Archive

04 AUG 25

It's mid-morning... city strapped under a cache of Vermeer cloudscapes... Yali has returned from labs and needles joyfully running into the house with a new kind of boxed lunch to try out with Patience... Puck is in the basement post work-out carefully spray-painting a console addition for “Presley”

03 AUG 25

Patience lounging on my bed that morning about half-ready for church... “I should get ready but... I'm too busy looking cute!”... Yali meanwhile is fully ready to leave almost an hour before it's necessary... walks up to me with an aspirin bottle spinning the lid around

Creek walk

It's about one-thirty in the afternoon and a pack of Snicketts sisters and cousins walk down a country road to the creek... Sun is bright and we're all going to burn... but there's breezes and cooling water for the eager rock hunters ready to

01 AUG 25

Dangerous heat has been replaced with a poor air quality alert all day in St. Louis... those big fires up in the north... but it's only in the 60s that morning... nearly an inexplicability for August... and just in time for Puck's campout down south... Still.

31 JUL 25

Last day of assistant-teaching Irish dance camp sends Patience wailing Bruno Mars lyrics over and over and over again around the house before and after breakfast... ...while Puck packs for his weekend camping trip with friends in some place four hours away but he's not really sure what

30 JUL 25

In another baking morning... ...check updates on the massive 8.8 quake fallout in Russian waters... ...studio for Patience... ...play therapy for Oxbear and Yali... ...treadmill for Puck... ...cleaning and laundry for Mama... Puck calls me several hours later while driving Patience back from the studio... “Is it over?” he

29 JUL 25

Back to the studio for Patience... while we drive there she sighs like a seasoned instructor over the would-be students and their poor listening skills of the previous day... Between meetings... Oxbear and Yali are in the kitchen whipping red food coloring and cocoa powder and psyllium husk in the

Heat does stuff to people

It's hot... Patience is at the studio for three hours that morning assistant-teaching a very full camp for first-time Irish dancers... Meanwhile Puck is at home wondering if he should try to replace the door handle in Presley... but he hates the heat... he hates the heat a

Little silver lady

Seven-thirty in the morning... Patience stretching with friends in a frigid ballroom waiting on the judges panel... Swishing through soft shoe... stomping through hard shoe... Miss E meets her at the end with an “I am over the moon about your dances! That was beautiful!”... Patience appreciates this... then is

Everybody dance now

Patience is awake before six o'clock that morning excited for competition... Something else was up before six o'clock too and decided to leave vomit all over the living room floor... maybe that explained the pitiful meowing waking us in the night... never checked on it because

25 JUL 25

Patience and I are at Target early that morning... Patience has shopping to do for her “first feis buddy” which includes things like Jolly Ranchers and Tootsie Pops and poster-making supplies... At home Puck is attempting to replace the brake light in “Presley” but the connection has rusted out... Inside.

24 JUL 25

Patience plunks herself into the orthodontist's chair that morning for another bracket-gluing now that her eye tooth is in... and two shades of blue bands to match her solo dress for the weekend feises... After that we're at the Science Center... visitors squeezing into all the

23 JUL 25

Another scorching morning sends Patience out to the Big House... young R is waiting with a huge smile for her as she walks through the front door... On the way back Yali and I hit the store for therapy expenses like Dubble Bubble... When we get back... Puck is in

22 JUL 25

Yali is busy detailing a Minecraft tutorial for me early that morning before the thermometer starts climbing on the other side of the brick... Bus Patience out to the Big House through a haze of heat settled silent over low green hills... Back home Puck is in the yard... samurai

21 JUL 25

Creek is high from the rain... its usual glass-clear waters nearer a cold hot cocoa running in a hurry around the bend and down towards the Meramec... rock bank washed out some... kids begin splashing against the current while I begin exploring the new rifts in the rubble... it'

20 JUL 25

Wake to a full panel of earthquakes raging off the Pacific coast of Russia ranging from 6.0 – 7.5 early that morning... Yali is having a good day... already two church grannies at the eight o'clock service have commented on how tall he's getting... chest

19 JUL 25

Puck walks into the living room that morning examining his steel-toed boots... “Stepped on a wolf spider last night at J's and all these baby spiders went running out everywhere”... he takes a seat and starts swinging a slowing-unrolling roll of Scotch tape around through the air like

18 JUL 25

“Mom?... Mom?”... sleepily check the time on my phone... 6:40... “Mom? Can I get to class early on Tuesday so I can see 'E' and ask her all about her engagement?”... she then begins asking questions about her impending Nike “bubble shoes”... “Can I wear them to

17 JUL 25

Driving Patience to her next “paid companion” gig that morning... she continues to update me on the large blister on her ankle in all its gory fluid-details... Back on the ranch while Oxbear is gone to more conferences... ...it's me and the boys getting work done around the

16 JUL 25

“My stomach feels a little funny...” Yali informs me as Patience and I prepare to leave that morning... Oxbear is at all-day conferences but Puck is home so... “Okay well... I'll let you stay home just in case and... call me if something comes up... get it?” **obliging

15 JUL 25

It's throwing rocks and slapping clay and splashing creek water for the young ones that morning... “MOM! AN ORANGE SNAKE JUST SWAM OUT OF THAT HOLE!”... but it's no copperhead... so the kids return to throwing rocks and slapping clay and splashing creek water... then the

14 JUL 25

Patience and Yali – wearing three layers in a muggy heat because he likes his too-cool-for-school "look" – are walking the neighborhood with me that morning... tripping over each other... running into each other... laughing every time one of them gets bumped off the sidewalk... Yali pauses at his reflection

13 JUL 25

Tap-tap-tap of Patience's pearl-studded sandals dancing subconscious reels on the tiles under our church pew... preaching Seminarian “E” has just compared Martha of the Bible to the Kool-Aid Man... Yali is living for Sunday School just half an hour and half a slice of reception cake away... Vicar

12 JUL 25

Halfway through scrubbing soap scum build-up out of the bathroom sink... unwashed bangs falling into my eyes... novelty t-shirt coming un-hemmed at the bottom... white paint stains on my old track shorts... I sense a silent presence standing behind me... a silent presence with very loud thoughts... I turn around.

11 JUL 25

Patience is already sitting next to me on my bed early that morning providing a detailed report on her ankle blisters... ...while Oxbear hobbles off to an all-day meeting with his boss in O'Fallon... And there's an army of 186 miniature 3D-printed “pillow buddies” (tiny plastic

All the boys

Yali is fever-free in the morning without pain... though still feeling a little funky in the ear... and while he gets busy trying to convince Justin the snake that his feed worms are not actually his friends... Patience is rolling west to another paid companion gig for the morning... Young

Gotcha again

Patience's 8th “Gotcha! Day” begins with the two youngsters snuggled on both sides of me listening to goofy songs about toast... ...as Puck texts me that his first military drill weekend has been canceled for some unknown reason... While Oxbear and Yali scoot south for Yali's

A little more creek

Yali feverish in the morning... already scheduled for an annual physical reveals inner and outer ear infection delegated by cold virus bacteria... but he's not so miserable that he can't appreciate the fact that he's also now graduated to the 1st percentile in height.

Meanwhile back at the creek...

It's Hayao Miyazaki at the creek that morning... big clouds in blue sky... heavy green wood... train trundle... “MOM! A FISH! LOOK HOW BIG THIS FISH IS!”... Yali is examining a slick creature the size of a baguette sitting motionless in the water under the old fallen tree.

06 JUL 25

Up late in the night with Yali... ear pain... in the morning light blood emitting from the ear cavity but the pain has receded... he's eager for church and hits the shower with no cajoling... Waiting for Bible study to begin where Oxbear is filling his first of

05 JUL 25

Oxbear gone for an early coffee appointment while everyone else sleeps in after late hours and fireworks... But Yali and Patience are eagerly ready for the pool when Oxbear returns... sun 'n splash for hours... Yali returns to slap on a little red face paint for fake blood effects

Fourth

Morning in the kitchen boiling and peeling eggs... Oxbear and the boys are at the Big House for Puck to consult with Francis on the Jag... prognosis not good... Francis recommends it's time to move on to a new set of wheels... ...while I introduce Patience to “Freaky

03 JUL 25

Between Yali's and Patience's morning fights... “Puck... I'm taking the kids to camp and I'll be right back”... Puck stares at me... “Camp?” // “Yeah they've been going to camp all week” // **pause for reflection** “That's why it'

02 JUL 25

Breakfast includes conducting tone deaf tests on Patience which makes her laugh while Yali watches video of giant purple starfish from the Salish Sea on my phone... Skip ahead through picking up things like banana peanut butter protein shake mix for Mr. Army working out in the basement... and the

01 JUL 25

Yali and Patience sandwiched next to me early morning... Oxbear at coffee with a buddy... kids wondering about “worm knots” so we do a little research on my phone before Patience presents fresh complaints of the day regarding her recent Minecraft projects... “And Yali tore down all the giant statues

A trabble

Yali is in full grump mode preparing his lunchbox for summer camp that morning... “THE OTHER KIDS ALWAYS GET LUNCHABLES AND I HAVE TO HAVE THIS BORING STUFF!” he bellows... ...as Patience is wailing pop songs to herself while she scoots the dog out into the yard to keep her

29 Jun 25

Dribbling piano from Oxbear's phone starting the early morning as Yali throws himself onto our bed dressed for church and hair slicked over... including maroon bowtie around his shirt collar... just like Puck at 12... An hour later... pipe organ and rain falling past stained glass... Yali'

28 Jun 25

Saturday morning is already deep into Yali asking me to play audience to his dramatic death reenactments in homemade costume and rate them in order of “best-ness” while Patience requests assistance with solving logic puzzles on her tablet... and then Yali asks me to check out the snake skin shedding

27 Jun 25

It's a morning for Cahokia-style Native American flute while serving a steady current of hot plates through the morning for the masses... soft-boiled egg on toast and double-layered BLTs and quesadillas with sides of julienned veg... it's a short-order cook day... And Oxbear takes a late-morning

Last of the heat

The heat index is already 99 when we arrive at B's aunt's and uncle's pool that morning... a pack of cousins splashing around in cold shaded water for a few hours with swimming goggles and lemonades... Pause for paper sacks of cheeseburgers and fries

25 Jun 25

It's one of Yali's least-favorite days of the year – hospital appointments involving needles – and he's feeling it as he pulls on his Harry Potter t-shirt and jeans for the morning... but first it's play therapy in South County... ...while back home Patience

Gotcha!

It's Yali's – somehow already – 11th “Gotcha! Day”... kids tumbling back on our bed... Yali reenacting full Harry Potter battle scenes for our early morning benefit on the bed covers beneath the spinning ceiling fan... he then leaves to check on his snake... “MOM! IT'S

23 Jun 25

**squuuueak** … **squuuueak** … **squeak** … **squuuuuuuueak** … it's still early and I don't feel like getting up to see which one of the kids is repeatedly blowing up a balloon then letting the air slowly squeal out of it over and over and over again... but I already know

Treats in the heat

It's chocolate long johns after church from Tony's Donuts... Back home Puck is chatting about how “funny” it is that a few hours after the Army signs him to a six-year contract the U.S. bombs Iran... meanwhile... though magnet fishing yielded nothing interesting in the

Celebrate a little more

Daylight cracks open with the first heat wave of the year... Oxbear and Yali have birthday plans with "Uncle B" and cousin Ju... so while they seek a little A/C at the City Museum... …Patience hits the studio for two hours... ...while Puck is enjoying the seven

Big summer day

On a hot morning the first day of summer... Yali opens his door to celebrate Number 12 with a hallway of metallic purple balloons bouncing across the floorboards... all the balloons that the cat hadn't popped in the night... He and Patience then scoot happily to Vacation Bible

Various progressions

Yali rolls up the driveway calling to me from the open window of the minivan... “MOM! I GOT A KOALA!”... he and Patience jump out into the yard where I'm pulling weeds... with tiny plush koalas clipped to their fingers from Australian VBS... “Mine's named Kiki!

18 Jun 25

Local counties crawling through a tornado watch by middle-morning while Yali and Patience are at VBS... this doesn't last though... After lunch Yali and Patience are tearing up the park... sunlight and cloud shadow rolling over sweet clover patches in a green field... hawk floats above in high

17 Jun 25

While Yali and Patience are back for more of their Australian adventure at church... ...Puck is out in the heat running sprints and bear crawling across the front yard in his Taco Bell t-shirt and cargo pants... at this point in our nearly nine-year neighborhood tenure I really don'

16 Jun 25

Sitting at the breakfast table... metallic **drip drip drip** from the basement... shower water through the ceiling... again... home ownership glories... But the kids have VBS in ten minutes so we're back on the road... delivered with handwritten name tag lanyards to the gym to begin an “Australian

Dad Day

Wake to the **shoosh shoosh** of 3D-printed plastics down the hall as Yali practices weaponry before church slicing and dicing the stagnant morning air of too many critters living in one house... “PREPARE TO BE SLICED!” A couple hours later sitting next to Oxbear studying Job in Bible class while

June 14th 2025

It's barely six-thirty on a Saturday morning and Patience is already rolled up in blankets next to me chatting about a moth she found in the studio yesterday and released into the wilds after naming it “Chuckles”... Oxbear is gone shortly after seven o'clock for a

Happy 41

Oxbear's 41st begins with a handwritten letter from Patience that took her so long to detail she was secretly awake in her bunk till nearly ten o'clock the previous night creating it... Then to the studio for Miss Patience in a spritzing rain for one last

June 12th 2025

There's a loud swishing sound of plastic from down the hall before seven o'clock that morning... followed by sound effects and loud laughter... Yali has found the retractable 3D-printed samurai swords Oxbear created for him overnight and he loves them... a large portion of his day

June 11th 2025

While Patience spends all day at the studio... ...her brothers are busy at home practicing hand release push-ups from the workout routines Puck's Army recruiter texts him on a daily basis... while he chats with me about the intelligence and memory patterns of the wolf spider... Add in

June 10th 2025

It's barely seven o'clock in the morning and both kids are sandwiching me cuddled in blankets watching snake videos on my phone... boas and rattlers and garters... Yali is mesmerized... With Patience back at the studio for another six hours of camp... ...Yali is spraying down

June 9th 2025

In a chalky blue almost-summer sky drive Patience to the first day of dance camp... ...then back home to conversations with all the boys... life philosophies and MEPS planning and a fifteen-minute play-by-play wizarding world story creation from Yali expressed to me in riveting detail... “And d'you know

Water and spirit

At exactly eight o'clock on Pentecost Sunday the little procession at the back of the church walks to the altar where the baptismal font waits... Yali stands first over the gleaming bowl of water as Pastor K dips a white shell representing the Holy Spirit... then Patience'

Work hard play hard

It's a work-work-work morning at home... from down the hall the kids are already fighting... BANG BANG BANG goes Yali's fist on the bathroom door... “PATIENCE! GET OUT OF THERE! I HAVE TO DO MY HAIR!”... Several minutes later Patience arrives in my room to “inform”

June 6th 2025

World getting scrubbed a little harder with more raindrops that morning... Between those drops... kids to two parks... in the soggy mist of a quiet neighborhood... after awhile Patience runs back to me... “I heard a wasp in my ear” // “Patience...” Yali chastises her... “bugs won't hurt you.

Hello and goodbye

In the post-deluge of a Wednesday... Yali can be seen in a 70-degree Thursday afternoon under steel skies wrapped in heavy Montana-style winter coat over hoodie and pants and shoes... holding the garden hose like a fountain over his head... soaked... and loving it... There's still time before

Peter's rain

Rain falling again... Kids tucked indoors with salami sandwiches and “Malcolm in the Middle” for lunch... As rain clears for awhile in the early afternoon... Patience throws on her new dolphin swimsuit and jumps on the trampoline while Yali walks back and forth from the kitchen sink with a dented

Tuna

Following an active night of the dog barking at some unknown entity and the cat knocking items off the headboard onto my head to sink his claws into the window shade for really no reason at all... Back out in the kitchen that morning prepping plates of eggs and sausage

June 2nd 2025

Kids sitting with SpongeBob... bowls of blueberry yogurt with cinnamon granola for Patience... Before nine o'clock Yali is bellowing about a “virus” on his tablet... Patience fixing her hair in the bathroom pouting about something... dog decides to sit beside me in her full wafting stink while I

All the critters

“Workin'... NINE TO FIVE!” Yali barks at his sister to wake her early for church that morning... Oxbear is on elder duty again... **giggle giggle** “WORKIN' NINE TO FIVE!”... Meanwhile in the other room Puck's fantastic yellow cat is for-no-reason-at-all repeatedly charging at and biting my

May 31st 2025

Patience is up early back in our room asking for popcorn and M&Ms... she gets cravings... An hour later she's prepping to leave for two hours at the studio... arguing with Puck in the kitchen about things... “How 'bout you clean up the kitchen, Patience.

Ezra told me

Patience is prepping an egg sandwich on the stove frustrated that the “hack” she learned about isn't working how she wants... ...while Puck preps to leave for the license bureau to settle the title for the Jag... ...Oxbear is at breakfast with a buddy... ...Yali is playing “Cops

May 29th 2025

Rain is back by late morning... a light silver rain in a day that doesn't feel either very warm or very cool... All the kids loll with tablets or phones for a few hours – Yali and Patience inhaling way too many cupcakes – but it's summer break

May 28th 2025

It's another running morning... Puck asks if we'll join him on Jag work... so we load up and hit Autozone for a battery and Home Depot for a polyethylene bucket (and chips for the kids) and then the Big House where "Grandma" is busy

Run run run

4AM alarm... drive Oxbear to the airport for two days hanging out in New York City with B for his 40th... Return to a still-sleeping house – amazingly – most of the time they seem to wake too early if we wake too early... it's like they can sense a

M. Day

Puck pauses from weight-lifting that morning while I'm down there working at my desk... he looks over at the lump of nondescript grayish fuzz “loafing” next to him on the mat... “How is a cat this old still this fat?” he asks... it is a continuous mystery... While

May 25th 2025

It's early again... Patience is rolled in the blankets on my bed audibly daydreaming about the pineapple shake from Krekels yesterday afternoon... “Can we go there again... PLEEEEEEASE?”... Leave for the late service at church for Oxbear to “elder”... however there's been a miscommunication between about

May 24th 2025

It's 6:18 on a Saturday morning and a rare Saturday where Patience doesn't have to be at the studio... kids tumbling on top of us... Yali suited up in Patience's panda body suit costume as they begin creating progressive stories with Oxbear which

May 23rd 2025

Puck pauses at the end of a phone call with his recruiter to discuss Army paperwork and a meeting next week... to chat with me about bank papers and Army bonuses and pay and his MOS choice and his Schnucks work schedule... then notes aloud... “Now that I've

The ASVAB

Oxbear is up shaving his head in the six o'clock hour... he's got a quick medical appointment... and there's maybe some unnecessarily loud clattering as he hunts for the hand vacuum but it's not to be found... Some hour or so later

Last day

Patience and I are leaving early for our last volunteer shift at the old school that year... it's also Yali's and Patience's last day of school... but Patience is currently at the bathroom mirror busy curling her tongue into a “clover” (the latest fad

May 20th

After being up till about one o'clock in the morning on storm watch the previous night... both younglings are already tossing themselves onto my bed before six o'clock... Then it's during their final Chinese culture class of the year that Yali is already upset

All the polygons

Easy samba music floating through the house... ...as Puck pauses a morning work-out to walk upstairs... annoying Yali during spelling... “Uh... you can't spell that word Yali?” // “You couldn't always spell everything either” I remind him // “I can spell... I'm great at spelling”... time

May 18th 2025

Yali walks into my room that morning with his hair slicked over carefully in Australian beeswax... “I did my hair like Uncle Curly!” he announces proudly... Minutes later I discover that someone has changed my Spotify from calming Gregorian chant to sing-along songs about poop... Flip-flopped Sunday with Oxbear “eldering”

May 17th

Slowing things down a little... After Patience spends two hours at the studio – half the stoplights still out on the drive there... ...and Puck has returned for a six-hour work shift... It's a cool sunny afternoon and the rest of us drive east to the small towns of

Twister down

Washed blue skies send the younglings outdoors into flips on the trampoline... a bag of Korean fried chicken Lay's in Patience's hands and Yali is soaked from the garden hose... They also want to scooter around the neighborhood with me because Patience is proudly “done with

May 15th

Morning opens bright with sun... some light research on the active-volcanic Tongan island of Tofua... tossing biscuits in the oven... 1960s salsa playlist... Yali walks up to me wearing a Golden Grahams cereal box on his head... “Mom... I need a box of venomous snakes”... Early afternoon between Puck rolling

Improvements and advancements

Wake to news of Matt Carpenter's retirement from baseball... ...as Oxbear and Yali leave for play therapy... ...and Patience and I for volunteering... It's already afternoon... billows of wind pushing in mottled patches of clouds in cream whites and slate grays and chalk blues that would

May 13th

A little retro salsa to start the morning... sit down to my laptop where the first two emails read : “American Girl : gift ideas for your grad” and : “Desiring God : do you see demons?”... Meanwhile Yali is walking around with the glue gun like he's shooting up bad guys

Juror #79

Up late Sunday night helping Puck sort out about two hundred eighty dollars of apparent fraudulent Playstation charges on his debit card... while Sally's texting about fighting a possum and fat black rat snake out of the chicken coop (she's already lost three chickens) and then

M-Day

Patience plops herself onto my bed before six-thirty in the morning... drops a handmade card on my pillow... carefully written with my “gourmet” marker set while she was sitting at the table next to me last night (makes me chuckle)... It's after one o'clock in the

Skyfall

Kids piling on top of us in the six o'clock hour... isn't it supposed to be Saturday?... but Patience still has to get to class... While I scoot her that way... Oxbear and Yali begin piecing together Yali's 3D-printed body armor costume before Oxbear

Creek walk

Crunch out a stack of work in the morning... splashed in sun... Oxbear leaves for the DMV after lunch... but somehow his 12:30 scheduled appointment isn't amongst their records... returns with a stack of papers to try another day... After lunch Yali emerges from the outdoors in

May 8th

Before eight o'clock that morning... heavy rain... Yali is already busy imagining ways to create a “wizard army” from the other kids in the neighborhood... Patience is then complaining of him “karate kicking” her like a stork which he mostly denies... but by this time he's

May 7th

Yali is in the living room impersonating various animated characters wearing a red t-shirt labeled “Science” and red face paint smeared around his eyes before breakfast... looks a little like he just exited a fight... which is exactly what you want before meeting with a mental health professional... a few

May 6th

Wake to the two younglings sandwiching me on both sides for morning chats as Patience explains how there's a “knife” hidden in the FedEx logo and Yali beginnings blowing “raspberries” into my arm to the tune of the 20th Century Fox movie intro... From there things start cookin&

Cinco de Arbol

Part I Dog barking urgently from the basement... check the time : 1:21AM... Puck is already downstairs carrying a crowbar against potential intruders... lift the window shade... dog in the yard now lunatic-barking at what I can't really tell... Puck calls from down the hallway in a calm

Brake time

Yali and Patience in bright plaids and horse prints on orange fields coughing and snorting through the morning service like half the congregation in the season of Midwest allergies... It's also Oxbear's first Sunday serving as church elder... Yali and Patience watch in captivation as he

May 3rd

Wake from a sludge of semi-apocalyptic dreams to Yali making a gold skull “eat” my arm for a snack... he wants to show off his snake nestling through the aspen shavings waiting for his heat lamp... it arrives later in the morning and snake is one happy boy... While Oxbear

May 2nd

Friday morning is entirely spent mitigating the 56 fires that explode daily in a family of five with three and a half pets on the side... school books and coral reef crafting and laundry and managing finances pushed in all the cracks... like condiments between sandwich layers.. yet nothing so

Here's my spiel...

Wake to Patience sharing dreams about “attack bears” in the night... ...while Yali is walking around the house calling for help – trapped inside a folding chair like a straight jacket – it's not quite eight o'clock in the morning... An hour later Patience and I are madly

April 30th

Crumble of thunder in a wet green morning... While Yali manhandles “Justin the snake” in his tank... quickly scan my daily world news email summary... noting with some admittedly satisfying perspective that the next time my kids damage something inside my house... at least they're not “that one

April 29th

Grumbling thunder in the night's middle... just a little... By nine o'clock while Oxbear chats with his friend from Algeria over coffee... ...Patience and I are helping kids crunch-time through tables of dioramas... simultaneously trouble-shooting pool noodle rings into coral structures and tie-dyed coffee filters scrunched

April 28th

It's Oxbear's day to run... off work but never really off work as parents will be... while he's busy taking Yali to Hobby Lobby to buy a bundle of soft banana yellow flannel for his robot costume... Patience is feeling sleepy in the Spanish

April 27th

Open the window shades that morning to two more trees planted in the neighbor's yard across the street... either he's progressively layering up his own little Eden over there or... those two trees are suspiciously positioned to eventually block the view of our very dead and

Meanwhile... out west

Water randomly shuts off again in the morning... neighborhood street peppered with large trucks and machines... third water main break in two months? Puck rolls back in before noon on five hours' sleep to change for work annoyed that the shower's out... A couple hours later the

For exhibition

Mid-morning Oxbear and Patience are dropped with Gloria for the six-hour road trip to Tahlequah, Oklahoma... Patience wheels her magenta suitcase to Gloria's car while curious neighbor girls stare at her from next door... lingering hugs from the nine year-old... “Can't you come too? There'

April 24th

This time Yali joins me with the hot glue in the morning to see an old classmate... a spunky blonde boy with freckles : "L"... they hang out with me during his class period as L repeatedly asks me to loop hot glue on top of a rectangle of

April 23rd

Roseorange glow in the east is just fading into morning as Yali is in the kitchen microwaving a chimichanga for breakfast... “Mom? Can I go lizard hunting?” // “Sure... Who ate all the Hershey's? Where is the dog?” …nosing her snout through the empty bag of Hershey's

April 22nd, 2025

While Yali and Patience spend most of Tuesday with their Yellow Bird group... I scoot back to the old school for two hours of glue guns... and a thank-you pair of beautiful fringed earrings bought off Steps Beach in Puerto Rico from C.P. ... Plate up some meats for Puck

The day the pope died...

Between all of Puck's barking about cats not using their litter boxes appropriately and broken weight clips and discussions about diet changes – “I need lots of meats and vegetables and rice and eggs” – and Patience focused on remembering to “kick her butt” during all her dances that weekend

Pascua de Resurrección

Shades open to grumbling storm... Gregorian chant to wake the kids for Easter morning... Sour tang of communion wine at the seven o'clock service... rain pounding... thunder cracking under pipe organ... searing trumpet from the balcony... Gifts of Easter for all the kids at home... don't

A little quiet

Rain and thunder through the morning as a light shuffle of people begins... ...Yali to a birthday party at a bowling alley in Bridgeton... ...Puck back from J's to discussion Army National Guard plans and another skydiving adjustment – due to another weekend of rain coming up in the

18 on 18

1940s wartime playlist... pack of helium-balloons in bright colors and mylar... glass goblet of cash frogs waiting on the table... as Puck walks out of his room to a loud... “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!”... he sleepily looks at me... “I'm out of toothpaste”... Stacks of blueberry waffles topped off with

April 17th, 2025

Yali has a loud announcement to make as I walk out of my room that morning... “I HATE BEING A SHORTSTACK!” he roars... doesn't help when the baby sister two+ years younger than you is about three inches taller... It's Patience's turn to join

Subs and bureaus

Volunteer shift of two and a half hours for Patience and myself that morning – passes in a wink – and while I'm busy stapling papers for First Grade... Patience successfully leads the young ones through their Spanish vocabulary and games... “She was just wonderful” the sub tells me later.

April 15th

Four o'clock hour... dead quiet in the night... dog starts bark-howling like some kind of canine banshee... Oxbear hustles down there... nothing... “Probably saw a mouse... looked pleased with herself for alerting us”... While Yali and Patience spend their day at Yellow Bird learning poetry and making crafts.

Pascua season

“Hey Mom... if there's a giant smiley face on the wall...” Yali grins evilly, shaking a can of spray paint... “It was Puck... not me” This is about the time Patience and I are leaving for the old school with empty Pringles cans to help piece the 2nd

Into the hills

Early that morning... sounds of water running in the bathroom sink... Yali is already dressed for church slicking over his hair for (specifically) Sunday School... About half an hour later Yali and Patience are sitting at the breakfast table with plates of Nutella on toast... Patience is waiting for her

Powwow and fry bread

There are patches of grape jelly smeared all around the floor in unexpected places in the morning... no one admits... just like no one admits to the various grease stains on the living room ceiling or the spots of blue paint on the crown molding,.. or the... well actually, yes,

New spring things

It's still early in the morning and Yali is sitting next to me on my bed with his tablet swiping through a series of horror film posters he's created since yesterday featuring a murderous teddy bear... ...while C.P. from the old school is texting about

April 10th, 2025

It's field trip day with Grandma for the tots... so they begin their cold morning early with some Roblox... while Oxbear throws a bag together for his roughly three days away with a pack of good old friends at a cabin in southern Missouri... their shopping list includes

April 9th, 2025

Yali comes back to our room early that morning... does “the worm” across our bed towards Oxbear... “Dad. Can you print me a machete?” Up up up... again again... weather app advertising flurries that never come... Several hours later back at the old school sorting homework packets... before we leave

April 8th, 2025

The kids are busy preparing lunches for Yellow Bird in the kitchen that morning... Patience pulls out a knife and an orange... “BLOOD CIRCLE!” she announces before she slices... Scout knowledge passed down from Yali... Chinese culture class that morning... both kids get a little worked up over the atrocities

April 7th, 2025

Getting up that morning... an old time-killing tune from Presbyterian Sunday School rolls through my head over and over... “A Dairy Queen a Dairy Queen a Long John Silver's and a Dairy Queen... McDonald's McDonald's Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut...” there were

April 6th, 2025

Cold Sunday... Yali helps Oxbear prepare for church by brushing out his beard and adding beeswax (Yali has been all about beeswax lately)... then he calls me into his room where he's moved the Colombian flag on the wall next to the Chinese flag... “Patience and I were

April 5th, 2025

Yali's talking to me before I'm fully awake... “Mom... should I have berries Captain Crunch or sausage pizza for breakfast?” Uh... When I leave my room about fifteen minutes later it looks like he's already invested in a bowl of cereal while watching behind-the-scenes

Rain, so much rain

Oxbear is up early preparing to leave for a school board function... “So I shouldn't wear jeans?” he consults with me... // Uh... for a Town & Country private school 12.5 million dollar campaign fundraiser? “You've gotta blend in a little bit...” // Oxbear mock-sighs... “Okay...” and

Goodbyes are hard

Patience wakes that morning to learn that one of her teachers is leaving the studio to focus on her grad degree in occupational therapy... tears, cuddles... she's somewhat cheered by the idea of shopping for goodbye gifts... Patience's blueness doesn't stop her from fighting

They tease

“It feels like tornado outside” Elmer texts all the siblings that morning... and it does... just that “feel”... Kids sit at the table with me for math sheets... Patience has prepared herself avocado toast with an entire avocado on a single toast slice as she chats about purchasing “jersey pajamas”

April 1st, 2025

Mama's sleep-hungry brain ignores the alarm clock that morning... so when I get up later than I meant, there are already the remains of eggs and toast in the sink while Oxbear and the kids are deeply invested in a Minecraft marathon before Oxbear starts work... It'

E. Rocks

Yali enters my room that morning in a mild tornado rage... “My tablet broke! The screen's all cracked!” // “Uh oh... what happened this time?” // “I was just... I was spinning it on my finger you know, like how you do with a basketball?” … however he temporarily forgets about

Not as advertised

Wake to the yellow cat galloping back and forth across my shoulders over and over again... I guess breakfast from his automatic feeder in Puck's room isn't being served fast enough... Walking out to the Toyota for church... air unbroken perfect garden-stillness in early green before

March 29th, 2025

Sky is something near a watery soup that morning as Patience and I drive to the studio listening to a little Haydn... big storms are coming but not till tomorrow they say... Patience pops back out to the Honda two hours later with a chocolate cake pop from Miss N.

March 28th, 2025

The kids are climbing on me before I'm out of bed that morning chatting about Oreos and Roblox... Puck is also awake and chastising the various projects left around the house... “I mean, what even is this?” he picks up a surprisingly heavy and large wad of black

March 27th, 2025

In the morning dark rain hanging in the north for Opening Day... doesn't fall yet... There's some back-and-forth before noon... starts with the Park for Yali and Patience... cascades of white and purple-singed blossoms... but they're in fight-y moods and we leave after half

March 26th, 2025

While Oxbear and Yali are at an appointment in South County... Yali lamenting a busted knee from smashing it into a fence or something the previous afternoon... “That's it... I'm going to die and go to Heaven!” is his official prognosis... ...Puck walks out to Patience

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

March 24th, 2025

Parting deep sleep and morning with explosions of heavy pink space dust, cosmos cracked with diamond stars in dreams... Patience is already stomping around in some kind of 'tude over breakfast options... she doesn't like them... I finally send her to the Head of School for discussion

March 23rd, 2025

Church in a cold rain behind a stained glass turned richer by the blue light... squeaky pew... service led by the vaguely Dutch-sounding vicar and vaguely Irish-sounding seminarian... the kind of Irish accent you'd expect an American might pick up after living in Dublin for a few years.

March 22nd, 2025

“Only in this house” will you be woken by your husband at 6:45 on a Saturday morning for him to enthusiastically read to you the documents of “pastoral care” from the Lutheran church... then he leaves to go shooting all day with a couple of buddies down south... A

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?

Season switch

The kids' dreams come rolling in early that morning – “I was cooking bacon in the bathroom...” // “Someone tried to murder me with a comb...” Around that same time the dog vomits just outside my bedroom door... that part is not a dream... The weather is that kind of fantastic

March 19th, 2025

The morning sun might have been wrapped in wildfires from its look... a pale peach-toned light in the east... Elmer later describes it on the sibling group text as “Mars like”... Meanwhile Yali is already prepped to leave with Oxbear for his morning appointment with his recently usual greeting of

March 18th, 2025

Yali walks into the kitchen that morning where I'm assembly-lining plates of eggs and toast... “Can't we ever get something interesting?” he sighs... five minutes later he's shoveling down huevos y pan with a thumbs up and a... “I'm sorry I said

St. Pat's

Wake late to texts from siblings about things like snails leaf-surfing in aquariums and some Frenchman demanding the return of the Statue of Liberty... to local news detailing the path of county tornados Friday night, including one that snaked a few miles northwest of our house... to a review of

March 16th, 2025

There's a minor miniskirt-midriff battle going on before church that morning... she's not exactly fifteen, but she's also not exactly nine... and when she likes a “look”, she likes a look... “But the other girls are wearing them!”... ultimately the battle is very mild

Parading

Back out in the morning... despite the intensity of wind and storm in the night, a steely mist sits over the county... Oxbear and Patience have a parade to walk in and/or dance through... Drop them off at 8th and Cerre to join the crowd in mostly emerald green

We've been waiting

Up early before the young ones... feels like there are somehow potato chip shards and emerald green glitter, everywhere... switch on “The Chieftains” via Alexa... advise Yali and Patience to get their bike helmets prepared for strange weather coming later in the day... Patience and I are gone before eight

March 13th, 2025

Blood moon early that morning... silent orange lamp in the west... This time Oxbear and Yali bring Patience to her fourth TV spot of the season... at KMOV Channel 4 studios... Yali is even glad he went... returns looking and feeling very cool in his tie-dye and sharks and a

Stomping onward

Smoky dawn... prelude to a warm day... KTVI Channel 2 by eight-fifteen that morning... eight dancers wait for their time slot while visiting with a shelter dog named “Baja Blast” and chomping on Dunkin' Donuts, discussing spring break plans for places as diverse as Utah and Hawaii... then all

March 11th, 2025

So distracted with the day's busyness that I can't even remember which kid announces to me early in the morning – “I had a good dream... I smashed my head into a cake!” A few minutes later Yali is busy Minecrafting a volcano during breakfast while I

Dance dance dance week

Wake from dreams... flooding in the city... kids dump themselves back on our bed... Patience is an explosion of entrepreneurial plans and begins chatting about a lemonade stand and selling t-shirts... before I've even left my room for the morning she's prepared two t-shirt design prototypes

March 9th, 2025

Yali pops awake that morning – wide eyes – sharing recent dreams of bullies and snakes... Short an hour of sleep... Patience leans up against my shoulder throughout the service, sniffling from spring allergies through shoals of thunderous pipe organ... Yali is feeling pretty good, pretty cool in his leather bomber jacket

March 8th, 2025

Wake late to the cat's presentation of mouse remains left on the floorboards in the night... The Great Hunter... poor mouse had no chance... Meanwhile Patience is watching “High School Musical 2” while Yale straps a modified sheath with plastic knife to his leg... “I'm gonna

Dance-all-day Day

Irish dance school performances day means a five-thirty alarm to pin up Patience's hair while Oxbear prepares a plate of breakfast to split... Gone by seven o'clock to St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic School... the girls begin to gather in a gloomy gym, sharing Starburst candies

March 6th, 2025

Yali is feeling weird and weak and maybe feverish that morning, but not badly enough to stop talking about “fart nukes” during a viewing of an animated synopsis of the Book of Revelation... “Yali, do we need to go back to the doctor?” (my little test to see how bad

March 5th, 2025

Yali and Patience spend most of Ash Wednesday morning, fighting... like two bears poking each other with sticks... “Never gets old...” Yali practically congratulates himself as he annoys Patience into a set of very vocal pouts on the other side of the room... The matches briefly suspend as a heavy

March 4th, 2025

Thunder grumble in the night... dreams : plans to make pies... Sitting for math class in the morning Yali is beginning to find himself creeped out by the Bob Ross sponge-face from yesterday and tosses him off the table... Patience approves... Then away to Yellow Bird for the day over swathes

March 3rd, 2025

Dreams – endless problem-solving – to six o'clock alarm as Oxbear prepares to leave with an Uber for the airport... The kids are pulling bowls of cereal over SpongeBob to begin their morning... tears are few and only from Patience as Oxbear scoots off... While Oxbear is mid-air flying south

Derbies and reels

Oxbear is preparing a pan of eggs for the kids before we leave for church as the dog watches expectantly for scraps... “She's a dumb dog...” Oxbear notes... making the kids laugh... “Recite the preamble to the Constitution... nothin'... What's two plus two?... nothin'

Feisin' down south

Yali is awake before seven o'clock rearranging his bedroom... somehow hauls the costume rack upstairs from the basement himself... full spread of superhero jumpsuits... Breakfast for Mama is beans on toast and a now very silver Lance Berkman Youtube interview... An hour cleaning in the basement while Patience

February 28th, 2025

Before Oxbear attends his first video call of a short work day, he's already printing a variety of flutes on the 3D printer... including the kind that might feature on a vaguely native-inspired album from the 90s found in a second-hand shop... Meanwhile in the kitchen, there are

February 27th, 2025

Dreams : small private museum featuring ancient civilizations and the cosmos, posters advertising concerto competitions, Hungarian forints changing hands... In the real world Yali and Patience are arguing over the chocolate cake carrier... shut that down... but not before Yali has sneakily tossed one of Patience's Stanley thermos collection

February 26th, 2025

Dreams... evolution of a clementine from seeds to trees spilling over with juicy fruit, clusters of orange hanging from trellises in the old school's carpool lane... Patience has also been dreaming... as I tap her on the back to wake her she declares that I spoiled scuba diving

February 25th, 2025

When I get up that morning there is already bright orange paint splattered in the kitchen sink... at least “someone” had remembered to wash out the paint brush... a minifig with electric orange hair is drying out on the art table... Yali is Minecrafting before breakfast, excited about creating “the

February 24th, 2025

Spring birds are back... Discussing the art of ancient Chinese calligraphy with the kids that morning listening to the stringed kora of West Africa as Yali digs into a self-crafted plate of breakfast nachos(!)... Patience lets the dog back inside... her snout is caked with black mud... leaving Yali actually

February 23rd, 2025

Meet the kids and Gloria at church that morning... returned from a short weekend of brownies and UNO... While Oxbear pulls a cup of coffee before Bible study... missed text/call/voicemail/email from the water company... another emergency water main break across the street... “Is someone doing this on

February 22nd, 2025

Oxbear and Yali wrestling around for fun that morning before Oxbear audibly cracks his nose in the enthusiasm of roughhousing... he leaves by seven-thirty with G.L. and A.M. for a day of shooting down south... Yali joins cousin Ja online to game for a couple of hours... Then

February 21st, 2025

Dreams... French parachutist looking for the island of Vanuatu... in Missouri... Early morning... gray cat galloping over me chased by the yellow cat knocking over books in her escape... Patience comes into my room in the six o'clock hour requesting fruit roll-ups... A carload of us leaves for

February 20th, 2025

Dreams... crafting extended mixed media art collage installation at a local grade school... Temperature at zero... negative eleven windchill before nine o'clock... After all the illness, a holiday, and the snow days... return to active studies... beginning with a reading of “Sarah Morton's Day : A Day

Snow Day (again again)

The world all a blinding-white cake out the windows... about a zero degree windchill... Now nowhere to go that morning – throw the hair into braided pigtails, pull out the bread and eggs for breakfast... a little winter jazz on Alexa for the kids... Yali is already very busy giving rides

Snow Day (again)

Soft flurries, a couple of inches on the ground... windchill ten below... most schools closed... Puck's cat Cheese – who enjoys collecting plastic – has upchucked a pile of plastic bits and even a bread twist tie on the living room floor... While Yali stays home with me that morning

School holiday

Wake from exploring hexagonal-greenhouse-with-hearth in historic town... baking cheese toast in the oven... driving through the Rockies somehow misplaced in Indiana... to... Yali and Patience back to fighting down the hall... (it's brief) As I get up to open all the shades, Patience has already prepared breakfast for

Feis Day 2

Wake with a nosebleed a little after six o'clock... Fifteen minutes later unweave all of Patience's braids for competition, leaving what we call “the lion's mane”... wearing all black today... she and Oxbear leave by seven o'clock under a thin crunch of

Feis Day 1

On the day my youngest brother turns 30(!)... Oxbear gets up at six to pin Patience's hair into another mountain of black wig curls for another big double feis downtown... Mama – much improved but still feeling weak – gives a thumbs up to the final product including rhinestone headpiece

Valentine's Day

Much rougher and achier in the morning... toss back another ibuprofen... open the shades to icicles melting off the eaves... With Oxbear on back-to-back video calls all morning and afternoon... it's Patience taking over... microwaves breakfast sandwiches for the two invalids while preparing all her gear for Saturday

February 13th, 2025

The world is sun on snow again... Day three of “head cold symptoms” finally takes me down... for a little while anyway... While I hit an ibuprofen, Oxbear meets a buddy for breakfast for a couple of hours... picks up milk and breakfast sandwiches on the way home... Officially quarantine

February 12th, 2025

Waking... no precipitation yet... all the schools are closed though... Patience still in a nest of blankets on the couch... cranking up another “Little House” marathon because it's going to be that kind of day... Yali seems a little improved... gets to giggling over his feature of the

February 11th, 2025

“I don't feel so good...” Yali tells me early that morning... “my heart is beating really fast...” … and it is – pumping past 150 with a headache... for a kid with dextrocardia with situs inversus totalis and right renal agenesis, consult with his former-paramedic aunt and current-paramedic uncle... then

February 10th, 2025

Dreams... digging through thin strata of archaeological layers... ancient un-popped popcorn kernels in the bright orange layer... Yali and Patience are at the card table... cowboy music accompanying their math flashcards review... but they're distracted, imagining an invention together : a spritzer that holds liquid butter... Eleven o'

February 9th, 2025

Early that morning Yali is already giving a drum solo concert in the living room complete with butter dish for cymbals... shortly later he walks into my room with a plate of hot cinnamon bread with butter singing the finale to “The Empire Strikes Back” whose only lyrics appear to

February 8th, 2025

Wake from some kind of intense in-progress kickball team selection to an eight o'clock alarm on a Saturday morning... The kids are awake and busy... Patience performs a marriage ceremony for a pair of 3D-printed axolotls at the breakfast table... the bride wearing a train of TP... Misty-rain

February 7th, 2025

Trying to scoot Patience out to math class that morning...“Okay...” she nods... “Just one thing I want to ask... when can I have my first kiss?” **giggle giggle** ...let Oxbear handle that one... The rest of the morning and afternoon are mostly a loud blur of cleaning that couldn&

February 6th, 2025

Out into the world for the day... Yali helps Patience haul her backpack to the car... “What do you have in here – tungsten weights?” he laughs... On the drive they chat together in the back seat... Patience is telling Yali about what she and her friends call each other at

February 5th, 2025

On the day Dad would have turned 67... Though the kids are both fighting at me that morning for the usual panel of benign items... wait for them to sort out the whines while checking an article on “Why are rubies red and emeralds green?” (trapped light)... Yali – sitting at

February 4th, 2025

About two forty-five in the morning... the dog is barking aggressively in the basement which she never does at night... as Oxbear walks down to investigate I hear a dog barking down the street too... Yali had come out around nine o'clock that night to tell us about

February 3rd, 2025

Evil mini-fig laughter wafting from down the hall in the morning... Patience enters our room... “The cat...!” yes... the “good” cat had used the hall bathroom rug as a litter box in the night... as the bad cat had used the top of my bedside bookshelf as a litter box

February 2nd, 2025

After the kids slap peanut butter on a few Eggos... back out to church for the eight o'clock service... The world has largely melted now... all that remains are snow packs in parking lots looking somewhat like small hills of very dirty cottage cheese... It's only

February 1st, 2025

Begin the first day of February fresh off dreams of mild night tornados, papery debris whipping through the trees... Yali is already in his Class A Scout uniform... a little bedhead... a little upset that he can't find the dollar Oxbear left under his pillow until he later

January 31st, 2025

Wake to simulated crashing sounds and minifig-screams from the living room... Patience is also blending her chocolate-banana smoothie in the kitchen which she shares with Yali, shuffling around in her slippers like a granny... Shortly later Yali and Patience begin light bookwork, exchanging remarkably affable moods with one another as

January 30th, 2025

A light silver rain now steadily melting remaining snow patches around the neighborhood... calls for some smooth winter jazz to transition young children to book work... But not before Patience emerges from her room wearing her new swim goggles... “I have to wash my face” she explains on her way

Chinese New Year

The Year of the Wood Snake begins at about 4:15 in the morning to the cats caterwauling and hissing... the bad one jumps onto the bed and stands on my back for a longer period of time than seems necessary... her way of apologizing for clawing my arm yesterday?

