The Streetpoet

I’ll post on our Mammoth trip as soon as possible, but right now I have two sick boys, a full C drive, and a cold myself, so we’re settling back into our routine. It was an awesome trip, but it’s so nice to be home!

Maybe it’s because Jerome has slept most of the day and not said much at all…but I’ve heard Seth talking all day. Mostly to me, some to himself. It makes me wonder what he would say every day if he knew I was listening to him?

Last week as we were getting ready to go on our trip to Mammoth, our landlord was here caring for his trees and pruning the pluot and plums. Seth had just been hurt and wasn’t out digging or asking to climb Bob’s ladder, he just stood and watched and circled the trees enjoying the long, flexible branches that fell to the ground. He had one today as he played outside and as he waved it up and down in the air he told me: “This is my fishin’ thingy. Mama, can we start a pool? For to fish?”

He came in very muddy one time this afternoon so I put him in the bath and let him play. He and his brother both like to huddle in front of the space heater as they dry off, so I let Seth play some more in just his towel by the heater. I came in to check on him and he started telling me all about his friend, “Macky Wacky”, who is itty bitty (according to the small fingers showing me) and is orange!

Seth was playing under the bottle brush trees and Ian and I were in the yard: “Mommy, come in! Oh, you are in my house. I’m a mommy, he’s a human, I mean a boy, and you’re a childge.”

He came stomping in the house with a toy rifle tucked under his arm and announced to me: “I protected you guys, but I shot your fridge!.”

This evening we took Daddy’s snowboard off the couch to sit and read together. Seth saw an opportunity for fun and climbed into his Daddy’s big boots strapped to the board and said “Mommy, I’m going to be a dad!”. (!!!)

Seth likes to strip to pee, but still needs help dressing himself. As I was getting dinner on, I asked him if he could put his underwear back on himself. He had both feet in one leg opening and I heard a stitch or two pop when he said “The baby head is mad at me.”. It took me a minute to figure out what he meant…they were Gerber underpants. 🙂

Last one. When we were on our trip Seth had a feverish night and we were concerned about his finger as his cut looked a bit angry and swollen. He woke up fine the next morning and announced: “I don’t have the croups!”

Tidbit from “When Children Love to Learn” by Elaine Cooper

“She (Elsie Kitching) talks of the Wise Men finding Jesus in “a most unroyal place” as an example of finding truth in an unexpected place: “When they had arrived they had no doubt. They recognized the truth when they found it.

When we meet the truth, we notice I think, three things. First, that like a jigsaw, the pieces fit into place unexpectedly. Lesser truths dawn, and are seen to be connected; it all ties up. Then, we shrink in size as we see ourselves and our problems from a different and strange angle and…more and more dawns on us. This might be a depressing proccess but it is not so because truth is always bigger than man and independent of self.

Yet – and this is what strikes me most – although alien in this sense, strange and surprising, truth is always a friend; the stranger is recognized, the surprise is joyful. An old acquaintance!”

“Together teacher and child are under a higher authority. The child should not be asked to be good to please a parent or teacher. Children and the adults both must choose to obey God. Both are learning how to be better people, and both children and adults are interested and learning from books, nature, art, music. Ideas are discussed. Thought is important. Children have amazing ideas! They grow in proper self-esteem as they are listened to and allowed to be themselves.”

~~~~~~~

It was fixin’ to rain one day this week and Seth walked to the open door and looked up: “I talked to the sky…and the sky didn’t talk!”

“Raven’s making clouds!” She was standing in the doorway on a cold night breathing heavily and, yes, making clouds!

“Mommy, come tell on Jerome!”

🙂

Aunt and nephew have shared the same birthday for 34 years now on Thursday! Peter has told me that he likes having someone to share his birthday, to call them and wish them a happy day, too. And on these monthly family get-togethers, there’s usually a birthday to celebrate!

Gigi spent yesterday with us and also this evening. She helped me make Peter’s birthday carrot cake. I had never made one before, and it’s his favorite cake. I’ve always asked his mom or Donna to make his cake…it intimidated me for some veggie reason. So this year I did it, and either it was a success, or people were gracious enough to eat it and rave over it to make up for it’s humble appearance next to the gorgeous and delicious chocolate bouquet that Donna and Scott brought for Aunt Brooke’s cake. It was fun to make, and my man seemed happy…although I think he would have liked for me to have left it burnt so I could make him two cakes! 🙂

It was a lovely evening celebrating two wonderful people, and I’m so glad Grandma could come again! I love Peter’s family!

We had a highchair photoshoot today for several reasons. One being that Ian is very fast and it helps to have him constrained to one spot; and two, it’s very muddy outside still. I also could not resist his cheerful spirit after his nap as he sat eating a snack in his chair. After nursing and a bowlful of oatmeal and applesauce, he very eagerly ate half a pear and a handful of Joe’s O’s! Such a good eater deserves a portrait at his table. 😉

Yesterday began as any normal day…until noon. Ian had crawled outside and enjoyed the mud puddle directly in front of the door and was crawling back in when I grabbed him up and dunked him in the kitchen sink for a bath before he could track any more mud into this house! Jerome and Seth were outside playing in the orchard before it rained again. Jerome was using the hoe to dig a big hole that he had been working on for a few days, and Seth was playing with his diggers. I had gotten Ian out of his bath in the kitchen sink and carried him over to the couch under the window so I could look out and watch the boys as I dressed the baby. Just as I reach the couch and look outside I see Jerome bring the hoe down on Seth’s hand, which was on his digger. There was no look of malice on his face, just shock. I have no idea what thoughts were in his head at all, and he said it was an accident. Jerome had turned away from his hole and was being careless, Seth had not gotten in his way at all. So here I have a dripping wet, naked baby, and Seth with a bleeding hand…it’s bleeding so much all I can see is that his finger is still on his hand, “Oh God!” is all I can think and all I could say. I called Misty and she was there in half a minute. What a blessing! She helped me and made phone calls and kept Jerome as Mom was there in just a couple minutes and drove Ian, Seth and I to our doctor’s who was expecting us as Mom had called ahead. I kept pressure on his finger and held him and prayed. I was fighting anger in my heart toward Jerome who knew better, and guilt for allowing him to use the hoe which I knew to be sharp. I had no idea how badly he was hurt and had to trust that God had everything under His control, and that He allowed it to happen. Seth had not been crying out of pain unless I moved his hand or adjusted mine to keep the pressure on, and by the time we got to the doctor’s office the bleeding had slowed so that he could look into the cut. We both saw the tendon and thought it looked damaged, so he sent us across the street to the emergency room where he had called ahead to have the hand specialist look at it. Abby met us there and sat with me as the specialist examined Seth’s hand and proclaimed the tendon as intact. The cut had only gone down to the sheath! So Seth only needed stitches and his last tetanus shot. How bad it could have been, I knew, and my heart swells with thanksgiving that Seth was spared it. However, as amazingly tolerant he is to pain, he absolutely screamed the entire 20 minutes it took for them to stitch him up and it took four adults to hold him down! He is one strong little guy! We were home by 3pm. Our way had been made straight. Once home, Mom made tea and scones for us and we had a time of rest. Donna and Scott brought dinner for us, David stopped by with a balloon for Seth, and Abby stayed with me and took care of the boys until Peter got home late last night. We were surrounded with love.

Gigi spent the day with us today!  It was so good to have her here helping and cheering us! Seth has not complained about his hand or his bandages, and smiles and tells us “It feels better!” when we ask him about it. Only when he bumps it running around does he casually say that it hurts him, and by the end of today he asked for some Tylenol. What amazing grace!