March 25th, 2025
“Dad look – I chewed my gum so it looks like a BRAIN!” … Oxbear glances once suspiciously at Yali then walks away in mock (but not totally) disgust... Oxbear hates gum... Yali laughs and pops the Dubble Bubble back in his mouth...
While exchanging earthquake news with Elmer – there was a 6.7 in New Zealand last night and a 2.3 in Missouri this morning – Oxbear is busy sharing tracks of Kyle Mooney singing about haunted houses while the kids begin learning Order of Operations in their math sheets... Yali seems relieved that for once this new concept does not involve long division or fractions...
After the kids get scooted out to Yellow Bird later in the morning, I return home to scrub a quick “chamomile blonde” through my hair and investigate the Spanish masses offered at All Souls Catholic Church (including convent)... half an hour later the hair is more coppery than blonde but that's what you get from a box...
Sit with Puck for breakfast burritos as we further discuss his opportunities of learning mechanics with the hopeful purchase of the '85 Jag...
Some hours of work later as I pick up the kids from Yellow Bird with stories of mud and pulling spring onions and playing with Yali's underwater camera... Patience takes one look at me and notices the lighter hair... “IT'S TOO BRIGHT!” she declares loudly... “IT'S ORANGE!”... we discuss later how sharing personal opinions can be done in a thoughtful way (and sometimes are entirely unnecessary at all)... “But MUH-ther!”
At home during her violin lesson, Patience and Puck verbally spar with one another as they will do... “You shut up” // “No you shut up” // “Stop being squeaky”
While I then drive Puck to work and discuss the weekend of repeat severe weather we're slated for this weekend...
...Patience continues scrubbing down shelves in the kitchen... “There was black paint and honey in one of them...” she explains to me, working an old toothbrush through soap suds... can't ever predict what substances they'll somehow spill there... or anywhere else...
The evening is mostly roads... after driving to St. Peters for Oxbear to borrow Gloria's car to take a friend from Florida out to dinner and back home with the kids then dropping Patience off at her two-hour studio class and back home again then out to pick up Puck from work then back to pick up Yali then bring both boys through the McDonald's drive-thru then drop them off at home then back out to the studio to grab Patience at eight forty-five... we're waiting at the exit at 40 and Lindbergh for traffic to pass... and some dark sports car slingshots down the pavement... recognize it as the black Porsche from our neighbors across the street... cooks up a little competition... at the next light I hit the gas enough for Patience to notice... “Mom? ... Are you speeding?” … “Not much...”... we still beat the Porsche home...