January 28th, 2025

Wake to piles of orange peels and an empty milk jug on the kitchen counter... Puck partied hard last night... Yali continues piecing together the small plastic weapons cabinet (including a lock) for his Dummy 13's, fully 3D-printed... the worlds one can create in a box... as Haydn

January 27th, 2025

During math class, Puck walks out with his old ASVAB test prep book, a piece of writing that once so frustrated him, he felt the need to microwave it, drown it, and throw it in the freezer, out of symbolic spite... as he begins reading the random math/science questions

January 26th, 2025

Patience chooses the squeaky pew at the morning service... she and Yali rock back and forth in it for awhile to test it... too squeaky even for them... we move up a row before the organ prelude... Patience tapping her cheetah shoes against the tiled floor during readings from the

January 25th, 2025

Dreams in the night... discussing office phone options in varying shades of pink in the middle of a Colonials vs. Natives field skirmish... someone explains to me that the tribe carries sticks with loops at the end wound with different colors of yarn and beads to depict multiple conquests in

January 24th, 2025

Oxbear returns after nine o'clock from what became only a half-hour breakfast appointment with G.L. after beaching my car on an unexpected mound of ice (he couldn't see through the windshield and pulled over into a parking lot that hadn't been fully cleared)

January 23rd, 2025

Before I get up, squishy spiderweb sound effects coming from the bathroom... awhile later Yali jumps out at me in full Spiderman suit with carefully self-cut slices in the torso and arms of the suit, red facepaint brushed at every “cut” and over his face... “The Green Goblin got me.

January 22nd, 2025

Soft-boiled eggs on toast lightly mitigates some inter-grade fighting during studies that morning... mouths too full of tasty food to argue... still, distractions are plentiful... hand lotion, water bottles, hoodies, sister-cooties... “Patience, don't TOUCH it!” Yali exclaims, grabbing his pencil pouch out of her hands... “You'll

January 21st, 2025

Dreams of intense kidnapping situation in the night in some kind of parking garage (feel like that's happened in my dreams before...) ... getting up to a windchill of twelve below Yali wakes late in his bunk from his own nightmare, which usually involves clowns in some horrifying way.

January 20th, 2025

The day begins with Yali coaching Patience on how to sing “Cotton-Eyed Joe” from the other room... It's so cold – about a four degree windchill – that we're all home for a lazy morning... * Kids play Roblox together (and with cousin R online) for a few hours,

January 19th, 2025

After breakfast burritos... to church in a negative two windchill... Rev. K in India... sitting in the pew waiting for the service to begin as a cello plays Bach's Suite No. 1 in G Major from the balcony... Patience putting on endless layers of lipgloss... Oxbear and Yali

January 18th, 2025

“I'D RATHER KISS A TOILET SEAT! HA HA!” … Yali is laughing at his own joke down the hallway early that morning... apparently Patience is interested in pulling the loose canine on the top of his teeth deck and makes an offer... he refuses... as I attempt to get

January 17th, 2025

Dreams of equestrian lessons and microwaving noodles in the kitchen... the random “pulls” in the silent hours of the night... After some math facts drills, drive the two youngest over to the Science Center for a viewing of “T.Rex”... the former Starlight Cafe is short-staffed so the woman at

January 16th, 2025

CRASH! Somewhere in the early hours of the morning after a nightmare panic of wooded 18th century pre-Colonial America hauntings and insanity and disease (nighttime is fun)... I have a half-awake memory of my Pier 1 jewelry box smashing to the floor, but I am not nearly awake enough to

January 15th, 2025

Box of Costco croissants opened for breakfast... it will be gone within twenty-four hours... “Why is there an eyelash in the butter?”... Yali shrugs... no one ever knows... Math class is more cheerful that morning... Yali rubs at his chin where he zipped it in his winter coat the other

January 14th, 2025

Yali, screaming for the eggs (as if he is one of the eggs), as they boil in a pot of water that morning, induces Puck to emerge from his room, barking at him to stop... kicks off fights between Yali and Patience in math class... dominoes... ...during this time Yali

January 13th, 2025

6.9 earthquake off the coast of Miyazaki, Japan... Earth's been rockin' and rollin' lately... Oxbear stuck in back-to-back video calls and workshops all day... Sitting down to a little pre-algebra with the kids that morning – feeling like pushing abstract math on younger grade school students

January 12th, 2025

Up for about half an hour in the night with Yali, concerned over residual effects of his illness earlier in the week, poor guy 6.2 earthquake in Aguila, Mexico – notification from my phone in the night... Church online from home – there are a lot of elderly folk at I.

January 11th, 2025

Feeling a little train-hit in the morning, flattened out across lumpy couch cushions on the kids' floor again... slept in late, but not long enough to feel revived Patience doesn't have to be at the studio till mid-morning so I collect a simple breakfast for the boys

Snow Day 4

The previous night… 9PM : While Oxbear and I have just switched on an episode of “Elementary”, S.M. calls… Puck is spontaneously violently throwing up at their place, can’t drive home 10PM : Oxbear returns with Puck, gets into bed, also suddenly not feeling well… 11PM : While I help Puck

January 9th, 2025

Back to school Pop an ibuprofen before attempting any studies with Yali and Patience… Yali isn’t happy about long division… but most people aren’t Pause in the morning for Oxbear to bring Patience to the orthodontist for ocean blue bands Mama grabs a very brief nap while they’

January 8th, 2025

Snow Day 3 Yali wakes around one in the morning… “I threw up,” he tells me pitifully, standing over my pillow… clean up and make him comfortable from what seems to be the head cold aggravating his digestive system… he wants to cuddle back with us for a few hours

January 7th, 2025

Snow Day 2 Feeling crap… roll out to check texts from Elmer about the deadly Tibetan quake, check on Yali who had another nose bleed in the night but his fever’s gone, prep soft-boiled eggs, art direction for Patience’s panda eyeballs, discuss Puck’s frustration with running, start

January 6th, 2025

Epiphany Snow Day Yali and I both feel worse in the morning… so do the roads… Yali and I bundle on the couch together while Oxbear reschedules his annual physical and I cancel Patience’s orthodontist appointment and Yellow Bird for the next morning It’s a “SpongeBob” morning for

January 5th, 2025

Epiphany Sunday Feeling Oxbear’s and Patience’s head cold in the morning… Snow dusting of only a couple of inches on the world beyond, still falling steady… Oxbear and I prepare plates of bacon, eggs, and toast for everyone (Puck complains that his plate is cold by the time

January 4th, 2025

Spend some time exploring North Africa on Google Maps with a chocolate long john that morning… so much uninhabited desolation of desert… intriguing Oxbear and Yali begin playing Portal together… I forget Yali is a pre-teen already… Puck texts from O’Fallon… “I would like 40 dollars… For the pizza

January 3rd, 2025

Oxbear gone to another breakfast meeting… two 40 year-old white guys meeting with a retired Indian woman… kind of a funny group Comfort Yali who’s feeling blue about being brown… he cheerfully transitions to Zach King videos on his tablet Order a no-break resin saucer sled in dark orange

January 2nd, 2025

Patience has developed a head cold in the night… we drive out to pick up the kids from J’s office at noon and I prescribe the “sick test” for Patience… “I was thinking of going to Target this afternoon…” …sick eyes suddenly look perky… “Really? Can I come? Can

NYD

Patience has lost her voice as the morning opens… she gets it back with a cup of tea Big House… Oxbear and Puck stoke a bonfire with Amazon packaging and invasive plants bordering the back yard, with B Yali helps T with the ongoing penny hunt, digging with forks and

NYE

I thought, with my youngest being 9, that most of the surfaces of the house and its items would no longer be sticky… I was mistaken… Oxbear is gone mid-morning for a few hours visiting with I and Kat for conversation, then gathering more pinewood derby supplies While I work

December 30th, 2024

Puck pounding on the treadmill for 1.7 miles after eight o’clock… the rest of us lazily lounging, asleep or with tablets… Oxbear still in a stupor of head cold… tries to shower it off after a hot apple cider vinegar… which seems to help some… before he drives

December 29th, 2024

Dreams, too many dreams, and a racing heart… fixing dozens of tunafish sandwiches at a stadium, worried about the mayonnaise in the sun… Nine o’clock service… Oxbear still a little laryngitis-ed… Patience in her new Barbie-pink jumper with the buttons quietly humming “in excelsis Deo” during the sermon while

December 28th, 2024

Soft-boiled eggs pulled off the stove, buzz down Oxbear’s hair, stack of shiny gifts into the Toyota… The entirety of family – again – meets together for White Christmas at one of the large neighborhood ponds in St. Peters… photo shoot for about an hour, wandering the rocks and mucky grasses

December 27th, 2024

The morning is for lead test kit and organic all-purpose cleaner orders, stocking photo albums, paying personal property tax, helping Rose with embroidery sample and homemade blueberry smoothies, checking out two 19th century houses that B and Sun are touring this weekend, making ramen for Puck, etc., etc. Oxbear returns

December 26th, 2024

Patience has already spilled hot chocolate on her new grapefruit-colored sweatshirt before ten Into the gray post-rain-mist of a later morning to gather a very late breakfast… all three kids wait at home together working on projects Early afternoon… Oxbear learning how to Rubik’s Cube Puck leaves for four

Christmas Day

Avalanche of gifts under the tree for the three kids leaves Puck saying to his parents… “I would have gotten something for you but I… just forgot…” (sentiment hugely appreciated)… after all the Harry Potter LEGOS Stanley thermoses… croissant breakfast sandwiches, courtesy : Oxbear Lightly rain-soaked afternoon at home… of Bollywood

Christmas Eve

Five and a half hours’ sleep after Patience decides I need a six-thirty wake-up call… on Christmas Eve Christmas playlists, crackling birchwood fire on Netflix (still somehow requires three security passwords)… register Patience for February feises… Puck’s new cargo pants arrive in the mail and he vows to destroy

December 23rd, 2024

Kids crawling around on us… arguing, whining, laughing, fake-crying, asking questions, etc., etc., etc. Oxbear gets up shortly later to make breakfast burritos for everyone, then snoozes off a headache on the couch Wrestling back my own headache through the morning and afternoon while cleaning, folding laundry, helping Patience prepare

December 22nd, 2024

Open the bedroom door that morning to Yali wearing a laundry basket over his head dancing in the hallway… Patience walks out of the bathroom in her church dress with her hair brushed long and dark over her face… “Hello?” she says in her creepiest voice… and Oxbear is busy

December 21st, 2024

Wake to kids climbing around on us, Yali talking about the magical elements of his “tattoo” (numbers he wrote on his arm with Sharpie) Oxbear brings Yali and Patience out to St. Peters shortly later to wash our unfortunate bedding (after the cat decided to use it as a litter

December 20th, 2024

Kids fighting as Oxbear leaves for an early breakfast appointment with a former old-school board member While he’s gone, the clothes dryer goes out… clip Puck’s cargo pants to the floor fan in the storage room… mostly dry before we all leave for – arguing – the traditional family Soulard

Collette's 40th

My fortieth Waking from dreams of lengthy lists of desperate children needing adoption… teeth-grinding Cat slices two of my fingers when I attempt to push her back from a towering stack of shiny wrapped gifts beside my bed… light blood Puck doesn’t know it’s my birthday and starts

December 18th, 2024

Japanese yodeling Chicken Attack song stuck in perpetuity in my head while waking… Oxbear already gone to breakfast with G.W…. Oxbear returns to pick up Yali for an appointment in South County Prepare pan of bacon and eggs for the teenager before scooting Patience to the old school for

December 17th, 2024

Yali and Patience fighting fighting fighting while Oxbear is on an early work call with England After breakfast, Yali breaks out a full DeadMau dance party, wearing the light-up mask he found at a secondhand shop in Orlando Granny cat scratches up my arm good while I attempt to transplant

December 16th, 2024

Officially on break for the holidays… Patience spends two and a half hours in the Spanish classroom that morning while I drive Yali back home to… continue housework (gel blaster guns and hairbrushes mixed in the clean laundry)… Puck wants more ramen (his fourth bowl since Saturday)… Yali flips on

December 15th, 2024

Morning service concludes with Rev-K pausing to discuss eldership with Oxbear as we shake hands in line Gray winds before Tony’s Donuts… Oxbear and I discuss various theological/denominational perspectives of baptism as we pick up chocolate long johns, then Christmas gift wrap from Aldi (Puck wasn’t pleased

December 14th

It’s a cold-soaked world as Patience and I leave for the studio mid-morning – a sweeping rain – listening to the cultural ancestries radio show featuring Bosnia and Herzegovina before Patience joins friends for two hours of dance Oxbear, meanwhile, drives Yali to Microcenter for more 3D printer filament and tries

December 13th, 2024

An hour and forty-five minutes waiting at the license bureau that morning while Patience asks questions and questions and questions about the film “Thirteen Lives” for maybe three-quarters of that time… fascinated… until ticket G34 is called and we walk up to the front desk only to learn that the

December 12th, 2024

Sitting at the card table in the basement for morning classes… Puck set it up for the kids with a little space heater… After the three R’s, Yali and Patience wrap up in blankets on either side of me as I switch on the cozy feel-good of “Thirteen Lives”

December 11th, 2024

12:16AM – phone call from Puck… “Uh, I was outside burning stuff… and this cop turned on his siren from the W parking lot and drove over. But he just drove down to the end of the street and turned around and drove away.” “What are you burning?” “Rubber and

December 10th, 2024

After dropping off Yali and Patience at Yellow Bird, stop by Schnucks for raspberry truffles, Townhouse crackers, and a Pepsi… bad Collette, bad… Morning hours quickly used up with phone calls about sponsor children, appointment bookings, ordering a book on advanced math for my brother-in-law’s Christmas gift, listening to

December 9th, 2024

The 90th birthday of Judi Dench begins with hardboiled eggs, further conversations regarding earthquakes over text with Elmer (five 2.0+ in Missouri since midnight), and Puck complaining about soap… Yali and Patience quickly add some funky attitudes during morning studies Shift… La Bonne Bouchee… Patience and I meet Mom

December 8th, 2024

That morning, preparing for church, pull the silky cranberry red gown I bought twenty-something years ago and never wore (E is leaving on a cruise in a few days… take a quick photo to send to her if she wants to borrow it)… Patience, examining it, concludes… “You used to

December 7th, 2024

On the cold, sunny drive to the studio, Oxbear calls, looking for the dog’s collar… sometimes it just disappears… she has an appointment with the vet and they’re supposed to be there in five minutes… Patience remembers the collar’s location (group effort)… much, no doubt, to Egg’

December 6th, 2024

Yali runs out into the living room with the new elvish sword and one of Oxbear’s back-up wedding bands (we lose those things a lot apparently) on a chain around his neck… he is fully Hobbit today Halfway through math class, I bus Patience in bitter sunshine to the

December 5th, 2024

Peanut butter toast starts a very cold day while Patience continues her newest obsession with hair clips, including one that Oxbear just printed for her Yali and Patience find it necessary to add extra dollops of difficult on morning classes… Patience interrupting literature with random statements such as, “Hot milk

Weather, under the

Head cold increasing… whole house smells of old pipes Oxbear and Yali leave for a morning appointment under bright sun After spelling and Mandarin Chinese with Patience… recovering enough to join Patience for volunteering as usual… she in Spanish (where the tiny ones play yarnball-snowball fights with her) and I

December 3rd, 2024

Wake with a light head cold… Yali on a morning rampage looking for snow gloves… once that’s happily solved, he hustles into the kitchen to prepare himself a PBJ for Yellow Bird… **BANG CRASH WHACK CRASH!!** “Yali… are you making a peanut butter sandwich?” “YEAH! I’M DOING IT

Feasting

Driving home through snow-blasted farmland… Stop for breakfast sandwiches… “I’ll have two hash browns,” Patience decides… then studies the drive-thru menu a little longer… “With a burrito” …she isn’t impressed with the burrito Stopping again for Chipotle hours later in a small town… Patience has always wanted to

Loud

Almost no sleep in the night… adrenaline dreams (two wasps in my hair to start), warm room, sharing a double with Oxbear (maybe never before attempted?)… before five o’clock alarm Patience’s hair gets rolled up and fitted with the usual wig of curls (uniformity matters here)… slip on

Driving north

First snow of the season leaving several inches through the day in St. Louis as we leave for Chicago, “Onion” joining the journey… Flatlands and giant white windmills of central Illinois through light snow Peruse painted classic Hungarian tulip patterns Conversation including… “cultish” childhood circles, bow hunting, the taste of

Before the drive

Wake from dreams of storytelling to a group of children holding boughs of woven goldenrod in the summer, to texts from siblings about Black Friday deals for Playmobil and Duluth Trading firehose pants and the snow forecast for Saturday… watch video of cinnamon harvesting as the kids pile back on

Fat Thursday (if you like that kind of grub...)

Oxbear out the kitchen door in a light crust of ice on the cars to sing English and Chinese in the church choir… as I scramble eggs and Yali and Patience frantically attempt to escort a stinkbug back into the outdoors until… the dog eats it… Yali draws a sad

A small revelation

While returning a book on quantum physics to the library that morning, take a call from Mom… Christopher Robin over in his treasure hunting gear, lost the location of all the decades-buried pennies in the honeysuckle hedge; provide instruction Paint my 3D balloon animal a shade of mixed reds with

To want and to need

Toilet water still raining through the floorboards into the basement… plumber will have to be called Oven still bust… waiting on a repairman Yali don’t care… Patience don’t care… busy avoiding a last day of math before Thanksgiving break by doubling up on LEGO Marvel Superheros video games

Monday before Thanksgiving

3D printer cooking by 7:30, five wizard’s wands and a balloon dog creature… Patience sitting on my bed crafting beaded friendship bracelets while Oxbear takes a call with the UK Yali and Patience fighting through math… fighting through writing… fighting through spelling… exiled outdoors in the cold gray

Thoughts from Mother's Day

Collette : “I feel like only at our house would you find the remains of raw eggs and dirt mixed together with spoons on top of the driveway…” Oxbear : “I asked someone to clean that up. Looks like they tried… to make brownies.”

Ham Sandwich

Yali : “Mom, I’m allergic to ham sandwiches.” Collette : “Since when?” Yali, shrugging : “Since the 1990s.”

14 and 6

Puck, watching Patience circling items in the Amazon toy catalog… “Patience, you’re not getting any of this. I’m sick of you guys getting toys and then leaving them out. There are children starving in Africa. You’re giving away 90% of your toys to charity before you get

Orange juice

Yali, enjoying a breakfast orange juice on the road… Yali : “Why are you holding out your hand, Patience?” Patience : “Mom said I could have two sips of the orange juice.” Yali : “Okay. Two sips… Don’t come telling me that you have to go to the bathroom though. Okay?”

Like good cats

Puck, talking to the cats… “Here. You get the same amount of food in bowls next to each other. Now eat next to each other without fighting. Like good cats.”

Sometimes

Yali, speaking to Patience in the car… “Patience, I have to tell you something. Sometimes boys have ponytails too. I don’t know why.”

Don't judge him

Puck, watching a truck attached to a trailer weave in and out of traffic on the highway at about 80-90 mph… “Don’t judge him. He must have some good reason for doing it. Either that, or he’s an idiot.”

It's just underwear

Yali, having trouble falling asleep… Yali : *suppressed giggling* Collette : “Yali, it’s time to close your eyes and go to sleep. What are you laughing about?” Yali : “I’m thinking about underwear.” Collette : “Well, let’s try to think about something else.” Yali : “Okay.” *temporary silence* Yali : “BAH HA HA

Booby Trap

Patience, meticulously taping a contraption of cardboard strips together around her pot of dark pink tulips… “I’m making a boooo-by trap. So the cats can’t get in.”

Bigger than me

Patience : “Mama, can I have a donut?” Collette : “If you can convince Yali to finish his brisket, you may split a donut with him.” Patience : “Okay!” *brings the brisket to Yali and presses a piece of brisket to his mouth* “Yali. Eat this. You want to be bigger than me?

You're fired!

Puck, putting together a chair delivered that afternoon, in the dim light… “Patience, hold the flashlight for me. Right there. Hold it right there… Patience, I fire you.” “No, I fire YOU!” *giggles* After awhile, Patience held the flashlight steady again… “I hire you back, Patience.” “I hire YOU!” *giggles*

Tornado Math

After Yali completed his studies for the day… Oxbear : “What’s three times a tornado?” Yali : “I don’t know.” Oxbear : “Three tornadoes. What’s four times a tornado?” Yali : “I don’t know.” Oxbear : “Devastation.”

Call me...

“Come on, Yali. It’s time for bed.” Yali, wrapped up completely in a black cape, responds, “My name is Blackout.”

Yali Brain

Woke up to the two young ones tucked into the blankets beside me, eating potato chips out of the bag, watching “Lion King” on their tablet… “I’m allergic to coyotes, Patience.” <<<><><>>> Yali walks into the room wearing a shoe

But, Mom!

Yali, walking out the front door in a t-shirt, shorts, and a plastic wiffle ball bat slung over his shoulder. About 37 degrees… “Yali, you need pants and a coat.” “But, MOM! I said I wanted to go BASEBALLING!”

Work it out

Yali and Patience in a big brawl over the Xbox… Patience : “And I’m never going to play with you again!” Yali : “And I’m never going to play with you again!” Patience : “AND I’M NEVER GOING TO PLAY WITH YOU ALL DAY!” *mutual choke hold commences* Yali : “No,

Needs a trim

Walked out of my room that morning to the sound of hair clippers… Yali was giving the antique fabric chair a trim.

Are you loopy?

Patience, her new stuffed snake draped over her head… “Do I look like Jesus?” Oxbear : “Uh, no.” Patience : “But Jesus was made on the moon.” Oxbear : “No. He wasn’t.” Patience : “The moon is made out of plastic.” Oxbear : “Where did you hear that?” Patience : “I read the fake Bible.

The Burp

Yali, sitting next to me on the couch, grinned slyly... “Mom... do you want... the burp of DOOM?”

With the Shapes

Puck : “Mom, can you make me some macaroni and cheese?” Collette : “Sure.” Puck : “Wait, where’s the kind with the shapes?” Collette : “I don’t think we have any more with the shapes.” Puck : “Aw, none with the shapes? My day is ruined!”

Lots of Houses

After Oxbear described the meaning of God’s omnipresence to Patience, she tried to grasp His ability to be everywhere at once… “You mean He has lots of houses?”

I didn't punch you!

“Mom! Yali punched me!” “Patience, I didn’t punch you! I head butted you. Watch. This is a punch… This is a head butt… See? I head butted you. Okay?” “Okay!”

Hot Sauce

Yali, after eating a bowl of chili… “Call me HOT SAUCE!”

Snapshot

Yali, walking around the house swinging a ratchet in one hand, stuffing hard-boiled egg in his mouth with the other, post rambunctious teddy-bear-rides-the-triceratops rodeo in the living room. “Frozen” wall decals plastered all over my bathroom wall from yesterday afternoon when the kids thought they’d do a little re-decorating

Do it again!

When Oxbear walked out of our room to investigate the excessive giggling from down the hall that morning, he discovered that Yali’s foot had somehow landed inside the toilet… “Do it again!” Patience laughed.

Big Brother

Puck, attempting to make Patience feel better about her upcoming cleft palate surgery… Puck : “Patience! For your surgery, they’re going to take out your eyeballs and stuff them up your nose!” Patience : *giggles* <<<><><>>> After confining Puck to his room

Sad Marshmallows

“Mom, I’m lonely and sad.” “Why, Yali?” “Because I ate too many marshmallows… But if you put hot chocolate with the marshmallows, it makes me happy.”

Checklist

Yali and Patience Thanksgiving Weekend Checklist : Eat all milk chocolate chips in the house (note to Patience : claim it’s brown magic marker all over your face and arms) Hang out on roof of Mom’s car until she busts you for it Attach rope to Dad’s meat smoker;

Shampoo and Cinder blocks

Puck, after proposing that we no longer use shampoo in our house (citing health research)… “Mom, if you stop buying shampoo, can we just buy a cinder block for every bottle of shampoo we don’t buy? Can you imagine how many cinder blocks we could have!”

Breakfast

One morning discover Yali eating a plateful of bacon while listening to pigs snorting over Alexa…

I Won't Let You Down

One afternoon, when Yali decided to stop irritating his little sister… he walked up the basement stairs, stood tall and straight, brought one hand up to a salute, and said… “That does it! I won’t let you down, Jesus!”

Go Long

Following the worship service that morning, Yali could be seen tossing his little sister’s shoe around the yard like a football… “Patience, go long. Okay?”

The Honor

Yali, holding up both ends of the drawstring of his pants... “Mom. Can you do the honor of tying this?”

Mean DVDs

Yali, after erupting at his little sister… “Why do I keep doing MEAN WORDS?! I keep playing mean DVDs in my brain!” He holds out two empty hands to me. “Here, Mom. Kind DVDs… Jesus, please help me to control my anger.”

Sorry Baby Yoda

Yali, rubbing his sister’s head with his fist… “YOU’RE SO CUTE I JUST WANT TO NOOGIE YOU!” He pauses to make his stuffed animal whisper to me in some gruff Mafia accent, “He doesn’t make any sense at all!” …………………………………………………………………………….. Yali, examining a package of Star Wars fruit

Black and White

Puck’s thoughts on “Twelve Angry Men”… “This movie is amazing! I thought the black and white would make it less appetizing. I love this movie!”

Can I Eat It?

Yali, waiting outside Freddy’s for an ice cream sandwich… “Mom, what’s this that was in my ear?” *thrusts his finger towards my face* “Can I eat it?”

Yali Brain

While walking through the Botanical Gardens with Yali, I asked him a question. He then turned to me and said… “Mom guess what? My brain was watching the Lion King and you ‘disturved’ him.”

Hi, Duck

Yali and Patience burst in from the outdoors smelling of late summer sweat… Collette : “Hi, guys.” Patience : “Quack!” Yali : “She’s a duck in my Sonic game.”

Chimichangos

Yali, after another successful lunch… “Mom, I want another chimichango. Because that chimichango was rock and roll!”

Yali Boy

Yali, enjoying some cat time with the senior “Crackers”, as she prowled around him, purring… “Mom, this is called the purr circle.”   <<<><><>>>   Later that afternoon, Yali informed me that he had started the car for me. He leaned up against

Dream Like a Seven Year-Old

Yali : “Mom! In my dream there was a toilet in the middle of nowhere and Dad just said, ‘ANCHORS AWAY!’ and he stuck his head in it!”

Thoughts from Boys

Moments of the day… Puck attempts to use the entire book of Genesis for his Gmail password. After discovering one too many spiders camping out around the house, Yali asks if we “can just move on to the next house”.

Sticks and Lightsabers

When I gathered Patience from carpool that afternoon, with a big goofy smile on her face, she told me about a boy she’d made friends with at school. “Did you play together?” I asked. “Uh huh!” “What did you play?” With dreamy eyes she said, “We played tag with

Giddyap

Yali, explaining a sound in his mind to me… “It’s fighting my brain and it has swords and it’s punching my brain and really wants me to giddyap!”

Exchange of Pleasantries

As Patience left for school that morning, she called to Yali through the open car window, in a high, high pitched voice… “Bye bye, Yali! Be good for Mama, Puck, and Daddy!” “Okay! I hope you have a good day at school!” “You too!” Melt.

Noobs

As Puck joined online worship services in the basement that morning, he noted a very dead mouse Cheese had left for him as a gift. Puck gathered up Cheese in a blanket and began making the murderous cat confess his sins during Confession… With that preface, we began to lightly

Shallot Army

Sometime that afternoon I noticed shallot peelings spread across the living room floor… “Hey, Yali…” I called him into the room. “Why did you peel that shallot?” He planted both bare brown feet on the floor and crossed his arms over his chest. A band-aid was still spread across his

Summer Break Day #96

While ordering drinks for Oxbear and Puck in the McDonald’s drive-thru, realize that my experience with coffee is so limited, I am unsure which of the following orders is considered proper coffee etiquette… “I would like one large black coffee.” “I would like one large coffee – black.” While trying

Summer Break Day #94

Conversation overheard between Yali and Patience from the other room as Yali prepared her for upcoming cleft palate surgery at the end of the year…   Yali : “I used to be afraid. They put that thing over your nose. And it smells like different things. Like cake… and bubblegum… and strawberry…

Summer Break Day #90

Yali, speaking to Patience while crossing a foot bridge over water at Forest Park… “If you fall you will get soaping wet and you will die.”   <<<><><>>> Yali, doing chin-ups with his legs hanging out the van window while in a

Summer Break Day #82

* Get a text from Puck around twelve-thirty in the morning, requesting assistance with an enormous spider he’d trapped in a bowl against the wall; after taping the bowl to the wall to deal with later, he sympathizes – “I feel bad now…” * Discover little washed green leaves spread out to

Summer Break Day #81

* Patience practices drawing eyeballs on paper * Take afternoon frozen custard break at Oxbear’s suggestion * For dinner : fat BLTs with tomato from Puck’s garden * Yali informs me that he wishes his name was “Bingo”   <<<><><>>>   Yali found a tiny black

Summer Break Day #80

* When downstairs in Puck’s room, discover an Oreo growing in a glass of water… * After being returned from an overnight “at Nana’s”, take Yali and Patience to the creek; bring back what was likely a very old rib bone of a deer stuck in the mud; all kinds

Summer Break Day #79

Supplies required for 7 year-old to construct lightsaber when he should be listening to the online sermon from I Thessalonians… * 1 short vacuum tube * 1 red superhero cape * 1 leg from mini trampoline * clear packing tape, lots

Summer Break Day #78

Scientific formula for having a date with the husband while also having three children still at home : Kids + Kindles* + McDonald’s + Minivan = Afternoon Drive Date** *Kindles absolutely must come equipped with headphones, or date will be mostly ineffective **Must leave teenager at home in basement lair in order for this

Summer Break Day #75

* Take Patience to another ENT appointment at Cardinal Glennon; watch the doctor pull wax out of her ears on the big screen * Catch Yali about to use my hair brush on the guinea pigs while he prepares a habitat for them with rocks in a box * Puck’s buddy, Bob,

Summer Break Day #74

My daily dose of self-esteem booster :   Yali, tugging on the end of my nose, I guess to examine my facial features… “Are you wearing a mask?”   And later, as I was putting on a little make-up…   Patience : “Mom, are you drawing on yourself?” Collette : “Sort of.” Patience : “Mom, you shouldn’

Summer Break Day #73

Overheard conversation between Yali and Patience in the kitchen… Yali : “Patience, drop this apple juice bottle on your toe. It actually feels really good.” Patience : *drop* “Ow!” Yali : “Did you just drop it really hard?” Patience : “Yup!” Yali : “Did it hurt? Let’s try again. Do it again. Make your

Summer Break Day #72

* With all the boys safely and happily returned from Colorado, Yali returns to his partner in crime; I’d already found doodles in places where there shouldn’t be doodles; fortunately things like sponges, soap, and paint exist * Find the carport duct-taped into some kind of battle station, including a

Summer Break Day #69

* Patience returns from an overnight with her cousin at Nana’s house, wearing new pink sandals, to accompany the Victorian hand fan, a gift from Grandma * The boys visit with the Texan side of the family on their drive south to their next destination * Mom and Carrie-Bri drop off an

Summer Break Day #68

* Signs of Patience on the premises – stains from little girl nail polish and water color paints – everywhere – also, lots of bits of cut-up paper and tape, so much tape * While Patience spends most of her day with her nana and cousin, and all the boys take a chill day in

Summer Break Day #67

* As the heat index climbs towards 100, I continue stacking logs outdoors while Patience paints her nails indoors * Patience continues gluing things to other things all over the house; should probably hide the glue sticks… * The boys take a drive up through Independence Pass (12,000+ feet); stop for fried

Summer Break Day #66

As we sat down to watch “Mulan” over lunch, Patience was excited… “Oh, Mom. This is my favorite one.” “Have you seen ‘Mulan’ before?” “No. Definitely not.”

