A Slow Summer Day
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Seven-seven-seven.
That morning, Puck listened to opera on a Swiss Internet radio station while his dad prepared brunch.
During the afternoon, OLeif and Collette played their first Scrabble game while Puck was bundled snuggly in Collette’s fluffy red robe in his bouncy seat. It was the first time Collette had ever played a game of Scrabble using every single tile on the board, despite the fact that several genuine foreign words were used (including the Yiddish word “doven” and the German word “zeit”).
The rest of the afternoon was too hot to do anything at all.
Meanwhile, Puck grinned away the day, puffing his cheeks, and slurping his fists.
OLeif went out during the afternoon to fix the air conditioning in the car and for a very large pizza. Collette and Puck kept inside while Collette folded the laundry. Some days were just oddly quiet. Quiet, but pleasantly quiet.
“Come on, Beeby,” Collette picked up Puck from a deep snooze. “It’s time to wake up now.”
Puck had a habit of falling asleep whenever he was tucked warmly in a blanket, anywhere.
Come evening, the birds chirped dully from the dark green canopy of the trees. And while there was no promise of rain, the air seemed to have somewhat cooled. Honeysuckle still blossomed every few days on the backyard fence. The cicadas and fireflies were out and about enjoying their brief days of summer.
There was a day in Rose’s younger years that she would tie several feet of dental floss to cicadas (a form of insect leash) and allow them to fly in circles around her.
After Puck had been put into his crib for the first part of the evening, OLeif tossed dishes around in the kitchen sink, making a wonderful clatter. It was a nice thing for everyone that Puck was a heavy sleeper.
The movie for the evening presented a cholera epidemic in China, 1925 – a sorry tale with a handful of lighter moments.
And in other news, Joe, Wallace, and Curly would shortly be preparing to leave for Hawaii in three days.
“The Lord has made everything for its
purpose,
even the wicked for the day of
trouble.”
– Proverbs 16:4 (ESV, emphasis added)