One Week Old
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
OLeif had taken to calling Octavian, “Puck”. Somehow it seemed to fit.
It was a beautiful morning. The sun slipped in gold through a wedge in the gray clouds that, spilling over just enough to transform the green of the lawns and trees across the street into a Shakespearean fairy grove.
Collette and “Puck” were on their own together for the first day. It would have been a beautiful day for a walk if Collette had not still been somewhat tired and sore. But there were still many spring days remaining in the year. And more rains came in the afternoon.
There was an odd sort of relief that came, knowing that Collette did not have to wake up the next morning and go into work. Yes, she missed seeing Ivy every week. She already knew that she would. But after five years of being either at the church office or the bank every Thursday and Friday of every week, it was nice not to be expected to come in. Times were a little more free now.
And it was odd how suddenly Collette’s days could be almost just as busy as before, although she didn’t even need to step out of the house to make it so. Puck wasn’t a very demanding baby, really. But, as Collette had been told many times, being a mother was a full-time job. And demanding or no, babies took time.
And yet Collette’s new and exciting way to spend Thursday afternoon might, for all she knew, include a nap on the couch while Puck accompanied her in his bouncy seat. But then again, Collette had never been a fan of naps. Thus, Thursday afternoons would likely involve a little more pizzaz than a nap.
In other news, Rose was taking Flint River on a photo shoot at Klondike that afternoon, and later sent a number of pictures to Collette, including several shots of each member staring down the end of a hollow log.
That evening, OLeif was out with the junior high again. This time it was another monthly “fun” outing entitled “Fast Food Frenzy”. Collette was pleased that she would not be along for the ride, not knowing entirely of what a “Fast Food Frenzy” consisted. It sounded a little crazy. Mixing the words “frenzy” with “junior high” could only become a recipe for disaster. But OLeif was good at handling chaos; it seemed to be a part of his job description.
Upon his return, Ivy had also apparently braved the evening with the junior high and had come as a driver to escort the kids from fast food location to fast food location. At least, that was how Collette understood the evening had operated. She could just see the madness once all of the food had been gathered – fountains of French fries being tossed in the air, Francis and Chester frolicking about the room, Julia Poach pouring milkshakes on Goofy Nickels’ head… Well, maybe they weren’t all that bad. But it was hard for Collette not to picture such an uproar whenever the junior high met for any sort of gathering.
Recent IM retort messages:
“Kjh57ekv7Rjg^%4drgi – that’s chinese for ‘wallys a pig that loves things’” – Rose
“? ? ? ? ? ?!!! that’s chinese for “rose is a stinkpot pig faced loser!” – Wally
Oh, the symbols of deep friendship.