Summer Break Day #65

* Join Mom, Carrie-Bri, and the little Elmer Snicketts clan at the Big House for gnocchi-and-cheese casserole, and holding the baby * Oxbear and the boys spend their first full day in Breckenridge relaxing, making burgers and homemade pizza, balancing rock sculptures in the woods, and hiking * Another big storm rips through

Summer Break Day #64

* Catch Patience trying to light a candle in the living room while she thought I was still sleeping; you can tell how guilty she feels by how high she jumps when you enter the room * Break up tree branches in a heat index squeezing past 104, Patience watching Mama sweat

Summer Break Day #63

* Oxbear, Puck, and Yali leave around 5AM on their road trip to Colorado * Discover that my entire Hershey’s stash for the following week is the kind stuffed with… almonds… ug… * Discover Patience washing the living room cabinets with generous amounts of hand sanitizer * Huge storm busts through in the

Summer Break Day #62

* Discover smuggled sugar in an old luggage box in the hallway. Patience. She did not deny it… * Pack all three of the boys for Colorado while Patience finds the water colors and paints portraits of the family   <<<><><>>>   After I unlocked

Summer Break Day #61

* Wake from long, rapid dreams where the virus made all clocks wrong, which ultimately canceled my flight to Uppsala, Sweden, the following morning; too risky apparently * I grab Yali and Patience from the Big House where they’d been busy making monkey bread and crafting pink “bubblegum” slime with Carrie-Bri

Summer Break Day #60

* Yali and Patience spend some time discussing comparative heights of monster truck tires, Uncle Francis, and Uncle Elmer; Patience seems to think that both uncles are taller than ten-foot (according to Yali) monster truck tires; Yali corrects her; they then also compare family foot sizes * With Yali and Patience overnighting

Summer Day #59

* Wake to find that Patience had scotch-taped the couch, kitchen door, floor, and various other places she felt needed to be held together; I guess the basement and tree issues were beginning to make her feel the house needed some help * Take Yali and Patience to Castlewood to splash wildly

Summer Break Day #58

* Wake to Yali yelling about a bloody nose in the other room * After services online, spend the afternoon at the Big House where Francis successfully repairs the chainsaw so Oxbear can cut up the tree back home * Return to find a whole limb of the other huge tree cracked off

Summer Break Day #57

* Oxbear and Yali begin cutting the felled tree into firewood, which doesn’t last long due to heat and a branch trimmer that decides to quit * Oxbear delivers a whole brisket to a friend who just had a baby in South City * Find pieces of tiny toy cars in my

Summer Break Day #56

* Finished knitting the giant sunset afghan after 30 days * Because Patience had temporarily destroyed our basement, I joined most of the other siblings and spouses at Elmer’s and Jaya’s for episodes of “Floor is Lava” where the crowd generally agreed that Elmer and Francis should audition for the

Summer Break Day #55

* Celebrate Patience’s 3rd “Gotcha Day” by visiting Johnson’s Shut-ins, where Yali loses his second tooth in the water * Indulge in sandwiches, burgers, fries, and curds on the road to celebrate; Patience doesn’t quite understand the celebration but definitely does not turn down the opportunity to feast   <

Summer Break Day #54

* Brief afternoon rain/thunder rolls through; a dud summer for storms * Puck entertains the troops by opening a sandwich bag of airsoft pellets on the tile staircase * Join Mom, Carrie-Bri, and Sally at the Big House in the evening to discuss mostly dumb stuff   <<<><>

Summer Break Day #53

* Puck harvests the first cucumber and tomato from his garden; Oxbear pays him for the produce; summer business * Yali and Patience play for an extended period of time with avocado pits, washing them in the bathroom sink, laughing about how slippery they are * The remainder of the half-dead tree is

Summer Break Day #52

* At Yali’s desperate urging, spend all morning rescuing the baby woodpecker, at the door of death, bringing him to the Wild Bird Rehabilitation center in Overland; Oxbear drives, I hold the boxed bird, Yali and Patience accompany for moral support * Back home, Yali and Patience load up ziplocks with

Summer Break Day #51

* Oxbear leaves for the worship service to direct sound and video again, leaving me to direct three clowns at home * Yali finds one of the baby woodpeckers still hanging around the felled tree; he names her “Violet” * Take Yali and Patience to the Wild Bird Sanctuary; had no idea what,

Summer Break Day #50

* Plan Colorado road trip for Oxbear and the boys * Oxbear spends most of the day running errands for church and its sound/video system * Yali and Patience attempt to rescue the big woodpecker babies (who somehow survived the felled tree), stumbling around amongst the branches; not completely ready yet for

Summer Break Day #49

* Yali finds a tiny fried winged bug in his McDonald’s fries; death by hot grease; a little Medieval of him… * Drive Yali and Patience through Lone Elk Park to visit the bison and elk from a healthy distance * Oxbear and the kids watch half the tree by the carport

Summer Break Day #48

* Attend eight more appointments at the cleft palate clinic with Yali and Patience (brings Yali to 122 medical/dental-related appointments since his adoption; Patience clocks in at 26); more surgeries and procedures ahead * Leave the hospital with an ironic package of chocolate chip cookies and a Pepsi from the vending

Summer Break Day #47

* Find Patience wailing while watching “Winnie the Pooh”, because she couldn’t stand the sadness of it * Patience becomes so excited about “tea time” that she drops her sky blue tea cup and shatters it on the tile floor; more wailing * Yali asks to wash all the dishes for me;

Summer Break Day #45

* When things get a little too wild with Yali and Patience in the afternoon, I suggest they design their own flags; they decide to copy Colombia and China * Bob and his new blue leg cast and crutches arrive for an overnight later in the day * Heavy green muggy evening while

Summer Break Day #44

* Amazingly catch more than a few words of the sermon online while Yali and Patience, in an unprecedented collective effort, remain remarkably quiet during the service * Join family and extended family in Florissant for grilled stuff and Old Town Donuts, and walk around Mom’s and Dad’s old elementary

Summer Break Day #43

* Oxbear spends all day working on church things, running back and forth between counties * Puck joins broken-leg fresh-from-ankle-surgery Bob online to work on their various computer-based worlds * Yali and Patience spend the afternoon with Nana so their mama could work and clean in quiet   <<<><>

Summer Break #42

* Patience gives Yali dance lessons in the kitchen; he isn’t sure what he thinks about that * Patience spends the afternoon with her cousins, bringing a box of unicorn fruit snacks to share * A large gathering of family (including Linnea via Facetime from Montana) collects for the weekly movie night

Summer Break Day #41

* Take Yali and Patience to Laumeier Sculpture Park, which they love, until the heat gets too sticky to stay any longer * The kids dig “freezy pops” out of the basement freezer upon return; Yali wraps each in folded paper towels “like the doctors do for me at the hospital” he

Summer Break Day #40

* Yali’s 6th “Gotcha Day”! * To celebrate, visit the creek again under big white summer clouds (Yali explores with the snorkel and goggles), followed by ice cream on the drive home * Burgers and a little “Floor is Lava” television show for the kids in a lazy evening * Spend some time

Summer Break Day #39

* Yali spends time on his homemade “trapeze bar” in the carport, made out of some straps and a metal bar removed from something, I’m not sure what… * Yali somehow manages to easily lift a 40 lb. kettle bell, roughly equivalent to his own body weight * Puck teaches Yali how

Summer Break Day #38

* As a thunderstorm sends Yali and Patience back indoors, they begin hatching “buffalos” from rock eggs * Yali decides to decorate Patience’s face with black magic marker; she is not amused   <<<><><>>>   When Patience wasn’t sure she wanted to “let

Summer Break Day #37

* Learn that after Puck left the big hide-and-seek extravaganza the previous night, his best friend, Bob, broke his leg trying to do a “wheelie” on a tricycle * After various versions of celebrating Father’s Day around town, collect together again at evening with a pan of little smokies, pigs-in-a-blanket style,

Summer Break Day #36

* Yali’s 7th birthday! * Yali receives various gifts in the form of Buzz Lightyear, Monster Trucks, and LEGOS before packing up with his sister for an overnight at Nana’s and Papa’s * Puck joins Bob, just returned from the Ozarks, for a big youth group hide-and-seek extravaganza taking place

Summer Break Day #35

* While I work and work and work, Patience follows me around everywhere and chats and chats and chats and chats… and chats… and chats… * Join Mom, Carrie-Bri, and Sally at the Big House for chocolate mousse and discussions on things like the eradication of controversial statues, “Doctor Who”, and diabetes…

Summer Break Day #34

* Yali somehow manages to break a chunk out of the “shovel” end of my garden spade… how? Patience attempts to repair with a gluestick * Back to the creek for more splashing, fossils, minnows, and pollywogs   <<<><><>>>   Yali, at breakfast… “Mom, I

Summer Break Day #33

* At some point during the afternoon, Yali finds it necessary to ask me, “Mom? Can I draw a fat cow?” * Before dinner, Yali conducts experiments with raw eggs and green food dye; I later find the hand wash in the hall bath also very green * Celebrate Grandma’s 84th birthday

Summer Break Day #32

* Yali plucks all but one of my dark red tiger lilies as a bouquet for his mama * Spend the evening in a very sparsely populated Johnson’s Shut-ins; lots of warm sun, ice water, and green hills * Oxbear receives two birthday gifts of his choosing in the mail : a wooden

Summer Break Day #31

* In the afternoon, take Yali and Patience to wade in the creek and hunt for fossils; they watch “Top Cat” there and back in the Pacifica * The evening is mostly bikes, IKEA meatballs on the picnic table, playing ninjas, and also Minecraft for the big boys * Find Yali trying to

Summer Break Day #30

* Yali and Patience can be found bouncing on the trampoline with a pack of hard salami before the online worship service * Puck and Yali engage in an all-out wrestling match sometime during the reading of I John * After the service, Yali explodes into screams and tears when Puck washes one

Summer Break Day #29

* Oxbear’s 36th birthday * Oxbear unwraps an armload of gifts from Yali and Patience which are many of their favorite toys wrapped in tin foil * Yali follows Oxbear around with his wheelbarrow, gathering clippings while Oxbear trims hedges * Oxbear visits with Theodore and Gloria across town and receives an iPhone

Summer Break Day #28

* Yali and Patience put large blue plastic bowl in the honeysuckle bush for baby owl’s nest, and play baby owl family through the lunch hour * Patience is invited to her cousin’s house down the road in the afternoon for another playdate including the making and baking of chocolate

Summer Break Day #27

Mom checklist for the day : * Braid color-changing unicorn’s mane for daughter * Pull tooth for youngest son * Pick up Dairy Queen chicken strips basket and Dr. Pepper for oldest son’s second dinner   <<<><><>>>   Yali walked into the living room where

Summer Break Day #26

* Oxbear investigates the banging around in the basement at about four-thirty in the morning where Puck and his friend, Bob, have been constructing a skateboard out of scraps and tools, wood-burning their names under the board * Wake to find more cat vomit on the floor, which is now a daily

Summer Break Day #25

* Find my rubber address stamp stamped in random places around the house, including Patience’s legs and my table lamp by the couch * Patience is invited to spend the afternoon with her cousin; the volume of the house suddenly decreases by about 50% * Bob comes over to crash in the

Summer Break Day #24

* Patience slathers grape jelly all over her new hot pink owl t-shirt while preparing breakfast for herself and Yali * Weed more of the garden where the eggplants, garlic, cantaloupe, and tomatoes are all beginning to take off * Take kids to Castlewood State Park to wade in the shallows where they

Summer Break Day #23

Puck, speculating on the ancient Egyptians’ sanity when building the Sphnix… “Seriously, what were they thinking? What was it for? I mean, they haul all these tons of limestone over and have all these people build it. And it’s this cat god? It does nothing. Why?”

Summer Break Day #22

* Patience spends the day at Nana’s with cousins as the heat index crawls to nearly one hundred * Yali helps Oxbear install the new mailbox, since the dump trucks and cement trucks have stopped visiting and knocking over the old one   <<<><><>>

Summer Break Day #21

* Screaming and yelling from the two youngest about all kinds of “travesties” by about seven o’clock in the morning * Screaming and yelling through the remainder of the morning * Screaming and yelling through the afternoon * Screaming and yelling through the evening * Many breaks taken for giggling, trampoline jumping, kiddie pool

Summer Break Day #20

* Early that morning, Patience raids the pack of Hershey’s bars on the counter that I forgot to hide the night before… * Yali visits the nephrologist for his annual single-kidney inspection * Take Yali and Patience to Castlewood to browse for fossils and stone tools (find a few); they wade around

Summer Break Day #19

* Find Yali balancing on various garbage cans that afternoon, collecting as many mulberries as possible for his and Patience’s “feast” * Make two visits to the Big House… once for Puck to mow the lawn (listening to Johnny Cash the whole drive over, one of his favorites) and to eat

Summer Break Day #18

* Walk out that morning to find Patience sitting on the counter in her unicorn pajamas buttering plates of toast for herself and Yali; “little mother” * Later that afternoon, Gloria picks up Yali, Patience, and their swimsuits for an overnight * Meet the new pastor and his wife, moved in from Delaware,

Summer Break Day #17

1. Patience’s watermelon sun dress arrives in the mail; she holds a fashion show “for Dad” 2. Attend “bon voyage” party for little sister, Irish, just released from two-week quarantine (amazingly never caught the virus even after drinking out of the water bottle of someone who did), who was

Summer Break Day #16

1. I catch Yali trying to rescue a nest of baby birds at the Big House, holding their home carefully in his hand; we return the nest to the rose bush 2. A sleepy Puck (after an overnight at his buddy’s house) works on his road bike with Uncle

Summer Break Day #15

1. Discover that Yali has created his own “Monster Truck” show, drawing enthusiastic shouting faces with washable maker on the front door as audience backdrop 2. While taking Yali and Patience on afternoon walk, realize at one point that Patience, self-festooned in orange slices sun dress, cheetah print slip-on shoes,

Summer Break Day #14

1. Rose’s too-big orange slices print summer dress arrives in the mail; she loves it of course; lounges in the grass singing the “Reading Rainbow” theme song to herself 2. Catch Puck and Bob just before they scythe down my “natural prairie” situation, for what they mistakenly assumed was

Summer Break Day #13

Sometime late in the morning, Yali walked up to me from the great outdoors… “Mom, do you know what God said?” “What did God say?” Yali looked at me solemnly. “He said…” *clicked his tongue, shook his head*… “Because He saw me spraying Rose with the hose.”

Summer Break Day #12

1. Yali requests a “dress shirt” to wear with his gym shorts that morning; new look 2. Yali is Batman for about a quarter of the afternoon 3. Walk in on Patience practicing yoga in her bedroom 4. Visit Mom and two of three sisters (one away still in quarantine)

Summer Break Day #11

1. Yali and Patience help weed the garden; Patience then tracks mud all over two of the three bathrooms 2. Make “waterslide” for Yali and Patience in the back yard with a giant plastic painter’s sheet, which they love   <<<><><>>>

Summer Break Day #10

1. Visit Cold Water Cemetery with some of the family to read those gravestones still legible after a century or two of wind, rain, ice, and snow 2. Yali and Patience mark up each other’s faces with black and pink Sharpies in a spontaneous giggling art project; not very

Summer Break Day #09

1. Visit family at the Big House; spend most of the time discussing with siblings how we need a good storm around here 2. Sit outside at home with Patience and Yali as a late afternoon thunderstorm rolls in from the southeast; a little unusual…   <<<><

Summer Day #08

1. Patience eats lunch in the baking sun at the picnic table wearing a fleece jacket, because I guess 84 degrees Fahrenheit isn’t warm enough 2. Plant eggplant plants in the garden (only 40% of this family will be interested in the rewards from that act) 3. Puck starts

Summer Day #007

1. Yali spends about an hour debating whether or not he wants me to pull a splinter out of his little toe 2. I discover Patience sharpening her scented drawing pencils with my eye pencil sharpener 3. Yali and Patience painstakingly empty about half a bottle of glue onto a

Summer Day #006

Day #006 Yali and Patience involve themselves in a toast-making toast-buttering extravaganza on the kitchen counter that morning; lots of giggling and butter smears After cleaning the house, discover that Yali and Patience have coated the following floors with the following items : * living room : broken abacus beads * kitchen : wads of

Summer Day #005

Day #005 1. Construction workers continue breaking up another section of the old cement street outside, rattling the whole house 2. Chick-fil-A day, probably Puck’s favorite day of the week 3. Oxbear and Yali participate in playing card throwing battle after dinner 4. Visit the Big House with Mom,

Summer Day #004

Day #004 1. More steel skies, but no rain 2. Yali and Patience play “Astronauts” in space on the top bunk, pretending to drink hot cocoa 3. For the second day in a row, I find all six couch cushions tossed down the basement steps so Yali and Patience can

Summer Day #003

Day #003 1. Wake to discover that Yali and Patience have somehow shredded an entire bag of hot dog buns into the trash, for no reason that I could figure out   <<<><><>>>   Later in the afternoon, I waited on the Trader

Day #063

“Quarantine” Day #063 1. Final day of full-blown quarantine in St. Louis County 2. Load up on candies (mostly for the adults) before driving west with Yali and Patience into the end of another rainstorm 3. Travel through parts of Ballwin and Wildwood in the deep woods that feel like

Day #062

“Quarantine” Day #062 1. Strew hundreds of wildflower seeds out front, hoping they root – Indian blanketflower, forget me not, blue flax, scarlet flax, farewell to spring, corn poppy, cosmos, etc. 2. Puck and Bob fire up the grill on the back patio to make burgers in between rainstorms 3. Catch

Day #061

“Quarantine” Day #061 1. Wake up to find cat food strewn all over the living room floor; no one seems to know exactly what happened there… 2. Walk into the kitchen to discover that Patience has already crafted PBJ sandwiches for both her and Yali’s breakfast 3. Yali discovers

Day #060

“Quarantine” Day #060 1. Yali wakes me up, crawling all over me, imagining himself as Yali Tiger; Patience is clearly his owner and trainer 2. Drop off belated gift basket for the kids’ favorite godsister’s 13th birthday; sit on the porch and talk with the whole godfamily before the

Day #059

“Quarantine” Day #059 1. Yali learns to ride a bike – for a few seconds at a time – on his cousin’s loaner 2. Puck receives two small lighters in the mail from Kyrgyzstan, labeled “tiger toy” on the outside packaging… hmm… 3. Patience discovers an unopened package of blue toilet

Day #058

“Quarantine” Day #058 1. On a chilly overcast afternoon, I catch both Yali and Patience dismantling the mound of gravel in the street, leftover by the repair crew 2. Patience breaks a glass bottle in the driveway under the minivan; not sure how, or why 3. Yali and Patience set

Day #057

“Quarantine” Day #057 1. Oxbear and Puck install cat door in Puck’s new basement bedroom door; Puck attempts to train Cheese the kitten to use it 2. Yali and Patience discover a possum “for real!” outside the kitchen door; “and then he went back to his home”   <<

Day #056

“Quarantine” Day #056 1. My 14th Mother’s Day 2. Discover that Yali and Patience have packed Yali’s old lunchbox with sugar cubes 3. Yali captures a small toad at the Big House which he names either “Hopper” or “Apples” – uncertain; later, he releases him into the bark crevice

Day #055

“Quarantine” Day #055 1. Another 2:30AM wake-up call from Yali and Patience, then back to sleep 2. Discover that Yali and Patience have somehow reached the top shelf of the bookcase to the hidden bag of dum-dums early in the morning; I toss about a dozen empty dum-dum sticks

Day #054

“Quarantine” Day #054 1. Deliver some of Oxbear’s delicious steaks to the Elmer Snicketts family, now that my little-big nephew is over a week old (and a large tub of M&Ms for my sister-in-law) 2. Meet that sweet chubby baby for the first time 3. Observe Stealth

Day #053

“Quarantine” Day #053 1. Yali and Patience sit in extended “time out” for your garden variety of crimes, giggling through most of it; lessons definitely unlearned 2. Puck mows the lawn at the Big House while Uncle Frances attempts to install window boxes for Mom, one of her lifelong dreams

Day #052

“Quarantine” Day #052 1. Puck discovers Yali and Patience having a slumber party with their Kindles in a blanket fort in the office at 3AM 2. Cheese the kitten absolutely mutilates my bouquet of tulips from Oxbear; apparently it’s a tasty feline snack 3. Take Yali and Patience to

Day #051

“Quarantine” Day #051 1. Discover Yali hammering more three-and-a-half inch nails into his bedroom wall, which have punctured all the way through to the bathroom on the other side   <<<><><>>>   Driving in the van that morning… Yali : “Patience, what’s two

Day #050

“Quarantine” Day #050 1. Oxbear exterminates a yellow jacket with a can of compressed air; Patience shared her sympathies : “That’s so sad…” 2. Receive a toll road bill in the mail from Texas, six months delayed from when Oxbear, Puck, and Gloria visited last fall 3. Puck and Patience

Day #049

“Quarantine” Day #049 1. Catch Yali hammering a large nail into the hallway wall; when I ask him “why” his only explanation is – “I don’t know” 2. Yali and Patience – joint effort – squeeze out a couple of bottles of toothpaste into the bathroom sink (art project?) 3. Yali is

Day #048

“Quarantine” Day #048 1. While cleaning Yali’s and Patience’s room that morning, I discover that they have smuggled most of the Pepsi’s and La Croix’s from the kitchen and secretly stashed them inside the blanket chest 2. Patience turns the dial all the way down on

Day #047

“Quarantine” Day #047 1. Take Yali and Patience to Rockwoods Reservation where they interact with a snail and splash through the cold natural spring 2. Conversation at dinner – tacos around the picnic table in the light wind of an early evening – where Oxbear asks each kid what their favorite bugs

Day #046

“Quarantine” Day #046 1. Listen to Yali and Patience watch “Coco” on their Kindles, side by side, one delayed five seconds from the other; why 2. Yali (or “Robot Yali” for the evening) and Patience (“Robot Yali’s” owner) spread armfuls of books around the house to use as “stepping

Day #045

“Quarantine” Day #045 1. Drive to Minnesota to bring Vesh the dog back to his birth farm, with Carrie-Bri and Sally 2. On the drive back, enjoy a cubano sandwich from St. Louis Bread Co. while participating in three-hour discussion on Zoroastrianism with sisters, then listen to Sally’s podcast

Day #044

“Quarantine” Day #044 1. Puck blows a fist-sized hole through the storage room drywall with a metal bar, javelin style, just to see what it would do; like father, like son 2. Drive through giant rainstorm at night to join siblings at the Big House where everyone gathers to say

Day #043

“Quarantine” Day #043 1. Listen to Yali’s Jr. K class over Zoom discuss things like Froot Loops and “Grandma’s guns in her basement”; kids are funny 2. Yali and Patience swipe a few fresh brown eggs from the fridge and run outside; their explanation is, “We’re pretending

Day #042

“Quarantine” Day #042 1. Wake from dreams – documentary of a young Australian man living in California, preparing to adopt a dolphin named “Syrup” – to Yali standing outside my door wearing his robot gear; he extends a hand and announces himself – “Hello. My name is Blob.” 2. Drive south in the

Day #041

“Quarantine” Day #041 1. Heavy, heavy rain in the morning 2. Clear out and organize about a third of the basement in preparation for visiting architect 3. Watching video clip of Jim Gaffigan sampling STL dishes inspires us to pick up Imo’s for dinner; thank you, Mr. Gaffigan 4.

Day #040

“Quarantine” Day #040 1. Yali and Patience play “train the bear” for most of the morning in a pop-up tent in the living room 2. They are then later caught eating grape jelly right out of the jar with two spoons 3. In the mail (mail is always interesting, but

Day #039

“Quarantine” Day #039   The “look” of lock-down…   Patience : * t-shirt one size too small and “hot pants” two sizes too small (second outfit of the day because she was jumping on the trampoline in a light rain) * barefoot * hair in 90s style hair scrunchie bun * half-eat apple in one hand * Batman

Day #038

“Quarantine” Day #038 1. Off the crutches; back to work 2. Yali and Patience eagerly help prepare a pan of no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars in the afternoon, before the rain comes 3. Cheese the cat plays hide-and-seek in the basement ceiling while Puck clears out storage room for his

Day #037

“Quarantine” Day #037 1. Patience enters my room wearing a cardboard and Scotch tape face mask, holding a baby doll (guess she’s practicing to meet her new nephew) 2. Yali and Patience make significant milk spill in carport; I instruct them to hose it down; Yali – of course – hoses

Day #036

“Quarantine” Day #036 1. Join some of the family, spread about six feet apart as usual, at Sally’s farmhouse (where Sally recently discovered a baby cottonmouth) for a big bonfire and s’mores 2. Pale rainbow, and a fat fish sandwich, on the drive home 3. Bust out the

Day #035

“Quarantine” Day #035 1. Wake to “Buzz Lightyear” “robbing a bank” in the living room this morning… a very, very LOUD Buzz Lightyear 2. Puck sort of accidentally orders two deep dryers from China, for fifty cents apiece 3. Puck imagines a new sandwich and requests it for dinner – grilled

Day #034

“Quarantine” Day #034 1. Puck turns 13 at 3:56 in the morning, CST 2. Puck’s collective new teenaged-era gift haul : Soviet era gas mask (still in transit from Lithuania); enclosed shrimp glass ecosphere; Mini Museum (still in transit from China); cat backpack (delayed); wood burning kit; desktop fountain;

Day #033

“Quarantine” Day #033 1. Because it’s already an unseasonably cold, gray spring afternoon, drive to Wendy’s to pick up even colder chocolate frosties for all the kids 2. Yali tears up the house looking for green things to make him look like “HULK SMASH!” 3. Slice finger on

Day #032

“Quarantine” Day #032 1. Yali and Patience bring a potted pink hyacinth to Mom and Grandma, still quarantined in Florissant 2. Patience pretends to be “in business” with Oxbear in the basement, extending professional handshakes, making important phone calls, and wearing sunglasses, for an extra dash of coolness 3. Pre-dinner

Day #031

“Quarantine” Day #031 1. Clean the house 2. Help Irish and Spurgeon book a two-week trip to South America and Antarctica next January; Irish is excited to meet 500,000 penguins in Patagonia 3. After doing that, discover that the kids have destroyed the house again (Oxbear helps by creating

Day #030

“Quarantine” Day #030 1. Chick-fil-a Tuesday 2. Taco Tuesday 3. Oxbear duct-tapes mailbox back to post <<<><><>>>   Yali, during our afternoon walk discovered a wish flower. He proceeded to make his wish… “I wish I was a fried chicken!”   <<

Day #029

“Quarantine” Day #029 1. Breakfast for mama : Jelly Babies (Collette!) 2. Yali and Patience watch road workers prepare the street for new cement; when Puck discovers that fresh cement will be poured, he tells me slyly, “You know I’m going to go out there and step in that…”; I

Day #028

“Quarantine” Day #028 1. Kids receive “Easter basket” goodies : Patience : pack of little hair bows, all colors of the rainbow; Yali : Monster Truck; Puck : Vietnam War bayonet knife (for Easter, Collette, really?) 2. Find warning signs taped up by the kids with hand-drawn skulls and monsters – dictated to Oxbear – reading

Day #027

“Quarantine” Day #027 1. Oxbear drives Puck out to the Big House for his summer job; mowing season has now officially started 2. Order two pairs of pink shoes for Patience, who can never have enough pink things 3. Introduce all the kids to Wendy’s chocolate frosties; high ratings

Day #026

“Quarantine” Day #026 1. Help Yali and Patience create ancient Ukrainian tradition pysanky egg monsters (monsters not so traditional) while listening to soundtrack from 90s computer game, Civilization II (reminders of childhood) 2. Hear suspicious giggles from the outdoors and realize that Yali and Patience have spread grease from the

Day #025

“Quarantine” Day #025 1. Take Yali and Patience back to the creek for more treasures; Patience manages to stumble and/or fall into the cold spring-fed water four or five times; begin to lose count… 2. Begin watching “Spectre” with Oxbear over dinner while all kids are – miraculously – otherwise occupied,

Day #024

“Quarantine” Day #024 1. Grandma and Mom stop by for an hour to see the kids, six feet away; Grandma realizes that the “sticker balls” in our yard look just like the coronavirus 2. Yali gives Patience’s giant stuffed unicorn a bath in the kiddie pool before I realize

Day #023

“Quarantine” Day #023 1. Sweep up dried mud tracked through house 2. Take Yali and Patience on two-hour, two mile hike at Babler State Park (meet hardly anyone on the trail); listen to the kids lightly argue over who sweats more 3. Sweep up dried mud tracked through house 4.

Day #022

“Quarantine” Day #022 1. Listen to entire “Sonic the Hedgehog” computer game soundtrack from the 90s while re-writing the quarterly home budget; walk down that old memory lane 2. Get chastised by my six year-old for forgetting to eat lunch (too deep into numbers and dollars) 3. Pick up a

Day #021

“Quarantine” Day #021 1. Realize that worship services have now become kids in mismatched outfits of their own choosing lounging on couches chowing down on bags of Cheetos while the new pastor preaches remote from Delaware – strange times… 2. Join thirteen family members, a dog, and a toad, spaced out

Day #020

“Quarantine” Day #020 1. Clean the house 2. Kids re-destroy the house 3. Drive into southern Missouri with Oxbear and the two younger kids; time to talk and catch up on life 4. Yali asks Patience if she wants to play a new Imagination he created, called “Battle Pandas” 5.

Day #019

“Quarantine” Day #019 1. Have dreams of purchasing earrings at a gas station (lots of turquoise and silver, some shaped like long thin spoons hanging down to the shoulder) 2. Mid-morning, hear Yali hammering something in his room for awhile; decide not to investigate 3. Take Yali and Patience on

Day #018

“Quarantine” Day #018 1. Puck attacks honeysuckle yard hedge with new pruners, then clears out the entire overgrown “shade garden” in the back yard 2. In the mail… even more fun during a quarantine… package of face masks from Patience’s Chinese orphanage nurse; paint-by-sticker book (undersea creatures) for Yali

Day #017

“Quarantine” Day #017 1. Finish raking all “sticker balls” in the yard 2. Bring Yali and Patience back to Castlewood one more time before they close the park for a month due to “over-crowding” 3. Oxbear takes a late-evening trip for groceries and returns with two giant cases of Spindrift

Day #016

“Quarantine” Day #016 1. Rake up most of the “sticker balls” in the front yard 2. Puck saws a bamboo pole in half, duct tapes the halves as extended handles to my hand-held pruning shears (“I need more leverage”), and begins to prune the giant hedge ringing our property… has

Day #015

“Quarantine” Day #015 1. Yali and Patience soak the yard with the garden hose because they “had to” water their rock garden 2. Evaluate Joe’s level of interest in the following assigned educational categories of the morning : worms during a rainstorm (high); drawing suns and clouds (moderate); reviewing the

Day #014

“Quarantine” Day #014 1. Genuinely impress Puck with my ability to fold towels quickly, into the brick shape he requested… “How’d you DO that!” 2. During the remote morning worship service from Delaware, Cheese the kitten gets stuck inside the storage room ceiling; Oxbear and Puck on rescue squad

Day #013

“Quarantine” Day #013 1. In the four o’clock morning hour, wake from dream of Puck wrestling giant fish, to hear the cat vomiting on the floor… again 2. In the six o’clock morning hour, wake from dream of wagons chasing each other on high cliff trails in the

Day #012

“Quarantine” Day #012 1. Wonder why the cat vomiting on the kitchen tile woke me in the middle of the night, but not the big thunderstorm that apparently ripped through the county early in the morning 2. Yali’s fever breaks a second time; he also emphatically wants me to

Day #011

“Quarantine” Day #011 1. Yali’s fever breaks 2. Homemade cheeseburgers and “Casino Royale” with Oxbear for lunch 3. Puck hits the old 1970s exercise bike 4. Bandage Rose’s arm after she trips in Yali’s Batman shoes over some rocks 5. Yali’s fever returns; doesn’t shake

Day #010

“Quarantine” Day #010 1. Yali contracts a fever. At this point, one has to wonder… how… 2. Puck works out on his punching bag for about an hour in the storage room with both guinea pigs as audience, duct-taping a photo of Joseph Stalin to the bag for more punching

Day #009

“Quarantine” Day #009 1. Pick up Chick-fil-A, drive-thru style, for lunch 2. Hear from Uncle Balthasar, still stuck in Spain waiting for a doctor to re-test him, four days later 3. Yali stuffs his shirt full of wooden ice cream cones and wooden ice cream sandwiches; pretends to vomit them

Day #008

“Quarantine” Day #008 1. Help Yali and Patience cut out gingerbread man godfamily to put in the mail later for the V Family 2. Puck does about eighty pull-ups in his room (quarantine comes with benefits); also decides he wants to raise chickens 3. Discover that Yali and Patience have

Day #007

“Quarantine” Day #007 1. Watch church service online from the basement while kids squirm and fuss, cats prowl around the television, and guinea pigs root behind us in the storage room 2. Walk back upstairs to big old snow globe snow (must be the end of all things now…) 3.

Day #006

“Quarantine” Day #006 1. Catch Puck and his buddy, Bob, jumping on the trampoline at one o’clock in the morning… 2. Pick up guinea pigs from Hans to live with us for awhile, since his classroom is closed for who knows how long, and Heidi is highly allergic… family

Day #005

“Quarantine” Day #005 1. Receive email from Uncle Balthasar, still quarantined in Spain with “the virus”, doing well and ready to come home 2. Soothe a highly offended Yali, because Cheese the kitten won’t immediately run to him for petting after Yali continues to chase him around the house

Day #004

“Quarantine” Day #004 1. Explore Elephant Rocks in the rain with Yali (only two other visitors in the entire park, thanks to the weather) 2. Stop for ice cream (drive-thru) on the way back; eat in the parking lot while playing a round of “Oregon Trail” together 3. Enjoy a

Day #003

Quarantine Day #003 1. Eat lots of peanut butter cookie dough (keep that fact hidden from the kids of course) 2. Take Yali and Patience into the woods to explore the creek for hundred year-old garbage (i.e. bricks, ceramics, glass, etc.), but mostly for Joe to chuck rocks into

Day #002

Quarantine Day #002 1. Hit the Chick-fil-A drive-thru for lunch 2. Take Yali and Patience on three-hour hike where they scare away every last piece of wildlife with their amazing loudness 3. Allow them to bring home an armload of dried corncobs washed ashore by old flood waters… and about

Day #001

Quarantine Day #001-ish… 1. Four year-old Patience argues with me about what shirt she’s going to wear today because apparently the one I chose for her is “not cute” 2. Hunt for lost engagement ring (no dice) 3. Catch Yali walking outside with a hammer to create (or destroy)

SNACKS!

Even when the world’s “falling apart”, never forget the predictable behavior of a teenage boy who forgets the world is falling apart. Because as far as he’s concerned, as long as Cartoon Network and Sun Chips are still available, the world is a safe, wonderful place… “MOM!” Puck

Hold the Chicken

Sometime that afternoon, Yali and Patience came stomping down the basement stairs, arraigned in serious battle equipment. Yali in orange space suit, Rose in firefighter overalls, both bearing Nerf guns. “NOBODY MOVE!” Yali bellowed. He pushed a plush fowl into my arms. “Hold the chicken. He’s crazy.” Yali and

BANG!

Patience, speaking with the police officer on duty at school…   Patience : “Why are you the police?” Officer : “Because it’s a good job. I love my job.” Patience : “You punch the bad guys?” Officer : “I have to take care of bad guys sometimes.” Patience : “You chase them in cars?” Officer

I Know the Countries

My Yali, geography expert… “Mom! I know lots of countries! I know… Colombia… and Chinese… and South American… and… Frances!”

100%

Yali : “Mom, how old are you?” Me : “How old do you think I am?” Yali : “ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!”

I DID IT!

Monday, Patience had cut her big toe, just a little. So Tuesday she wore an orange band-aid, until it was time for her evening bath…   I asked her while she sat in the tub, “How’s your toe, Patience?” “Better.” She lifted up her foot as evidence. Then her face

I'm so...

Yali, pondering aloud to me… “Mom. I’m so polite-ful.”

A Peruvian Man

Enjoying salsa with tacos at the dinner table that night, Patience’s eyes began to spill out tears… “You okay, Patience?” Oxbear asked her. She nodded. “It hurts… But I kind of like it.” Then Yali got up on his knees, on his chair, as if to make an announcement.

Cooler

Yali, pleased with his new look – space tee tucked into sweatpants, tennis shoes, leather jacket, gray fedora – sits down beside his sister… “Patience, I’m more cooler than you.”

My Sweeties

Yali, marching through the living room, a wood-and-metal pistol pushed out of the sleeve of his bright orange t-shirt… “I’m Captain No Hand! Listen up, my hearties! Listen up, my sweeties!”

Learning

Adoption conversations with a four year-old… Patience : “Am I a mama?” Collette : “No, maybe one day. I’m a mama. I’ve been a mama for thirteen years. Because thirteen years ago, Puck was in my tummy.” Patience : “Was I in your tummy?” Collette : “No; Yali wasn’t either. But

Dumb and Dumber

Thinking about man’s evolutionary climb to betterment, Puck had a few thoughts… “I bet God makes us dumber over time, because of sin.”

I Love Our Family

Yali, after a frustrating moment in his afternoon, walked into the room wearing his backpack, filled with snacks… Yali : “I’m leaving!” Collette : “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Yali. I’ll miss you so much.” Yali thought about it for a moment and decided not to leave. Ten

Ant Adoption

Yali, noticing a dirt pile on the cement at the park… “There are ant babies in that, Mom. I think their little children are going to be adopted. All over there in the grass.”

It's a Egg

Yali : “Mom, can you cut up my egg?” Collette : “Sure, buddy.” Yali : “Mom, you made him bleed.” Collette : “Oh, I’m sorry.” Yali : “Don’t worry, it’s a egg.”

Larry the Snake

Yali, musing… “Mom, I want to get a pet snake. So he can attack bad guys… How about I will name him, Larry the Snake.”

Learning in Disguise

Puck, trying to convince me that SpongeBob could be an educational contribution to his homeschooling experience… “Mom, did you know that SpongeBob was created by a marine biologist? It’s learning in disguise.”

Mr. Humble

Following a somewhat lengthy dinner prayer given by Yali that evening, he turned to me and said… “Mom, can you say, ‘Yali, that is beautiful praying!’”

All Those Thoughts

Parents answer pretty silly questions every hour of their lives. Such as…   “MOM! MOM! Why is there no milk left?” “Mom, can you butter my toast? You’re really good at it.” “Is he a WILD butterfly?”   Or hear those unexpected, but somehow very expected comments…   Yali, mad – “Mom. I

A Couple Trillion Atoms

After I caught Puck spitting tiny Legos out of his mouth across the living room floor to see how far they’d fly… Collette : “Puck, please stop that. It makes more mess for me to clean up.” Puck, with “wicked grin” : “I’m sorry for adding a couple trillion atoms

Future Thinker

That afternoon while I was rolling primer onto Puck’s bedroom walls, Yali joined me… “Can I help?” “Sure.” As soon as the roller was handed to him, Yali immediately said, “When I’m older I want to do this with my wife.”

Best Threat Ever

Yali, mad at Puck about something… “If you don’t stop, Puck, I will HUG YOU!”

Did YOU?!

Yali : “PATIENCE! Did you wash your HANDS?!” Patience : “DA!” Yali : “With SOAP?!” Patience : “DA!” Yali : “Did you DRY THEM?!” Patience : “DA!” Yali : “Okay. Let’s watch the next episode.”

Tom Sawyer

Yali, employing Patience to do his dirty work for him, collecting live roly polies to feed to his pet toads… Yali : “Patience! You just scoop ’em up! Like ice cream!”   <<<><><>>>   Collette : “Yali, who made you so cute?” Yali : Pause. “Colombia.

Squash Them

Yali, observing a mushroom in its natural habitat… “WHEN I GROW UP, I WANNA PICK THESE UP! And SQUASH them!”

Dr. Yali

I walked into my room that afternoon to find my bed transformed into a temporary clinic, Drs. Yali and Patience presiding…   “Okay, guys. Everyone out.” “But, Mom! This is a DOCTOR’S APPOINTMENT!” “Well, the location of the hospital has been moved.” “But, MOM! It says Cardinal Gle-mmon!” “It does,

Thoughts with Yali

Yali, sitting on the picnic table in his swim shorts, drying off after playing in the garden hose…   “I like drying off in the sun… It makes me think about when I’m older… drinking Coca-Cola.” “Yeah?” “Yeah… I will be strong.” He paused to contemplatively flex his lean brown

Mmm

Yali, speaking to Patience early that morning… “Mmm. You smell like blueberries. Because you’re pretty. Like a butterfly!”

Summertime

Yali – shorts, no shirt, barefoot, Indiana Jones hat, big black sunglasses, Chinese nunchucks, climbs onto the picnic table, pulls back the dream catcher tree swing as far as it will go, looks back cooly at me over his shoulder… “Bye, Mom. I’m going into outer spacccccce.”

I Need That Fly

Yali, following a little metallic fly humming around his Lego operation on the picnic table…   “COME HERE!… YOU LITTLE MUNCHKIN!” Yali declared, slapping a small plastic bowl on top of – what he thought – was the fly. “I need to catch that fly!” “Why?” I asked him. “Because he was a

Ghost Burrito

Puck, wrapping Patience in his new tortilla blanket… “I EAT YOU! YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM! You are gone now! You’re a ghost burrito! Go chase Yali! Wooo-oooo!” Patience, running through the house after Yali, wiggling her fingers “eerily” at him… “Wooo-oooo! Wooo-ooo!”

It's Our Job

Yali, walking around the house with a large trash bag… “I want to be calm and stay clean. I want the whole house to be clean! It’s our job to do this!”

AWOHL

Yali before school that morning, his little sister minion marching behind him in complete obedience… “MOM! WE ARE PACKING UP! WE ARE GOING TO COLOMBIA! Come on, Patience! WE ARE GOING AWOHL!”

Notes from Yali

“I’m really happy…” – WHACKS Patience congenially on the back – “…about my best friend, Patience!”   After trying for an egg over-easy on toast and spilling yolk over his arm, pants, all over the floor, and somehow the back of his sister’s koala t-shirt… “Mom! That egg was throwing up

Love It

Yali, giggling about something on the way home… “Mama, I love those laughs. I’m good at laughing. I love those laughs all the time.” When we returned home a few minutes later, and Yali saw the new dinosaur sheet set I’d purchased for his bunk bed… “Mom! You

Better from a Brother

That morning, Oxbear was busy brushing Patience’s hair at the bathroom sink as Yali wandered in to observe… Yali : “Patience! You’re almost pretty! Just like me!” Oxbear : “Aren’t you glad you don’t have an older sister, Patience?”

My Hero

Yali : “Patience, say, ‘Yali, you’re my hero.’” Patience : “Yali, you my hero!” Yali : “Yes, I am.”

Saturday Morning

Yali and Patience getting ready for their day… Yali : “I love you, Patience. You are my WHOLE friend!” Patience nods – probably – as Yali prepares to zip up her jacket. Yali : “Watch out for your lip!” They both take a broom from the kitchen and head outdoors. Yali : “Let’s play

Imagination

Yali and Patience playing Imagination…   Yali : “Thank you for beating me, Thanos! Patience, say, ‘You’re welcome!’” Patience : “You’re welcome!” Yali : “We both won! Mom, me and us won together!”   Yali lifted Patience’s hand in victory.

Animal Hospital

Listening to Yali and Patience play on my bed with their stuffed animal babies early Saturday morning while I still try to sleep…   “Patience! Don’t touch him! He’s quarantine! Patience, say, ‘Why?’” “Why?” “Because he throwed up last night.” “Oh!” “Aw. We will take good care of him.

Hypocrite

Overheard in the other room…   Puck : “BWAH HA HA HA!” Yali : “How could you, Puck! Puck! You are a hypocrite.”

Thirty Pounds

Yali marched into the living room this morning, pushing up the sleeves of his t-shirt to demonstrate the strength of his brown muscle. He looked me in the eye, adopting his big man voice and said… “Because I weigh almost thirty pounds in this… in this… in this arm.”

Yup

I walked into the living room that afternoon. Yali was wearing a sombrero, Patience a fairy princess headdress.   “You guys are cute,” I told them. Yali stood up to greet me. “Yup. We are.”

Loons

We had a hostage situation around 6:30 that morning. Yali’s stuffed cat was being held by Big Brother in exchange for breakfast service.   “Get me a bowl of cereal!” Puck grinned wickedly. “And then you will get your cat back!”   Two minutes later, I heard Yali yelling from

His Majesty

That morning, I found Puck perched on the high cabinet in the living room, enthroned like some Aztec warlord… “PADAWANS!” he bellowed to his siblings. “BRING ME SOME FOOD!” I heard Yali reply with salute, “YES, SIR!” A few moments later, I heard Yali consult with his assistant, little sister,

Stay Out

Out of nowhere that cold Wednesday afternoon, Yali ran out of his room and wrestled a large stuffed kangaroo to the ground… “WAAAAAAAAH!” The kangaroo went flying through the air. “NOW YOU STAY OUT OF MY ROOM! RIGHT NOW!”

Dream

Yali, after an unfortunate 5:45 Saturday morning wake-up call… “Mom, you can sleep. Dream what you want to dream. I had a dream a dinosaur had laser eyes and he lasered the desert!”

Four Day Weekend

With all the illness spreading “wild fire” style through school, classes had been cancelled for Thursday. This meant more time at home. This meant more opportunity for trouble…   * Patience spilling water over my theology books * Patience scribbling pencil all over Puck’s math textbook * Yali clogging the bathroom sink drain

Contraband

Puck, trying to convince me to let him wear a t-shirt under his uniform hoodie instead of a uniform polo… “Seriously, Mom. Because technically it’s still dress code. I’m just hiding the contraband.”

Worlds

Yali spent Patience’s nap time creating stories for his creatures. After serving a plush pineapple to his plush shark, he added… “Some sharks could eat woodpeckers.” Then plopped a large green rubber dinosaur on a cookie sheet and served it to the plush crocodile. “I gave them a treat,

Yali-isms

Yali, after breakfast… “I win the yogurt game. I actually won the yogurt game. It’s called eating yogurt winning.”     Yali, listening to some Handel-like tenor aria on the radio… “I don’t like this song. It makes my bellybutton hurt.”

Saved

Yali, playing in the bathtub with Lego mini figures… “Mom, this is the bad guy. I’m going to save him. I’m gonna save his MIND.”

Batman's Hair Stylist

Collette : “Come on, Yali. We have to fix your hair for school.” Yali, cloaked in his Batman costume : “BATMAN DOESN’T DO HAIR!”

Snow Friend

Snowed. In. Twelve inches deep. Snowman in the yard since Saturday morning. I wondered if Yali had named him yet, so I asked him. After some contemplation, Yali explained thoughtfully to me, “He’s called Friend Snowman.”

