU, Rachel goes to Columbia, and they both end up sharing an apartment in Chelsea. My vision: they both end up touring Europe together the summer after their freshman year in college.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Vacation!
So far everything has gone fantastically smoothly. Rachel was an absolute trouper today, from the time Drew woke her up at (gasp) 4:30 a.m., to behaving well on the plane (and even napping for 90 minutes in my lap! Drew slept, too; neither of us got more than four hours of sleep last night). Rachel was cheerful and helpful -- sharing cheddar bunnies and her cookie, and not whining much at all -- and she seems to have adjusted well to the time difference. We landed at JFK on time (non stop flights are the way to go, plus leaving early in the morning ensures that all the airport folks are very cheery because they haven't had the whole day to get cranky!) picked up our car without a hitch (thank you Hertz for supplying a kids' car seat) and got to our hotel in just over an hour, even in rush hour traffic.
Fortunately Drew found us a hotel with a pool, and we got into our bathing suits as soon as we checked in. Good idea, too, since we really needed a pick-me-up. Rachel impressed us mightily by blowing terrific bubbles, working her way around the pool as she clutched onto the side (with Drew right behind her in case she slipped, which she did at one point, but wasn't scared at all; just got right back up on the ledge and moving around the pool again) and just generally being cheerful. I sat in the sauna for a while and got into a nice conversation with a guy from Quebec who knew very little English. He seemed grateful when I tried to use the approximately six French phrases I remember from high school.
Then we went upstairs, changed back into our clothes and went to a lovely little Italian restaurant within walking distance of our hotel. Rachel at first pouted when we told her we were going to a place that didn't have a play area, and then I told her sternly that part of being grown-up was learning to deal with disappointment. Not every restaurant we take her to will have a play area, I told her. But we brought along crayons and her princess coloring book (thank you, Drew, for thinking ahead and surprising Rachel with it on the plane) and she was fine. I had a great dinner and am about to head upstairs to go to bed with everyone (we're turning in early because we haven't had much sleep and we're all tired).
***
To Tia Daniella & Darryl: Rachel was VERY disappointed to learn we weren't going to see you tonight. "I wanna see VALERIE!" she wailed on the way to the hotel from the airport, and she sniffled almost the whole way until she fell asleep. When she woke up she was still upset. "I'm a kid...and I feel lonely," she said, and I could feel my heart twist. I told her that when she travels with Mommy and Daddy there won't always be other kids around and she needs to get used to it. Things would be so different if she had a sibling, but on the other hand they might end up arguing and THAT would be a pain in the a-- to deal with.
***
Funny line of the day: Drew noticed that the local newspaper's Website had a name that wasn't remotely related to the name of the actual newspaper, and we both scoffed.
"That is STUPID," I said.
"Don't say stupid," Rachel said. (We've decided that saying "stupid" is a no-no in our house). "Say 'dammit!'"
Drew and I, of course, cracked up.
Fortunately Drew found us a hotel with a pool, and we got into our bathing suits as soon as we checked in. Good idea, too, since we really needed a pick-me-up. Rachel impressed us mightily by blowing terrific bubbles, working her way around the pool as she clutched onto the side (with Drew right behind her in case she slipped, which she did at one point, but wasn't scared at all; just got right back up on the ledge and moving around the pool again) and just generally being cheerful. I sat in the sauna for a while and got into a nice conversation with a guy from Quebec who knew very little English. He seemed grateful when I tried to use the approximately six French phrases I remember from high school.
Then we went upstairs, changed back into our clothes and went to a lovely little Italian restaurant within walking distance of our hotel. Rachel at first pouted when we told her we were going to a place that didn't have a play area, and then I told her sternly that part of being grown-up was learning to deal with disappointment. Not every restaurant we take her to will have a play area, I told her. But we brought along crayons and her princess coloring book (thank you, Drew, for thinking ahead and surprising Rachel with it on the plane) and she was fine. I had a great dinner and am about to head upstairs to go to bed with everyone (we're turning in early because we haven't had much sleep and we're all tired).
