23 APR 26

Puck is currently inspecting the deep red enamel of his Fiestaware lunch plate decorated in fried chicken with a side of raw spinach... which he requested... looks challengingly at Patience... grabs the entire arrangement of greenery in one fist and stuffs the whole thing in his mouth... Patience’s eyes pop... “WHA...?”

This is impressive... maybe not as impressive as the $800 medical bill I’m about to pay for earwax removal involving spiky tools and microscopes for both my youngest children from their cleft palate clinic back in February... but certainly more funny...

Patience sits with me while I organize medical bills and Scout forms and packing lists and shopping lists... chatting on and on about her DIY French tips that didn’t work as well as she’d hoped...

...and Puck sits briefly with us to discuss death and funerals with Patience while melting a QT straw in half... I hardly notice it curl into two shiny red halves and fall to the floor where it probably stays for a few hours...

Meanwhile Yali... who is hacky-coughing himself through a sore throat and head cold... is not so incapacitated that he can’t manage to wedge a splinter in his hand... and once he tries a few times to dig that out... distracts himself with about three different recipes for DIY temporary tattoos involving tracing paper and perfume and hand sanitizer... he is not pleased with the results...

Puck then packs a cooler and out the door for friends and the gym... in a whirl of spring wind and green things and maybe rain tomorrow...