Life

Leaving for school…   Puck, walking through the house incessantly squeaking a couple of “squeakers” Yali dug out of the paws of his teddy bear. Yali, on the floor, wailing about a dad-sized latex kitchen glove that wouldn’t fit his Pre-K hands. Patience, applying drinking water with her make-up brush

Perspective

Patience, staring out the window into full sunshine, singing in her mushy baby-Chinese-American syllables… “Rain, rain, go away, come again another day…”

Slicing Cheeseburgers

Oxbear’s special smoked movie night burgers had already been mostly consumed before “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” had even been switched on. There was one double-cheese remaining, however. And three people wanted it. Francis wielded the larger than necessary kitchen knife over the coveted piece of culinary art… “Let’

No Spoons

It was about 6:30AM when I found my youngest son, and daughter, sitting on the bottom bunk bed, eating yogurt cups for breakfast… with butter knives. “There were no spoons left,” Yali explained. Resourceful. I’ll give ’em that.

Shenanigans

With a rare full day at home for the two youngest, this meant opportunities were plentiful for stirring in mischief…   At one point early in the morning, I discovered both Yali’s and Patience’s toothbrushes suctioned to opposites sides of the toilet seat, toilet lid smashed down on top

Pink to Flu

While I, Collette, seemed to be successfully recovering from a case of conveniently-timed double pink eye – my first time over all 34 years – Oxbear had succumbed to what very much looked like the flu, New Years Day morning. So while he “chillaxed”, as Yali would put it, we spent a

That's Okay

Yali : “Patience, say, ‘I’m sorry for messing up your Legos, Yali.’” Patience : “I’m sorry, Yali.” Yali : “That’s okay. You’re still my best friend. I still love you.”

Thank You

Overheard Yali praying with Patience that afternoon… “Dear Jesus, thank you for this lunch! And thank you for sitting in this ‘time out’! In Jesus name, AAAA-MEN!”

Yali Time

Yali, making his green dinosaur puppet speak to Patience… “Hola! Hola lah-migos! I have sharp teeth. My tongue is long! Patience, say, ‘Ew!’ I’m not real. I’m just pretend! Here, feel my tongue. … No! Don’t pull my tongue out! Silly Goose! I’m a DINOSAUR! And I

I Love Church

Yali : “I love church.” Collette : “Well, that’s nice, Yali. Why do you like church?” Yali : “Because I like to eat cookies.” Collette : “Well, cookies are good. Do you like to learn about God?” Yali : “Uh huh. God is true, because He protects people.”

A Man of Many Talents

Yali, after pinning a dozen barrettes into his sister’s hair… Yali : “IT’S A RAINBOW!” Mom : “Yali, you did such a nice job putting all those barrettes in Patience’s hair. Such talent.” Yali, punching one fist towards the sky : “I AM SO POWERFUL! I WILL DESTROY THE SUNLIGHT!

How You See It

Puck : “Hey, Mom! Do you spell ‘mistakes’, M-I-S-T-E-A-K-S?”

You know what?

Yali : “Mom. Do you know what?” Collette : “What?” Yali : “You beautiful.” Melt.

You Look Awesome

Overheard conversation between Yali and Patience that morning. Yali, dressed in a new GAP hoodie, new hair cut, looking sharp…   Yali : “Patience, how do I look?”   Patience : Silence.   Yali : “Say, ‘You look awesome!’”   Patience : “Ooh oohk ah-um.”   Yali : “Mom! Patience says I look awesome!”

The Mummy

Puck had just completed a replica mummy-in-sarcophagus for his Ancient Egypt project at school. After all the napkins, rubber bands, and tin foil had been crafted into the finished piece, Yali employed the leftovers to create his own little mummy. And this mummy had an unfortunate back story… “The mummy

Clinic Time

Patience’s first taste of cleft palate clinic. Just like big brother Yali. And just like big brother, she did well. She marched up and down the halls to all her appointments in her stocky red cowboy boots, which everyone loved. “These boots are made for walkin’,” one of the

Naughty Ghosts

Yali, talking to me on the way to school… “And Jesus will protect us! And he will say, ‘Shoo shoo, naughty ghosts!’”

Dear Jesus

Yali’s prayers this week… “I was practicing saying, ‘Dear Jesus, thank You for all the scary things. And thank You for protecting me.’”

Fire & Sugar

The five year-old and the two year-old quickly swing between apocalyptic emotions and the more pleasant things in life. One minute it’s… Yali, eyes like flame throwers : “Patience is a COCONUT PARTY FROM OUTER SPACE!” And the next minute… Yali, beckoning Patience to come check out the chicory patch

Age is Relative

Conversation with Puck walking into church…   Puck : “Mom, your car is so old.” Collette : “It’s only nine years old.” Puck : “Well, I guess I am older than your car… actually, no. It’s made of metal. So that metal has been around longer than I have.” Collette : “Well, actually,

Healthy Hearts

On our walk this morning, Yali had an idea in his head…   “Jesus has a heart. He healed our hearts.” “Yes, he did, Yali.” “And He rose from the dead… And he ate coomcumbers and carrots and tomatoes and pickles. And it would be healthy for him!”

Squashed

Asking Yali why his chin hurt… “Dad gave me a big hug and squashed my brain into my chin.”

Almost Time

Yali, pondering the fact he has one week left till school starts… “I don’t want to go back to school… It makes bubbles explode in my head.”

Alexa

A couple of weeks ago, Oxbear installed a small baby camera above Patience’s crib to keep an eye on her during the night. And other things…   It was still early. I told Yali to wake up Patience and play with her until I joined them. A few minutes later,

My Best Friend

Sunday evening, Yali sat on the couch next to Patience, thinking through some big life decisions…   “Patience, you were my best friend!” He looked over at me. “Mom, can Patience be my best friend?” “Sure she can.” He seemed satisfied. “Puck is my friend. And Patience is my friend.”   Hopefully

Yoda Died

Overheard Yali instructing Patience on what they were going to play that morning… “You will be Yoda. And I will be Darth Vader. And you say,” he paused to begin whispering instead, “’I am Yoda.’” Rose didn’t mind wearing the brown bath robe, but the mask she took issue

Battle Time

Conversation heard between Puck, Yali, and Patience in the other room… “WAAAH!” “Yali, what’s wrong?” “Patience was pulling my shirt!” “So you body slammed her?” “Hey-O!” “You tell him, Patience!” Ensue screaming match. Thirty seconds later, they forgot what they were yelling about.

JESUS LOVES US

Yali flexed one brown bicep in the morning light of the living room, growling to himself like he was in his own story. “God the FATHER, God the SON, God the HOLY SPIRIT!” He paused, to maybe think about some things we had discussed earlier that morning… “JESUS LOVES US!

South to Guangzhou

“Oh! She is chubby!” Our new guide in Guangzhou smiled as she squeezed Rose’s arm. I guess the Chinese definition of “chubby” must be equivalent to the American version of “just your average two year-old”. On the drive, our guide told us about her teenage son, aspiring engineer/doctor.

Around Town

Eight thousand terra-cotta warriors buried in the ground for over two thousand years, accidentally unearthed by a farmer digging a well back in 1974. Sounded like my kind of place. Our guide walked us fast through the beginning of a tourist crowd, mostly Chinese nationals, that would balloon to 100,

Whatever You Want

Free day in Xi’an. So we explored. So many stares. Between Jacob’s beard, my “blonde”, and little Rose, it made sense. Especially when we didn’t pass another American or European anywhere on the streets or in the shopping malls, which is what we checked out first. Tiny

So Much World

A little hot congee and pickled vegetables for breakfast. Heavy on the congee, light on the vegetables for Mama, I’ll admit. Serenaded by American hits from the 90s. Halfway through “True Colors” it was time to return to a wet world of endlessly blaring horns and daring pedestrians to

Hello, Rose

Our new guide’s eyes grew a little wide when she saw the photo of Rose on Jacob’s phone. “Oh…” she said. “She looks like a good eater.” Halfway down a rainy drive between the airport and our hotel in Xi’an, we had just finished a two-hour flight

Ancient China

After a Chinese girl beckoned for me to take a picture with her, and I smiled for the selfie, I looked over to our guide. “Blonde hair?” I asked. She grinned and nodded. “You will be very popular here.” We were just inside the gates of the Forbidden City, a

Notes from the Field

St. Louis to Denver to Beijing – exactly seventeen hours. Not bad. Thirteen of those hours sandwiched between Jacob and probably the only other American guy on the flight, neither of whom had any trouble sleeping. I could not. So it was “3:10 to Yuma” and “Jumanji : Welcome to the

A Pink Butterfly

Friday afternoon, Yali found a fat green Polyphemus moth caterpillar hanging out on the picnic table. We temporarily re-housed him to a glass jar. Saturday morning, Yali expressed concern for his new friend… “Mom, the caterpillar needs your help.” “Why does he need my help?” “Because he wants to be

He was Friendly

Sometime in the afternoon before we picked Puck up from basketball camp, I heard Yali calling to me from his room. “Mom! I saw a wolf spider!” “What?” “He was on my leg.” “What! Did he bite you?” “NO! He was friendly. And I killed him with a broom! And

Story in His Head

When I turned over a large chunk of bark torn from the tree in yesterday’s storm, big, fat pill bugs rolled out from underneath. “Whoa!” Yali paused to examine them. “That’s the daddy. That’s the brother. And that’s the Yali. Puck and I are BUGS!” He

Can I Join You?

When Yali saw me relaxing on the couch that afternoon, I could see it in his eyes. Like a cat to the canary. He can’t turn down the possibility of a cuddle. “Can I join you?” he asked. “Yes, you may join me.” Then, just in case the deal

SO Much Sugar

Driving to camp, Puck and his buddy Snicky in the back seat of the truck, discussing their purchases at Mobil… Snicky : “Puck, you got THREE Tootsie Pops? There’s like SO much sugar in that. Let me see… TEN GRAMS in each Tootsie Pop? That’s like 30 grams, dude!

Oh! Thank you!

On day two of Yali’s sore throat and fever, he didn’t seem to be too bothered. In the afternoon I slipped the thermometer under his tongue, per his request.   “Yup. You’ve got a good temperature, bud.” “Oh! Thank you!”

The Opa-tician

Yali walked into the living room mid-morning and stared at me with his thinking black eyes.   “Mom, can you take me to the opa-tician?” “Take you where?” “The opa-tician. I need glasses.” “Why do you need glasses?” “Because, with my eyes closed, I can’t see anything!”

Toad

Yali, discovering another tiny toad hopping in the yard of the Big House that afternoon… “It’s okay! I’m Yali! What’s your name, toad?… Mom, his name is Toad because… (tiny smack) I kissed him.”

Gentle?

Yali, talking to Crackers the cat…   “Can I pick up you?” Meow. “I’ll be gentle. Gentle? Okay.” MEOW.

I will not go!

Yali was sitting on my lap in the tree swing. Hot, blue afternoon…   “Yali, you get to see the nephrologist again tomorrow. You get to visit the doctor. Remember, they take pictures of your kidney?” Yali flew off my lap and thrust out one small brown hand in protest. He

Train of Thought

Yali, in the car, talking to me…   “Mom, say, ‘Yali are you okay?’” “Yali, are you okay?” “Yes, I just have five hundred cough.”   Listening to a soundtrack in Spanish…   “I will talk French when I’m older… God made all the guitars. He made all the peoples in the

I Will Call You Back

Listening to Yali talk to Oxbear over the phone while eating a hot dog for dinner… “I dip it in the mus-tard! And it tastes really holl-ible! Yu-uck!… Well a li-ttle bit… I will call you back.”

Nope

Collette : “Yali, did you eat my peanut butter cups this morning?” Yali: “Nope!” Collette : “Are you telling me the truth?” Yali : “Nope!”

From Your Heart

Yali, after singing along to “Remember Me” from “Coco” while we were in the car… “Mom, say, ‘Thank you for singing to me, Yali. From your heart.’”

Say...

Yali : “Mom, can I bring Buzz and Woody on our walk?” Collette : “Not sure that’s a good idea, buddy…” Yali : “Mom, say, ‘Yali, you always lose them.’” Collette : “Yali, you always lose them.” Yali : “I will not lose them, Mom! I will hold them TIGHT!”

I'll Take Care of It

Yali, after successfully navigating the monkey bars at school that afternoon, and not face-planting like yesterday : “Mom, I have something to tell you. I not hurt my nose! I not hurt my eye! I not hurt my knee!”   ———-   “Mom!” Puck called from my room. “Can I have some milk?

Checklist

The boys’ Saturday afternoon went a little bit like this :   Throwing dirt clods at each other in the yard. Tears, laughter. Wrestling in the yard. Tears, laughter. Exploding styrofoam beads all over the house and yard. Just laughter. Flipping each other over in the hammock. Tears, laughter. Throwing wads of

That was a Good Singing!

Yali, singing/talking to himself in the car… “Ma-ma called the doc-tor and the doc-tor said, ‘No more Peppas – jumping on the bed!’ … That was a good singing! That was so beautiful!”

He Might be Dead

“Mom?” The little Colombian voice from the top of the stairs suggested I stop taking my much-needed late afternoon dark chocolate raspberry Magnum bar break and see what was what. “Yes, Yali?” “I need you to come to Puck. He might be dead.” By now, I’ve learned that “might

Rise From the Dead Rock

Yali ran up to me after breakfast on a school morning. “Mom! Can I go outside and chase the little birdies?” It wasn’t time to leave yet, and he was ready to go, so I allowed it. I watched from the window, the four year-old carefully stalking each fat

The Presbyterian

The other day, I listened to Puck read the end of a Bible story to Yali. “’I’ll get rid of the sin and the dark and the sadness… I’m coming back for you!’ And he would. One day, God himself would come…” Then he looked up at me

Dark Chocket?

A smiling brown face appeared in my lap late that afternoon when he noticed an open chocolate bar in my possession. “Can I have some?” “Hmmm…” The grin grinned bigger, expectantly. “Is it dark chocket?” “No…” “Milk?” “Maybe…” The smile was triumphant now; somehow, he knew he’d won. “I

Poor Little Guy

When Yali noticed my expired cactus sitting upside-down on the kitchen counter, juicy green guts exposed to the air, he looked concerned…   “What happened to it, Mom?” “He had a little accident.” “Aw… poor little guy… Is he dead?” “He is.” “Aw… poor little guy.”

Minesweeper

Yali, playing Minesweeper on my phone…   “It turned to numbers! That’s so funny! That’s so satisfying! Oh. I missed it. Dang it. What I do? Oh! (giggle) It turned numbers! The smiley face is not happy. Oh, now he happy! Oh! (giggle) One, two… Oh, missed again. One…

Wiggly Worms

Puck and Yali were helping Oxbear dig up the garden that cold, gray Saturday afternoon. Some time later, Yali returned to give me an update on progress…   “I saw one wiggly worm! And he was going wiggle, wiggle! And I STEPPED on him!” “Uh oh. Why did you step on

Mosquitoes

Puck : “If there was one insect in the world I could get rid of, what would it be?” Collette : “Mosquito?” Puck : “Yes. They’re worthless. All they do is suck blood and bring disease.” Collette : “Well, maybe in the New Heavens they’ll have some other purpose.” Puck : “In the

A Really Long Story

Having both boys sit down together long enough to finish an entire Bible reading is always an interesting event. This evening, Puck sat down on the couch in his rollerblades to read to Yali about Jesus appearing in the upper room following the resurrection. First, he finished the stick of

I am a Robot

Waking Yali up this morning :   “Good morning, Yali!”   “I AM A ROBOT! I WILL DESTROY YOU!!”

Definitely Mexico

In the car, driving to school, Puck asking me to quiz him on his upcoming history test that afternoon…   “Okay, give me the five states associated with the Dust Bowl.” “Mexico, Chicago, Philadelphia…”   He’s pulling an A in History. He really is.

Random Thought

As we drove home from dropping Puck off at school on a sun-filled morning, Yali was on a roll, talking.   “Miss Sta-cey clean my teeth. She’s a GOOD doctor! She put gla-sses on my eyes so NOT tooth-paste gets in them. That was fun! You re-member the dentist, Mom?

Culinary Encounters

At lunch, I made Joe’s tiny pizza, sprinkling cheese over the top. However, some of the mozzarella shreds fell on the plate instead of the pizza. Yali placed two fists indignantly on his hips. “Mom! You waste my money!”   >>>   Later that evening, Yali had forgotten about

Thank You

Last night, Yali fell asleep listening to the soothing sounds of the tropical rain forest. This morning, he climbed up on my bed and said softly… “Mom, thank you for turning on the sound machine. That made me happy.”

Our Wit

Conversation between Yali and “Siri” that morning :   Yali : “Piri? Play the unicorn song.” Siri : “Okay. Here’s what I found.” (Location for Gran Cru Cigars.) Yali : (giggles) “You’re funny, Siri.” Siri : “LOL.”   >>>   In the afternoon, the sun was bright, the air was cold. Puck and Snicky

Please be Careful

As Yali walked down the stairs to locate his Batmobile car, he knew something was missing. Someone had forgotten to remind him to hold onto the railing. “Mom!” “Yes, Yali?” “Mom, say, ‘Please be careful, Yali!’”

How do I Look?

Yali marched into the kitchen that morning before school, dressed in the gray sweat pants and blue super heroes t-shirt I’d set out for him. He looked at me seriously. “Mom. How do I look?” “Cool, buddy. You look good.” He walked away, satisfied, asking, “Where are my high

What is This... Pi?

Now that we knew we’d be picking up our little girl from China probably sometime over the summer, Puck was really hoping we’d be back by the time the school year began. “So I can help you with your homework?” I asked. “Yeah…” he grinned a little. “Because

Hound Dog

Cuddle time with Yali. He started sniffing my face… “What are you doing, kiddo?” “You smell like candy!” “I didn’t have any candy.”   Truth.   He began sniffing my ear instead. “It IS candy! You smell like candy in your eee-ear!” “You’re silly.” After sniffing my face again, he

Like

We were driving home from school Monday afternoon, when Puck had a thought for me… “Mom? Can you help me stop using the word ‘like’? I don’t want to sound like all the other teenagers.”

Doesn't Count Sheep

Puck had been in bed for about ten minutes. While I was watching alpine skiing in the living room, I heard him call from down the hallway… “Mom, can you come here?” I walked back. “What’s up, bud?” “Mom? You know how fires need oxygen to burn?” “Yup.” “Well,

The Man in Blue

As we left from volunteering a shift at Ditto that afternoon, Puck gloried over his secondhand finds. “Oh, Mom. Mom,” he emphasized with hand gestures. “When I saw that crossbow, I just thought to myself… Sold. Sold to the man in blue.”

It's Scary

Yali asked me to watch “The Lego Movie” with him that afternoon. There was apparently one part in particular he needed me for. “It’s SCARY, Mom.” He pointed up at each side of his head. “It hurts my MIND.”

They will EAT Me!

Yali stuck his face in mine; so serious. “Mom, do you like fires, or rainbows?” “Well, I guess I like fires better…” He looked intently into my eyes. “I like rainbows. I like green. I like green rainbows, and black rainbows.”   Later in the afternoon while we waited on Puck

Treasures

Yali took off tromping a hot streak down the side aisle at church this morning. No way was he letting Oxbear pass the offering plate without him. But not before grabbing his essentials : gold plastic Easter egg in one hand, Webster’s pocket dictionary in the other. Meanwhile, Puck’s

Life's Little Mysteries

While preparing to leave for school that morning… “Found your magnets, Puck.” His eyes lit up. “You did? Where were they?” “One of them was stuck to Yali’s yogurt spoon. The other one was in my bed.” “Really? How did they get there?” Even Puck is sometimes surprised how

A Little Yali-ness

Yali had some thoughts for me this morning while I slicked his hair over for school. “I like this house, Mom. I like the kitchen more better.” A few minutes later I found him in the kitchen with the salt grinder, shaking loose grains of salt into his hand, and

Prime Babysitting Material

We could hear it going on from the other room – Puck trying his hardest to get Yali ready for bed. “Yali, Yali. Go to the bathroom… Come on, Yali.” “HA HA HA HA HA HA!” “Yali, no. No! Yali! Go to the bathroom, Yali.” “HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Yali's Words

Yali, walking up the stairs before school this morning : “Mama? Excuse me, lady. I need your help.” Yali, after school : “Thank you, Mama Taco Ice Cream Flower!”

Cat Burglar

STOMP STOMP STOMP I walked outside and looked up at the roof. Puck’s signal for assistance. He stood tall on the shingles. “Mom! Can you get me a pair of cheap, black gloves? I want to be a cat burglar.” “Hon, I don’t have any cheap black gloves.

Something for the Grandkids

It was getting dark, but Puck and Bob had been hard at work hanging the dream catcher swing in the largest tree near the house. There was only one minor incident… “MRS. SILVERSPOON! PUCK CAN’T GET DOWN FROM THE TREE!” I went out to inspect. He did look a

A Little Pioneering

The power went out just before dinner. No explanation, just a lot of sirens east of us. Suddenly, watching “The Incredibles” in the basement was no longer an option. The boys had zero problem going a little “pioneer” for the evening. Unfortunately for them both, I own exactly one candle.

After School Activities

An hour after carpool had already ended, Puck and Bob were still sending a big chunky eraser up and down the empty carpeted hallways, back and forth to each other, like a skipping stone. The girls were a little too mature for such things and left for deeper waters, hunting

Getting Ready for School

This morning, I heard the shower switch on. None of the boys were scheduled for a shower. And certainly neither one of my sons ever volunteers for one. So I had to check this out. There was Gus, in his boxers, standing in the tub, bathing a large fossil-packed rock

Rating System

Yali continues to add his own flavor to the family circle as he grows and learns more word patterns and comes up with his own ideas on how things work. Lately, in general, we’ve come to understand that if he calls you a “taco”, that means he’s pretty

Good Morning

“Mama… you beautiful,” says the four year-old, patting me on the top of my head. About the best wake-up call a mom could ask for.

Mustache?

Puck had been experiencing the January plague of intensely chapped lips for the past few days. While the Vaseline was helping, he obviously also had a secret wish that something more was going on besides just winter cold and dryness. Before bed one night, he examined his face in the

Locked Phone

Yali had my phone that afternoon in his two fat little brown hands. It was locked, so I was pretty sure it was safe. “PERRY! Set a timer for 40 minutes!” Perry? “PERRY! Set a timer for 40 minutes!” Instead of setting a timer, “Perry” decided that what Yali REALLY

Always Hungry

Both boys were camped out on my bed around five o’clock. “Chillaxin” as Gus always puts it. “Hey, Mom, could we have some ‘fud’?” Puck asked. “I’m hungry!” “Could we have some fud?” Yali repeated. “Mom,” Puck went on, “I’m in a toast-y mood. Could you make

After School Hours

The halls were quiet after school. Mostly quiet. Puck and Bob were busy slinging old CDs dug out of the recycling bin in the basement, up and down the carpet towards each other, trying not to crow too loudly when one of them shattered under a sneaker or split against

Gorillas and Tacos

What Yali calls us lately…   Oxbear : “Daddy Gorilla” Puck : “Big Brother Gorilla” Collette : “Mama Taco”

Yes or No

About two minutes out from school that morning, I heard the voice of Son #2 pipe up from the back seat. “Mom! Am I going to school today? Yes, or no?”

Average Morning

Thursday morning before school… The boys had already found the cookies. Breakfast, apparently. Then Puck was inspired to fashion Yali’s hair into a spontaneous mohawk, which Yali loved. And as we prepared to walk out the door, Puck was still busy delivering private handball lessons to Yali in the

Thank You Pirate Yali

Driving to speech therapy, Yali was busy singing a song from school about a kicking donkey. After completing the song, he began chanting… “I love coom-cumbers! I hate coom-cumbers! I hate roses! I love roses!” “So, Yali,” I asked, “Will you love your baby sister?” “Yes! I change her diapers!

Thank You for Saying Thank You

As we left the gas station that morning, Yali had something to declare to me. “The car ate its food, Mom! Thank you for feeding the car, God! ‘Thank you!'” he continued in a sing-songy voice. “Mom! He said, ‘Thank you’!” If the four year-old already thinks he can

In the Blood

On that cool, soggy drive to school Monday morning, Puck was thinking. As usual. “Mom? Do I have any Irish in my blood?” “Lots.” “Really?” “Yup. You’ve got all kinds of stuff in your blood though.” “Oh… I didn’t know I had Irish in my blood. I told

The Unexpected

With Papa in the hospital looking at unexpected heart surgery, Aunt Kitty about to deliver baby number three, and Dad in bed with a high fever, the Silverspoon family was already experiencing an… unconventional Christmas season. Stir in a little cabin fever for Puck and Yali, and the recipe was

The Hill

Yali, singing his favorite Christmas song, over and over and over… “The stars in the sky-y-y looked down where he lay… the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hill.”

The Smart Aleck

Collette : “Yali, you’re being too crazy. I’m going to send you outside to run around in circles.” Yali : “Can I run around in squares and triangles?”

The Imagination

While cleaning the kitchen early that evening, I heard a yell from the bathroom. I thought Yali had been inspecting his face a little too long in the mirror… “Yali, what is it?” “Mama!” he declared, running into the kitchen. “I have SPOO-KY eyes! There are VAMPIRES in there!”

The Box

A knock at the front door brought Yali into the living room to inspect. Oxbear and I watched as he opened the front door to watch the FedEx man walk back to his truck. “Thank you!” Yali called after him, then lifted the box that was larger than himself into

The Walgreen's

Driving in the car with Yali…   “Mom? What all those cars for?” “They’re at Walgreen’s.” “What’s Walgreen’s?” “Walgreen’s is for medicine if you get sick, band-aids, or eggs and milk if you can’t get to the grocery store…” Pause for contemplation… “Hmm… I might

The Digestive System

Yali during dinner : “The chicken goes in my mouth, and down my throat, and in my stomach, and down my leg and my knee, into my shoe.” Puck, clapping a hand on his head and laughing : “Oh, buddy…”

The List

As Yali rested his head on the pillow that night, he had a few thoughts spinning. They were so important, that he felt the need to sit up in his bed and say slowly and carefully to me… “Mom. I love Mickey Mouse. I’m scared of ghosts. Mom. I

The Bug

Yali caught it in the night : the Stomach Bug of ’17. His mood wasn’t too effected though. After awhile, he needed a tissue for his nose, so I handed him a square of TP. He pointed to the square shape. “Like Spongebob Squarepants!” After about an hour, he stood

The TV Dinner

I was feeling a little old school Saturday afternoon, for no reason in particular. Since Oxbear was hitting Dierbergs for me while I got work done at home, I asked him to pick up a couple of Kid Cuisine TV dinners for the boys to try out. He returned with

The Grandkids

When Puck is in a particularly good mood after school, he waxes into speculations of the future. This afternoon during math homework, was no new story. “You know, Mom, after I get to Heaven and I meet God, and get all my autographs from all the famous people in the

The Wake-Up Call

“Well, Puck, last night, one of your home countries won a World Series for the first time, ever.” Silence. “Texas. It was Texas.” Puck was not deeply impressed. What interested him more was burrowing even deeper into his covers to avoid getting out of bed for school. Several warnings to

The Clown

After the new thrill of playing laser tag with Heidi at Sports Fusion last night, Yali had only one beef with the whole experience. He did not like the clown waiting for him at the end of one maze. He told me all about it that morning…   “Mom. Vermeer doesn’

The Matchbox Car

Puck : “So, Mom, Nathan and me are going to bring matchbox cars to school and burn the paint off with a magnifying glass at recess so they’re just metal. And then we’re going to paint them gold.”   Collette : “Buddy, you can’t burn stuff at school…”   Puck : “Oh,

The Hole

Yali, watching me pull out the sewing kit : “Ooh… What is dat, Mama?” “This is Puck’s school polo that you chewed a hole through. I’m fixing it.” “Oh, DUDE! That is a GINORMOUS HOLE!”

The Idea

Yali, leaving preschool that morning, from his car seat… “Mama! I have an idea!” “What’s your idea, Yali?” “I want hot dog! Cheese stick! Grapes! Shaun the Sheep movie!” The ideal afternoon for any aspiring young man.     Puck had thoughts that evening. He gets into a very contemplative mood

The Nat King Cole

6:33AM – both boys waking up for an early school morning…   Collette : “Okay, Yali. Vivaldi or Nat King Cole?” (Two of his faves.) Yali : “Ummm… Nat King Cole.” Collette : “Alexa, play Nat King Cole.” Puck : “Alexa! Play ANYTHING but Nat King Cole!”

The Kids

As we drove away from school late that morning, Yali – fresh off another morning in preschool – looked out his car window to the remaining kids on the playground. “Mom? Are those my boys? Are those my kids?”

The Broken Mug

Rattle, Rattle. CRASH! I turned around from the kitchen table to find Puck standing over yet another broken coffee mug on the floor. “What happened this time, Puck?” “I was just doing the moon walk in my rollerblades, Mom.” A look of disbelief on his face. “Well, clean it up,

The Bad Word

Overheard from the basement this morning…   Puck: “Yali, why are you watching Happy Feet? That’s a terrible movie.” Yali: “It is?” Puck: “Yeah, this movie sucks.” Yali: “It sucks?” Puck: “Don’t say that word.”

The Skillet

I caught Puck this morning trying to cram a large piece of cookware into his backpack. “ARGH! Why won’t this FIT?” “Probably because a cast-iron skillet isn’t meant to fit inside a Land’s End backpack…” “I need to bring this to school for protection. Do you think

The Amen

Yali, praying at lunch, squeezing two pudgy brown hands together and trying very hard to keep his eyes closed… “Dear Jesus, thank you delicious food… make grow. In Jesus’ name. Aaaaa-men!”

The Story

Yali, reading to himself again in the afternoon… “One day, Jesus was walking down the street when he heard … DINOSAURS!” (various growling noises) “He SHOOT the dinosaurs!” (various shooting noises) “And he was NEVER seen again!” (sits back down for dramatic emphasis) “And FUEGO!”

The Dirt

Collette : “I wonder what they used to call our planet before they called it Earth. I wonder what they called it in the old days.” Oxbear : “Dirt.”

The Scary Things

“Yali, it’s time to close your eyes and go to sleep now.” Yali cuddled in closer next to me on the bottom bunk. Still doesn’t like falling asleep alone, two years later. Always asks, “Can you cuddle, Mama?” I don’t mind, of course. “Come on, Yali. No

The Tub

“Puck… what? What did you do in the bath tub?” Shower curtain pulled off the walls. Tub still filled with water. Old glider-rocker footstool submerged in tub. “I was just taking a bubble bath to chillax. I was trying to do my math homework in there, but I got too

The Vikings

I sat both boys down for dinner – plates of Oxbear’s first-try smoked ham – after we had finished discussing ideas about Heaven on the hammock, just the three of us for awhile, and about our Viking heritage, and other things. It was a lazy post-school afternoon; not super common. “Mom?

The Breakfast Pizza

7:00AM “Yali… what are you eating?” Pause. Guilty look. “PIZZA!” “You’re not supposed to eat pizza for breakfast, Yali.” “I wake up morning! I eat pizza! I open ‘frigerator! I reach up pizza! I EAT IT!”

The Eclipse

Yali walked out the back of the school about 45 minutes prior to total occlusion. He pressed the solar eclipse shield to his face. “It’s a PRETTY MOON, MAMA!” Later, he added that the moon was looking pretty orange. When Oxbear and Puck and the rest of the school

The Sunflowers

Around 4:30 in the afternoon, Oxbear and Yali returned from the store. When I opened the truck door to release Yali from his carseat, he handed me five sunflower stocks – appropriate considering the celestial activity coming our way – and grinned. “Oh, Yali! Thank you!” “De nada,” he said sweetly.

The Send-Off

Yali’s first day of Preschool, and his send-off was a grand one. No less than four 5th grade girls “escaped” morning carpool to accompany him to his classroom, administering numerous encouraging statements and “aw”s along the way, as Heidi assisted him with placing his snack of pretzels in

Fifth Grade

Puck had found just the right mix of melancholy and eagerness on his first day back to school – 5th grade. “I don’t like growing up.” And… “I’m excited.” …seemed just about right. So did two slices of hot cheese pizza on the lunch line, and petting Hans’ new

Summer, Day 81

Early morning before Open House at school. Yali greeted me in the living room. “Mom. Guess what?” “What?” He grinned big. “…I’M HUNGRY!! YAAAAAAAAY!!!!”

Summer, Day 79

Puck, stuck with communion wine again : gasps in horror, realizes there’s no way out of this, swallows hard, chokes, sputters, hacks, coughs. “Mom? Can wine make you drunk?”   #outofgrapejuice #orthodoxpresbyterian

Summer, Day 78

News around town that week :   1. Rally Cat 2. Four days till school. 3. Nine days till total solar eclipse. 4. Gus completes 4,000+ piece Lego set in four days.   Big times.

Summer, Day 77

“Yali, don’t climb the banister,” I warned him. “That’s dangerous.” Yali hopped off the railing to the basement, and said carefully to me, “Okay, Mama.” Then, taking on an important tone, he did what he does best : imitation. “You’ll hurt yourself, and you’ll die, and you’

Summer, Day 74

The Rye family was visiting from Ethiopia that evening, after rolling through 16 states and 2 Canadian provinces – or something enormous like that – for their summer sabbatical. So while the adults sat down for about three hours of conversation at one picnic table, the five kids grabbed plates of pizza

Summer, Day 73

Quarter till seven that evening. The boys were back from LA. Oxbear was wrapping up another day at work. Puck was waist-deep in his brand new Lego set in the basement. I was folding three loads of laundry. And Yali had some news for me. “MOM! I have a I-DE-A!

Summer, Day 68

Yali was up early again. And myself – too tired to follow – learned later about his enterprise in the kitchen. He walked back into my room and tucked himself under the covers, carefully holding up four fingers. “I HAD… I HAD FOUR… FOUR YOGURTS!” Turns out he had three. About half

Summer, Day 66

Facetime conversation early that morning, Pacific Time :   Puck : “What’s Yali up to?” Collette : “Well, he was kicking me in the ribs all night. Then he got up this morning, found a Tupperware of leftover pizza, and went to town on that.” Puck : “That’s my Yali!” Collette : “So did

Summer, Day 65

First day that summer without big brother to supervise early morning pantry raiding, and when I walked out : jug of pink lemonade sitting on the kitchen tile, white bunny spoon planted in a full jar of peanut butter, little man stuffing a giant tortilla in his mouth. Fridge and pantry

Summer, Day 62

Items of note on a rainy dead-of-summer afternoon : 1. Yali “moons” Puck, for no apparent reason whatsoever. 2. I discover a dead mouse behind the curiosity cabinet while painting trim in the living room. SOMEONE isn’t carrying her weight around here.

Summer, Day 61

When I woke up this morning, Yali wiggled onto the high bed with a satisfied smile slapped on his cocoa face, and two halves of an apple, cut cleanly down the middle, one in each hand. “Did Puck cut that in half for you?” I asked him. “No,” he said.

Summer, Day 57

Puck, herding cows on Minecraft : “Now come on in, guys. This is your new home for eternity. Now I need to breed you guys. Okay? You. And you.”

Summer, Day 55

Thursday Morning To Do List: * Attend three hours of doctors appointments for 4 year-old at hospital. * Throw entire body weight on top of screaming 4 year-old while his ears are examined. * Pin down screaming 4 year-old in lap while teeth are scanned for residual cleft palate effects. * Buy fruit juice

Summer, Day 54

Yali was having “issues” that morning, as Puck often put it. Puck banished him to the corner after discovering that Yali had “wrecked” his room. Yali’s response was – of course – to throw back his head and emit an ear-splitting mournful wail. After a minute or two of this, Puck

Summer, Day 53

“I lub fruit. I lub it, fruit.” “I lub Nat King Cole. I lub it.” Yali loves everything these days. He also loves causing trouble. 8:00AM that morning : “Yali, what happened to the mozzarella ball?” Yali had discarded the wrapper on the ground, took a few bites, and shoved

Summer, Day 48

Whenever Yali is feeling particularly happy, and adorable, which lands about every hour in one form or another, he gives me a joyful smile and declares, carefully sounding out the syllables, “I’m a CUTE cocoa bean!’ And he is, of course.   ———-   “Mom, you should REALLY clean out under

Summer, Day 46

On this ordinary sort of summer afternoon in the heat of mid-July, I noticed that both my sons had attired themselves without my assistance.   Big Brother: boxer briefs, unzipped fleece-lined hoodie. Little Brother: underwear, red super hero cape, Darth Vader mask.   No apologies. No shame. Little Brother leafed through a

Summer, Day 39

Yali walks in for a good morning kiss. I sense a strong aroma of cinnamon…   Collette: “Yali, where are my snickerdoodles?” Yali: “In my belly.” Collette: “You ate all the cookies?” Yali: “Yes!” Collette: “I hid them on top of the cabinet. How did you even get up there?’ Yali:

Summer, Day 34

The rattle of dishes in the kitchen caught my attention early that morning. Humming. I snuck down the hallway and looked around the corner. There was Yali, sitting on the counter, humming some tune to himself, over and over and over, as he rummaged through spices and sauces, without a

Summer, Day 32

“Yali… where are the peanut butter cups?” Yali stared at me, holding a small bugle in one hand. “In my belly. Right there.” He pointed the bugle at his gut. “So all the chocolate is in your belly?” He nodded with a big smile, as if I’d approve. “Chocolate.

Summer, Day 31

Puck’s bedtime. “Mom, I forgot I don’t have a toothbrush.” He’d used it that morning to scrub the fossil rock he’d found in the woods Sunday afternoon. He had a dental appointment in the morning. He walked out to lounge on the couch before evening prayers

Summer, Day 30

When I got out of bed that morning, all the Starburst minis : gone. Yali. With all that sugar swimming around inside his stout Colombian stomach, none of us predicted he would sit through the entire church service without going bonkers. Before the sermon began, sitting in his big brother’s

Ooh La La La

Yali watched me open the Honey Bunches of Oats and pour a portion into his breakfast bowl. He clapped his hands together and grinned. “Ooh la la LA!” That extra “la” just gave it a little added punch of approval. His latest expression of happy.

It Makes Me Feel Secure

We hit the store before Puck’s playdate with Mickey. Snacks were needed. As we walked into the Schnuck’s grocery store dated circa 1982, in my humble opinion, Puck was immediately impressed as he walked through the doors. “This is what grocery stores looked like when I was a

Tones of the Day

Helping Mom unload groceries at the Big House, Yali managed to run across the jackpot. Setting a sack of Oreos in my lap, he declared a hearty, “Hah-Lo-Loo-Jah!”     When the fat stick stretched out across the path in the woods turned out instead to be a long, black, very alive

Summer, Day 12

Puck quotes of the day: (While I was weeding out the landscaping…) “Wow. That’s a lot of ants. Good thing none of them have mortgages.” “Mom, can you stop buying us crud and stuff, like popsicles?”

Summer, Day 08

Puck wanted to watch the sun set from the roof that evening, so I let him climb up there with his Amazon Kindle. A little while later, he stomped on the roof, so I came out to see what he needed. “Here, Mom. Can you take my Kindle? Catch!” I

Summer, Day 07

While climbing the jungle gym at Faust Park on a steamy afternoon between games of hide-and-seek, and purchases from the ice cream truck: Puck: “Mom, you should become a teacher.” Collette: “Why’s that?” Puck (with guilty smile) : “Uh… because you’re… nerdy?”

Summer, Day 06

Collette: Kill two large brown recluse spiders in bedrooms. (Wonder how – with two boys loud enough to split atoms by sheer volume produced on any given day – a recluse of any kind would be willing to step foot inside the house.)   Boys: Make “poisonous” science potion of vinegar and various

Summer, Day 05

While walking to Walgreen’s that morning: Collette: “Puck, why are you wearing hazmat gloves to the store? People are going to think we’re troublemakers or something.” Puck: “They won’t think that, Mom. You don’t wear these kinds of gloves to graffiti. And they won’t think

Summer, Day 04

Collette: * Scrape paint on carport. * Record baseball podcast with guest podcaster from Iowa.   Boys: * Coast around neighborhood in yellow metal dump truck. * Yali spray sunscreen in eyeball at public pool.

It's... SUMMER!

6:30AM “It’s… SUMMER!” Puck’s voice rang out clear and strong from the top bunk that early Saturday morning. “It’s… summer?” Yali echoed, oblivious to the meaning of the term. “It’s summertime, it’s summertime, it’s summertime…” 4th grade was a situation of the past;

What One Won't Think Of...

“MMMM! WHAT IS THIS?” I was halfway through measuring a list of spices into a small glass bowl and didn’t hear him the first time, my youngest son standing on a pine chair at the kitchen sink. “MMMM! WHAT IS THIS?” When I looked over, the young man in

Be My Witness

Yali tore out of his room that morning, naked as a jaybird, brandishing a wooden sword in the air, growling like a T-rex. He then joined the ridiculous conversation happening in the living room between Oxbear and Puck regarding the use of the television in the mornings. A new rule

Can I Have One?

Yali caught me in the act of Keebler fudge stripe cookies mid-way through Friday morning. He couldn’t see what it was, exactly, but he knew he was missing out on something tasty. He marched right over to me. “Mom? Can I have one? Open your mouth. Say ‘aaah!’”

Dream Head

“Puck… Puck, it’s time to get up and get ready for school… Puck?” Puck lifted his head groggily from the pillow. “What? You mean that was all a dream?” “What dream?” “I dream that I was sleeping.” “No, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t a dream…” Two minutes

The Company We Keep

We sat around the television in the basement that evening for dinner. Puck had received a DVD TV collection of “Top Cat” from Curly and Lulu for his birthday, and he was deep into the second episode when an ant crawled across the screen of my laptop. “Boys, you’ve

Just a Little Blessing

We walked out into the soggy rainy soup of a Sunday morning for church. The world had been drenched for days now. “Aren’t you glad we had your party last Sunday instead?” I asked Puck, just before Oxbear joined us to fire up the truck. “Yes,” he replied gratefully.

