06 NOV 25
“Mom look! One of the aliens punctured me!”... just walked out of my room that morning to Yali... a gore of fake blood seeping through his white shirt... “I learned how they do it and got a sponge and got it wet first!” he declares happily as he removes it from behind his shirt... his self-directed SFX studies continue... as do his stories... “...and do you know WHAT?... the monster was chomping... NYAGH NYAGH NYAGH!” **slamming fingers together like clamshells with complimentary gloopy sounds** “...his FACE!... and do you know WHAT?” **eyes as wide as he can make them which isn't very much but the effect is still felt** “...it will crunch up all his BONES!... and do you know WHAT?”...
As story time subsides... some time later... we're sitting the three of us amongst lessons on elementary geometry and Don Quixote and other things while somehow Yali is fashioning Utz cheeseballs and toothpicks into little barbells and Patience is dissecting leftover Snickers bars with a fondue fork...
“Yali... please fill in the blank... the sun is made up of helium and...” // **wrinkles face in thought** “...vitamins?”... awhile later when posed with the question... “Why are the Appalachian Mountains not as high as the Rocky Mountains?”... his answer is merely... “Because the Rocky Mountains are higher”...
Time for lunch break... it's been a full and loud and loud... and loud week... so when I find myself mumbling to the uncooperative lamb burgers in the pan... “Get on the spatula you fools...” Mama could use a noise break too...
But there are things to do first ... like a big haircut for Yali... Patience giggles as thick black locks tumble to the tiles... and Mr. Cool is not happy about it... casting Colombian death glares at me for the next half hour until Puck walks out of his room to publicly approve of the haircut... and everything's okay again...
Somehow it's evening and Puck is gone with friends for a few hours...
Yali has geared up with red bandana tied around his head samurai-style practicing plastic knife-wielding...
Patience hits up the studio for another ninety minutes as another yellow moon sinks into dark violet velvet in the east...
And the whole gang picks up Pops from the airport at nearly nine o'clock with a Steak 'n Shake hit of milkshakes and beef tallow fries on the drive home...