Kaboom

It was cold again in St. Louis. Somehow, I wasn’t prepared for it. I turned up the heat as we sat together around the breakfast table with plates of bacon and eggs.

Suddenly…

BOOM!

I caught the fireball pop of a small explosion outside the window and turned just in time to see the furry body of a squirrel fall gracefully from the transformer just behind the back fence. The lights were already out. So was the heat.

It wasn’t too bad. In fact, after Oxbear called Ameren Electric to dispatch a truck, all three boys went outside to dig another archaeological hole behind the shed. After awhile – just as electricity was restored – they drove off for a few birthday gifts for a party next weekend. Meanwhile, I cleaned the house and started laundry, two jobs that never ever end with three boys on staff.

They returned right before lunch with two games: UNO Cubes and Story Cubes, which allowed for about 3.5 trillion story combination possibilities. Puck’s kind of game.

Of all days to have a church picnic – in the cold and gray and the wind – we were some of the first to arrive at 3:30 on a hill in Wapelhorst Park. Puck immediately decided to build an umbrella fort, aided by two black umbrellas offered by his Sunday School teacher. He rummaged in the trunk of the Mazda for a small spade to dig shallow holes so the wind wouldn’t blow them away. At one point, he walked off with the spade to whack some fresh firewood from a nearby tree before his Sunday School teacher explained to him that live wood wouldn’t work for a fire.

Eventually the fried chicken was served. Yali was plastered in chicken grease. Puck had found himself a root beer; I think Oxbear allowed that one. And even though I had borrowed Mom’s spare windbreaker, it could not fully compromise the chill wind and low temperatures.

Home to a warm house, the boys in their footies for the night, and polished off the rest of the sugar cookies from our picnic contribution.

CARDINALS:

Atlanta: game postponed due to rain.