Alexa!

“ALEXA!” Yali thundered at her early that Saturday morning. “STOP TIMER!… Thanks, Alexa.” But Alexa wasn’t really listening. “ALEXA! STOP TIMER!” Nothing. “Alexa…”

The Thought Process

“You know, Mr. V is basically related to me.” I looked at my son, sprawled on his back in the hallway at school after the crowds had thinned out. “Mr. V isn’t related to you.” “Basically he is.” “He’s your godfather. That doesn’t make him related to

I Got My Head Stuck in a Fence

“I got my head stuck in a fence at school today,” Puck announced to the dinner table. I had already heard about it earlier in the afternoon. This was not the first time Puck had found his head stuck in something at school. Back in 2nd grade, Hans had been

She's Going to be Part of Our Family

“Wait. Mom. The adoption is official? I mean, like, we’re really going to adopt? It’s confirmed?” “Yes, buddy. You didn’t know that?” Puck’s big hazel eyes grew even wider. “REALLY?! I thought you were still just thinking about it! So it’s confirmed?!” “Yup.” “YES! YES!

I'm Growing up too Fast

Sunday afternoon was all about celebrating Puck’s birthday with sunshine, Sugarfire BBQ, cookie cakes, badminton, and most of the family, including some of Puck’s favorites, the Vermeer family. Year 10 had left a mark on the Big Guy, the responsibility of growing older, perhaps. Maybe most particularly after

Smells Like Government

Puck’s 7AM field trip to Jeff City began at home where he got busy packing items for the road. When the load began to look a little too heavy for his usual Minecraft backpack, he asked for the big guns. “Mom? Can I just take a hiking backpack instead?

Happy Birthday Like a Ten Year-Old

Double digits. A solid decade of life into things, and Puck was ready for full-on celebrating, including cookie cake with classmates at lunch, the Lego Store after school, and burgers and frozen yogurt for dinner. As he returned from Froyo with Oxbear later that night, he descended to the basement

We'll Always Get Free Food Now

Sunday morning after Ansel married his pastry chef, Puck had thoughts for me.   Puck: “Well. I have a new aunt now.” Collette: “Yes, you do. She’s a pretty nice lady, isn’t she?” Puck: “Yup… We’ll always get free food now.”

I Love You, French Fries

After I put Yali to bed that night, I heard him thrashing around in the covers, hunting for something. “Yali, what’s going on in here?” “Oh, there it is!” he exclaimed, pulling his French fries pillow out of the corner of the bed. “Aw… I love you, French fries.

Cotillion Date

It was an almost-balmy afternoon running around the playground after carpool, all the kids together again. Yali tore from one corner of his large outdoor cell to the other, roaring like the dino on his t-shirt. Meanwhile, the 4th grade girls clustered around the monkey bars, discussing the future. “Can

Big Guys

The stomach bug had not yet finished leaving its calling card at school. Wednesday night, Hans had also gone down. Puck just shook his head after the details had been relayed, and said, “Big guys are big guys. But when they get sick, it’s over.”

Wouldn't Wanna be Ya

“See ya! Wouldn’t wanna be ya!” Puck called across the house for no apparent reason that morning. For the rest of the day, at random times, and for no reason at all, Yali walked over to me, grinning, and with his best pronunciation available, said, “Mom! Mom! Mom! See

Meatball, Meatball

Yali eyed his paper plate overflowing with meatballs at the church luncheon. He was so excited. A few seconds after stabbing into the pile, he began to sing a little ditty to himself… “Meatball, meatball! Everybody do your share!”

My Health

It’s not just the youngest one who gets on my back for eating too much chocolate. His older brother is also very liberal with his chastisement in that department. “Mom. My health is WAY ahead of my sugar. Yours… Well, you’re so smart at school, Mom, but not

And There was Much Rejoicing

The halls were quiet after school. Parents had picked up kids and scattered like June bugs. Puck, Heidi, and Yali were three of the few students left as we waited for Hans to finish carpool. “It’s like the apocalypse!” Puck declared, tugging on my arm. “The whole school is

An Unexpected Aroma

Something seemed out of place. A scent I wasn’t used to observing on my youngest son. Granted, I had left him mostly alone with Puck for about half an hour watching Netflix in my room while I got some work done at the dinner table. But the last thing

A Stove Pipe Hat

“Mom! Can you look up stove pipe hats for Ansel’s wedding? I want to wear a stove pipe hat to the wedding.” “Why…?” “Because it will make me eight inches taller! That will make me almost as tall as Mr. V! And I want an orange tuxedo. Can you

Most Def

Sunday breakfast with the boys: Collette: “Ever wonder why the South American civilizations seemed so much more technologically advanced than the North American civilizations?” Oxbear: “That’s just because the North Americans spent all their time trying to survive the cold instead… I should be an anthropologist.” Collette, changing the

Playground Sad

When I asked Yali if he was ready to leave the playground that afternoon, he shook his head “no”, emphatically. “Why not, Yali?” He looked carefully at me. “Playground. Sad. Cars. Smoosh!” I gathered from the gesticulations of his hands, and reading between the lines, that the playground would be

The Cat Feeder

Puck: “Dad, can we get one of those automatic cat feeders?” Oxbear: “We already have an automatic car feeder. It’s called a Puck.” Puck: “Semi-automatic. You have to pay me. Chop, chop.”

Day 6 : Jupiter

We had just enough hours in the day for Carrie-Bri and me to take in another beach sunrise. Cold in the ears. Rough waters. Then a visit to the old red Jupiter lighthouse, still standing after 157 years. After a quick lunch at a New York delicatessen, we hit the

Day 5 : Jupiter

Carrie-Bri started her morning with the beach, a sunrise, and sharks, or what she assumed were shark fins swimming darkly near the beach. Sure enough, later in the morning after we four had toured another beach just slightly north, I noticed a whiteboard sign propped in the window of the

Day 4 : Jupiter

Carrie-Bri grimaced as yet another Mets fan squeezed himself next to her in standing room only. And didn’t just stand, but liberally sprawled over into her space. “If this guy doesn’t move over…” Carrie growled through her teeth. He didn’t. He also didn’t take a cue,

Day 3 : Jupiter

At about eight o’clock that evening, Eastern Standard Time, Oxbear texted me.   “I didn’t realize it was St. Patrick’s Day.”   Goofball. So while he had taken the boys to the Lego store and somehow managed to completely miss the Irish green that was almost definitely everywhere, I

Day 2 : Jupiter

Back in “balmy” Florida meant standing – shivering – next to Carrie-Bri in “standing room only” for the first six innings of a match-up against the Twins that Thursday afternoon. And still somehow managing to contract a pretty decent sunburn despite the cold breeze. Randal Grichuk with the game winning hit in

I'll Just Pretend It's Juice

“Ohhhhh…” Puck groaned. It had been a long afternoon for the boys. Two and a half hours of imaging, appointments, and blood work for Yali’s annual nephrology visit. And we were at the very end. The blood work. “Don’t look,” I told Puck, as the nurse prepared Yali’

A Little Bit Peckish

Puck and I took five minutes that morning to discuss his upcoming 10th birthday party taking place the following month. Plans never take too long around here. Three friends. City Museum. Pizza. “Do you want to have pizza after the City Museum?” “Yes. We could have snacks at the City

It Can Happen

I walked downstairs to check on the boys’ progress. It was still early on a Sunday morning, but time to get ready for Sunday School. I might not have the greatest sense of smell, but something didn’t seem… normal. “What is that smell, Puck?” “Oh, just popcorn, Mom.” “You

Oh, Pum On!

“Oh, PUM ON!” Yali slapped a hand to his face in disbelief. His favorite phrase by far these days. Examples: “Come on, Yali. Let’s put your shoes on.” “Oh, PUM ON!” “Come on, Yali. Let’s read a book.” “Oh, PUM ON!” “Come on, Yali. Let’s get you

Gotta Work on Those Insults

“Mom! Can’t I just have a break from homework?” It was an unheard-of “off day” on a Wednesday due to parent teacher conferences. But Puck still had assignments to complete before days-end. “You’ve already had a break for three and a half hours, Puck.” Pause. “You Protestant!” Gotta

More Fruit Snacks

It was almost five o’clock in the afternoon. Yali, freshly returned from a visit to the grocery store, unboxed the Batman fruit snacks and started going to town. I stopped him at packet number three. But Yali wasn’t prepared to end the juicy goodness. When I found him

Catapult

I looked out the high window late in the afternoon to see what was going on below in the yard. Big J was rolled up in a heap on the ground while Puck stood over him, chatting. I sensed there had been some injury about halfway through their afternoon post-school

You're Stronger Than My Dad!

“Mrs. Silverspoon! Mrs. Silverspoon! Make a muscle! Show Big J!” All the kids expectantly clustered around on the playground after school to watch the big show. A little reluctantly, I flexed my right arm. “WHOA! WHAT?!” Big J’s jaw dropped. “Yeah, she’s super strong!” “That’s just because

Poetry in Burgers

Because it was a holiday weekend, we enjoyed a few more out-to-eats than usual. This included a shot at Five Guys Burgers, Puck’s burger of choice. Sometimes, the goodness of the food inspires his own version of poetry. And so he commenced: “You can feel the textures sailing down

What's Your Favorite?

On the way to church, we each discussed our top five favorite scents.   Oxbear settled on: 1. the woods in the morning 2. leather 3. pipe smoke and bourbon 4. citrus 5. tomato sauce cooking   I went with: 1. cedar 2. pine 3. leather 4. beeswax 5. roses   While Puck

Because She's an Old Lady

For their play date that afternoon, Puck and Mickey were busy raking leaves in the front yard, hunting the arrow I lost the previous day. When the arrow still hadn’t turned up, Puck suggested they offer to rake the neighbors’ yards for pay. They took off with their rakes,

So Much Candy!

“YALI! I have SO MUCH CANDY FOR YOU!” Annie called to him above the din of carpool. “Candy” was the only word Yali needed to hear. Up he went into her arms, swept adrift in a world of post-Valentine’s-Day-party sugar high mayhem. I allowed it. I knew he had

Amateurs

It was after two o’clock in the afternoon. Francis’ 22nd birthday celebration was commencing three days early. And, much to Francis’ great appreciation, there was Sugarfire pulled pork for lunch, followed by homemade Reese’s bars. “I know they’re rich,” Carrie-Bri called from the kitchen. “Don’t feel

A Little Paint, a Little Water

I was up to my eyes in paint by two o’clock that afternoon. Fixing up the old house was a long process, probably strung out between a hundred Saturdays. So I cracked open that can of orange paint, flavored with a little 1970s, and got rolling on the boys’

We Had a Talk

“MOM!” In true Puck-form, instead of coming to find me with his question, he belted it out from the other room, knowing I would hear him. Easily. “Yes, son…” “WILL I NOT GO TO HEAVEN IF I’M A HOBO?” “What?” “Will I not go to Heaven if I’m

It Sounds Like Something Edible

Puck was tucked in for the night on the top bunk, about ten minutes past his bedtime. That was doing well for a school night. But as always, he had a few more last-minute questions to put to me. “Mom? What’s the Caribbean?” “It’s a collection of islands

Thunder in February

Flash. “WHOA! MOM! DID YOU SEE THAT?!” Lightning had returned in the balmy morning of early February. A storm was always an exciting thing, but in winter it was even more special, considering the season. A roll of dark gray passed over the house with some wind and a little

Making the Grade

Yali had discovered a new buddy. Someone a little closer to his age than the 4th grade girls at school. Speech therapy with another three year-old meant learning how to interact on a preschool level. And so far, so good. Watching the two of them sitting next to each other,

Friday Haul

Yali sat at a quiet table in the cafeteria with a mound of snacks in his hands. Between upstairs and downstairs, he had discovered ample snack resources at school. The “goldfish crackers” lady upstairs – Bob’s grandmother – and the “fruit snacks” lady downstairs – Big J’s mom. So he hoarded

Any Old Day of the Week

Four o’clock. Puck and Heidi were running around the gym with two other kids, sweaty, red faces, laughing. Yali walked amongst them wearing a box around himself like a robe, which he confiscated from the recycling pile. Takes after big brother. Goldfish crackers spilled on the rubber floor, backpacks,

You Give Love a Bad Name

Driving down the road that morning, listening to an 80s playlist, I could see Yali intensely bobbing his head back and forth to “You Give Love a Bad Name”. Then he started singing with the chorus… “Bad name!” When the song ended, he wasn’t ready to call it a

Boys

Puck stretched out on my bed that morning, wrapping up some straggling homework assignments, including amending a few incorrect answers on a recent American History test. I happened to glance at it as I walked by. “Puck for – ‘What battle is often called the turning point of the Revolutionary War?

Diamond Rings

Four o’clock. Dead in the middle of homework before basketball practice. I knew Puck was getting distracted with the old microscope on his desk when he walked out of his room and asked… “Mom? Do you have any spare diamond rings? I want to examine them.” “I don’t,

An Acquired Taste

By the time the service reached communion that morning, I had already extracted Yali from the service due to his breaching of the local noise ordinance. So I heard about Puck’s experience later, on the drive to the Big House. “They were out of grape juice,” he explained. “So

Spooky Stories

Puck had been begging for spooky stories all week, stories from my childhood that creeped him out. Eventually, I ran out of tales to tell. By Thursday night at the dinner table, Puck turned to other sources. “Dad! Do you have any scary stories from when you were a kid?

After School Snack

It was about 4:30 in the afternoon. Puck sat at the dinner table with his spelling workbook and a mug of milk. Slowly, he began soaking handfuls of crushed Doritos into the milk. “Son. Really?” “Don’t judge me, Mom.” And I’ll be darned, if he didn’t

Contrasts

3:30 in the afternoon. Amazingly, sitting in Hans’ classroom after carpool, it was quiet. Puck camped out under a table in the reading corner with his spelling book. Heidi sat at her dad’s desk with her math book. And Joe sat next to me on the floor with

Couch, Christened

We had been home from school for about half an hour. Yali, full of Cheez-Its shared with Heidi and Annie during carpool. Puck already in his rollerblades, resting a full glass of milk on the couch cushion next to him, a glass I happened not to notice, and helping me

The Cankersore

Puck had a cankersore. Possibly his first. An after-effect of the cavity repair. So when the whole Snicketts crew gathered together after church around the lunch table, Puck had a hard time eating the meal because of the pain. Everyone had a recommendation for him. “Crush up some aspirin and

Saturday Attire

Yali walked out of his room, dressed for the day. His shirt was on backwards and his shoes were on the wrong feet. But he had still dressed himself, and that was the point. He dragged two Batman costumes behind him, both of which he put on over his clothes

Tectonic Plates

Every month the boys got themselves measured against the doorway of the pantry. This time, Puck discovered that not only had he not grown, but he seemed to have slightly shrunk. “I don’t get that,” he scoffed. “The house must have moved around or something. There must have been

Interior Design

I probably should have left my room to investigate when, at around four o’clock that afternoon, I heard something heavy being moved across the living room floor. But I didn’t. It had been a loud afternoon at school with the hooligans, and I needed a few minutes of

Mr. Edison

Puck suited up as Thomas Edison for school that morning. Cardboard bowtie and Australian beeswaxed hair last minute before we popped out the door. By the end of the day, Puck concluded that he would like to wear a suit “everywhere now”. Except maybe for basketball practice. “Can I get

Feed Me

Puck eyed the purple carrots I had packed for his school snack that morning. “Uh, Mom? That’s the weirdest snack anyone will have ever eaten at school. Those carrots look poisoned.” On that note, we left for morning classes.   One hour and forty-five minutes in the lunch room. One

Cavity

Puck walked back to see the dentist about a cavity repair shortly after ten o’clock that morning. Half an hour later, he emerged with a numb face and a couple of goodies in hand. As we drove home, he contemplated his first interaction with a cavity. “Mom, don’t

Thawing Out

Ice still plastered every tree, every bush. Sunday School had been canceled, and church had been pushed back half an hour. So all three of the boys delayed breakfast in lieu of a little unconventional Sunday morning Xbox in the basement. Finally, Puck emerged, ready for chow. “I need beck-fast!

The Many Words of Yali

Another day, another non-dollar. Yali was at it again, smooshing out his usual phrases of acquired words that were not quite coherent to anyone else except our household. One of his favorites: “Where’s Batman? Oh. There it is! Never mind! Thank yoooooou!” Or if I happen to ask him

Snacks

“Hi, Mama! Hi, Mama!” The deceptively sweet voice of three year-old innocence soothingly dragged me out of dreams an hour too early in the morning. “Hi, Yali…” “Manzana?” I don’t remember how I replied. All I remember is waking up some ten or fifteen minutes later with my pre-preschooler

Rainstorms & Gyros

The wind was huge. Like March. And temperatures were closer to April. This made for a well-loved combination in our little Snicketts family. Puck and Yali were enthralled, running through the muddy yard together, arms outstretched, before we left for school. Torrential rain and a little thunder were also added

Basketball Season

Puck’s first-ever basketball game kicked off in about a two below windchill in Manchester. He ran for the gym door as soon as we exited the car, insisting that he didn’t need to slip pants over his gym shorts. “My legs are NUMB!” he called back over his

Refrigerator Raider

Back from school, I heard the boys rummaging in the freezer for post-class snacks. Because the peanuts and Starburst they shared with Heidi at three o’clock weren’t enough to hold them over. Popsicles. I didn’t stop them. After awhile, the rustling of wrappers stopped, and everything was

One Hundred Decibels

“AAH! AAH! AAAAAAH!” I looked at Oxbear while we listened to the boys yell bloody murder in high pitched giggles at each other from the other room. “Do you think they ever get tired of hearing themselves scream?” I finally asked. Two sons, one just as loud as the other.

Some Things Never Change

6:44AM in a new year, and the Colombian coffee bean was snuffling, sound asleep between us, oblivious to the fact that 2016 had become 2017. What did he care? The only important thing to him in that moment was waking up wrapped in warm blankets followed by piles of

Too Much Cinnamon Roll

With Mom still on a house tour in Galena that weekend, Elmer and Jaya taking family Christmas photos, and Irish out with friends, it was a smaller post-church crowd at the Big House. Carrie-Bri’s made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls big enough to sink a boat sent everyone into food comas that

You Can be Like Me

It was about 5:30. Dark. Blue Christmas lights glowing from the roof. Oxbear, swamped in late meetings till after nine, checked in a few times from his phone. Eventually I texted him. “I’m trying to decide if I should be bad and take the boys to Walgreen’s

Aw, No!

While things wound down for the night, Yali got busy brushing his teeth in the bathroom. I heard Puck intervene. Puck: “WHERE WERE YOU ON THE NIGHT OF THE 41ST?!” Yali: Unintelligible garble. Puck: “OH, YOU’RE TRYING TO SPEAK SMACK TALK, ARE YOU?! WANT A DATE WITH THE TOILET?

Dust Off the Boxes

It must have been about eight o’clock. Oxbear had left for his bi-weekly Saturday morning buddy get together in South City. And I had the boys at home to start dragging out the Christmas decorations. Knowing his mom’s propensity to procrastinate when it comes to holidays of any

Big Brother Duties

Day four of my head cold. Puck was off school and taking charge. “Mom, you go back to your room and rest. Go on. You need to rest. Yali and I are going to go clean up the living room.” He was so sweet about it, I couldn’t say

Ghosts

“Can you hold this, Mom?” Puck handed me one of Oxbear’s dress socks while he held a bag of brown rice in the other. “Hold this?” Yali repeated. I was already in a conversation with Oxbear on my phone while frying eggs for dinner, checking bacon in the oven,

Birthday Fodder

On the road to church, the boys sat in the back of a very spacious truck. Puck watched the scenery flash past with great satisfaction. “I can look out the window with ease and watch the road go by,” he said. “It gives me a good feeling. You know?”   A

Sayonara, Mazda

8:30 in the morning. I walked out to the table to discover that the boys had already helped themselves to breakfast. Italian ices. “Boys. Seriously?” They both immediately turned towards me. Busted. Yali pointed dramatically at the half-eaten cup. “YOGURT! YOGURT!”   About an hour later, Oxbear and Puck hit

High Five

Yali spent the morning begging for his favorite foods: hot dogs, string cheese, hard boiled eggs, and yogurt. He also devoted some of his time to chasing Crackers the cat around the house. He wanted to play. She did not. “CRACKERS!” he screamed in frustration, slamming the bedroom door when

They Would Make Great Tops

There was still a little time for Puck to kill before we left for school that morning. And I knew he had his salvaging eye on all the shiny round gold doorknobs on the built-in living room cabinetry. “Mom, you’re going to be taking these cabinets out, right?” “I

Burning Energy

“TOAST! OH YEAH!” Yali walked into the living room with a bag of burger buns, tossing them up into the air. Clearly, he had already made arrangements for breakfast.   Sunday School was over. I walked back into the sanctuary. “Want to get Yali?” I asked Oxbear. “He’s running around

What the Crud

6:15AM. THUD! “WHAT THE CRUD IS YALI DOING OUT THERE?” Puck yelled from the bedroom. Whatever Yali had done, it was too early in the morning to deal with, even if it was a school day. At least from Puck’s point of view. He exited the top bunk

Goodbye, Tadpoles

Flying death leaps off the top of the jungle gym at school, in the chilly shadows of post-Daylight’s Saving Time. None of the 4th grade boys were afraid to bite the ground on the way down. One could only hope there were no broken bones just in time for

Hitler Pancakes

Carpool. Heidi and Yali passed my “I Voted” sticker back and forth for awhile until the sticker lost its stick.   I walked to the mailbox when we got back from school. “Is there a package in the mail for me?” Puck asked. “No… Were you expecting something?” “No. I was

Toilet Spider

Puck stared down at the unbuttoned button on his uniform khakis. Then he looked back up at me. “Houstace, we have a problem. These pants are too small.” “Houstace, huh?” “Yup.” Since we had to leave for school in ten minutes, we made them fit. But the kid is a

Catfish

Francis walked over after church to fill me in on his Saturday evening. “So we were walking by the river and I just hear this guy calling, ‘Help! Help!’ So I go over there to see what was going on, and he’s got this fish he’s hooked in

I Just Want to Make the Right Decision

“Puck, who was the second President of the United States?” Two quizzical hazel eyes looked carefully at me. “Joooohhhhn… Bunyan?”   Saturday afternoon we took Puck on a date, just Oxbear and myself, like the old days before our little Colombian arrived in the STL. Slushies, sodas at QT. Lego Store

Calvin & Hobbes

“RAAAAWR!” Yali held up two “claws” over his plate of lunch hot dogs and growled at the table. Then he dipped his nose into his plate and sucked up a piece of hot dog. Puck stared at him in light disgust. “Eat normally,” he commanded. “Like a human.” Yali just

Planes & Livers

Just before two o’clock that afternoon, Yali and I met Francis up at school where he unloaded a Francis-sized aluminum (presumably) plane and carried it into the building. About fifteen minutes later, Puck and all of his classmates assembled together to hear about aircraft maintenance. This included riveting the

Acacia & Barbecue

As I got ready to leave that morning to work the lunch room at school, I realized too late that I had put on perfume. “Why do I waste perfume on these kids?” I asked myself out loud. “I’m going to the lunch room. They don’t appreciate the

On the Menu

Every morning it’s the same thing. My second alarm clock is never necessary. Because my first alarm clock has already woken me by crawling all over my shoulders, head, and face, whining for either yogurt, or my phone to watch claymation Spiderman.   Meanwhile, my old knee injury had been

Spiderman

The mailman handed me a large, flat box at the front door early that afternoon. I knew what it was. “Yali, come here. This is for you.” He grinned and joined me in the kitchen where I split the box open with a carving knife. “Close your eyes.” He squinted

Dude!

Playdate Number Three of a long fall break weekend commenced at noon. Snicky hopped out of his mom’s silver jeep “with the shiny wheels”, as Puck always distinguishes it from the other silver jeeps at school, and for the next three and a half hours, they kept themselves completely

He Defied Physics

“Mom? Who invented the water clock?” “I don’t know. Maybe the Egyptians?” “No, Mom. I mean the modern water clock.” Puck zoomed around the house on rollerblades in his pajamas. Oxbear was still at Globalhack at the Chaifetz, and I was trying to get both boys ready for church.

Rollerblades & Tadpoles

“YO-GURT!!!! YO-GURT!!!!” At least it wasn’t six o’clock in the morning or anything. But Yali wailing through the house for his favorite breakfast quickly got the day started. Because he doesn’t know how to ask for food without acting like the world’s about to end.   Spanish

A Little Vincent Price

It was one of those rare days where the boys and I didn’t even open the car door. Puck was on four straight days of fall break. And lucky for him, he had a big book report to get cracking on. “That thing is due in one week,” I

First Playdate

In the silence of a 6:05AM darkness, one shout split the tranquil morning air.   “TIME TO GET UP!!!!”   Puck had decided to establish himself as the unauthorized family alarm clock. And it was definitely more than effective.   Meanwhile, Yali spent the morning with Gloria while I worked a lunch

Puck Thoughts

I almost thought I’d imagined it at first. But sometime mid-morning back home, it happened. Thunder in October. Not the most common sound, but it was very welcome. Followed by rain that fell in heavy curtains off and on throughout the day.   It was so quiet after carpool that

Supervising

For about ten minutes that morning, the school office was so completely quiet that I could hear all the clocks ticking. I had never before experienced that level of silence in that part of the world. It didn’t last long though. Soon the desk was crowded with phone messages

Never a Dull Moment

It was hotter than Indian summer now. Yali and I sat in the yard wearing shorts and t-shirts early in the afternoon, eating lunch together. High wind. Warm sun.   It was a short hour after school for the boys, whacking volleyballs around in the gym, and then chasing each other

Happy Birthday, Irish

I was in the church nursery during the service with Yali. It was my shift again, and we had a record-breaking four kids in the room that morning. But Yali was a little more interested in slicing wooden lemons and oranges than he was in participating with the other kids.

No High Five for Yali

Puck and I sat on my bed about eight o’clock Saturday morning. His math textbook was open in front of him, while he tried to concentrate over the yelling of Yali in the hallway. The yelling was due to the fact that the granddaughter of Puck’s music teacher,

Grilled Cheese; Oh Yeah

Week nine of school was already over. The kids ran crazy eights around the playground in afternoon temps that beat late spring. Yali gathered clusters of fallen leaves with the other younger boys and tossed them into the air, giving me this face every once in awhile that clearly read,

Stop Petting the Lilies

“AAAAAAAAH!” Yali ran away from nap time, screaming around the house in maniacal laughter, with the tadpole net stretched out over his head. He couldn’t avoid the nap, but he did elude my grasp for awhile. This tiny niño is fast. Fortunately, I’m faster. Usually.   After carpool. Dumpster

The After Party

I was not pleased with the welcoming committee outside my door early that morning. There is something about being greeted by a very brown recluse looking spider in a dimly lit hallway that gives you the heebie jeebies at 6:30AM. So I tossed a box lid on him and

I'm Already Married

A quick hour supervising the school office during staff meeting, sorting out a couple of “sickies” who lost their breakfast just down the hall in the bathrooms. Poor kids. Then back to pick up Yali from the Big House. When I pulled up the driveway, he was wrapped in a

My Love for Cardboard is Insane

During the sermon that morning, Puck’s mind was obviously wandering again. He passed an index card to Oxbear. Granted, the handwriting was even done in cursive, and completely legible, but it read:   “what can i do to get 100 dollers?”   It was early afternoon and almost the whole family

Bullfrog City?

Puck was in full hunting mode just before eleven o’clock that morning. Heidi’s game was at another school with bleachers in the gym. And the potential for treasure was tantalizing. Turns out, he didn’t have to get ten steps beyond the car door before he discovered his

Half Day

School was a small chaos that morning. Not actual chaos, just about twice as packed as it usually is because of Grandparents Day. Puck was back to his normal healthy self again, and seemed pretty eager to show Gloria around the 4th grade classroom. So off we went. Meanwhile, Yali

This is Going to be so Boring!

Puck walked into our room that morning, hunting for my laptop. “Nope. You’re in quarantine. Go back.” “In my room all day?!” “Yup.” “This is going to be so boring!” Whatever bug Puck had picked up, was already gone. But in effort to prevent the spread of contagion, he

Get Destroyed, My Friend!

It was warm again. A little Indian summer before the reality of autumn hit St. Louis.   I worked about an hour at the school office that morning, passing out Jr. Strength Tylenol for leg pains and braces pains, filling out spreadsheets, and taking a few phone calls. Meanwhile, Yali went

Show Me Your Muscle

By the time I got back from bringing Puck to school, Yali was still rolled up in the blankets on our bed. But no fever. It looked like he was ready to nap the whole day. “Hey, Yali… want some Cheerios?” His watery eyes lit up. “CHEERIOS?” (As best he

Slightly Unexpected

In the aftermath of an ended baseball season, and one of my two favorites shipped out of St. Louis to who-knows-where, unpacking wasn’t the first thing I felt like doing. But it had to be done. Fortunately for both Yali and me, Oxbear had decided to take off work

Seven Years

“So I went to that bakery Chet told me about this morning,” Oxbear told me, setting a bag of fresh bagels on the table. “And it was closed. So I found this bagel place instead. I go in there, and this guy says, ‘Check or cash only.’ And I didn’

The Big Move

5:25. Yali was awake and ready for action. The rest of us, not so much. But once the three year-old is awake, the family is awake. So we got a significant jump on moving day.   Somewhere around 9:00, Oxbear called me out to the garage at the Big

Hello, St. Louis; Goodbye, Matt Holliday

Ten o’clock. Clayton. A relatively small stack of paperwork on a shiny conference table. A few signatures. And we were done. Our realtor handed us the house key and a box of 55 daffodil bulbs. “For the boys to plant in the yard,” she grinned. We were homeowners again.

I Know Why Yali is Bad!

Gray and cold. Cold enough to shiver when we left for school that morning.   Yali and I bought things like a shower curtain and bath mat, some of the few things we needed for the new house – which was actually twelve years older than our first place – before going back

Hans' Classroom

It was t-ravs in the lunch room that morning for all the starving children. Starving for t-ravs anyway. Maybe not so much the accompanying mozzarella cheese sticks, which always surprises me. Puck waved wildly to me from the back table with two of his best buds – Mickey and Snicky – while

I've Got to Go to College

“Puck, time to get up.” I waited at the mouth of the dark bedroom for some sign of stirring. Reception on a weekday morning usually amounts to nothing more than a “mmmpppfff”, or sometimes a “gggrrr”, or if I’m very fortunate, an “I don’t want to get up.

Ear Tubes 2.0

“Bye, Mama!” The sweet little voice of my sometimes-behaved three year-old echoed back to me from the front door as he and Oxbear left the house early that morning. It was about 6:30, and Yali had another date with the ear tubes at Cardinal Glennon. He was already wide

Enjoying that Goulash?

“MOM! A TOAST JUST POPPED UP IN THE TOASTER AND I REALLY WANT TO DEVOUR IT!” Puck yelled from the kitchen to the back room. I allowed it. Thirty seconds later, he walked back to find me. “Uh, Mom? You know the little toast that you cooked?” He held up

I'm Going to Win it, Mom

Between Gloria catching a flight to Florida to visit Relevance, Kitts, and the kids, then Spanish class for Yali and me, and Oxbear, Puck, and Theodore buying a fridge for the new house, the morning was quickly over, and time for the annual school biathlon.   We drove east in Theodore’

I'm Usually the Caboose

We were back on the road that morning to complete Week 6 of 4th grade. Puck was busy filling me in on everything “school”, as usual. “I don’t have any tasks this week in class. I’m resting.” “Oh, yeah? What’s your job next week?” “Line leader.” “That

Warts, Blisters, & Bugs

“HELLO, GA GA!” “HELLO, GA GA!” Puck and Yali were already deep into another 7AM wrestling match in the back room while I packed us up to leave. And, as usual, whatever Puck yelled, Yali also yelled. I don’t even know what they’re saying to each other half

You Don't Know How Big My Stomach Is

It was still in the 80s, that last day of summer. Puck, Heidi, and Yali ran around the playground, coaxing each other into attempting flips on the high bar, on their stomachs. “Come on, Puck,” Heidi urged him. “You can do it. Just do it. COME ON!” Puck, his gut

Three More Years

9:30 – Cardinal Glennon. Yali wailed when he saw the blood pressure cuff coming towards him. “No! No!” That’s another word he knows how to deliver very clearly now. “We’re just going to hug your muscle because we love it,” the nurse told him. That was good enough

Like a Pirate

“MOM!” Puck yelled from the kitchen. “I WANT MORE MILK!” “Okay. Pour yourself some.” “OKAY! WHERE IS IT?” I decided not to reply. It was almost seven o’clock on “Talk Like a Pirate Day”, and Puck was wrapping up breakfast to don his garb, which was nothing more than

I Just Gave Mom a Piggy-Back Ride!

With Ansel scheduled to be married in April, Puck had some thoughts for me as we left church that morning. “Guess I’m gettin’ a new aunt.” “You have lots of aunts and uncles, don’t you?” “Yup! But… I can’t really picture Uncle Francis getting married.” “Why not?

Happy Late Anniversary

“MOM! CAN YOU COME HELP ME TAKE THIS LIGHT OFF THE CEILING?!” Puck and Yali were playing “catch” on the basement steps. And Puck was becoming worried that the light fixture wasn’t going to last too much longer at that rate. So we took out the light bulb. About

Rain

Yali and I sat together on the stoop just outside school. It was about nine o’clock in the morning and the skies were sad. We watched silver rain pour over the parking lot and playground, light split the sky. We stayed there until Yali thought it would be so

The Amazing Box

After breakfast, Puck held my phone up to his mouth and spoke carefully into it. “Siri – can you tell me what the names of those bracelets are that have snow from the top of Mt. Everest and mud from the bottom of the Dead Sea in it?” Siri had no

I Feel Guilty

Two weeks later and Mom was back from Germany, with apparently zero jet-lag, despite being delayed longer than expected on the return flight because a food truck ran into their plane on the tarmac in Copenhagen. She had returned to the welcome home present of finding Irish with symptoms of

All in a Tuesday

Somewhere around six o’clock in the morning, Yali pulled me out of a dream where I was making arrowheads, and whined to watch videos on my phone. This is usually how every day begins.   At breakfast, Puck devoured Round One, and requested a clementine as follow-up. “Uh, Mom? What

A Little Harmless Bribery

“Puck? What were you doing in there, son?” Oxbear was trying to get Puck moving on that early school morning. And from Oxbear’s perspective, Puck was dawdling. “Dad, I was just blowing my nose. With my hand.”   We spent most of our day at the Big House. Carrie-Bri and

Oh, Puck

“Mom, what does the F word mean?” Out of left field. “Well, hon, I’m going to have to talk to Dad and see if you’re ready to talk about that.” “Doesn’t it mean ‘federal offense’ and ‘violence’? And poop?” I looked over at him to see if

Bleacher Diver

“Puck was almost tempted to play volleyball after school on Thursday,” I told Oxbear as we drove down the highway Saturday afternoon. “You were, Puck?” “The aftercare director kept asking him to come over because they were short on kids. I could see it; he almost wanted to.” “So what

8 : 439 : 5 : 22

Chapel: Yali spent more time juggling my wedding band in his hands than listening to the book read aloud by the school librarian.   Carpool: A gaggle of loud 4th grade boys and girls tearing up the general peace and quiet of post-class activities. A whole lot of “she likes so-and-so”

Spoiled

Oxbear’s cold must have taken a turn for the better. After the 6:15 alarm, he got busy making English breakfast in the kitchen: eggs, baked beans, tomatoes, and toast. Not too shabby.   Nine-thirty. Yali and I waited at the Honda dealership for about an hour and a half

School's in Session

Yali and I walked into the Secretary of State downtown shortly after nine o’clock that morning. Post Adoption Report 3 of 4 was almost completed. Five minutes later it was returned with a gold seal, ready for shipping to Colombia. Almost done. Just six months to go.   “Yali! Yali,

Short Week

“Yali, buddy. Hey, buddy. Could I trade you this penny for that nickel? Yeah. That’s right. Could I trade you?” Yali grinned back really big at his brother. Of course he would trade the nickel for a penny. If Puck thought it was a good idea, it was a

Laborless Day

“I feel like I’m gonna puke.” “Seriously, Puck?” “Yes.” This was not exactly unexpected. We had been driving for about half an hour through winding back country southwest of 40, and Oxbear’s tendency towards “carsick” had definitely transferred to his oldest son. “I’m gonna puke.” Clearly, he

An Old Man

“Mom, I am NEVER eating peanut butter on a plasma car in the sun again.” I remembered Saturday’s lunch. I’d sent the boys outside on their bike-cars with peanut butter sandwiches, to keep the crumbs outside. “Why not?” I asked him. “Because it made me think of boring

How about the Tuba?

“We need to figure out what sport you’re going to play, Puck,” I told him. “It’s about time you learned at least one team sport.” “I don’t want to play a sport.” Puck meandered around the driveway with his brother on their little bike-cars together. “Well, you

Certified Plane

“Am I bleeding yet?” Bob asked, perched like a bird on the top of the jungle gym. He was not. “Aw, I wanna bleed!” Typical. If anyone was going to draw blood after school, it was Bob. And he had done that once this week already. “I love pain!” Yali

I'd Punch all the Blood out of 'Im

On the first day of September, it was cold. As if by cue. “Is that really how it happens?” Puck asked. “It turns September and then it gets cold?” “Sometimes.” You never know in St. Louis.   It was early afternoon. Yali and I went shopping with Carrie-Bri in the Valley

Fighting with the Devil

When I got back from working the school lunch room early that afternoon, Yali had found a new friend. An “ancient” Winnie the Pooh hand puppet, as Puck described it, amongst all the grandkid toys at the Silverspoon’s. This had apparently inspired him to learn the Winnie the Pooh

House-less

“Well,” Oxbear turned to me as we drove away from the title company. “We are now officially homeless.” Later, he corrected that to “houseless”. Seven and a half weeks at the Silverspoon’s and I’m pretty sure Yali now believes that is our permanent residence. Oxbear and I celebrated

The Mind of Puck

We were stuck in traffic on the drive to school that morning, as usual. But Puck didn’t notice because his nose was buried deep in the Action Bible, a recent gift from his Aunt Onion. “Did people know how to swim back in Bible times?” he asked, as we

Twelve Years

I woke up that morning with an aching right achilles tendon, trying to figure out what I had done this time without realizing it. Almost tripped over myself getting out of bed, quickly realizing that putting any pressure on it was really going to be a bad idea. Two hours

Adiós, Wentzville

“Are you going to cry, Collette?” Both my brothers stared at me with big smiles on their faces as we prepared to leave the old house for the final time. They had been helping Oxbear all day to move everything into the Big House garage for the time being. Theodore

The Circus

“OW! OW! OW! OW!” “Heidi! Look at Puck! Look what he’s doing!” Giggle, giggle, giggle. “AHHHHHHH!” “Heidi! Look at Yali! Look what he’s doing!” Guffaw, guffaw. As I sat on the playground after school with five highly energetic and happy kiddos, I realized that my sons had somehow

Short Day

It was a late start at school that morning after a long night downtown at the ballgame, so we had a little time to hang around the breakfast counter before hitting the road. Yali helped sort silverware, sitting on a stool humming to himself.   We didn’t stay inside very

7 : 272 : 12 : 4

It was about mid-morning. Yali and I hit the store for a few groceries. As we walked down the cereal aisle, Yali found the Captain Crunch. A huge smile lit up his face as he pointed out the captain to me. “DADDY!” he yelled, delighted with his discovery. He waved

The Cardboard Kid

Every afternoon at school, Puck walks out, dumps his backpack, lunchbox, and thermos, typically holds up one finger and says seriously, “I’m going to dumpster dive, Mom. See ya!” Eventually he wanders back with a stack of cardboard, left over from any number of innumerable school events. Usually lunches.

I'm Totally Going to Break Stuff

“Yali? What do you have in your mou… Chocolate? Where did you get chocolate?” The guilty party beckoned one hand rapidly to me, doing his best to say, “Come! Come!” He led me to the kitchen trashcan to reveal Exhibit A: a pile of stale mini M&Ms. “Oh,

Lazy Afternoon

Yali lasted about fifteen minutes in church that morning. Maybe fifteen. Then there were tears and general whining about the yellow highlighter that he just had to have from Puck’s drawing collection. So we quickly made our exit.   Taco salad casseroles at the Big House. Cherry and Thumper were

I Think I'm Going to Get a Scar!

“Hey dad you know on Roblox I really want to figure out a way to make it so that you can speak into a microphone and it says what I want to say on the chat and you can figure out how to do that that would be great but

Hello, Napoleon

Rain again. By the time Puck was dropped off in the school gym, it had stopped. Yali sat on a chair in the school office while I sorted out more tickets for the ballgame the following week. He waited without complaint by way of goldfish crackers and raisins gifted by

One Percent

It was shortly after eight o’clock in the morning. Yali and I were sitting in the hospital waiting room again for his annual cleft palate clinic. Three hours of trying to keep a three year-old entertained between ENT, Speech, Plastic Surgery, and Dental. He watched a lot of National

Back at It

“I AM SO NERVOUS!” I hadn’t anticipated that reaction when Puck walked out to breakfast at 6:30 that morning. Neither did I expect: “I’m too nervous to eat.” This was serious. Over an hour later on the road to school, some of Puck’s nerves had been

1 : Ground Zero

One day before school meant Open House. As we packed up all of Puck’s school supplies for the drive across town, Puck had some insight to share with me. “Mom, I can’t believe I’m going to be in FIFTH GRADE next year! I mean, I still do

2 : Makes Me Feel Weird

“Mom?” “Yes, Puck?” We were driving through a spit of rain on Page, the early part of the morning. Puck, as always, had conversation and questions for me. Can’t get tired of that. “You know the oldest man who ever lived?” “Methuselah. 969. That’s almost one thousand years.

