A rainy morning is the kind my little gal gets to start her official last year of preschool. The school is called Sunnyside. I’ll let the rain remind me that even though at times—for parents and kids alike—growing up feels bittersweet, and it’s okay to let tears fall, growing up is childhood’s trajectory. I needed no more reminder of that than listening to the teachers talk at the parent orientation last night about all they will do with the kids this year, which is amazing and wonderful and I remember how much my last guy loved the curriculum to know that growing up has its perks. It’s more interesting than staying in place.
Yesterday, the teenager tried to substitute the word fudgsicle for the f-word. His sister’s response was, “I want a fudgsicle.” The absurdity a small child brings into a household is priceless. Meantime, she wore a shirt as dress, the shirt/dress belonged to Chloe, BFF of our upstairs housemate Mim. The twentysometings had a clothing swap (their second one). I’d offloaded bags and bags of clothing to the first, another box this weekend. Saskia rocked Chloe’s clingy shirt. Later in the day, she accessorized with a rhinestone necklace that reminded me of a tiara and a sparkly pink plastic clutch that reminded me of Lilly, Kevin Henkes’ wondrous mouse girl. I pretty much think if Judd Apatow were to meet her, he’d cast her as the sassy four and-a-half year-old girl.
I really liked the story on Maude Apatow and her tweets.
Because he lives on my shoulder perhaps, I really liked this article on Al Gore post-politics.
Because I can’t bring myself to post a link here about how unbelievable the things pouring from the mouths of Republicans are getting, I’ll simply turn it positive and say I’m very glad today is the publication date for my friend Elinor Lipman’s Tweet Land of Liberty: Irreverent Rhymes from the Political Circus. Better, I think, to laugh a little while doing all we can for candidates like our pretty awesome President and the inspiring Elizabeth Warren.
I will offer two bonus links, political but funny, if you promise to do the right things for the right people and not simply despair or criticize–let these serve as reminders of how much worse things could get: the Raging Grannies on legitimate rape and the receptionist answers the phone at the Todd Akin health center.
Three things I’m grateful for on this rainy Tuesday morning are the alarm clock that endeavors to ready my eldest teen for school a week hence, even if the outcome—ready for 7:30—seems much farther than a week hence; the fact that today is the first day of school for one child, tomorrow is the first day for the next and a week from now, we’ll be in the swing of things after so much waiting; and finally that the rain is easing up enough that I think I can walk the little gal to school after all.