***
To Tia Daniella & Darryl: Rachel was VERY disappointed to learn we weren't going to see you tonight. "I wanna see VALERIE!" she wailed on the way to the hotel from the airport, and she sniffled almost the whole way until she fell asleep. When she woke up she was still upset. "I'm a kid...and I feel lonely," she said, and I could feel my heart twist. I told her that when she travels with Mommy and Daddy there won't always be other kids around and she needs to get used to it. Things would be so different if she had a sibling, but on the other hand they might end up arguing and THAT would be a pain in the a-- to deal with.
***
Funny line of the day: Drew noticed that the local newspaper's Website had a name that wasn't remotely related to the name of the actual newspaper, and we both scoffed.
"That is STUPID," I said.
"Don't say stupid," Rachel said. (We've decided that saying "stupid" is a no-no in our house). "Say 'dammit!'"
Drew and I, of course, cracked up.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Why I love Rachel so much
..on the way home from preschool yesterday (I was in class), Rachel saw a stunning rainbow. "I wish Mommy were here so I could show it to her," she said sadly to Drew. "When is she going to be HOME?"
***
She also made an origami-like thing in class, similar to what I made years ago; it has numbers on the outside and sayings on the inside. The inside sayings are adorable: "I am a Princess," "I want duck soup," "I love you," and "I want to fly to NY." Apparently she has been talking for DAYS, nonstop, about our upcoming trip back East. She is as excited as we are to see friends and family!
***
The other day as I dropped her off at preschool (Monday, actually), her little face crumpled up and she started crying, after clutching my leg and saying, "STAY!" Fortunately her little friend Tessa noticed and immediately tried to give her a hug. Rachel kept crying, and I gently told her to let Tessa hug her. "Your mommy has to go to WORK," Tessa said firmly, and my heart swelled at the idea that there's a little community of pre-schoolers who want Rachel to be happy. Yeah, the village is raising my kid.
***
She also made an origami-like thing in class, similar to what I made years ago; it has numbers on the outside and sayings on the inside. The inside sayings are adorable: "I am a Princess," "I want duck soup," "I love you," and "I want to fly to NY." Apparently she has been talking for DAYS, nonstop, about our upcoming trip back East. She is as excited as we are to see friends and family!
***
The other day as I dropped her off at preschool (Monday, actually), her little face crumpled up and she started crying, after clutching my leg and saying, "STAY!" Fortunately her little friend Tessa noticed and immediately tried to give her a hug. Rachel kept crying, and I gently told her to let Tessa hug her. "Your mommy has to go to WORK," Tessa said firmly, and my heart swelled at the idea that there's a little community of pre-schoolers who want Rachel to be happy. Yeah, the village is raising my kid.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Mix-ups
Rachel has taken to mistakenly calling me "Daddy" on occasion, when she really means "Mommy." I tease her about it. Drew says she does the same thing when she's with him.
Today she said, "when is Daddy coming home?"
"Tomorrow," I answered.
"I miss him," she said sadly.
"Don't you like just being with Mommy?" I said, hurt.
"I like it when we're all TOGETHER," she said.
"Me, too," I answered.
Let's see if she feels the same way when we're struggling, tired and hungry and grumpy, through airports and traffic next week...
Today she said, "when is Daddy coming home?"
"Tomorrow," I answered.
"I miss him," she said sadly.
"Don't you like just being with Mommy?" I said, hurt.
"I like it when we're all TOGETHER," she said.
"Me, too," I answered.
Let's see if she feels the same way when we're struggling, tired and hungry and grumpy, through airports and traffic next week...
Another Mommy and Rachel adventure
Drew left for work very early this morning, and we got to bed late last night because I was proofing pages for the magazine. Rachel, of course, chose this morning to knock on my door at 7 AM and announce that she wanted to show me a picture she'd drawn. "Rachel, it is TOO EARLY for you to be up," I snapped, and promptly felt bad after she left the room, sniffling. I told her to come back, admired the drawing and invited her to cuddle in bed with me. Which she had the patience to do for about 15 minutes, then asked politely if she could go play. YES, I told her, and I ended up falling back asleep until 8:58, whereupon I heard her little voice saying, "time to get up, Mommy!" By that time, I was in a much better mood.