3 : Feeling Like Home

I heard the boys whispering together on the floor near the bed early that morning. My built-in alarm clocks. Sometimes way too early. But mostly on weekends, only. Yali had been up since four-something, and now – sometime later – Puck was still trying to get him to fall asleep on a

4 : More Steps Forward

Sometime around eleven o’clock that morning, Oxbear and I signed another paper on the pending contract on our home of nine-plus years. If everything went according to plan, we would no longer own the little house on the little hill come August 30th. Our realtor offered some closing advice

5 : A Little Mindless Work

Mid-week I had somehow injured my right wrist, doing something I didn’t remember doing. Most likely one of my boys had inadvertently damaged it by running into me or something else silly like that. So by Thursday I put a brace on it to prevent further injury. When Carrie-Bri

6 : All Quiet on the Western Front

I certainly didn’t bring up the subject of chocolate that morning. I rarely mention chocolate anymore around the Chocolate Gestapo. But Puck must have already read my thoughts. “Mom. You’ve eaten MORE CHOCOLATE than Dad and me… COMBINED!” I definitely could not argue that suggestion. But I also

7 : Messing with God's Plans

One week out from school, and Puck was still taking things pretty leisurely. I watched him and his little brother sitting together during lunch, browsing Theodore’s “This Old House” magazine and pondering upgrades for our new home, whenever that happened.   As the heat index crawled to 106, Puck and

8 : No Chocolate, Mom!

Yali’s eyes lit up over the two Oreos inside his Lunchable as we walked through Schnuck’s together. Tuesday was getting busy and we needed something fast. Puck looked down at him with some minor disdain. “Don’t you ever pay attention to your health, Yali?” Yali clearly didn’

9 : A Little Mischief

The sky was oscillating – clouds, sun, clouds, sun – about right for August. Those smug puffy whites sailing across the sky most days. And the heat was dissipating a little. At least for awhile. This allowed Francis to mow the lawn with both my boys on deck for the ride, headphones

10 : A Story for the Grandkids

Church was over. Lunch was on the counter. And the Olympics were on television. Rose and I had just commented on how neither of us realized Men’s Indoor Volleyball was a real sport. “This is no good,” Rose said. “Men’s Beach Volleyball is way better. These are all

11 : Happy 60

When we left St. Louis that morning, the air was thick and muggy as usual. We had a three and a half hour drive to Kansas City ahead of us, Francis behind the wheel, and a busted-up air conditioner in the old Honda Fit. Uncle Balthasar had just turned 60,

12 : By Process of Elimination

“Yali, come on! Let’s go keep thinking of ideas!” Puck and Yali were busy at the Big House. Always more thoughts, always more plans. Thoughts on thoughts. Plans for plans. Their brains were always ticking. Part of those thoughts still included trying to find a trash can that Oxbear

13 : Could Dad Fit Through a Trash Can?

“Hold Puck’s hand,” I tell Yali every time we get out of the car on a parking lot. He grins and slips his little brown hand in Puck’s big white hand. (When he feels like cooperating, which is about a 50/50.) And they follow me wherever I

14 : He Deserves Respect

Two police cars blocked the intersection at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport. We had to stop our car about four cars back from the light to wait and see what was going on. “Why are they just standing there, Mom?” Puck asked. “There’s no accident.” “Don’t know,

15 : That is a Bad Idea

We got some good thunder in the night and into the early morning. Some rain. Let’s keep this going.   We were wrapping up breakfast a little later that morning. Puck had questions for me. “Mom?” “Yup?” “When does Toy Story 4 come out?” I checked. “2018.” “2018?!” He thought

16 : Pasta in the Genes

We were about two weeks away from school now. This meant Yali’s first round of youngster speech therapy was about to come to a close. Session number ten ended with his therapist accolading him for attempting two and three word phrases without much prompting. Yali just grinned his chubby

17 : Kill It

I looked over at Puck during the service. I’d given him a handful of markers/pens/highlighters before the sermon. He had the red marker tucked behind one ear and was very busy highlighting every single line of the bulletin in a methodical pattern of alternating ketchup and mustard

18 : Puerto Rican Style

We had been invited by friends from church to attend a Puerto Rican picnic in Kirkwood that afternoon. Until about half an hour before the event, I hadn’t considered that Puck might take issue with the spread of edibles, which I wasn’t quite sure what that would look

19 : My First Actual Teacher

All day the sky was about half threat-to-rain, by looks alone. At least the mugginess had been cut in half, because the boys and I had more errands to run than I thought. We cleaned all the grass clippings and sprawling weedy-grass from around Dad’s grave. Picked up “Toy

20 : A Contract

It must have been around six-thirty in the morning. Both my boys were wide awake, up, and looking for mild trouble. I could hear it coming before Puck said a word, sitting down on the bed next to me. “Um, Mom?” “Yes, Puck?” “Well. I got a sucker this morning.

21 : Coin Collectors

The Botanical Gardens – myself and three youngsters – ready for a lot of sun, a lot of heat, a lot of water, and probably not that many flowers. Because two boys still somehow outnumber two girls. For that matter, I don’t think I stopped to fully examine a single bloom

22 : 6%

Somewhere before nine o’clock that morning, Yali wrapped up his 40th medical appointment in the space of twelve months. This young man has certainly had his fill, and he doesn’t seem to care too much. When all the doctors and therapists are equally friendly, he can’t tell

23 : Day 18

The middle of the night brought big storms. Numerous cracks of lightning, some of them sizzling like they had just fried a tree or a bush. Needless to say, Yali joined us during the big show for some consolation.   It was somewhere around the middle of the morning. Yali had

24 : Day 17

Sunday morning. About eight o’clock. I was packing up for the day, passing out church clothes to the boys. Puck was rolling around on the bedroom floor, thinking hard. “Mom?” “Yup?” “I’ve had enough snot from my nose over the past nine years to build a whole shed.

25 : Day 16

Yali and I returned from fresh mangoes and Spanish class in the middle of a baking-oven-afternoon. I cooked tortellini for lunch and flipped on “Mulan” for the boys. Five minutes later, all the pasta was gone. “Mom? Can I have more food?” Meanwhile, Oxbear took my phone off the counter

26 : Day 15

Puck sat at the counter finishing his breakfast. He was playing with the stretchy rubber snake he picked up at the Science Center gift shop Thursday afternoon. I can always tell when he has thoughts. “Mom? Did you ever think about how snakes used to walk on feet, because then

27 : Hi, Science

At nine o’clock that morning Heidi squished into the back seat of the Fit with both my loud boys for a day at the Science Center. And Puck did not run out of conversation the entire way there.   Space. Dinosaurs. Physics. All that good stuff. Puck led the charge

28 : Cabin Fever

An old friend of the Silverspoon family had stayed overnight, Tuesday, and left shortly after breakfast. No sooner had she left and Puck could no longer contain the desire to say certain things that he knew probably weren’t appropriate in front of guests. “MY BUM ITCHES!” Yali grinned. “Bum!

29 : Day 12

The whole week was projected to be one big steam bath. It was even too hot to rig up the garden hose to the mailbox for Puck’s homemade sprinkler system. Instead, the boys and I drove back home and holed up for a few hours while a few more

30 : 6 : 440 : 1 : 6

Puck was prepared to begin a round of review multiplication tables that morning. Maybe not super enthused about the idea, but did it anyway. “I don’t need to know this,” he insisted while he finished breakfast. “Sure you do, Puck!” Gloria encouraged him. “This is great stuff to know!

31 : Day Ten

Theodore was leaving for a week in Texas that morning. Puck watched him pack up to go. “I guess he needs a break,” I heard him say from the other room. “We’ve overstayed our welcome.” Day ten and counting. Before Theodore walked out the door, he turned to Oxbear

32 : Casualty Number Two

There they were again. About 5:45 in the morning. Little toes digging into my ribs. I think he does it to keep them warm, but it certainly doesn’t keep me warm. Fortunately, despite the earliness of the hour, I had my phone. This little niño will keep himself

33 : Magical Unicorns Riding Tomatoes

“Magical unicorns riding tomatoes! … MAGICAL UNICORNS RIDING TOMATOES!” Puck was awake, and obnoxious. This called for the park. Before we left, Gloria suggested the possibility of summer camp for Puck before school started. Puck wasn’t thrilled with the idea. “Well, you liked Mrs. Vermeer’s Art Camp, didn’t

34 : An Unexpected Thursday

Oxbear was on his way out the front door to work. “Looks like you’ve got a wasp building a nest in the doorway,” he said to Theodore. Theodore went to inspect. A minute later, he returned. “I have no sympathy for a wasp building a nest in my doorway.

35 : All in a Good Storm

The air was heavy. Typical for a St. Louis afternoon in July. The boys and I had just finished a morning out at the Big House. Francis was gone studying for a big exam related to his aircraft mechanics studies. Irish was leaving for a car hunt. And more storms

36 : The Waiting Game

I took the boys with me for a brief visit out in Dardenne Prairie that morning. My first childhood friend, now a healthcare reporter for the Washington Examiner, was back in town for a few days, bringing her own two kids along for the ride. Kids and kids got acquainted

36 : Peppers & Mosquitos

Puck sat on the front porch at the Silverspoon house. A library copy of “The Hardy Boys” lay in his lap. A little light summer reading. Puck wasn’t so enthused about it. “This is the worst day, ever.” His misery was compounded by the fact that he had several

37 : The Big House Hunt

It must have been around seven o’clock in the morning. My alarm clock was Yali, wailing in full distress over the laundry basket. “Yali… what is it?” I asked him, pulling the sobbing young man onto the bed. He pointed tearfully into the laundry basket. Suddenly, all tears ceased

38 : Vacation, Sort Of

It was about nine o’clock in the morning. Both boys were pulling a “Captain Underpants” again. “Why?” I asked. “We’re ACROBATS, Mom,” Puck explained, as Yali tumbled across the king-sized bed. “This is PURE ACROBAT SKILLS!” Puck somersaulted across the bed to demonstrate his sweet skills. Yali followed

39 : An Artist's Mind

One lollipop and two cookies in, I was oblivious enough to serve Yali a cup of pink lemonade on top of it. Sometimes I don’t know why I allow the things I do. But it was Art Camp art show day, so I chalked it up as celebration sugar.

40 : With Summer Halfway Over

When I saw the price tag on that tropical yellow Yadi t-shirt at the ballpark Wednesday night, I was definitely having second thoughts. I always have this thought in the back of my head – “Don’t buy anything nice until the boys are grown and gone.” I really don’t

41 : 5 : 344 : 5 : 6

I caught a glimpse of Puck in my rearview mirror on the way to Art Camp that morning. Head bobbing. To K-Pop. It’s not the most manly genre of music, I’ll admit. But it definitely pumps them up. And it’s kind of funny. So Puck asks for

42 : Looks Great

“Want us to bring the boys back with us so the house doesn’t get destroyed?” Carrie-Bri asked me. I had just returned with Puck and Yali from Art Camp up at school. As we pulled up, Mom and Carrie were leaving our house, after putting in a little extra

43 : First Fourth

Two years later, it was time for fireworks again. A year ago we’d missed them, enjoying instead a very quiet and uneventful day down in Colombia. (I believe Yali had pancakes.) So now it was his turn to witness this American celebration for the first time.   Puck had already

44 : Adiós, Nagle's

It wasn’t a conventional way to spend a Sunday afternoon. But when Mom found out earlier that week that the old novelty store – Nagle’s – was shutting its doors due to Mr. Nagle’s retirement, we decided to make one more trip out there to visit the old place.

45 : Will They Have Vegetables?

Some days it’s not so easy pulling the head off the pillow. That’s rarely a problem for my boys, at least. Rarely will they sleep past 6:30, even on Saturdays. And it was another one of those days. I wasn’t as eager to start the morning.

46 : Gifts for Everyone

Puck’s morning was already completely planned out for him. He just didn’t know it yet. Sometimes his Aunt Rose likes to surprise family members with random gifts. And today, Puck’s dose included a shiny new box of ninja Legos. Heaven. Yali hadn’t been overlooked, either. His

47 : I Don't Think We Ever Met

Thunder growled out in the west. It wasn’t even nine o’clock in the morning and we had some weather moving in. Then a little heavy rain. Never mind that I was on a phone call; Puck had to inform me of this monumental event. “MOOOOM!” he bellowed from

48 : Descending Diphthong

“DESCENDING DIPHTHONG!” Those were the words that pulled me out of dreamland early that morning. I didn’t know what he meant by them, but Puck was already busy making Wednesday interesting in the other room. “DESCENDING DIPHTHONG!”   It was late morning. With the last of the doors painted, I

Cabin Fever ... Sort Of

Yali woke up with a little summer cold. Better the summer than winter, I figure. He wasn’t bothered. There were more exciting things to focus on that morning. Like all those new birthday presents that still felt pretty new, two days in.   A little rain during lunch. So brief,

50 : Getting Ready

“Mom?” “Yes, son.” “Can I have those twenty dollars Grandma found on our walk last week?” “I’m still thinking about it. I’m afraid you’ll lose it, even if you keep it in your wallet.” Puck looked at me carefully. “Mom. I’m probably the most sophisticated person

51 : Happy Golden!

Time to celebrate five family birthdays at once out at the Big House. Grandma: 80. Oxbear: 32. Rose: 26. Ansel: 23. Yali: 3. And in the middle of that mix was Rose’s golden birthday, and her actual birthday.   After church there were platters of pre-celebratory homemade spanakopita and homemade

Español y Podcasting

It wasn’t even 6:30 on a Saturday morning and already Yali’s pudgy little brown feet were kicking into my rib cage. I don’t understand why he decides to kick me more more than he does Oxbear. He just does. He also enjoys sitting on my neck

53 : And Yet More Paint & Water

Since spending so much time in the water this week, Puck had adopted the controversial fashion statement of wearing no shirt. Just a pair of shorts, barefoot. “I’M CAPTAIN SHORTS!” he announced to the world, preparing to once again charge out into the sun. Yali – who was having a

54 : Still More Paint & Water

I took a break from painting Oxbear’s office, late morning, to let the boys play outside with the hose again. It was already so hot. Puck was browning up, although still a ghost compared to his little brother. When I looked up from my laptop at the window, both

More Paint, More Water

“Mom! Mom! If I wash your car, can you pay me a dollar? Papa paid me even more when I washed his truck!” I looked out the front door. It was around one o’clock in the afternoon. I had finished another long morning of painting. Then I finally released

56 : Paint & Water

Day Two – Painting. After the boys managed to knock over, and break, my last working lamp in the house, we were ready to get going. Mom and Carrie-Bri arrived around nine o’clock to help out. While we began some silent, intense brushing and rolling, the boys were sent to

57 : Happy 3rd!

Yali’s 3rd birthday opened with a flavor that continued throughout the day. Every day, really. The flavor of “LOUD!”. Early that morning Puck burst into the hallway, “I HATE MOO COWS! PEACE! PUCK, OUT!” Then he flew into my room with both hands signing “V” for victory and landed

Dad's Day

It was a quiet morning, already warm. I left early for church. There was one stop I needed to make on the way. One white Fiji mum left near the little gold airplane shining in the sun by Dad’s name.   Ten-thirty. Church service. I looked over at Puck during

59 : A Little Bit of Everything

“I’m going to get up at 6:30 Saturday morning and trench that gutter on the side of the house,” Oxbear told me earlier in the week. “Before the sun gets going.” I think we both knew that nine o’clock was more like it. By that time, Theodore

60 : You Need to Eat This Right Now

It was hot. About two o’clock in the afternoon, and we were taking another walk around the neighborhood. Vacation Bible School had come to an end for Puck, closing things out with an inflatable soccer field match, and he still had enough energy to hop on his too-small bicycle.

61 : Family in Town

Puck carefully examined the fat school bus Yali handed to him while we drove back from VBS. It had been a more successful day for Puck, from what I could tell. I guess because it wasn’t “water day” and this time he came back completely dry. Puck began reading

62 : A VBS Week

Heat index predictions had increased to a high of 105. Somehow it didn’t feel quite that hot. It was about 10:30 in the morning. Yali and I were camped out under the pavilion at Vacation Bible School. Quiet, summer heat. Only the soft rush of nearby passing cars

63 : 4 : 371 : 3 : 20

With heat indexes reaching 100 that week already, it didn’t seem like a great evening to hit up the game. On paper. But sizzling temps don’t deter St. Louis from pouring out for an inter-league match-up between the Cards and Astros. Not even when we’re eight and

64 : Happy 32nd!

Oxbear was now 32 years old. We celebrate birthdays big around here: 5:45 alarm. No breakfast; Oxbear always skips breakfast. Can’t make him eat anything until lunch. Celebrating in style.   My day with the boys started at the Vermeer’s home, dropping Puck off to hitch a ride

65 : Conversations in the Car

We were halfway to church, Oxbear driving. Puck tapped secretively on my shoulder. “I’m going to give this to Dad for a present,” he whispered. “For Father’s Day.” On the drive, he had crafted Legos into a container with a secret compartment inside. He opened the compartment to

66 : Happy 80th!

“Ock-et! Ock-et!” Yali’s sparkling eyes and deep dimples were a sure sign he had gotten into something he shouldn’t have. And considering that we were home on a Saturday mid-morning, I knew he wasn’t trying to discuss Rocket the horse with me. No, he had only swiped

67 : Puck Meets Puck

I’m not the biggest Shakespeare fan in the world. I always figured it took about 200% more words than necessary to finally get the point across. But I guess that’s kind of the idea. Besides, it’s been a tradition for about the past seventeen years now to

68 : It Will Make My Teeth Smell Better, Mom

THUD! All 73 pounds of my nine year-old landed flat on top of my back as I was graciously yanked out of dreams where spiders chased me around a silo-like structure laced with serpentine trolley tracks, skyward, to a mall where a Korean boy band featuring lead singer – Tae-Hee – was

69 : And Still More

One last day to gut the house of everything no longer needed or wanted. And, surprisingly, Oxbear wasn’t disappointed to use three of his vacation days on the whole project. “This is actually one of the best vacations I’ve ever had,” he announced Tuesday evening after dinner.   Another

70 : And More...

The boys left early, about 7:15 that morning. Gloria was expecting a delivery of two grandsons for the whole day while Oxbear and I forged onwards into Day Three of throwing everything away back home.   Around the traditional lunch hour, another workman arrived to seal the cracks in the

71 : Throw Away More

There it was. The first brown recluse sighting of our continued gutting-the-house-of-junk week. Bound to be a few more of those over the next few days. It’s not a good time until a brown recluse joins the party. So while the boys enjoyed another day out at the Big

72 : Valley Driving

We had already left for church that morning, about two minutes out, when Oxbear suggested we take a drive over to Red Bud, Illinois, to visit Fort de Chartres. It had been a couple of years, and the family was all busy for the afternoon, so we decided to go

73 : Throw it All Away

I set my alarm for seven o’clock that morning, just in case. But it was hardly necessary. By 6:30, Yali was already bouncing on Oxbear’s head, buried under the pillows. Wake-up time.   7:30, and Mom pulled in the driveway to scoop up the boys for a

74 : A Walking Summer

Mom took the boys on another walk at the Big House that morning while Carrie-Bri and I got back to podcasting. I have a feeling these boys are going to thrive on a steady diet of walks all summer long. Until the heat reaches 100, that is, which is sure

75 : Officially American. Again.

1:37AM. Crying niño. Growing pains. Nestling into Oxbear’s arms for the rest of the night, he got his little muscles rubbed down and forgot to continue the whimpering.   Some twelve hours later we were waiting on the third floor of the St. Charles County Courthouse for our attorney

76 : Walks & Ideas

“Rawr! … RAWR! RAWR!” I opened my eyes to the very intense black-eyed gaze of my almost three-year old, practically sitting on my neck at a still-early hour of the morning. Like having a pocket monster. “Hi, bud…” “RAWR! RAWR!” Then he did sit on my neck.   It was another speech

Friends and Bikes

“Surprise chicken! BWAK! BWAK! BWAK! BWAK! BWAK!” That’s how Puck greeted me Tuesday morning, on the hunt to borrow my laptop. Although I’m pretty sure he thought I was already awake, despite our two year-old still nuzzled up against my neck pretending to be in deep sleep. Oxbear

78 : Riding at the Ranch

When I picked Puck up from the Big House, Francis had just finished bagging the tent Puck had camped out in overnight. A tent in the living room, that is. Francis was “scared of bugs”, as Carrie-Bri had already informed me.   The holiday continued out at Double Eagle Ranch, a

79 : Parks & Rockets

Saturday evening had been all gold and blue sky before the storm, that eccentric green light right before the rain. But most of it skirted us, flashes of lightning in the south. Lightning bugs in the dark yard.   Sunday was all sun and August clouds after the service. During the

80 : Big Time Food

Sometimes, on lazy Saturday mornings, I like to measure the boys’ height against the wall by their door. This morning, discovering that Puck had shot up another ¾ of an inch in the past month, that put him at four foot, seven, projecting him to ultimately hit six foot, three, if

81 1/2

11:30, and the floodgates were opened. The occasional warm late spring rain greeted all grades released into the world of summer. But we lingered for awhile in Hans’ classroom. After the kids were scolded by a passing adult for tossing a ball back and forth across the room – the

Two Days

Thunder … I didn’t know what time it was – still probably early in the morning – but it was coming back again. While the boys got busy with breakfast, I watched the real storm hit later, that certain color the sky turns, making the world look like some underwater forest.   Lightning

Three Days

Oxbear locked the door to his office early that morning so we could consult together about something – I don’t even remember what – before he drove Puck to school. It’s usually necessary to close the door against the noise of boys, and lock it, against the running around of

I Want You to Know This

I was woken to multiple little kisses all over my face that morning, like a tiny nibbling fish. Yali. It must have been his way of saying, in not so many words, “Mama, I’m really sorry I woke you up again at 1:48 in the morning when I

We Had a Talk About That

Screeeeeeeeech! I walked out of the kitchen around five o’clock that evening. Yali had just rounded the corner with a roll of scotch tape in one hand. The tape had been stretched out of my bedroom where Puck held the other end. Yali apparently found this event to be

A Brother Like No Other

Crunch, crunch, crunch… crunch, crunch. Oxbear and I woke at the same time to the obnoxiously loud munching of our two year-old in the hallway. Oxbear hustled out of the room to investigate. There’s no knowing what this kid will put in his mouth without supervision. “What was it?

Critter Rescue

Somewhere after three o’clock in the morning I saw them – hundreds of silky hot air balloons – like Jellyfish Lake, attempt to land in the old cow field across the road from the Big House. A storm was coming, a big storm, and they had to land. But I knew

Water Mongers

Last year’s school Field Day was something next to leisure. I hardly had to do anything more than casually fill cups of ice water from the cooler to line up on a table for the kids. This year, I was still at the water table, but something had changed.

Third Grade Worries

About 6:20 that morning – I was sleeping in – I was greeted by Yali toddling in with a skateboard to keep me company. With all his strength he heaved it up onto the high bed and into the covers. No explanation whatsoever. I figured that was a sign it was

Suave

The days were so close to summer now, my 6:15 alarm brought full sunlight with it. Felt nearer to mid-day than early morning, and I almost thought I overslept.   After serving toasted ravioli and salad for lunch at school to three rounds of munchkins late that morning, I returned

3 : 356 : 7 : 15

The world was gray, cold, and wet again. For a mid-May day in St. Louis, it wasn’t impossible, but it certainly wasn’t common. Halfway through the afternoon, and the silver drizzle still fell. Rain-washed honeysuckle on the back fence. A dribbly kind of day.   Meanwhile, at school, Puck

Mexican Bird Watcher

We sat down to fish tacos and fresh green peppers at five-thirty that evening. Yali thrust both fat little brown hands together, begging to pray quickly so he could start going to town on the spread before him. Oxbear walked in the door a few minutes late through cold rain

Ow

“Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.” “That does not hurt, Yali. I know it doesn’t.” “Ow. Hurt! Ow. Hurt!” “Yali, stop that.” It was a mid-Sunday afternoon. And an unusual one. I could probably count the number of times on both hands in the past twelve years that we’ve

Blue Angels

My 7:30 alarm never woke me Saturday morning because I had already been awake for two hours. At 5:30 Oxbear and Puck took off down Highway 70 for a full day of adventures, starting with a 9:00 Legofest appointment in Kansas City. This left Yali and me

Birthday Girl

By the time I got home just before ten o’clock that Friday night, I realized it was beginning to feel like I lived at school. With a two – almost three – year-old attached to my hip. Probably because I had been up there since three o’clock that afternoon. That’

I'm Becoming a Wimp!

After all these years since my trampoline accident, I should know by now that my sense of smell will endlessly play tricks on me. “You smell like chocolate,” I told Oxbear that morning. “That’s just my natural aroma.” “You must have adopted it because you knew how much I

You Love Having Boys

“Mom, can I have my own room when we move?” Puck was dressing for school on the top bunk of his bed. I don’t know why he always chooses such inconvenient places to change his clothes. “I doubt it, bud. Our new house probably won’t be much bigger

West to East

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry that you dropped your food, ant. Do you want to go right there now?” I looked underneath the school playground picnic table where Puck and Yali were busy watching trails of ants carry leaves and food home for their evening dinner.

Free Will

“Mom?” “Yup, bud?” Puck stood on my bed changing into his school uniform polo after breakfast. He clearly had some frustrated thoughts on his mind. “Yali gets to do whatever he wants.” “Well, not really…” “But he really does, Mom.” – I could feel a proposition coming. – “People should get to

Number 10

My 10th Mother’s Day was also my 1st double Mother’s Day. In celebration, Oxbear treated me and my “chocolate and vanilla” sons to St. Louis Bread Company for breakfast. We were running late for Sunday School, so he and Puck hustled inside for a box of artichoke soufflés

Pretty Good at Crafts

“Aghkghk,” Puck groaned, rolling headfirst onto our bed at about 6:30 that morning. “Rule number one of Guys’ Night? Don’t eat seven pieces of pizza before bed.” He buried his face deeper into the covers. “NEVER EVER eat seven pieces of pizza before bed.” I didn’t ask

2 : 353 : 3 : 2

Just before three o’clock, Yali and I drove past the entire 3rd grade class running hard in P.E. behind the school. Annie-Bea waved, clearly pushing past the pain of running… “A whole mile!” a bright and happy red-faced Heidi declared proudly about fifteen minutes later. “One kid ran

The Meeting of the Minds

Yali sat in a miserable heap in the middle of the living room floor in his red super hero cape, sobbing. His little brown face wrinkled in all the natural drama his wordless melancholy could conjure. And yet I was unmoved. After some prolonged tears, however, Puck decided it was

Long Live the Crocodiles!

I woke up pretty sore that morning. Leftovers from playing hockey with the boys in the gym Tuesday afternoon after Bob begged me to participate. “I’ll go easy on you,” he promised.   It was one of those particularly fine May days. The kids were pretty dead set on playing

I Need a New Shirt, Mom!

Nothing like a little Mr. Rogers circa 1972 over a mug of hot homemade tomato soup on a chilly day in early May. That’s where little Yali – strong as a monkey Yali – found himself on a late Tuesday morning before a cozy 90-minute nap in his grandma’s room.

Change Can Be Good

Rich, deep green world – this was a spring unlike springs in recent memory. Everything was darker and wilder.   Sometime after running Linnea-Irish to the bank and DMV that morning, I sat in the Big House living room watching Snuggles the cat try to swipe my mug of lunch rice. Yesterday,

Mowgli and Tom Sawyer

After another fun Friday night and Saturday at Gloria’s, Puck was hoping to make it a regular habit. “Mom! I know! How about I spend the night at Nana’s every weekend!” “No, hon… Yali would wake her up every night.” Puck paused to ponder the repercussions of this

Noise Break

Big, beautiful green world, Saturday morning, drenched in rain. Forty shades of it. With a cooler week on tap, things were looking a little less May-y than usual. Although with St. Louis, just give it an hour and you run right from spring into summer; no warning.   Since the boys

Trying to be Adult

I heard it coming from the living room late that morning at the Big House. Yali had apparently found something that suited his fancy in there, because all I heard him say over and over and over again was: “MM WAH HA HA HA HA!” Someone had taught my two

Sun Goggles & Nerf Guns

We were just about to get on the highway for school that morning. I could hear the squeak of a black Sharpie against scotch tape in the back seat as Puck continued systematically layering tape and Sharpie against the lenses of a large pair of lab goggles he found at

Under the Weather

When I woke Wednesday morning, my voice was all but gone. A touch of the old laryngitis. In a light head fog, I gathered everything together to walk out the door to school. But not before Yali decided to help Oxbear with the dishes by loading library books into the

The Calm Before

You could feel a change in the weather that morning. Already a heavy mugginess packed the air as I loaded up the boys for the drive to school. The sun was deceiving. But I knew better.   It was about noon. I had just finished an hour up at the school

It's Healthy, Mom

“Mom!” Puck walked into Oxbear’s office that morning with a mouthful of something I knew he wasn’t supposed to have. “Mom, I’m putting healthy stuff with my yogurt for breakfast.” Somehow I got the idea he was prepping me for something. “What is it, Puck?” “You know

The Eighty Dollar Ring

While I got things ready for church that morning, Puck was busy attaching thumbtacks to mini Nerf gun darts. I could hear the experiment taking place in the other room. “Puck,” Oxbear warned him, “don’t shoot the walls with that thing.” “Okay, I…” POP! “OOPS!” “What happened, Puck?” “I

A Rare Saturday

With both boys bunking down for the night over at Swanson’s and Gloria’s, I was thinking to sleep in a little longer than 6:15 on a Saturday morning. 5:30AM; wide awake. No bananas. I also had a crik in my neck from watching the live auction

Happy Trails

Puck continued to lecture his little brother as we backed out of the driveway Friday morning for school. “You can’t have everything you WANT! We discussed this LAST NIGHT! SHEESH!” At breakfast, I had also tried to prep Yali for the day, a ward against screaming and protesting. “Yali,

Seriously, Boys

“Yali! Stop! Do you know the meaning of that word, CHILD?!” I could hear the boys in the other room while I was getting ready to leave for school that morning. Puck had reached the limit of his patience. “Yali! Do you feel mad? ARGH! Sad? WAAH! Or hurt? ROAR!

Times Have Changed

On Tuesday evening when I kissed Puck goodnight on the top of his head, I made an unpleasant discovery. “Puck, why does your head still smell like metal? Didn’t you wash it?” “I only put shampoo on the back of my head, Mom.” “Is that what you do every

Failure to Communicate

Oxbear texted me at about 9:30 that morning: “I think Matt Carpenter is in this restaurant.” Considering that Oxbear was apparently stopping for a late breakfast at Half and Half in Clayton, this would be zero surprise. Those Cardinals always seem to be eating somewhere in Clayton. I didn’

Starting Year Ten

On Puck’s 9th birthday, I watched him carry one of my kitchen cabinet drawers out to the back seat of the car. It didn’t actually occur to me to ask why. I think the older I get, the less I think to ask that question. Maybe I already

Happy Things, Puck!

It was a big day in the little Silverspoon house. Shortly after 10:30 that morning, Puck was baptized before the church, holding a white cloth napkin in his hand to catch the drips of water sprinkled on his head. When I opened my eyes from the prayer, I saw

Thoughts From my Boys

It was after eleven o’clock on a Saturday morning. After serving up large plates of bacon, eggs, and toast as breakfast-for-lunch for my three boys, I had errands to run. But not before Puck decided to share a joke with me: “Mom! What is greasy bacon’s favorite kind

1 : 131 : WC : 1

Puck’s somewhat difficult school week came to a close at three o’clock that afternoon when I released the boys to the playground for an hour and a half of sun and fresh air. Nothing a bag of goldfish crackers and an eager beaver copycat little brother couldn’t

Manly Things

My groggy mind was telling me it was Saturday on a Thursday. Or maybe it was already summer. I couldn’t remember for a moment. But my 6:15 alarm confirmed that it was still mid-week, April. A few days traveling between China and Scotland across deep cold rivers – no

Keep That to Yourself

I listened to the four of them talking in the doorway of Hans’ classroom that afternoon – Big J, Puck, Heidi, and another girl from their class – all of them working on suckers or warheads. A game of hide-and-seek was about to go down, but first, some important questions had to

Boy Logic

My phone yelled at me around 11:42pm Monday night as one of those terrifying Amber alerts grabbed me out of dreams. Those things are disturbing; I guess that’s the point. I was less alarmed being yanked out of deep sleep by Israeli jets tearing a few hundred feet

St. Louis Holliday

Sunday night I reminded Puck to write a birthday card for his 3rd grade teacher, as requested by the room moms. A few minutes later he handed me this masterpiece:   “Happy birthday Mrs. S! from Puck PS sorry for the bad handrighting”   I’m sure she was very touched. Or

Consequences

A wall of deep blue storm cloud crept in from the west during the service that morning. Presbyterian churches like to use buildings with windows; fine by me. Inside, Puck’s ears perked up during the sermon when the pastor mentioned the space-time continuum. “Ha ha!” he laughed in recognition.

Only Four Senses

Landing a large plane on a runway strewn with garbage and fires at dusk. Maybe some tropic island turned cold. When I woke up, thinking I must have overslept, it was 6:01 in the morning.   The problem with leftover movie night snacks is that I sometimes forget to hide

Run Run Run

We had just left the house on a chilly Friday morning for school, driving into an explosion of morning blue-white clouds and sunburst. “Look at that sky, Puck,” I told him. “I love spring skies. They’re always different, every day. Can you picture Native Americans standing in the hills

Spoiled to Death

2:09AM. Splitting headache. Half-asleep, I found an Advil, blamed the headache on the weather, and returned to some dream where I was being chased by something, or something else intense like that.   By six o’clock the headache was gone, and I was ready to spend my morning supervising

Rain, Peter Spier Style

It was about seven o’clock in the morning. I had just finished sweeping up the living room and glanced outside the big windows. Between the rain, the sun had decided to rise. Unearthly gold light striking just the east side of the trees against dark rain clouds in the

What Goes Through Their Heads

We were rounding the bend down one of my favorite St. Louis roads towards school. Traffic was piling up, which gave Puck the opportunity to notice some wild turkey in the green pasture beside us. “MOM! That turkey was mooning all the cars! He was MOONING all the cars! MOONING

The Salesman

I could tell Puck was feeling uncomfortable when we drove up to school that morning. It was “Cardinals Spirit Day”, and he had opted for his uniform instead. “Everyone’s wearing Cardinals stuff except me, Mom…” “Not everyone. And that’s okay. You just don’t like baseball too much.

Pack Rats

At about eight o’clock that morning before church, I heard some suspicious wrinkling in the kitchen. When I walked in, Yali had pulled a chair to the counter, diving into a leftover bag of movie night Cheetos. Guilt washed over his face as he held out the last Cheeto

Gut It

I watched my youngest brother trying to maneuver two large pieces of bunkbed out of the basement. “Francis, maybe you shouldn’t move both of those at the same time…” He just grinned. “It’s all possible when you have strength!” Francis will take any opportunity possible to show off

Goofballs

I caught Puck in the act, peeling the wrapper off a yogurt pop from the freezer after breakfast. “Puck…” Clearly he already had a speech prepared. “But, Mom! It’s pure yogurt! It’s completely yogurt! It says 100% yogurt on the box!” “That’s what it says, but they

I'm a Good Brother

I dropped Yali off with Irish and her friend, Eleda, at about nine o’clock that morning. Most two year-olds don’t get to spend their Thursday mornings at a coffee house with two college students, the lucky duck. A plate of sliced oranges awaited him. I knew he wouldn’

In a Real Emergency

“Irish. Come here.” Carrie-Bri patted her lap with one hand and held up a chocolate Easter egg in the other. Irish wrinkled her nose. “No.” “Come here, Irish,” Carrie commanded again, grinning. Eighteen year-old Irish reluctantly took a seat on big sister’s lap. “I trained her,” Carrie explained to

Worst Day Ever

Puck was rolled up in my fuzzy blue birthday blanket on my bed after breakfast, fully dressed for school. “What’s wrong, bud?” “Oh nothin’. I just want to be teleported somewhere.” “Where’s that?” “Zootopia.” I found the next best destination for him: school.   Much later in the morning

Two Lives

I picked up what looked like an ancient bone out of the dirt. What I couldn’t identify at first, walking through a forested and mountainous national park, later turned out to be a practically petrified human tailbone. As I kept walking, I discovered its origin. The rest of its

Eastery Things

Yali held up a small blueberry pancake with both hands and made it growl at Mom. We were halfway through a 9:15 brunch at church that cold Easter morning, and Yali showed no signs of slacking on stuffing himself. His appetite begins to rival Puck’s. Eventually, I brought

Hide it, Hide it All

After enjoying another satisfyingly terrible movie night – “500 MPH Storm” – with all the kids last night, sans Irish working at Dillard’s, Yali was up and at ’em at 5:52 Saturday morning. He snuggled up next to me and, I guess by way of apology, I’ll be darned

Mis Hijos Locos

I checked the clock on my phone. 3:11AM. This time I woke from being chased by a pretty intense squad of Maori warriors. I had just made it to the river at night, to cross, but they were too close. So I ran off and hid for awhile until

Play Time

We were in Genesis 4 Wednesday evening. “What was the protective mark God put on Cain?” Puck wanted to know. “Some people think it was a tattoo.” “How did they make tattoos back then?” “With charcoal. Or blue dye under the skin, I think.” Puck’s eyes grew wide. “I

So Delish

I could see Yali in my rearview mirror as we coasted down the Page Extension back home. It was only about eight-thirty in the morning and he was already bobbing his head to more techno. He will also gladly tolerate Puerto Rican hip-hop and some Bluegrass.   It was another afternoon

The Wind is Back

Our studies in Genesis 3 continued last night. Puck interrupted occasionally when he had a question. “So the devil used to walk?” “Well, that’s what some people think.” “Or maybe he floated?” Hadn’t thought of that one before. Slightly more creepy. It’s always an insightful experience reading

The Old Gym

“UGGG!” “What, Puck?” I have about the most honest son on the planet. But with that honesty comes the tendency to tell everyone exactly what’s on his mind. No filters. “This looks terrible!” “That’s not a very nice thing to say, Puck.” “But, Mom! I’m not saying

Goodbye, Winter

Puck grinned at me big. “Sucker!” I raised my eyebrow at him; I have to raise that eyebrow a lot. “Don’t call your mom a sucker.” But Oxbear already had some words prepared. “If she was a sucker, she’d be pretty sweet.” Puck buried his face in our

You Do it Better!

Last night while reading Genesis 3 to Puck, I had a question for him. “Puck, what do you think would have happened if only Eve ate the fruit?” His eyes grew wide and he pushed two fists high into the air. “Men would be… EPIC!”   Maybe some of that lost

Goodbye, Spring Break

Walking across a river somewhere north – iced over – breaking up as I went. A fast river, I gathered. Low gray skies. Wilderness, all sides. Near the coast, maybe. Fortunately I didn’t fall in before I woke up to find the thermostat registering 59 degrees, as we forgot to switch

Get Me Something Green!

It was just after 6:30 in the morning. A few minutes later, Yali crawled up into bed next to me in his footie jams, softly pressing one of his chubby brown cheeks against mine, a morning cuddle.   I’d already almost forgotten it was St. Patrick’s Day. Didn’

Five Days In

Second of four dream sequences in the night: short German man with his daughter – “Amy from basketball”, Carrie told me – hunting for our old golden retriever, Trooper, while I made quesadillas in the Big House kitchen. Good thing I don’t live in the olden days when they thought dreams

Spring Break Style

For his spring break this year, Puck had just one request. “Mom? Can we stay home and not go anywhere at all?” Takes after his grandpa. I obliged. At least as much as possible. And Tuesday, he got just that. He expanded his library in the living room throughout the

Puck's Library

Puck brought back a ton of old books from the Big House Sunday afternoon with the intent of starting a library. This morning, he pulled out a volume about Patrick Henry and held it centimeters from my eyes. That boy must think I’m blind. “Do you know who Patrick

Theological Perspectives

“MOM! MOM!” Here we go again, I thought to myself. I waited for him to come find me in Oxbear’s office. “Mom! Can you come butter the toast for me, please?” “Can’t you butter the toast yourself, son?” “I don’t how to butter the toast goodly though,

Children Bread

Puck sat at the dinner table last night holding a long arrow in one hand while he prepared to eat his meal. I’d noticed the arrow sticking out of the tree in our front yard that morning on the way to school. Puck eventually retrieved it and continued demonstrating

Big Bald Men

Puck got that bowl of spring break celebration carrots Friday afternoon after all, thanks to the thoughtfulness of his 3rd grade teacher. Although word on the street was that he participated in the ice cream option as well. Meanwhile, Yali and I had also spent our day up at school.

A Little Unexpected

Rattlesnakes. I don’t know how they got in, but they were there wherever I was, looking more like cobras and black snakes. And they finished off a few people. Had to bury five of them. If there’s one thing that makes me jump, it’s a snake. Just

The Art of Discipline

“MY EAR HURTS SO BAD!” We were halfway to school, but the earache Puck had been complaining about since 6:15 that morning, seemed to be getting worse. So we took a detour to the Big House where Carrie-Bri administered a makeshift hot water bottle while I picked up Children’

Celebrate

The wind pushed us across the highway early this afternoon on the drive back to the Big House. Mom and I had spent part of our morning up at school volunteering in the lunch room for macaroni and cheese day (Mom’s favorite) and the office, respectively. We hit the

Dumpster Diver

I stared at the three cardboard boxes Puck had assembled after carpool from the recycling bins. Each one stacked high with discarded white envelopes, in a few different sizes. I almost made him put most of them back, but then I realized that at least envelopes were probably about a

Oh, My Son...

