Irish Lassie

The thrill of growing old is exhausting in comparison to the joy and wonder of being young and full of curiosity. The kids are either keeping me young or are aging me faster; I prefer to think they are keeping me younger and more energetic!

With that in mind; our household discussions lately have centered on inch worms, caterpillar’s, fishing, birds and butterflies. The last several weeks Kelsey has found these the most exciting topics. She has anxiously looked for inch worms in the garden, caterpillar’s in the yard, excitedly talked about fishing and getting a new pole so she can go fishing and the thrill of putting her caterpillar back in its “home” to anxiously await the arrival of the first butterfly; which we saw today (it must have been the same one!). We have also added to our evening’s worth of entertainment bird watching. The girls talked me into getting a bird feeder last week, and we are starting to realize how quickly the birds are snapping up the food, we had to fill it again just after three days.

Soon the focus will turn to picking strawberries from the garden and hopefully tomatoes, beans, peas, peppers, carrots, and cucumbers. Oh, the thrill of summer!

As I left for work Friday morning, I left the children in the loving, capable hands of Shane. Through the window I saw Kelsey blowing kisses, with her wildly crazy hair and Kylie waving busily, while standing there naked.

Oh, what a sight to see!

While Kylie was reaching for Kelsey’s toys in the tub, this is what I observed…

Kelsey: (yelling) You sit down NOW Kawlie!

Kylie: (in a calm voice) Kelkie, are you mad?

Kelsey: (still yelling) No, Kawlie, just sit down!

Kylie: (still calm) Why are you mad Kelkie?

Kelsey: (yelling again) JUST SIT!

Kylie: (rephrasing) You mad Kelkie, why?

Who needs a therapist when a lit’l sister fits the mold?
Sweet, but it could get on my nerves alittle too.

It was Sunday, and as kite flying days go, it was beautiful.

The idea of kites flying about being tossed from one cloud to the next was difficult to pass-up. It was miraculous the way the clouds parted earlier in the day just begging for kites to join in the dance of the clouds.

The girls were delighted in the idea of flying kites, after all the Science Lady (at day care) on Thursday focussed her topic on Spring, the weather, and kite flying. The girls proudly marched their handmade kites outside with just two feet of attached string in hopes of “reaching the highest cloud in the sky”. It was very sweet, until they realized their kites were not going to reach the extreme heights they were hoping for…

So off to Walgreens they went to find kites; cheap kites (insert ominous foreshadowing here). One was a blow-up Dora kite (future reference: blow-up kites…not the way to go), and a rainbow kite (standard cheap plastic variety).

The Dora kite flew to extreme heights, with ease, and then plummeted to the not so forgiving brush below. This crushed all hopes of Dora flying again as it was ever so slightly popped.

The rainbow kite flew high, Benjamin Franklin would have been proud. But after 30 minutes and enthusiastic assistance from the neighbor kids, the rainbow kite broke.

One thing the crashing kites brought our attention to was a beautiful vision in the sky, a bald eagle flying overhead.

Moments at work are often intriguing and exciting, since I work with a unique population. Surprisingly the in-office moments can be some of the most entertaining, since my eavesdropping skills have excelled at a faster rate than my investigative skills:

From one gnome loving co-worker to the other: (with a great-deal of enthusiasm) “Come look at my my-space page, my favorite bunnies are on there.”

Other gnome loving co-worker to the first one: “Really, let me see! Oh, those are really great!”

Most days, are interesting and fun with the girls…sometimes there are special moments just between the two of them that are priceless:

Little K: (while standing on the bar stool this morning) “Look at me!”

Big K: (looking disgusted) “Kawlie, that is not safe, you will fall, you better sit down right now!”

Little K: (surprised at the forcefulness in her sister’s voice) “OK”

Big K: “And you better not do it again, ok Kawlie, (forcefully) don’t do it again!!”

Little K: (apologetically, but alittle annoyed) “I won’t Kelkie, I won’t do it again Kelkie.”

Sometimes I wonder why I am needed?

I saw you again last night in my dreams, you were beautiful and haunting. Your face was gleaming, healthy and plump. You were being loved by your siblings and enjoyed, though sleepless, by us.

I saw you in scenes, as though you were growing before my eyes; taking baths, playing at the playground, running in our backyard, filling my heart with laughter and my eyes with tears.

I hope that someday you will be real in my life, but for now I feel too busy, and overwhelmed with life to include you. Maybe someday we will meet for real. Until then, I hope we will meet again in my dreams.