09 OCT 25
Oxbear already at an early coffee meeting mostly without the crutches now...
I'm prepping tea and toast for the young ones and organizing paints for Yali's day of art and printing off cootie catcher templates for Patience... “She might need to use your crayons for this Yali...” // “No! She can't!” // “Why not?” // “Because she might make them angry!”...
Mid morning Patience and I coast over to St. Chuck... organ symphony on the radio... Patience asking questions about the historical proof of the Resurrection...
Back home where Yali is contemplatively hashing a paint brush across paper to the inspiration of Kevin Puts’ “Codes” (Mvt. II) for the St. Louis Symphony's elementary art contest...
And Puck is asking for lunch after getting bored on the treadmill...
Around this time the kitchen sink is full of milky tea and molten egg yolk and smears of acrylic paint in lemon and vermillion...
...as my young tortured artist sits in the other room after scooping himself a bowl of gloomy chocolate ice cream waiting for another layer of paint to dry... some shades leftover from his great-grandmother's paintbox...
Patience meanwhile is ready for pick-up at one o'clock after witnessing her youngest cousin's first taste of solid food via the new and exciting vehicle of oatmeal... while his older brother politely thanks me for complimenting his plaid and dinos tee...
Driving back into our county... discussing a little Navajo poetry... also arguing over the correct pronunciation of the word “caramel” which Patience blends into said poetry... “In beauty may I walk... in car-a-mel...”
Stop at Schnucks for that chicken noodle soup Puck ordered the previous evening... passing by the shelf of Warmies that Patience has been eyeballing for months... she's still got babysitting cash... after taking a few minutes to examine the plush sushis and grilled cheeses and parakeets... she grabs that pale green bird... names him Checkers...
Patience later squashes Checkers fatly on top of my head while I'm typing on my laptop... “You have to keep him on your head while I'm on the trampoline with Yali... okay Mom?... Don't take him off!”