04 JUN 26

Somewhere that week between the orthodontist and more brick work and deep summer cleaning and babysitting... pull out the 129 year-old honey-red violin for a few minutes to see if I remember “Ashokan Farewell”... comes back to me in pieces...

But my attention can’t be given to four strings for long... there is a very different kind of fight going on between the North and the South as Patience and Yali battle with each other for dominance... “MO-O-O-OM! SHE HIT ME!”... **giggle giggle**...

But there’s more peace on the other side of the door... the sounds of old Mexico are crackling across the street from the neighbors’ roof being redone under those drowsy sun-splashed Ozark clouds... a prelude to summer as the men call directions to each other in Spanish... for a moment I’m back in Colombia eleven years ago...

Maybe even more so as Yali walks by with an empty orange creamsicle box wedged on his head like a hat...

Post-chicken pot pie Patience is indulging in pages of sci-fi-fantasy on the road down to Pevely...

Little A is waiting for big fun times as she re-introduces Patience to her baby doll... “Mushroom Stella”... as Irish mentions the occasional snake in the backyard around the deck... but Little A is very interested in playing in the backyard and isn’t bothered by this notation... “We could FIGHT the snakes!” she declares...

Some hour or more later Patience is snacking with the little ladies on homemade strawberry scones as they discuss things like rock climbing and ear piercing and jail...