After a leisurely breakfast and some straightening out of the house, we went to OMSI (Oregon's science museum, Rachel's idea; they were only charging $2 per person today). Before we got there we made a detour to the mall where I bought some more makeup. The saleswoman, quite young, was clearly impressed by Rachel's behavior; Rachel kept saying, "you look beautiful, Mommy!" and then, after I'd tried on another shade of foundation, "you look even MORE beautiful, Mommy!" and then kissed my arm several times. I thanked her for her patience and the saleswoman rewarded Rachel with a fabric ring with a big purple flower on it. Of course Rachel thanked her politely. Then we stopped by a movie store where I found another My Little Pony movie (of the same approximate vintage as the one she has now; the newer ones are kind of creepy with bug-eyed ponies) and the sales guy commented on how adorable and well-behaved Rachel was. We got into a discussion about kids and I said I highly recommended them but that we really got lucky with our daughter.
Then it was on to OMSI and we had a BLAST. (I had originally thought of bringing some of my marketing homework in case Rachel went off to play somewhere, but forgot my backpack with my books at home and I ended up not needed it anyway). OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) has a huge Lego exhibit and Rachel and I spent about 20 minutes building houses (hers was a castle; mine was an extra room with windows) while I had a very nice conversation with a 9-year-old boy next to us. He said he liked dragons.
"Rachel likes unicorns," I said.
"In fact, I bought a unicorn movie today," she informed him. I was totally stunned at her grownup vocabulary, but the little boy didn't say anything.
Then we went to a fantastic playground they have on the 2nd floor of the museum with a sandlot, a cut-out "tree" where you can burrow inside and pretend you're a squirrel, and a station with balls and an air machine that keeps them afloat and sends them through tubes and up into the sky...and only because I wanted her to nap did I insist on leaving at 4. "I want a NAP!" she wailed as we raced through the parking lot in the driving rain, and so I got her home and into her bed after snack. We will be joining Sarah and Noah for dinner at a kid-friendly restaurant in a half hour.
After a leisurely breakfast and some straightening out of the house, we went to OMSI (Oregon's science museum, Rachel's idea; they were only charging $2 per person today). Before we got there we made a detour to the mall where I bought some more makeup. The saleswoman, quite young, was clearly impressed by Rachel's behavior; Rachel kept saying, "you look beautiful, Mommy!" and then, after I'd tried on another shade of foundation, "you look even MORE beautiful, Mommy!" and then kissed my arm several times. I thanked her for her patience and the saleswoman rewarded Rachel with a fabric ring with a big purple flower on it. Of course Rachel thanked her politely. Then we stopped by a movie store where I found another My Little Pony movie (of the same approximate vintage as the one she has now; the newer ones are kind of creepy with bug-eyed ponies) and the sales guy commented on how adorable and well-behaved Rachel was. We got into a discussion about kids and I said I highly recommended them but that we really got lucky with our daughter.
Then it was on to OMSI and we had a BLAST. (I had originally thought of bringing some of my marketing homework in case Rachel went off to play somewhere, but forgot my backpack with my books at home and I ended up not needed it anyway). OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) has a huge Lego exhibit and Rachel and I spent about 20 minutes building houses (hers was a castle; mine was an extra room with windows) while I had a very nice conversation with a 9-year-old boy next to us. He said he liked dragons.
"Rachel likes unicorns," I said.
"In fact, I bought a unicorn movie today," she informed him. I was totally stunned at her grownup vocabulary, but the little boy didn't say anything.
Then we went to a fantastic playground they have on the 2nd floor of the museum with a sandlot, a cut-out "tree" where you can burrow inside and pretend you're a squirrel, and a station with balls and an air machine that keeps them afloat and sends them through tubes and up into the sky...and only because I wanted her to nap did I insist on leaving at 4. "I want a NAP!" she wailed as we raced through the parking lot in the driving rain, and so I got her home and into her bed after snack. We will be joining Sarah and Noah for dinner at a kid-friendly restaurant in a half hour.
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