March 21st, 2025
Yali and I leave in a cool morning... first to pick up donations of bric-a-brac from Mom at the Big House for our church's school's 8th grade class fundraiser...
As we drive, Yali has questions... “Mom, what is that thing that turns around in the desert?..." // "Uh...?" // "And it looks kind of like hair?” ...Oh. tumbleweed...
Meanwhile Oxbear and Patience have left for a quick Dad-daughter date... Waffle House (a first for Patience, as strongly recommended from her old Spanish teacher) and later the bookstore...
While they're ordering plates of eggs and hashed browns... it's south for Yali and me to Byrnes Mill for Yali to spend the day with one of his best buddies whose family recently moved next door to grandparents, also recently moved onto eight acres of country hills with a new build... “We're going arrowhead hunting today, boys...” the grandpa tells them as he gives me a tour of the property... (Can I stay too?)... goes on to tell me about the tiny cemetery in the woods from 1850 and the hundreds of arrowheads and stone tools the neighbors have found... and how the previous owner unearthed what they believe was an Osage Indian body during a dig... UH. “Yeah... I don't know what they did about it though... seems like they woulda had to notify someone about that but... I don't know if they did...”
It's already after noon when I get back... little Miss Domestic is working in the kitchen, her dark hair up in a bow, kneading flour into dough on the island... “Hello!” she sings out a greeting... then washes the dishes without my asking...
Puck calls me from work at three o'clock... he's been there an hour and there is nothing left to do... but new policies keep departments staffed even when the “to do” lists are done... he has five hours left before his shift ends...
An hour later I'm back out in the beautiful countryside of Missouri to gather Yali from windy hills and woods... no arrowheads that day but lots of chert and sea fossils...
Back home Sally arrives early for movie night and brownie bites and conversations regarding education and the church and misinformed root causes of trauma behavior in children, etc...
When I pick up Puck at eight... “Did you find some stuff to do?”... he had... kid can't stay unproductive for five hours... couldn't happen... returns for another stacked plate of corned beef and potatoes...
Linnea-Irish arrives for more discussion about things like fossil-hunting at the creek and growing up in the 90s... and a viewing of “Flow” to continue the evening...
(Patience also comes out of bed to ask Irish about her recently bleached hair... has to know all the important “news” of the family...)