Chapter One Hundred Three
Munch, munch, munch, munch, munch…
“Bud… What do you have?”
“Tortilla.”
Munch, munch, munch, munch, munch.
I guess I wasn’t even thinking of crumbs getting all over my bed. White flour tortillas aren’t usually known for their crumbs. It was just more that another Saturday morning sleep-in had been interrupted by a premature not-really-breakfast breakfast. But how could I mind? A snuggly little bunny sandwiched between us. I’ve really got to stop referring to him as cute forest-y little creatures. He’s going to be six next week for heaven’s sake.
The Bear set me up with a Chippewa playlist on Spotify this morning. While he smoked his pipe in the library and got some work done. And I looked up and it was noon. Puck was running sprints in the street, his tongue hanging out looking over his shoulder behind him, in all red. I called him in for lunch. He was soon chanting sing-song to himself over his bowl as he separated all the asparagus from the angel hair pasta…
“Getting all the green stuff, getting all the green stuff, getting all the green stuff…”
“Puck, eat the green stuff.”
“Pardon?”
“Eat all your green stuff.”
“Mom, please NO. They’re disgusting…” he trailed off into more chanting. “Get all the green stuff, get all the green stuff…”which transpired into a hum… “Hmm, hmm-hmm, hmm…”
He ate all the green stuff.
When the meal had finally concluded…
“Alright, Puck, we’re going to get frozen yogurt now.”
“Oh, no… Not that… Please, Mom?”
The kid didn’t know what he was saying.
First though. Taking the boys, or myself for that matter, into an Office Depot, can be a scary thing. It’s just sort of overwhelming, I guess. So much paper, so many pens, markers, pencils, staplers and scissors and magnets and paper clips in zebra patterns and shocking colors. And of course the ever-popular Cardinals-themed everything. It’s just hard to leave without bringing home a stack of notebooks taller than yourself. But we managed to leave with just a package of clear-cover linen folders, which was what I needed, and a security pen for Puck who was intrigued with the idea of attaching a pen to his desk with a chain.
Orange Leaf. So we did get to pile those paper containers with cold creamy things and toppings – little pink balloons that pop into juice when you eat them. I filled mine with banana, orange, and pineapple. Puck just tossed in whatever looked good to him and finished his bowl before I did…
“I love that place!”
Theodore was hard at work on the lawn when we get there at two. The Bear and Puck tossed Sebastian’s rubber ring up and down the deck for awhile. Because the sun had come back and it wasn’t cold. At least for awhile.
I watched my first game of the season over Stan Musial weekend. It’s sort of magical having a television that actually shows… television. Gloria walked in with a package of Reeses peanut butter cups. Yes. I was in-dulged. So was Puck. Tree swing, UNO with Gloria, picking blossoms from the crabapple tree to gross people out with its smell…
“They’re STINKY FLOWERS!”
Izzy brought Charlie and German over about ten minutes before we hit the road. For pork steaks off the grill, fresh peppers, homemade guacamole, and blue corn chips.
Izzy tickled him…
“Please don’t TICKLE ME!” Puck gasped, laughing.
“Well if he doesn’t, I will,” German added.
Then the boys, seeing Puck in his all-red, had to ask what his favorite color was. This reminded him of getting back to watch a “real game” in the stadium…
“Could I please not do school that day, MOM! I just want to lounge around that day… read Garfield…”
He likes to make lists, too, just like me. He crosses them off in his head. Emerging from the bathroom, he announced…
“Done. Next occasion?”
Bullet point, check box, “occasion”, same thing…