“Yali! Yali! Yali! Come here! This is how you do it!” For once, Puck was whisper-yelling, instead of yelling-yelling. It was about three o’clock in the afternoon at the Big House following church, two giant homemade pizza casseroles, and a few naps here and there, probably because of the

Treasure Hunt

“MOM! MOM! MOM!” Every day. “Yes, Puck?” “COME HERE!” “What is it? Can you just tell me?” “YOU HAVE TO SEE IT FOR YOURSELF!!” This time I joined both boys in Oxbear’s office where they were eagerly watching a brown-ish raccoon gingerly skate his way out of the tree

Friendly Conflict

“MOM!” … “MOM!” On the third “Mom!”, I exited the room to find out what, exactly, was going on. “It’s utter chaos out here!” Puck declared, running around in his birthday suit flailing his blue lightsaber while Oxbear’s Irish music blasted from the television in our bedroom and Yali

Más!

Oxbear recently crafted a new allowance system for Puck, where he earns figurative “gold coins” for chores completed, difficult tasks accomplished. These gold coins later translate into real greenbacks. Puck ran through the list of challenges this morning, thinking out loud. “Well, Dad, if I want to earn enough money

Growing Up

Yali discovered ice for the first time today. I had a little leftover blackberry Izze in a glass, which I let him finish off. But it was the ice that intrigued him more than the drink. He continued to point at the ice machine throughout lunch, wanting more and more.

Hey, Dad

“Mom, can I call Dad?” We had a few more minutes before we had to leave for school, so I let Puck place the call. I listened to the conversation roll over speakerphone while getting ready to go. “Hey, Dad, do you think that by the time I’m in

Get Things Done

Yali and I stashed the Fit in the parking garage across from the Old Post Office building downtown a little after nine o’clock that morning. The same place I had been parking since about September 2009 when the adoption paperwork first started stacking up. I’m not sure how

A Little Quiet

Wind was high that mild Sunday morning of sun. Mom left the windows and doors open to invite in spring. It was more than welcome to join us again. And by the afternoon, it had brought rain clouds for company. But the rain held off.   I saw Puck standing in

Divide and Conquer

Puck sat on a folding chair next to me in the school gym, keeping one eye on Heidi’s basketball game, the other on a wad of gray sculpting clay in his hands that he was busy fashioning into a bazooka gun. Always has to be creating something, just like

Off Day

“MOM!” Puck yelled from the kitchen. “MOM!” My first thought was that Yali must be choking on something. Then I remembered that this was Puck. “Yes, Puck?” Clearly he wasn’t paying attention. “MOM!” I raised my voice louder from the other side of the house. “Yes, Puck?” “MOM! … You

Short Weeks

Another four-day school week – scratched down to three by the snow dumping on the other side of the river. Puck was swinging from his bunk bed asking me slews of questions while I dressed Yali for the morning. “Mom? How come you didn’t take me to Colombia with you?

The Way of Boys

CRASH! We were about an hour into our very snowless first-ever snow day with school, and already things were happening. Turns out Puck had forgotten to give Crackers a fresh supply of water, so she found a mug on the counter, knocked it to the floor, tiny bits of ceramic

Drive Safe

Cruising down 40 to Powell Symphony Hall for the class field trip, I had three boys in the back seat, school lanyards laced around their necks in case they were lost and had to be returned. They were all pretty intent on informing me of the number on the speedometer

It Pays to be Patient ... I Think

“Mom! Isn’t it amazing that I invented a clock that runs on water, even though I didn’t know that someone else had already invented it? I’m just a genius!” This inspiring breakfast self pep talk was already working wonders on distracting Puck from a large bowl of

Be Careful What You Ask For

After the service, meatballs, and farewell chocolate cake for one of the long-time church member families moving to South Carolina, we joined everyone at the Big House as usual. Outside was more sun and mild temps. Inside, Yali was upset. Again. This time he was sobbing in the living room

No More Cabin Fever

Both boys tore out the front door into wind and sun early that morning. It was a little after nine o’clock on a Saturday, and we could already open the windows. “Keep an eye on your brother,” I advised Puck. “Oh, don’t worry, Mom. I will. I saved

Don't Knock Over the Warhol

The wind was up high in the early morning, tearing around the four corners of the house. One of my favorite things to hear around this time of year. Spring is coming.   I wasn’t sure my two-and-a-half year-old would sit through chapel that morning. Every Friday Puck’s school

Priorities

Sometimes my dreams set my heart pounding like I’ve almost fallen off the edge of a cliff. Other times they’re as dull as tombs. Last night it was endless miles of traffic, snarled for no particular reason on a gray evening. The passenger in the seat behind me

Loud Things

I was at the Big House just before nine o’clock to drop off Yali for his morning babysitting. Carrie-Bri was helping Irish with an Arabic assignment and required some additional resources. “Oh, wait, I have a copy of the Quran,” Carrie remembered. While Irish followed her to check out

Tell Me Your Thoughts, Puck

Driving through cold rain to school that morning, Puck craned his head around to see me in the rearview mirror. “Mom, is Obama going to run for President again?” “He can’t. He’s already been President for eight years, so he can’t run any longer than that.” “Oh.

All Kinds of Fun

“Mom! There’s a FOG!” Puck stared into the heavy white blanket of the world that Presidents’ Day morning, which also happened to be Francis’ official 21st birthday. As we drove out into it later, it was one of the most extensive and thick fogs we had seen in awhile.

252

This time, my dream sent me to an indoor Polo course under glass ceiling. Heidi sat with me while her dad taught Sunday School and we watched dozens of horse-and-riders swing at hundreds of tiny orange and green balls floating over the field.   Meanwhile – in reality – on St. Louis’ 252nd

V-Day Eve

Dad was driving all of us out into the country – small towns someplace south – late in the afternoon, mostly gray, some sun. A huge farmhouse with a dark green tin roof and drawers of herbs in the kitchen. This is the first dream I ever had – to my memory – where

They Never Grow Up

CRASH. “Uh, Mom?…” I looked into the living room where both boys hung in a guilty manner over the back of the couch, which they had pushed out from the wall. “I think we just broke your lamp.” Nothing breaking before eight o’clock in the morning is usually a

Bananos!

Yali couldn’t have been fully aware of it at the moment it happened, but when Dr. Lin examined the white stitches beginning to dissolve in the roof of his mouth and said with happy animation, “He is now moving into the soft foods realm, which means anything that can

The Show

In my dream, I was stranded on the edge of an icy lake surrounded by snow-covered mountains and smoothed red clay cliffs, iced over in some parts. It was almost dusk. I called Oxbear, hanging out with his buddy – The Duke – to come get me so I didn’t have

Change of Plans

I should have known leaving at 7:15 wouldn’t get us to school early enough that morning. With an unexpected inch of snow – maybe – the roads just weren’t prepared. We crawled along 40, took some detours, quickly deposited Yali at the Big House where Carrie-Bri was waiting for

Goofy Kids

Dream 1: bent zipper pull used to demonstrate loyalty between friends in battle, circa 1992-1996. Dream 2: packing giant wontons with beef. My subconscious must have remembered it was Chinese New Year. Dream 3: closed beaches due to some hazard; diverted to giant sand dunes under gray skies and wind.

Silly Stuff

At a hospital having physical therapy done on both knees, a hospital designed like model homes from the 90s stacked on top of each other. A lot of cranberry paint and wallpaper. I’m convinced I dream all night long, one weird story after another…   We were getting ready to

Life Goals

“Honey, I’m going to make you some fried eggs for breakfast, and I want you to eat them while I get Yali ready. Okay?” Puck was halfway through a Minecraft tutorial and clearly hadn’t heard me. “Okay… Mom, can you make me some food?”   With my boys busy

Dr. Cesspool

When Puck came out of the gym that afternoon, he threw off his sweater to expose his green polo. I advised him to put on his coat before hitting the playground. “Mom! I am FREEZING hot!” There was a delay getting outside anyway because Puck had raided the cardboard bin

Perspective

I’m not sure what was going on in this particular dream. I was at school, I’m pretty sure, although the gym was set up more like a temple where an enormous gold curtain on a bronze rod had just been hung on the southern wall for an impending

These Boys

My five o’clock cuddle alarm slapped one arm over my back in an attempt to remind himself that I hadn’t gone anywhere. I think he might have eventually snoozed off again after he’d somehow wedged me to within two inches from the edge of the bed. How

It Takes Time

Sleeping arrangements have been a little unconventional around here since Yali entered our lives, and even more so since his surgery. Most nights he finds himself in our wing of the house to confirm to him for about the 222nd time that, yes, we are still here, and, no, we

The Wings

“Uh… Mom?…” “Yes, Puck?” “I am afraid I forgot to tell you that… heh heh…” he laughed a little nervously by the bathroom sink, “Yali’s toothbrush? Fell behind the toilet the other day…” He had already used it since. Several times. Nothing like having surgery on the roof of

Weepin' Jumping Beans

Colombia. Oxbear and I were bringing Yali home through the mountains, on foot with a mass exodus of humanity. I became separated from them just as we reached the summit of the next mountain – a large, quiet plaza. “Halt!” I, and four other visitors, stopped in our tracks as a

Rocket, El Caballo

Yali ran through the house strapped into his arm restraints, crying for cookies. I think he sort of likes this minor version of a baby straightjacket, as Carrie called it. He might even think he’s a bird. Oxbear already calls them “his wings”. They also sometimes make him resemble

The Crazy Has Returned

After an easy night home – I only had to set three alarms for myself to administer medicine – Yali woke up just as ravenous as ever, but willing to survive on juice and broth for the next seven hours until his prescribed 48-hour hiatus from food was concluded. Although with the

Recuperation

I was a little bummed when my dream about meeting Christian Bale didn’t pan out in reality. We were at my cousin’s cousin’s concert and he came right over, sat on the floor next to my chair, and introduced himself, congratulating me on Yali’s adoption. Reality

Four-Hour Nap

Last night, Puck helped me prepare Yali’s bottle before bed. He was wearing my old rollerblades as he carefully poured the jug of milk. “So he doesn’t use formula anymore?” “Nope, he graduated to cow’s milk.” “Oh. So he’s kind of like a ninja? One step

Disruption of Property

It was about halfway through another loud lunch shift at school. I had just spent an hour in the office upstairs collating papers for eye exams, and was waiting for Mom to conclude her lunch shift downstairs. As I sat on the bench and occasionally observed the loudness, I saw

A Little Entertainment

“Move along little buddy. Move along.” I heard Puck coaxing Yali away from his Legos on the top bunk. Sometimes the two of them play up there together. Puck is pretty gracious about it to a certain extent, but then it’s almost inevitable at some point down the line

Shuteye

Somewhere towards midnight I woke up dreaming that Uncle Mo and the Jules Verne family were buying up tracks of farmland just west of 141. Or maybe that was on Mars. Maybe both. Either way, it wasn’t interesting enough to continue, so I switched over to attending a spring

Slightly OCD

Another 5:30 wake-up call on a Saturday morning. Two year-olds don’t understand weekends. Yali also doesn’t seem to understand that I don’t appreciate him using my back as a trampoline prior to 6AM on any given day of the week.   With Oxbear down in South City

The Circus

Three boys stared – mesmerized – at the spiral glitter wand Snicky held in one hand, watching the purple glitter, shiny stars, and crescent moons slowly sink to the bottom. “What … is that?” they asked. For a handful of third graders throwing themselves into each other on the gym floor only moments

Noise, So Much Noise

7:30 in the morning. I could hear Yali scream-crying from the other side of the front door as I hauled his carseat into the Big House. Mom was comforting him. Apparently he had taken a flying leap into the floor as soon as he came running into the living

Definition of Health

A phone call, text, and email alerted me early this morning that school would be a 9:45 late-start. Of course in the boys’ mind, this only gave them license to dilly-dally. Halfway through his breakfast yogurt, I heard Puck walking up the stairs with something heavy – some of Oxbear’

Before the Snow

It took off into dead tree limbs, its wings cracking in the cold air. I hadn’t been that close to a hawk in awhile, and this one had clearly been spooked. By me. Its lunch was left in a heap on the ground in the form of squirrel, which

#22

This intense level of cold is just wrong. With a windchill of -7, I picked Irish up at eight o’clock that morning for one last day of baseball vacation downtown. I don’t remember Iceland even being this cold.   Docile, docile Dominican Jhonny Peralta on the left, crazy, crazy

Man of the People

It was a cold, cold drive downtown, low visibility from the flying powder that somehow managed to surprise me when I looked out the window that morning. Tyler Lyons was already signing baseballs and bats as Irish and I walked into the ballroom to claim two seats up front. Yes,

Baseball and Cheesecake

There’s a small price to pay for sharing a pillow with a two year-old through the night with a side order of gimpy neck. It’s a king-size bed, son; can’t you just scoot about six inches to your right?   I was flying solo at the Winter Warm-Up

Goofy Things People Do

Puck walked Yali up and down the frozen food aisles at Dierberg’s that morning, stopping to check out the stuffed Darth Vaders, while I waited in line at the florist within viewing distance. Both boys wore their red wellies since it had rained in the night, stomping the floor

Food for Thought

I woke sometime in the middle of the night with that feeling of being chased. Turns out I was being hunted in a parking garage by some faceless thing. Maybe I should rethink parking plans for this weekend…   Puck was getting dressed for school. Sort of. “Ah! Yali just hit

He's Colombian

Before I left for the school office that morning, I left Yali dancing around in circles eating a graham cracker at the Big House. Fortunately for this little adopted niño, he never seems too bothered if I deposit him at various family members’ homes while I help monitor the lunch

A Little Bit of Perspective

Only an hour into our morning, and I had already heard an earful of complaining between both my boys to last all week. Finally, Puck and I had a chat while he put on his big orange winter coat. I held up two fingers close together in front of him.

What Dreams May Come

I woke from dreams of Irish playing basketball in some recently half-renovated “Rainbow Theater” in East St. Louis to Yali crushing my windpipe at about 5:30 in the morning. The price to pay for having an affectionate two year-old sleep in your bed when he wakes up crying at

Stay Inside Sundays

When I opened the door to leave for church that morning, it was the kind of cold that almost made you choke on it. Windchill at negative ten, and not improving. We weren’t even three weeks deep into winter. That’s why Spring Training exists.   Yali sat in his

It's Not Spring Anymore

“Mom, I am going to have to restart this iPad again, because it is being a jerk, obviously.” I didn’t really feel like having a discussion with Puck about how inanimate objects couldn’t intentionally annoy him. But eight o’clock on a Saturday morning wasn’t the time

It's Always Something

Puck’s talent for collecting knick-knacks shines every morning, usually about the time I’m trying to get us out the door for school. However, this talent can be useful in its own way. “Yali, come here. I need to get you dressed.” Yali just grinned at me from the

My Boys

Oxbear found himself on pick-up-Puck-from-school duty that sort of mild gray afternoon, since I had other obligations. Of course this meant I missed out on the possibility of overhearing conversations like this little gem from Wednesday on the playground: Puck: “I probably won’t be as tall as your dad,

In the Blood

“Puck?” By the look on his face alone, I could smell his guilt. A pair of wide hazel eyes stared back at me from the kitchen table, from a young man who should have already been finished with his breakfast yogurt and banana about ten minutes ago. Fortunately for moms,

Getting Out the Door

Even though my alarm goes off at 6:15 every weekday morning, getting mis dos hijos out the door by 7:30 is somehow a surprisingly challenging task. Probably because things like this tend to happen: “Puck, what are you doing?” “What does it look like I’m doing?” I

Quarantine

I allotted one more day for Puck’s quarantine when he woke up at seven o’clock, eager for, “More food!” He had already stuffed himself with too many Saltines Sunday night, but he’s a growing boy, so I didn’t begrudge him too much. Meanwhile, little brother walked

Man Plans His Way

It was after seven o’clock on a Sunday morning and I was wrapped up in my fuzzy blue birthday blanket on the couch, trying to cure a throbbing headache I’d had all night with an Advil. The boys were already in the kitchen spelling trouble. “MOM!” Puck bellowed.

Intro to the Space Age

Puck sat down to the breakfast table with an empty Mead notebook and a pen. He began to fill the first sheet with lines of zeros. I had seen him do this before, an attempt to write the biggest number in the world. “So … are you going to fill the

Steady as She Goes

As Dad would always tell us kids throughout the years whenever hard times hit – “this too shall pass.” Well, 2015 had sure been hard and I was pretty glad it had finally passed.   When I saw the clock at 4:49 that New Year morning, I was so surprised Yali

1 - 0

Mid-morning I sat behind the steering wheel of Francis’ buddy’s little red car. The car was dead in the street and Francis was under some form of obligation to get it going before his buddy returned from military training. While I guided the zero-power steering wheel, Francis hooked the

Welcome to Armageddon

I could hear the boys in the kitchen. Yali was whining about something as he often did when life didn’t immediately cooperate with his every whim. No words, so just use tears. “Yali! Stop whining!” Puck commanded. “I’m giving you a hug! You should be grateful.” Yali stopped

Irish Turns 18

Little Linnea-Irish: eighteen years old. By some persons’ calculations, she might be considered an adult. But her older siblings knew better and made sure to remind her about that during the weeks leading up to this momentous celebration.   I wasn’t prepared for the outburst of Puck running down the

What if That Happens to Us?

Puck and I saw it happen at the same time: a white SUV tumbling through the air, hit the pavement of 141 – hard – roll over, and somehow land upright again on the highway. We slowed to a stop two cars back as about six or seven people ran over to

Tub Soup/Street Compost

Post-burritos, post-homework, on a slowly chilling Monday evening at home, and while I supervised Puck watching some Vat19 videos in the bathroom doorway, I was also watching Yali take a dunk in the bathtub since he had missed his Saturday night clean-up. Yali dug his face deep into a swath

Cat Hair

As Carrie-Bri pointed out later that Sunday afternoon, it felt a little like we had skipped over October and landed right in November. The mornings were chill now. I could feel it seeping into the bones when I landed myself in the church nursery for two and a half hours

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

Seven Weeks

“Yali… Yali, don’t do it. Yali…” I could see it in his eyes. The little punk was all prepared to hoist himself up onto Mom’s dining room table to grab the little ceramic squirrel salt and pepper shakers. They were just too tempting. There it went – that spry

Don't Eat the Candle

Sometimes Yali finds things that I forgot about awhile ago. This time, it was a package of little once-used pirate-themed cake candles that Mom had passed off to me for the boys. Mixed in there were a few tiny stick candles. I allowed Yali to hold one of them on

And So it Begins

Lately Yali has learned the art of self-punishment. When he starts whining because things just aren’t going the way he envisions they should go, I won’t let it last long. “Go to the corner, Yali,” I point to the chair waiting just for him in the kitchen next

Crossing Barriers

There’s something funny about being Cardinals fans. You might have nothing in common with the guy walking across the street – absolute zero – until you find out that guy is a Cardinals fans. Barrier broken. So I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me – although it was kind of funny

Paul Bacon

I never remember to trim Crackers’ claws. With my endless to-do list, somehow that bullet point never makes it on the sheet. And sometimes that omission comes back to bite me. CLAW CLAW CLAW. Crackers was hanging by one claw from the kitchen shade. SNAP. There it went. There was

21 : 435 : 10 : 6

I try to avoid Sunday afternoon games whenever possible. Usually it means making a quick trip to Sunday School, then jumping ship for downtown. However this time, I had the opportunity to join Rose at her new digs without missing the morning service. On the walk back to the car,

Biathlon II

The morning of Puck’s school biathlon, the weather was fine. Fine enough for Puck to continue his current interest in scrounging through the dirt for treasure. “Um, Oxbear … Puck is digging a hole in the front yard with a shovel.” “Hmmm…” I opened the door. “Puck, move that to

Six Weeks

“LET’S MAKE HIM DO THE WHIP WHIP NAE NAE!” I’m not sure how it happens so quickly. It’s like ants to melted popsicles. But Yali was clustered with Puck’s friends after school, who were begging to hold him. And now they were all singing the Nae

20 : 356 : 6 : 9

Puck and Violet dawdled after class let out that afternoon. Usually Violet runs out first from the gym to give Yali a big hug. Then she carries him around on her hip, parading him around the other kids until Puck joins us. “Aren’t you going to give your brother

19 : LP1 : 11 : 14

While I was getting ready to leave for another early morning appointment – Yali’s last scheduled physical therapy meeting – I could hear Puck and Yali in the other room. Puck had recently acquired a tape measurer – I’m not sure how – and was putting it to good use. “YALI! Let

Eighteen

“Grab your backpack, Puck.” We had just pulled into school at about 8:15 that morning, somehow managing to avoid another traffic explosion. Puck was in good spirits as usual, until… “Uh oh.” “You left it at home. Didn’t you.” “Yup.” So Yali and I made the roundtrip back

18 : 435 : 6 : 2

I was pretty irritated when we coasted into school exactly one minute late that early Monday morning. Traffic was ridiculous, unpredictable, and always longer than necessary due to motorists who just couldn’t figure out how to merge properly and efficiently. One minute later in the office, Puck was handed

Home Stretch

Before church, Yali decided to try a new set of ear plugs. This time, instead of candy wrappers, it was scrambled eggs. Fortunately, I managed to stop him before he pushed them in too deep.   Turns out, Oxbear and Yali missed the service that morning. Yali decided that a sleepy

Five Weeks

It already felt like post-season. It usually did this time of year, even in the dregs of summer heat and only halfway through September. I watched a nasty battle take place between the Cardinals and Cubs while Oxbear changed the oil in the Mazda and Yali watched Puck sharpen a

A Big Red Bird

“Puck, you can’t have Captain Crunch and a caramel apple pop. Put something back.” “But, Mom! My hunger bar’s at one percent!” It was late in the afternoon. Puck was off school for the day, and we had spent most of it at Grant’s Farm hunting down

Sixteen

It was sort of rare for the young tyke, but he spilled tears at Cardinal Glennon for Appointment #16 since becoming a Snicketts. I wasn’t really sure why, but for some reason he got spooked. Fortunately the examination was brief, and he was restored to his mama, wet patches

Volunteer Day

Now that I’m the mama of a two year-old again, my days of volunteering have been shaved way down. But today was one of those days. Mom was already gone to the hospital again to spend the day with Grandma when I dropped Yali off with Linnea-Irish for a

Back to Tuesdays

Yali and I walked out into the almost balmy morning sunshine. Granted it was on the fall-ish side of balmy, but still warm enough to wear a t-shirt.   Linnea-Irish was my baby sitter of choice for the day. In fact, she was the only baby sitter available. When we walked

Grandma Takes a Spill

I hadn’t heard the group text at 6:04 from Carrie-Bri, but Grandma was in the hospital after taking a fall in the hall. Ultimately we would learn that she had fractured her hip. However, for a 79 year-old woman, Grandma did pretty well for herself.   “Well, he’s

Pick an Apple, Any Apple

It’s a tradition: September and apple picking. Now that the summer heat was out of the air, it seemed almost an appropriate time to go.   After church we convened at the Big House for bowls of bean chili, with just enough time for Thumper to join the crew. Then

Off to Beantown

At one point in the morning while the boys snacked on snacky things in the kitchen, I turned around to Yali in his highchair. True to form, he remembered seeing Puck walk around with pretzel sticks hanging out of his nostrils on Thursday afternoon. So now, he too, wanted recognition

Fourteen: Four Weeks

While Puck was busy wrapping up his fourth week of school, including more maps, which he seems to love – apparently we do have something in common – Yali and I arrived at appointment Number Fourteen, his sixth physical therapy session, followed by another good report.   Nixing our original plan for apple

The Laundry Cart

Linnea-Irish and Thumper spent part of their early afternoon dressing themselves up for a drive down to the Boathouse. I’m not sure how they thought sun dresses and paddleboats worked well together, but they seemed pretty determined to make it work. Meanwhile, Francis, who had apparently destroyed the kitchen

17 : 244 : 3 : 6

Puck saw it first, crawling at a snail’s pace down the patio gutter in the rain-like morning. The longest slug I’d ever seen in person. It must have been a good six inches or more. We went out to inspect.   After Yali’s next physical therapy appointment, we

BAH-ZERK

A few minutes before Yali and I piled ourselves into the silver Fit for a 40 minute drive to Cardinal Glennon, I realized something. Yali’s carseat was not in the back of my car. It was in Oxbear’s, down in Clayton. So … while I reschedule the ENT appointment

A Little Bit of Labor

Elvis placed one foot somewhat tentatively into the kiddie pool, swirling with handfuls of green lawn clippings. With the help of both uncles, the kiddie pool had turned water park with the tiny plastic jungle gym sliding right into the cold water on a warm, muggy Labor Day afternoon. Elvis

A Very Happy Birthday to You

Yali was out like a light for yet another church service. Oxbear likes formulas, and he’s found another one. Instead of a two year-old bouncing off the walls during the sermon, Yali sleeps straight through, laid out on Oxbear’s lap.   It was probably the worst “Happy Birthday” we

A Meeting of Cousins

“MOM! MOOOOM!” “What, hon?” “IT’S MY VERY FIRST BLISTER!” By the sound of this announcement, you’d think Puck had just won the Triple Crown. I joined him in the kitchen where he was admiring it. Considering it was his first, I’d say it could generously be classified

Twelve: Three Weeks

“So tell me about what kind of heart disease he has now?” The nurse at Cardinal Glennon looked skeptically at me as she walked into the room. Disease? I didn’t know he had a disease. Was she scolding me? I swallowed quickly before answering. “He has dextrocardia with situs

Extremes

Yali sobbed about half the way from Manchester back to Weldon Spring that morning. After dropping Puck off at school by 8:20, for about thirty glorious minutes Yali had enjoyed a lavish playground all to himself, sweating through his dark head of hair while we waited to meet our

Eleven

Yali and I were busy on a muggy morning in early September. Another physical therapy appointment a few minutes down the road at eight o’clock in the morning. Another massage. More distractions, this time in the way of board books with bright colors and photographs. If there was any

Puck Makes a Goal

It shocked me at first so I didn’t respond as quickly as I usually do with spiders, because this time the spider outweighed any specimen I had ever seen inside our house by a good three pounds. Huge. Spider. He scattered so quickly into the corner of the bathroom

16 : 435 : 6 : 2

For Yali’s eleventh medical appointment of his short tenure with the little Silverspoon family, he received a neck massage which didn’t seem to sit that poorly with him. There certainly weren’t any complaints. Plus, the allure of plastic stacking cones in bright colors and a giant blue

A Short Trip East

My favorite month was quickly dwindling. After church we sat around the table with self-made subs, bags of chips, and cans of RC Cola and Canada Dry Ginger Ale. Even Rose made it in after her late-night Moonlight Ramble with Joe and a buddy downtown, followed by cheeseburgers and discussions

Punch & Cupcakes

After Yali’s 4:30AM wake-up call, he managed to fall asleep in our bed again after his bottle, which meant I didn’t have to sit on five hours’ sleep after all. I joined him for the extended nap while Oxbear scooted off to South City for breakfast with

Eleven Years

About the time my boys flew out the front door for school and work, I reminded Oxbear that it was our 11th anniversary. I had almost forgotten myself. “It’s the 28th?!” Oxbear immediately checked his watch. It’s been one of those always-trying-to-catch-up summers. Little surprise.   At 10:15

Banana Shampoo

I got a call right before Yali and I were supposed to leave for his 7:30AM Physical Therapy appointment. “Your physical therapist just called and she has the stomach flu.” Not exactly an expected call, especially only in the late summer. But this meant Yali and I suddenly didn’

Brotherly Symphonies

I was in the middle of typing out Yali’s medical sheet for our first post-adoption report this Friday when I heard him grunting sternly on the floor below me. I turned around after a few grunts to see what he was doing. He sat in the corner on the

Appointment Five

Just before eight o’clock, Yali and I walked into Physical Therapy for his very first appointment. For all he knew, his mama was paying for him to play with toys for half an hour, including a pretty cool set of heavy duty plastic stacking cones. I guess that’s

On the Calendar

There are some days you can’t catch your breath between 6:30AM and 6:30PM. “I made a mistake,” Oxbear mumbled, stumbling into the light of the kitchen half-awake while I scrambled breakfast eggs. “I forgot I have a 7:30 meeting. Can you take Puck to school?” Half

The Round Table

“So what does Yali like to eat least?” Mom asked. We were all sitting around the dinner table with plates of Mexican lasagna. Yali was going to town on that lasagna. “Fruits and veg,” I answered. “I love them!” Puck announced, chowing down on a plate that resembled more a

What Sugar Will Do

When I picked Puck up from a birthday party in Chesterfield at three o’clock that afternoon, he returned with party favors, including a rubber crocodile that would expand to 600% its original size in water. He was also hopped up on the sugars. I looked back in my rearview

One Week Down

“Puck! Go brush your teeth!” Oxbear commanded from across the house. The boys had five minutes before they had to leave for school. Puck, donned in school uniform for his second day, wasn’t sure if his range and mobility could still remain in the same shape. “I CAN’T

Cardinal Glennon

Yali and I left the house at 6:40 that morning, so we weren’t around to witness Puck’s first day of school wearing the new uniform. Apparently there were some concerns in the shorts department. “DAD! I can’t wear these shorts! These are GIRLS SHORTS! Everyone will

15 : 268 : 3 : 9

“Mom,” Puck whispered to me Tuesday evening. I could sense the rising importance in his voice. “I’m starting to grow a beard! Feel!” I rubbed my fingers over the “stubble”. “Oh, here,” he added. “There’s more on my lip, too. Feel.” Then his eyes grew wide. “I’m

My Sons & The Ladies

Puck hoisted Yali onto his knee after breakfast. “Sit in my lap. And I’ll tell you a story,” he said. I think Yali was more interested in the idea of sitting on his brother’s lap than hearing a story, considering that he doesn’t understand most English concepts

14 : 357 : 4 : 5

We were now two days away from school. I let Puck organize all of his school supplies into his red Big Hero 6 backpack from Colombia, still a little scuffed from the three planes back home. Then we hit the store for supplies, essentials like a red Minecraft shirt for

Three Days Till School

“HOLY HOT DOG BUNS! IT’S HOT IN HERE!” Puck yelled from the shower with two lungs equal to about six in another other human being. When he returned from breakfast with his dad about an hour and a half later, Yali and I were getting ready for church. Puck

Brotherly Love

Sometimes all it takes is about five minutes of relative quiet in the shower, and I hear Puck yelling something to me through the closed door. This time it was: “MOM!” “What’s up, bud?” “YALI MOONED ME! AND I MOONED HIM!” “No. No mooning.” I didn’t bother to

Crepe Myrtle & Bronchitis

We saw it as we pulled up to the Big House – a giant weed sticking vertically out of the ground. “That’s … weird,” I said to Puck as we drove into the driveway. I guess I should have realized what would happen next as Puck tore off across the yard,

13 : 229 : 9 : 2

The boys were back in the pool for a second day in the heat of another August afternoon. This time, Yali sipped in dregs of hose water as the pool continued to fill. Didn’t hurt any of us kids growing up; I guess it won’t hurt him. After

12 : 435 : 6 : 2

Puck had serious plans with his remaining birthday cash and gift card. It had now been four months since his birthday, and the Lego aisle of Target was calling him. The decision took much thought and consideration as he waffled back and forth between sets boxed in colors and photographs

Boating the Lake

Carrie-Bri was already waiting for us in the basin at Forest Park. While Mom and Grandma attended a lecture at the History Museum, she had some time to kill, so we joined her for a walk through the groves around the lake. By the time we arrived at the Boat

Top Hits

“Hey, Puck, did I just hear you singing the Nae Nae?” “What? No. That’s a silly song.” “Well, you know, when I was a kid, Uncle Joe and I sang a top hit all the time that we wrote together. It was a pretty big deal. Wanna hear it?

When the Parents are Gone

Puck was a little out of sorts that morning. I’m not sure what set it off, but he wasn’t pleased with the current state of the union. So when he walked off with Mom before the service and returned with Francis from a small nearby lake, he seemed

A Conversation About Art

Puck enlightened me during a conversation I hadn’t expected on any level that warm morning in early August. “Mom, in a way, poo is art.” “Um… well…” I checked to be sure the young man was serious. He absolutely was. “I think art is usually something the artist intentionally

Meetings

Puck started off Friday morning with a guaranteed-to-work plan. I don’t know if he had already heard someone else suggest it, but the idea of pushing his bed side-by-side with Yali’s was a eureka he just couldn’t pass up. “It will be like a KING-SIZED BED, MOM!

Rolling Along

At breakfast, Yali had a little band-aid on his nose. Because he won’t leave scabs alone, Oxbear bandaged him up before he left for work. I was amazed to see that the band-aid lasted throughout the meal. Pretty impressive. It was in the trash before nine o’clock. There’

A Budding Scientist

A soggy August morning in the STL. I love August; by far my favorite month. The sky just has a different look in August. That particular variety of white cloud spread in endless clusters across the sky like abnormally shaped spaceships. Perfecto.   That morning, Puck asked if he and Yali

Two Weeks Till School

Yali woke several times that night with what I could only presume were growing pains. It made for a rough night for his mama, but I couldn’t complain about the possibility of growing pains. Not for a kid who sits in the one percentile on height and weight.   Anyway,

Back to Business

As soon as Puck walked through the front door of the Big House that morning, I could see he already had plans. It was probably ten minutes later that he emerged from the kitchen with a tall cup of concoction that I was pretty sure wasn’t drinkable. “It’s

Seven Months In

Yali sat in Oxbear’s lap at church that morning, stroking his dad’s arm over and over with both of his strong little brown hands. After awhile I leaned over to Oxbear. “He’s grooming you,” I suggested. Oxbear leaned back over after a few seconds and said, “I

The V's House

While Oxbear was down in South City that morning, the boys and I spent our hours together partially discussing world records, objective and unobjective. All questions were Puck’s. “Who’s the fastest person in the world?” “Who’s the smartest person in the world?” “What’s the most awesomest

I Like Boys

Two late game nights in a row found me sleeping in while Oxbear made eggs and bacon for the boys Friday morning.   At around ten o’clock we finally meandered out into the world, the four of us. Target called: school supplies, summer shorts for Joe. And one little beauty

11 : 435 : 6 : 2

“MMMM!” Puck paused over his plate of scrambled eggs prepared with cheddar and tarragon – an Oxbear specialty – but he wasn’t looking at the eggs. “MMMM!” he said again, loudly. This time, Oxbear took the bait. “What?” Puck eyed the tray of cinnamon rolls being iced on the counter – it’

10 : 170 : 2 : 10

I could hear the boys talking through the air vent in the floor that morning. “Yali, no. Don’t get into the vent. All there is is boring stuff down there.” Oxbear had already taken both boys on a mission of exploration that morning into the bowels of the couch

A Gathering of Sons

“Dangerous heat today, boys. So I want you inside most of the day. We might take a walk before it hits though.” Puck looked uncertainly at me. “Mom, I don’t want to take a risk.” “Don’t worry. I’ll check the temperature and heat index before we go.

The Mind of Boys

“Francis, let’s get your resumé going.” “Okay.” “Why are you just sitting there? Get your laptop.” “But my laptop is all the way out in my truck.” “What are you going to write your resumé on then? Post-it notes?” When you grow up in the Snicketts family, your business

A Healthy Iris

Yali’s first visit to church involved more tears than smiles. I mean, when you can’t have your own bulletin and you can’t taste the communion bread, life begins to look a little bleak. That’s just the way it is.   The smiles came later in the afternoon

Mama of Boys

Saturday morning, a little after six o’clock, Oxbear and I received a welcoming committee in bed. Two giggling boys threw themselves on top of us after Puck heaved Yali up top. Whatever Puck does, Yali has to do.   About an hour later, I began the three-times-a-day process (sometimes more)

Eyeballs to Robots

I got a call from Rose at about ten o’clock Thursday night. “Uh, did Linnea call you?” “No. What’s up?” “Well, Carrie got nail glue in her eye. She thought it was eye drops. The bottles look the same: nail glue and eye drops. It’s so stupid

First Family Outing

It was about 12:30. Yali’s naptime. Since yesterday, he’s toweled up the tears a little. Maybe he’s thought better of the whole sobbing to get some attention tactic. He’s moved on, I guess. Today, he was holding a conference between his stuffed animals – American Bear,

The Cuteness Factor

After sort of lounging around in his bed awake for two hours from 2AM to 4AM that morning – Oxbear resting next to him – Yali woke up still teething hard and working through a low-grade fever, presumably a result of his Tuesday afternoon vaccinations. It was going to be one of

Not Too Shabby

Sunday afternoon, Puck came home with a large paper sack full of heavy-duty art projects summed up from his week at Art Camp. Not to mention the self-made professional-looking tie-dyed t-shirt. The orange papier-mâché cyclops dog “with a unibrow” went on display in the living room. The multi-papered fuzzball gumball

Getting to Know the Family

Finally – good sound quality – recording back in the States again. Through another thunderstorm and heavy downpour, I let the boys have a morning together at home while I joined Carrie-Bri for Episode 55 in Dad’s office. Now that we had been invited by the head of the United Cardinal

The Way Things Should Be

Thunder, subtle lightning, a little rain – home sweet sweet home.   Taking on the responsibility of “Big Brother” to a newborn fresh out of the hospital is one thing. The baby sleeps 75% of the day, after all. There’s not much necessary interaction. Shouldering that responsibility to an active two

Bonding Brothers

“Yali,” Puck sighed. “I won’t always be around to pick these things up for you. Don’t throw toys off your highchair.” Yali just grinned. Huge dimply white teeth – not sure how they’re still that white – grin. Saturday morning was going well. Puck had adopted the role of

Home Sweet St. Louis Home

10:45PM Red eye leaves Bogota; Yali sleeps the whole way. 04:20AM Arrive in New York; visit with Border Patrol. 08:55AM Plane leaves JFK; Yali sleeps first two hours. 10:20AM Arrive in Minneapolis; Yali gets cranky. 03:00PM Flight leaves for STL: best city on Earth.   We

"Super! Congratulations!"

I happened to review Yali’s nutritional guide in his medical paperwork the other day. Recommended for breakfast: chocolate. I suddenly felt less guilty for those occasional unconventional breakfasts I’ve had while down here; just blending in with the Colombian diet.   Somewhere after eleven o’clock that morning we

One Step to Go

Yali woke in the night with some kind of discomfort or pain in his neck. You could see it in his exhausted little face. It’s one of the things on his list of medical issues to be addressed when we return: “malformation to the neck and face”. Fortunately, there

The Passport Circus

I really have no complaints about our stay here for the past three weeks now. As the Colombian girl we met (with a Philadelphian grandmother) at the passport office this morning said to us, “Colombia is very warm. We all feel like family to each other.” So maybe that’s

A Somewhat Costly Mistake

Oxbear was gone the whole morning, picking up Joe’s completed passport and getting official papers signed at the ICBF. While he ran around the city doing that, I waited in the garden watching Yali kick around a partially deflated basketball. It’s fitting. Basketball courts and volleyball courts seem

Is it Sunday?

It is now our third straight Sunday in South America without church; it would feel weird except that Sundays don’t feel like Sundays here anyway, so it’s just like double Saturdays instead.   Basically, today I did nothing. Not exactly proud of the fact, but it’s true. Mostly

Norte o Sur

“HA HA HA HA HA!” Yali apparently finds it hilarious to yank on Oxbear’s beard with his little brown hands, laugh loudly, then bury his face in it, laugh loudly again, then eat it. Yes, eat his dad’s beard. David laughed at him while we waited in the

Fase Cuatro

Yesterday while we were waiting for the elderly gentleman with the “special code” to instantly alter Yali’s name on his birth certificate – there are many mysteries in Colombia – David told us about Yali’s birth village. “La Concordia? No, you would not go there. It would be not good.

Three Guys and a Gal

Wednesday night I went up to the roof to see the stars. The stars of the Andes, the lights of the Andes – gold – trickling through the mountains, lightning in the south. On Monday, David, our interpreter, told us about the condors of the Andes, great birds with a wingspan of

Too Many Chickens

Turns out La Mesa became famous for a “botanical expedition” that launched out of here 232 years ago way back in 1783. At least, that’s what I think the plaque on the old Catholic church in the town square reads, which looks about 232 years old.   Despite being thousands

Camp La Mesa

Day Two of Summer Camp La Mesa was going pretty well. Maybe it was watching swathes of gold lights in the mountain villages last night. Or maybe it was Yali learning how to not throw anything in his hands across the room – kid’s got a decent arm on him

Fase Tres

It wasn’t exactly how I expected my Monday morning to begin, but when I found myself mopping up the remains of Yali’s breakfast from my going-to-the-court dress at about 8:45 that morning on the road to La Mesa, I figured it was just one more thing to

Two Year-Olds

It being a Sunday and all, Yali felt like presenting his worst behavior that afternoon. Now that he’s comfortable in this new life of luxury, fun and games, he tests his limits whenever possible. About the point where he had to sit in a “time out” on the bed

No Fireworks Here ... Sort Of

I was definitely going to miss the earth shakers that night. Those intensely loud fireworks that make your whole body quake when they go off. One of my favorite things of the year. I’m guessing Yali wouldn’t be a big fan yet. Whenever he hears an unnecessarily obnoxious

Autumn in July

It doesn’t feel right – that cool fall air in July. There were a few times while walking to McDonald’s last night that I forgot St. Louis was only a few days away from lighting fireworks. In the night, temps dropped into the 40s. With no central heating, we

O Positivo

“Okay, fotos?” Our driver, Andres, paused in front of a small street cart on our way to the immigration office. The French family he escorted with us laughed, too, when we saw what was happening next. The woman operating the “photographs” cart pulled out a small roll of white backdrop

Fase Dos

Yali was already asleep on my lap, his black hair a sweaty mess against my arm. We had been on the road one hour back to Bogota with our español-only driver and the Colombian Program Director’s grandson, who spoke English well. After awhile, the 17 year-old nodded off, hands

Now it Begins

When the social worker arrived that morning – the same young woman who brought Yali to us last week – Oxbear showed her where we lived on the map. “Oh,” the interpreter told us, “she says she wish she could go back with you. She lib at home with her parents.” As

Don't Visit Granada?

