53 - Charge!

Charge!

Hills are great groans to grown ups, aren't they? We nearly pant as we push our legs grudgingly step-by-slow-step upwards. But to children, a hill is a delight -- a welcome challenge, and invitation, even, to spring into a trot up and down and up and down. Their giggles of delight as they propel their little bodies upward is only topped by their thrilled squeals as they stumble down, high on the fear that they may actually tumble head-over-heals the rest of the way. It makes most of us tired just to watch them. But if you do just get up and give it a try, you see what they love. The challenge, the satisfaction, and then the wind-in-your-face run/stumble down, where if you think too much about your feet you're likely to fall, but if you just let your body do what it knows, you make it to the bottom exhilarated (and winded). The satisfying plop down into the grass as you laugh deep into your gut, because you're breathing so hard, makes you remember childhood -- makes you feel like you are there all over again, if only for a few moments.

52 - Homework

Homework

Niko, who routinely gets two pages of homework a day, has been experimenting with how to do it. We've tried the bland "at the kitchen table" method. We've tried the refreshing "on the front porch with a TV tray" method. But the method he likes the best is the "snuggled into my bean bag chair in my room writing on my lap" method. Probably not the one his sweet teacher would recommend. I can hardly stand these glimpses of his teen years -- stubbornly insisting that laying down in bed IS the best way to study for biology, or that he CAN do algebra with the television on. But for now, I am happy that he seems to enjoy carefully scratching out his capital and lowercase letters, disproportionate though they often are. I love watching him slowly come out of infancy and childhood and into personhood. The word "blossom" is so overused that one hardly considers the imagery that is so perfect -- the small, closed, plain-green bud that slowly grows and opens to allow the emergence of a vibrant, unique flower. I enjoy watching him blossom through all of these little experiences and stages. What a blessing motherhood is!