It figures I’d miss the first major round of summer tornadic activity back home, Sunday night. Word on the street was that Francis – working at the Creve Coeur airport – had to take shelter at a nearby farmhouse. All I could do was stare at KSDK’s weather radar on

Cabin Fever

Tear-free since Wednesday night, I figured we were due. One desperate tiny arm gestured towards the mini fridge, soundlessly pleading for an early lunch. “Wait a few more minutes, honey,” I held up a finger to demonstrate. “It’s almost time to eat.” He tried a few more times before

The Tower of Babel

Turns out that all-night fiesta took a siesta during the Copa América. So did the car horns. And all the sirens. Those weird sirens that sound more like Martian space guns than actual sirens. But as the city retreated indoors to rally behind Colombia vs. Argentina in the quarterfinals, the

Old New World

Oxbear looked at the little boy patting his naked stomach in satisfaction as he sat on the bed stuffing himself with a plate of ham and cheese, and laughed, “You’ve got an American appetite, son.” Three slices of ham, three slices of cheese, and grape juice later, the boys

The Waiting City

I woke up at about seven o’clock that morning not feeling so great. Then it hit me, “Why did you only eat three spoonfuls of peanut butter yesterday, Collette?” Idiot. Anyway, we took the morning slow. Yali, recovered from his brief 1:45AM terror of not remembering where he

Hello, Yali

My mom would have shut her eyes the whole way. Winding mountain roads, steep grades, rain, dense fog, fogged up windshield, Colombian pop music blaring from the radio, our driver occasionally humming along. Before we had even left Bogota, a man on the street walked up to our car, hit

Headed South: Bogotá

No one can really prepare you to leave your eight year-old at home for up to two months while you fly off to South America to bring back his little brother. Neither of us wanted to do it, of course, but it had to be done. Mom and Carrie-Bri picked

Fifty Pounds Apiece

Considering that I was allotted about 77% of my son’s body weight in luggage for domestic flights within Colombia, I figured packing would be a breeze. If I can’t last one to two months south of the border on that many pounds of stuff, I might need to

And Yet More Celebrations

We were closing in on yet another double celebration day, working into the latter part of June. After church it was double Father’s Day with Dad and Oxbear coupled with Rose’s 25th birthday. For her actual birthday she would be hanging out in the northwest with Annamaria, Thunderbird,

Happy 2, Yali!

Between current family members, we already had at least seven June birthdays. We could now make that eight with Yali turning two somewhere down in southern Colombia.   We started our morning with the balmy voice of Iz, inspired by the short film before the feature last night: volcano love song.

Imagination Land

While I edited Episode 46 that afternoon at the Big House kitchen table, Puck amused himself with no trouble at all on the front porch. He watched patches of rain as it came and went, playing dramatic make-believe with himself and two remote controls for old toys that everyone else

Five Days

Our departure flight was quickly approaching. Considering all the delays and set-backs we had experienced the past seven weeks, June was still better than October, which is the month we originally expected the whole thing to go down.   We spent our mornings running errands for the trip, including loading up

Approved

We were supposed to leave in six days; our appointment had already been set for the following Wednesday to meet little Yali. We needed some movement in the visa department. Meanwhile, it just kept raining. Raining, raining.   On Tuesday I had practically promised Puck a day at home. Used to

9 : 435 : 6 : 2

Tuesday morning was lightly dampened – and not just from the excessive and continued rain – by the news breaking out of New York regarding an ongoing FBI investigation into Cardinals employee/s involving a computer breach into the Astros’ database. Or something like that; the grapevine does wonders in the vast

A Token

Ketseh, the senior bun-bun of the family, wasn’t feeling too great. Carrie-Bri and Mom were already on their way to the vet to see about his abscess by nine o’clock that morning while Puck and I took a walk to the school down the road to wait for

Happy 79th, Happy 31st

During the sermon that morning, Puck heard a line that specifically caught his interest, and maybe potentially ruffled his feathers, something to the effect of – How do we know we inherited Adam’s sin? Because we all die. So Puck, always looking for an opportunity to point out how Eve

Happy 31, Oxbear!

The Big Guy of the house began his 31st birthday by checking the A/C unit out back before he left for his weekly work-out and breakfast with the guys. “Fan’s not spinning,” he came in to tell me at five-something. “I’ll call someone to come look at

Antony & Cleopatra

Lately I had been taking advantage of recent summer mornings – these last couple of weeks of freedom – by sleeping in whenever possible. Puck didn’t mind; this only meant extra time on the iPad before I served breakfast. Sometimes he beats me to it, however. By the time I joined

Summer's Coming

Carrie-Bri and I made a 44th contribution to the great (and almost entirely, if not entirely female-less) podcasting world of baseball that morning: a simple, easy, and entertaining process of documenting the boys of summer.   While Puck and I spent some time reading fine literature on the front porch (aka

Cardboard & Typhoid

When the new washer and dryer arrived at the Big House sometime earlier that year, Dad had generously donated the heavy cardboard packing boxes to Puck, suggesting he use them as spaceships. They were now on their second round of use, back in the living room, a cardboard village. Because

A Few More Things

Puck spent the first part of his morning flattening a Hershey’s treasure wrapper on the kitchen table until it was as smooth as silk. He was so proud of this accomplishment that he continued to extol it while listening to “Adventures in Odyssey”. “Mom! Look how smooth this is!

Two Forward, One Back

To my great surprise and astonishment, shortly after recording Episode 43 in Dad’s office, I was greeted with an email from the Colombian Consulate in San Francisco:   “Good morning, Yes, you can process the visa with us. Please send me your phone number.”   Finally! After five weeks of daily

Happy 35

Mom and Dad: 35. They’ve done pretty well for themselves. “Now let’s see if you last another 35,” Francis joked after church. A luncheon of sub sandwiches, meatballs, chocolate cake, and cold lemonade followed. We dawdled around afterwards waiting for the open house to begin a few miles

Inching

Crackers threw her fuzzy body across the kitchen linoleum that morning. Puck watched her for a few moments before adding some commentary in what had clearly become a revelation for him. “Look at her! She doesn’t have to do anything! Look at her! All she has to do is

8 : 435 : 6 : 1

Wednesday was a temperature that couldn’t decide whether it was warm or cool for most of the day. We left the Big House – Linnea-Irish and I – for another spectacle downtown at the ballpark.   Another swelling crowd of red filled the stands by 12:45. Linnea and I housed ourselves

The Final Straw

With the fiasco of Colombian visas and FBI letters still in full-blown confusion, Carrie had made a recommendation that would ultimately save ourselves up to eleven weeks of wasted time. Give me a sister who can work the system; that’s Carrie. Instead of waiting fifteen weeks for our fingerprints

7 : 430 : 10 : 16

It was cold, cold and gray on that first day in June. Nearer early April. Puck had prepared himself for the game that night by coating himself in too many layers before we left the house that morning. “Mom! Can I wear double everything?” “Double everything?” “Yes! Double shirts, double

Bengie

“Mom! I hate beans! I hated beans before I was even born!” Two big hazel eyes stared back pleadingly at me. There are few food groups Puck turns down, flat, but one of them is definitely beans. Just like his dad. The kid will stuff down any kind of meat,

ORL to STL

6:15AM – on the road again. This time we housed Oxbear shotgun with a “ganola” bar as Puck calls them. That did the trick. 10:00AM – pause somewhere in Tifton, Georgia. Francis grabbed a burger at Wendy’s. “Oh no,” Carrie-Bri groaned when she saw him carry out the sack

Cocoa Beach

At some point in the morning while Dad and Joe were using up their Fast Passes at Disney, Oxbear found Francis lying flat on his back on the bed upstairs. “Uh … you okay, bud?” With the stomach “issues” this week, we weren’t taking chances. “Oh. Yeah, yeah. I was

Disney Two

Rose’s opening comments to Disney World were remembered again on Thursday as we prepared for another day of magical fun. “I just saw a spiderweb, so I don’t think this is the Happiest Place on Earth anymore.” Jaya countered with, “Well, I just saw a duck, so I

Disney

“Do we have a thermometer? Joe was throwing up last night.” Here we go. Not only had Joe dehydrated himself on an intentional and hardcore basis for the past three days, but now he seemed to have inherited a stomach bug of a different beast than Oxbear’s carsickness. So

The In-Between

With Oxbear fully recovered that morning, most of the family congregated in the pool off and on throughout the day. “This is the best day of my l-i-i-i-i-ife!” Puck yelled with enthusiasm after his second round that day. Meanwhile, Carrie saw a lime tree growing at the edge of the

Sick as a Dog

Waking up at 3AM on a Monday morning, Memorial Day, I didn’t expect my husband to be walking into the worst day of his life. Granted, that was my assessment by the time we rolled in to Four Corners, Florida, 10:15 that night. He still insists that it

Clean & Pack

“Come on in,” our Sunday School teacher encouraged some later arrivals. “We have lots of prime real estate here.” It was Memorial Day weekend, which meant numbers were a little on the low side. In fact, only about half of the Snicketts tribe made it to services that morning, also

Graduation Two

Twelve years later to the day after I graduated high school, it was time for the 6th – and last – Snicketts kid to walk the stage, pass over a rose to Mom, receive the diploma from Dad, and hang up the towel. Linnea-Irish was looking pretty cute up there, as usual,

And ... Done

“Francis, you idiot! That chicken was for a recipe!” I couldn’t see Francis’ reaction to Carrie’s castigation. But I imagined him freezing mid-slice, fork poised over the unfortunate rotisserie chicken, trying to gather his wits. “You should feel shame!” Carrie scolded him, as the chicken went back into

1.5

It was the last full day of school. Not only had Puck returned with a fat Spanish folder and art portfolio earlier in the week, but now he was sent home with the contents of his desk – a very messy desk – as we had noted during the education exposition. He

2.5

With Oxbear still in Philly, Puck and I drove out for school once again on a Wednesday morning. Only two and a half days left in Second Grade. Faster and faster. The morning was cold. Hasn’t felt like May lately. The only things that remind me it’s not

A Few More Last Things

Somehow, I managed to stay awake till the end of that 14 inning disaster up in New York, Monday night. Well, not a blow-out disaster, but a loss is still a loss no matter how you slice it. Didn’t get enough sleep, obviously. Sometimes I think the fans work

Don't Jip the Kid

It was Linnea-Irish’s big day. Not graduation; that wasn’t until Saturday. Monday was for the removal of her braces, only three months longer than promised. When she returned after lunch, I think she had forgotten how to smile a real smile, after hiding the train tracks for over

Change of Scenery

COUGH! Cough, cough, cough. Puck grinned at me over the tops of my Mother’s Day flowers, somehow having miraculously survived intact a record-breaking seven days. “I got your plant sick,” he told me, almost satisfactorily.   It was an unconventional Sunday. To boot things off at church – the one time

Graduation One

We woke up late, all of us, small wonder. Puck popped a slice of bread into the toaster, and sang himself an original composition. “So, I don’t care. If you are. A clerk. I don’t care. If you are. A snerk. So I don’t care if you

6 : 228 : 5 : 15

“MOM! MOM!” I heard Puck’s Pumas pounding the carpet as he ran down the hallway towards me, holding a bloody paper towel in one hand. I had just finished my lunch room shift downstairs where Snicky had stuffed Puck’s entire peanut butter sandwich into Puck’s mouth – Puck

Impressions

Puck walked out of the gym that afternoon as usual, same goofy spirit, same enthusiasm for the day’s next event. I helped him shove the remains of the day into his backpack in the quieter hallway we generally prefer to use for our daily exit. Suddenly, out of nowhere…

A Little More Work

Spirit Week continued at school. Wednesday was “Tin Foil/Duct Tape Day”. At first, Puck wasn’t interested in participating. “You know it helps your team earn points,” I reminded him. “What happens if we get all the points?” “Your team wins.” “What do we win?” “I’m not sure

One More Round

I guess that doorway arm trick left a good impression on Puck. Before he left for school, it was, “DO I HAVE TIME TO DO THE DOOR TRICK BEFORE WE LEAVE?” He didn’t. More fun for later. The ant farm, meanwhile, was in business on the kitchen table. Although

Mini Elvis

It was shaping up to be a full week already. One day post-Mother’s Day, Mini Elvis turned two years old. With the little South family in town, and Curly on a rushed visit up from Nashville – even Izzy took a brief break from finals – there was time to celebrate

Día de la Madre

It started off with the effects of rain and my boys chowing down on bacon and eggs at some local diner while I “slept in”. Maybe I dozed off briefly once more after 6:30, but nothing to speak of. By eight o’clock, the gentlemen had returned with a

Pencils & Subs

A slow morning in the neighborhood. Rain. Oxbear in South City for the usual dose of big breakfast and big lifting. I can usually judge by the quality of the bruises on his arms, how successful the outing has been.   Puck knew it when he saw it in the Schunuck’

How He Thinks

Puck was eager for a Friday pick-up from school. “Let’s go to GRANDMA’S!!” Once the disappointment of not being able to “go to Grandma’s” wore off – since pretty much everyone was gone anyway – Puck remembered that Oxbear was working from home. Dad time. Then a new thought

5 : 147 : 20 : 3

Wednesday night, Oxbear surprised me with a set of free tickets to the game for Thursday afternoon. Down low in a single row isolated by cement path and iron fence. Linnea-Irish and I felt a little important when we stashed ourselves twenty-something rows behind the right side of home plate

Preparations

My morning was spent up at school again, helping Lucy and Ethyl dish out hot toasted ravs and Italian salads for over a hundred students and teachers. One hour and forty-five spins by fast when the troves keep shuffling through, hungry and hustling.   By 12:30, I had also hit

Francis

About the only thing of interest throughout my morning of volunteering was the lamp I dug up at Ditto for Rose: giant carved conquistador on his horse. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was a winner. My suspicions were confirmed even more when the other women working

Angry Orange Face Emoji

It was nine o’clock on a Monday evening, and I was about to hit the roof. First of all, I made the fatal mistake of switching on a wild game downtown while trying to weed through the increasingly annoying visa application process for the fourth day in a row.

Tradition

Valley of Flowers. St. Louisans like tradition, real, honest-to-goodness tradition. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That might be our second motto after “The Show Me State”. Parades also might be one of those factors. Even if you really don’t care about parades at all – i.

4 : 441 : 8 : 8

Nothing like waking up at 6:33 on a Saturday morning – the ONE day I can just roll over and fall asleep again – and instead, finding myself fully awake. No hope of return. It’s a predictable pattern, weekend-in, weekend-out. By seven, Puck had made his usual date with the

That's How it Goes

Dad walked through the front door of the Big House mid-Friday afternoon. He and Mom had spent the morning at the Symphony together before he dropped her off at Grandma’s for the weekend. “So how was it?” Carrie-Bri asked him. We had recently wrapped up podcast Episode 34 and

3 : 435 : 6 : 1

Linnea-Irish had to reluctantly fork over her game ticket once again that day, for her last few hours filling ice cream cones down the street. Instead, it was Mom’s turn to join me on that little adventure downtown we like to call Busch Stadium. On that last cool afternoon

Boy Things

I hadn’t expected the email that morning passed on from Colombia, asking, “when [do] you want to travel?” At this point in the adoption process, I had assumed we’d eventually receive something that gave us the exact dates we were expected to show up, sometime in September or

Kids Are Funny

9:45 – school office. It’s not exactly an uncommon site: the child who took it a little too far in the classroom and landed himself in the principal’s office, so to speak. Today, it was a blonde-headed kid sitting behind an ice cream bucket full of crayons. As

When it Rains...

Well … somewhere in between recording and editing podcast episode #33 and Puck asking me trivia-style how many openings exist in the human body … the rest of life happened.   Mom and Dad returned from another “wonderful” weekend in Branson. In fact, as I told Mom that afternoon, I sometimes forget to

The Crazies

Puck took another whiff of his little brother’s photograph this morning after breakfast. He and Oxbear had just chowed down on eggs, bacon, toast, and chocolate milk at a diner down the highway. While they were gone, I had stuck Puck’s school photo inside the frame with his

The Big Reveal

We had been waiting several months to tell Puck some exciting news, which we wrapped in the form of a photograph in a frame as a “belated birthday present”. “When is my other birthday present coming?” he asked off and on throughout the week. “Can’t I open it now?

The Magic

With Mom and Dad just leaving for Branson, Francis in Pensacola, Florida, with a good buddy, and Linnea-Irish working one of her last shifts at Dairy Queen, we had silence on the set for Podcast Episode 32. A quick morning and early afternoon later, Puck was collected for the ride

Renewed Addition

The lunch room was a little busier this morning. Chick-Fil-A Day must be the most popular lunch order of all time. Over one hundred children eager to devour packs of hot chicken nuggets. And they did, with gusto. Even Puck got a pack which beat out a boring old peanut

Look Out

Now that I had 435 pounds of books sitting in my living room waiting for eventual distribution, the bubble wrap had been a little busy. One pallet of 550 books, mostly still un-packed in their boxes. The whole process of unloading from the driveway to the living room had taken

The Art of Being a Boy

“Mom? Do you know where my glue gun is?” As I rolled out of bed to this early morning question, Puck was hardly referring to arts and crafts. Since last week, he has been collecting empty glue sticks from class, filling them with pencil top erasers, and “shooting” them through

Sometimes I Get a Little Bored

Puck stared at the car window as we flew down the road from school. “There’s a bug hanging on for dear life out there, Mom. Roll down the window so he’ll fly away.” A few minutes more of driving did not rectify the situation. “He’s still there.

It is what it Is

Usually I try to catch Puck before he grabs the mini donuts at the church coffee table. The less sugar before service, the better. But today, I couldn’t stop him from draining a cup of lemonade before he marched into our row and took a seat. C’est la

My Big Guy

Puck opened his 8th birthday morning with a light session of reading on the couch with a stack of “Calvin & Hobbes”. A typical way to begin any normal Saturday morning. This was only after he threw himself onto our bed and wrapped up warm in the blankets to represent

Cumpleaños: Uno y Dos

It was my first experience working all day in the school office as “secretary for a day”. Kids passing the windows stared at me, probably wondering how the secretary could have changed so much overnight. Suddenly short dark hair became long and blonde. Seven and a half hours of phone

2: 435: 6: 2

I was rolling in the wealth this week. Game Two of the season, Game Two of the week. Although as Carrie-Bri and I drove off that morning at about 11:30, we were both a little tired from two late nights back to back. And we’re not even old

1: 139: 22: 18

Puck called me on the drive to school. Important tree-house-building questions. “Mom? Is pitch what they put into wood to make it strong as steel?” This was a Noah’s Ark theory that we had discussed in the past. Puck was clearly drawing off some ancient expertise for the essentials

Game Shows

By 7:45AM I was dressed for big events downtown at 6:30PM. That’s what happens when you live 40 minutes from the epicenter. 09:45AM – stuffing envelopes for a school mailer, answering phones, eye drops for a passel of kids with allergy-waxed eyeballs. 11:45PM – depart for Ditto;

Back in Town

On Sunday when Puck found a large black fabric lampshade Carrie-Bri was donating to Ditto, he claimed it first and stuck it snugly on his head. He was practically inspired. “Can I be a lamp for Halloween?” he asked us on the drive home. “A toxic lamp.” “Or you could

What Boys Do

The boys left the house by seven o’clock. I could only trust that Puck had dressed himself in his one remaining pair of hole-less stain-less church pants, collared shirt, and brown sweater. “See ya in a bit!” Oxbear tried to say to me as quietly as possible as the

Magic Genie

Puck was thinking hard on the drive to Theodore’s and Gloria’s that morning. The wheels never stop spinning. “If I had a magic lamp with a genie in it, I would wish for one billion gold bars and one billion diamonds and the biggest vault in the world

Which is Worse?

I was back in the lunch room at 10:10 that morning. Hundreds of children waiting on fat chicken fingers, crispy potato stars, and packs of fruit snacks. I got busy washing down nine long heavy plastic tables while the “lunch lady” (as she is known by the kids) caught

Missed North

“Alright, Captain Noisy Pants,” Oxbear walked into the kitchen that morning. “Time to leave.” “Your nose is noisy.” “Your nose is noisy.” I left just after the boys, off to record new and exciting podcasts fifteen minutes away at the Big House. Also exciting – possibility of severe storms developing in

Radar Days

The peepers were chirping before the rain all week now. I had passed them a couple of times in the dead corn field near the highway. Heralds to more storms, which we again briefly experienced that afternoon. “Tornado threat increasing,” reported all the local news stations and most of my

Finally

Puck walked out of the gym popping the cap off an empty glue stick in a newly invented game. “Watch, Mom!” He shot it through the air off and on down the brick hallway. Simple entertainment is usually the best. “Isn’t that great, Mom?” We walked out the less-trafficked

Slowing it Down

Puck and I had another day at home – school break: Easter Monday – to hang around and be creative. Most of that creativity involved about a thousand small plastic bricks in about eight different colors scattered all over the kitchen table from sun up till after the dinner hour. The only

Opening Easter

Leaving QT for a last-minute fuel-up Easter morning – Incan sun god music pan-piping on the radio – Puck had one question for us as he flipped through a library book on rain forests. “Is a con artist a guy who draws fake pictures? It’s a guy who tries to make

Easter Two

Puck shoved down a mouthful of ham at “lupper” (a term I’m pretty sure my Dad coined back in the late 80’s). It was Easter a day early at the Silverspoon’s and Gloria had trucked out a large Trader Joe’s ham for the four hungry men/

Worst Movie of All Time

One low, long rumble of thunder early in the morning. That was it. For all I know, it was a tractor trailer gone wrong. But I don’t think so. Anyway, nothing else of note weather-wise for the rest of the day.   Puck being off school for the Easter hollidays,

A Little Fun

It wasn’t much, but you could feel thunder in the air early that Thursday morning. Just in time for Holy Week. I don’t know if thunder and Holy Week really go hand-in-hand, but it feels appropriate anyway.   My morning was quickly sucked into the vacuum of adoption papers

No Fools

After taking a few more phone calls and scratching out a handful of homework requests from 8:15 – 9:15 in the school office that morning, I wedged my way through twenty minutes of parking-lot-style traffic back to the Big House for another podcast recording session.   Winter had finally bit

My Busy Day

The office was buzzing that morning: Tylenol, ice packs, phone calls, visitors … Mr. V brought Puck in for a bug bite on his face; not sure how that came about. One of the boys in the class had advised Puck on what had probably happened. “He said it was maybe

Dumpster Diving

I don’t remember how it came up that morning, but as Oxbear cured his beloved cast-iron skillet after searing and simmering two more pork steaks for his lunch box, there was some conversation going on about his monetary value. “I am the owner of trees,” he declared. “You own

Puck's Picks

“You look like an orphan,” Dad told Linnea-Irish when she walked over behind that particular morning’s family ‘pew’. Linnea wrinkled her nose. Apparently Dad didn’t approve of sock hats at church, although he later insisted that the “orphan” label was in reference to the holes in her stockings

Sweet Things

Maybe it’s because each year is accelerating faster and faster than the year before, but 2015 Easter blew in out of nowhere. Suddenly: advertisements for Easter egg hunts on every block, including a slip in Puck’s homework folder for Saturday morning. So we went to school on a

Work Hard, Play Hard

“What day is it?” “Friday.” “Woop! Woop! Know why I like Fridays?” “Why?” “Because tomorrow’s Saturday, then Sunday, then Monday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday, then Thursday, then Friday, then Saturday!” Hmmm … decent logic, I guess.   While Puck spent Friday at school and Oxbear spent Friday at work, I got

Hello Again, Kirsten

The boys had done a pretty decent job of cleaning the house before I trooped back in from south Florida on Monday afternoon. But with the arrival of our social worker Thursday at 4:30, I wanted to make sure everything was freshly covered. So that’s how I spent

Never Bored

In our special private recording studio at Elite Snicketts Productions, we require absolute quiet during our podcast sessions. This means no running water. In any part of the house. At all. So we have to work around showers, dishes, and laundry. Or rather, they have to work around us. “Linnea’

Well It's About Time

Rumble. Thunder. Finally. Just a scrap though, enough to rouse me out of bed, but that was it. We’ll hope for better things as the spring continues.   Back in the school office, things were quiet in the cold gray rain of a Tuesday morning. I had enough silence to

No Place Like STL

The crackle of police scanners was already filling our dingy motel room at 6:30 in the morning. Carrie-Bri had been awake since around four o’clock or maybe earlier. “Let’s see what I can pick up in Detroit. … Nothing? Are you serious?” She switched it back to St.

West Palm Beach to Nashville

My five o’clock Matt Holliday alarm clock was not so welcome that early Sunday morning. Too early to start the advertised thirteen-hour drive back home. Naturally, we knew it would take longer. 6:15 – on the road, fuel up at the pump on a quiet street normally packed with

Adios, Jupiter

“May day! May day! They’re coming!” Linnea-Irish’s eyes lit up in alarm when she saw the minor leaguers headed our way to the practice fields, even though that’s why we-were there at nine o’clock in the morning in the first place. Typical Snicketts girl response. The

Beat the Heat

Yadi slinging the baseball to 2nd – “OUT!” One of the images in my head this morning. It’s already a crazy thing to watch from Section 434 high above the arena of Busch Stadium back home. But it’s even cooler seeing it happen yards away on a hot afternoon

Game Two

After taking in a little batting practice from behind the first base line, watching Pete Kozma, Peter Bourjos, and Randal Grichuk rocket baseballs into the outfield, I found my usual standing room only seat behind home plate, with an almost-used-up red moleskine and pen. I received various reactions from elderly

Hello, Strangers

The rehabilitated sea turtles were busy that morning, loping around their salt water baths as visitors stared at – or in Grandma’s case, talked to – them. We were visiting the Loggerhead Marinelife Center on our day off between games. Lazy old monsters crusted in mossy plants. And a few babies.

The Boys in Green

Three hours before the game started, I was sitting on a patch of cold cement outside Roger Dean Sadium with Linnea who was stuffing down the last of the oranges before the gates opened, and her pal. No food allowed. No sense of personal space from the general public either.

Hola, Jupiter

When I woke up this morning just after six o’clock, Rose was getting out of bed. Rose, who won’t get within a yard of anyone on purpose. But we ended up being bunk mates anyway. A few minutes later, I noticed some blob sitting on the blanket next

Down to Georgia

Nine o’clock. Something like that. We had been on the road a few hours – two silver Honda Fits coasting down the highway under pale cold sunrise – and after a lot of J.T. and Lana Del Rey, Carrie-Bri was looking for a new form of entertainment. “Rose, what boy

End of an Era

The backyard looked more like soggy fruitcake than mud and grub that morning when I drew Puck’s red shades. That last week right before spring.   Meanwhile, as Oxbear was dragging monster truck tires across the parking lot of an old Vietnamese Catholic church with three other macho men, I

Where's Our Mansion?

“Why is it so dark in the mornings, Mom?” I briefly explained the concept of Daylight’s Saving. “Let me get this straight. They went to NASA. Got inside a space shuttle. Went to turn the sun around. And came back.” “No.” “Okay, they changed the Earth around.”   Shakespeare Spirit

Cray Cray

Some days you get the truck thrown at you. Nothing bad or anything. Just an extra case of the “busies”, those days where 6:15 to 6:15 is just one big heap of “to do”. By noon I found myself in that familiar spot, deep in lists of what

Gotta Get Things Done

Carrie-Bri tossed one more blanket over the top of the door as we set up our podcasting station for the morning. Blankets and pillows – everywhere – to muffle outside intrusions of noise. We did pause about halfway through for Carrie to yell out the door at Irish. “Quit slamming things around

From 9:45 to 8:30

Raining mist. Misty rain. Something like that. Finally warm enough to avoid the ice, I drove out at my usual hour to answer phones at the school office, fill out a stack of Kindergarten screening evaluations, administer Junior Strength Tylenol to a ten year-old with a headache, and not get

"Sick Day"

Puck’s “sick day” at home was hardly a sick day. But with the school’s 24-hour-symptom-free policy, Puck got to stay home. It started with oatmeal. Puck start contemptuously at the bowl in front of him. Oatmeal isn’t his favorite, but he eats it anyway. Usually, he waits

Temporary Hold-Up

“Mom? Can you hand me my Strider bike? I want to take it apart.” A fever of a 101-nature and painful eyeballs from the congestion of a cold wasn’t bothering my Big Guy too much that Sunday morning stay-home-from-church. It was about nine o’clock in the morning, and

Hang Around Home

Things were warming up even more now. With Oxbear joining Theodore and Izzy on a one-day road trip to Nashville where they moved Curly and Lulu into their new house, Puck and I had a day at home to soak in the sunshine.   Puck spent most of his afternoon biking

Getting There

Another day. Another game. But fortunately, today was sunny and frankly felt closer to Florida temps here in the mid to upper 40s, despite the fact that “real” Florida was bending into the 80s. Anyway, another 12:05 dispatch from Jupiter sent the Cardinals to their second victory of the

The Big Return

Spring birds. You could hear them back again already, and just about two and a half weeks early. Of course, you couldn’t tell by stepping outside. Even in the sunshine the windchill was still 12.   The first three and a half hours of my morning flew by. It’s

The Weekly Freeze

Two crazy yellow eyeballs stared at me from deep in a fuzzy black face, calculating. The fattest cat in the history of the U.S. was preparing to board the loveseat. What I couldn’t know at the time was that she was also preparing to board me. “Pumpkin!” THUD.

All in a Tuesday

“Puck.” “Yes, Dad?” “Someone left the window down in Mom’s car last night.” “Oh.” “And it rained.” Giggles. Fortunately, the interior was not, in fact, destroyed.   There were more tears in the office than usual this morning. It was my weekly Tuesday hour for answering the phones, but with

Cut Out For It

Blink. Four and a half hours; gone. Huge load of work done. That’s how I like my Mondays. That, and a box of fat cake donuts. Makes me work better. And in the words of one of Puck’s favorite Adventures in Odyssey characters, “So, sue me.” By this

Snow Out

“Mom, can I get something to eat for breakfast, because I’m quite hungry.” It wasn’t early or anything, but for a snowed-in-services-canceled Sunday morning, it would have been nice to sleep in. No such luck. “Mom, can I sleep in here with you and Dad?” “Sure.” He rolled

Another Beast

I did something today that I’ve never done before,” Oxbear announced. It was about eleven o’clock and he was recently returned from his morning weight-lifting session in So-Co. “I deadlifted 345 pounds.” I don’t know anything about weight-lifting, but considering that apparently most novices his size can

The Fantastic Five

Puck held up the wooden seat of his old rocking horse to get my attention. I can’t remember how he dismembered that one, but there it was – the sort of mouse-faced wood board. “Look, Mom! I’m giving a mouse caffeine!” He pretended to feed the board. “SQUEAK! Squeak-squeak-squeak-squeak!

The Nonsense of Life

Bull fight. In the passages that connect one dream world to the next, I often revisit the same over-arching dream “feeling”, if you will. This particular scenario was not one of them. I’m not sure how long I stayed in the ring, but Collette and angry bulls don’t

Forgot About 80s Style

White feathers lined the living room floor of the Big House, like the remains of a plucked chicken. Clearly, it was madrigal dinner season again. Between Mom and Carrie, all necessary props, table dressings, and costumes for the occasion would somehow get hot-glue-gunned and taped together before the big event.

Numbers Go On Forever

I pulled into another frozen parking lot that Tuesday morning. This time, however, there were some promises of a little thawing. A little. I worked the office as usual. One of the second grade boys raced in before lunch to check on the recess status. “Are we having recess indoors

French Lesson

In the negative four windchill, I stepped outside into another handful of deceiving sunshine and salt-scarred roads.   10:15 – lunch duty. Pans of hot, soft pretzels. I took a break mid-way through to tousle Puck’s hair. “Hey, Mom!” “Hey, bud! Want to sit with me, or just your buddies.

Reasoning Skills

“Buttocks … buttocks … buttocks.” Clearly, the seven year-old needed to get something out of his system, but it hadn’t occurred to me until that very moment to ask him, “Why do you like butts so much, Puck?” He grinned, with a ready answer. “Because they’re smushy!” I guess I

Winter: The Deceiver

A shadow about four feet, two stood in the doorway at seven o’clock that morning. “Well, I have some good news and I have some bad news.” “What’s that, son?” Oxbear mumbled sleepily. “The bad news is – you’re still asleep, Dad.” With this bad news remedied, and

Come Back on a Real Week Day

Mom and Carrie-Bri walked through the front door, a wave of shivering air behind them. With the Big House washer decommissioned, and another one not due in until the following Tuesday, the laundry was piling up. Got some work done and caught up on things. Only two days, but enough

Come on, Spring

With this deliberate cold snap hitting the city and surrounding areas – hard – I was surprised to find a cascade of melting icicles plastered all over the particularly dead climbing porch roses. They always manage to come back, year after year. And as the sun continued to work magic on this

To Blue or Not to Blue

I flicked through the Dark Sky app on my phone during breakfast. Snow – Friday. “Hmm … Puck, there might be a possibility of an actual snow day later this week.” “Snow day? YES! I mean … NO! I mean … yes! I mean … no!” The struggle of deciding which is best – fun at

The Best Sandwich Ever

“DAD! DAD! OREO’S WAITING OUTSIDE! SHE WANTS TO COME IN REAL BAD! PLEASE, DAD! PLEASE!!!!” The pathetic mess of a wet and old, cold stray yellow cat on our porch was clearly seeking more than a mere dry breakfast that freezing Tuesday morning. He was also hoping for a

The Cough Before Spring

“It’d be a little uncouth of me to butcher that pork at my desk, wouldn’t it?” “Yes, yes I think it would.” When we opened the curtains this morning, about three inches of fluff, and rising. It was enough to keep Oxbear at home, working from his desk.

Happy Birthday, Ole Boy

Indistinguishable singing of a shouting nature drifted down the hall from Linnea-Irish’s room where she and a friend were supposed to be studying algebra together. Francis glared. Another burst of shout-singing. Francis, this now twenty year-old birthday boy, just shook his head. “Why?” “I want to teach my kids

Happy Birthday, St. Louis!

Puck’s white helium Sharpied face balloon had floated too near Crackers’ territory. I guess she planned on showing it was boss. But Puck put an end to that. “CRACKERS! Don’t bat Mr. Deadman!” Next, I suggested to my big youngster that he change out of the preppy chocolate-colored

One of Four

Puck quickly pressed a bright blue rag to the bottom of the living room window, catching sudsy drips racing towards the window sill. Sometimes I wonder if professional window washing might be in his future. It’s one of the few chores that I haven’t even assigned to him,

Four-Day Weekend

One-fifth of the way through my next book, I wrapped up another successful Thursday morning of writing and a few Reeses peanut butter cups from Oxbear (always spoiling me with that intoxicating filth).   Later, on the other side of town… “How was your Valentine’s party, Puck?” “Great! I won

Moral Support

“You need to be checked for anemia again, Linnea.” “And your kidney. You need to have that tested again.” “Wait – you were anemic before?” “I don’t know. But I’m not going see the pediatrician. I’m way too old for that.” “You can’t see a big doctor,

Run the Bases

School Office: One kid with a busted shoulder in P.E., and one “sicky”. “I drank out of my mom’s coffee when she was sick,” explained the eight year-old boy with shaggy wavy hair. When I looked up next, he was playing with a small metal colander from his

Snapshot: Second Grade

BOOM! Puck explosion. I think the hallway knows to clear out of the way when the kid in the fat orange coat comes running out of the gym every weekday afternoon. “WHITE!” The Color Code of Second Grade seems to be a highly effective behavior moderator.   Puck stared at the

57 & 20

Sunday School – rows boxed in with perfumes, coffees, and sweater must. Some weeks are more smushed than others. Fortunately for today, there was less sense of must. Because the weather was fine. The kind of fine that meant temperatures in the mid-60s or higher. This also meant Puck had hours

Spring Skies

7:18AM Shuffle, shuffle, thump, thump, thump. “It’s the perfect time to wake up.” The shadow in the hallway did a little dance, which basically meant two pointer fingers extended, poking the air towards the ceiling. Feeling Puck’s cold catching up to me – and the effects of dreaming

All in a Day's Play

Clank, clank. Clatter. Stir, stir, stir. … Rattle, rattle. Shake, shake, shake. “What are you up to buddy?” It wasn’t much after 6:30, and Puck’s inventive ideas had obviously woken him, inspired. “I’m working on a special formula, Mom. Let me add some more soap. To make

All the Strands

“Ug, Francis. It makes me sick to look at you.” “What? It’s not that bad.” “It is so bad.” “Just take a little bit of it off.” “I feel like I’m shaving a goat. I can’t do this.” On Dad’s 57th birthday, this was the conversation

Iced In

“GERM SPRINKLER! AAAAAAAH!” Puck spun around rapidly in a circle on the kitchen linoleum. “Look, Mom! I’m a germ sprinkler! Fortunately for Puck, whatever germs he still had, didn’t seem to do much damage; bit of a hacky cough. Unfortunately for Puck, due to strict school policy, he

Sick ... Sort Of

“I feel terrible.” Not the words you want to hear at 12:40 in the morning. Fortunately, my Big Guy’s fever was low and despite losing an hour or more of sleep, he woke up bouncing and eager for stay-at-home-from-school Minecrafting alternatives, once I assured him that, yes, he

Mr. McDreamy

“I love you, big squishy. You’re my big guy. Have a great day!” “You smell weird.” “That’s citrus. Bye!” “Bye!” I can’t say that’s a completely unordinary type of interaction between Puck and myself before he walks out the door to school on any given weekday

Let the Games Begin

“Look, Mom. He’s pecking. He’s pecking for seeds.” Puck had found a special attachment with powder blue eyes Waddles the penguin. Waddles was clearly going to be added to the Stuffed Animal Hall of Fame at a very young age.   It didn’t take Joe and Francis long

More Cupcakes

6:06AM – “Mom? Where’s Waddles?” Too early for Saturday. Puck found his glitter-eyed beanie boo still slumbering in his bunk and went back to bed. Back to bed, but not to sleep. Half an hour later, he asked permission to turn on his light and read. And I caught

Meetings of Various Kinds

Francis drove us to Ladue to pick Puck up from school. “Shot gun!” Carrie declared. She hit the radio for some driving tunes. “Wake Me Up Inside” – Evanescence. Simultaneous head-bobbing from the front seat. “Yeah!” “Righteous!” “Speaks to my heart!” Then they couldn’t take it any longer and switched

The Ways of Puck

Paws batting wildly at the glass. It had been awhile since Crackers and I had a morning together, just the two of us. And with the high winds of the morning, this young feline found herself inescapably drawn to the swirls of dead leaves dancing on the patio. Someday – someday

Back in the Swing

“AAH!” Puck came out thrashing like a windmill, hiding behind his bedroom door. I guess he thought that was a fantastic idea at 6:30 in the morning when I walked into his room to wake him up. Fortunately for me, his mama doesn’t scare easy. Fortunately for him,

Warmer Shores

IOWA CITY, IOWA: 3:30PM – Rochester was way in the rearview mirror at this point. After Carrie-Bri’s final test at the clinic, she was given clearance to head home. Follow-up via phone call somewhere in the middle of frozen Minnesota farmland about an hour and a half later. And

Day Six - Rochester

Sunday night we fell asleep to the tunes of Sasquatch hunting on Animal Planet and the helicopter pad outside the kitchenette window.   Monday morning, two snow ploughs rolled down the street in the early light, pushing a whole inch of snow north and south of the pavement. That’s about

Day Five - Rochester

People walk around in t-shirts here. Windchills in the teens, and t-shirts. Thursday afternoon I passed a guy wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and Crocs. Crocs. Just hanging around outside a cafe. What is wrong with these people? Mixed in with the January t-shirts, lack of sense of personal space, and

Day Four - Rochester

Old Rooster Antiques: native American pottery, Chinese curiosity cabinets, German violins, little bags of amethysts, painted glass teacups, vintage racist ceramic figurines… “Man, they’d arrest you for selling those back in St. Louis,” Carrie-Bri just laughed.   Ray-Mar: typed out a chapter in my book. Wifi was apparently only available

Rochester - Day Three

We were hearing a lot of that legendary Minnesota accent lately. I always thought it was exaggerated when imitated. But not by much. As we walked through Apache Mall that evening, killing some time, we passed a granny talking to a friend in the store. “She grew up so much!

Day Two - Rochester

Carrie and I dressed to represent that morning. “Who’re you wearing?” “Lynn. He’s my homeboy. You?” “Holliday.” Anything to feel closer to home.   7:15 shuttle to Mayo. Mostly pleasant older folks chatting about the cold under strains of crackly radio – Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse”. The Mayo

Nowhere, Minnesota

“We can stop in Hannibal,” Carrie-Bri motioned to an upcoming rest stop. “Before we enter the wilderness.” Indeed. Never before had I witnessed such endless expanse of farmland and paint-peeling farmhouses: three stories of nothing left. Driving a straight shot north for Rochester, Minnesota, Mom and Carrie had picked me

Prep Day

Puck is always a study in thought processes. The other day after school, he ran off to play with Eddie and another kid I hadn’t met. I could see the three boys chatting in the street outside Eddie’s house. About fifteen minutes later when I shut things down

WWU #3

“Five hunderd? What am I bid? Five hunderd? Five hunderd?” Linnea’s hand shot up into the air. “Five hunderd. Young lady in the front row. Come on now, let’s get this goin’.” The auctioneer – “Farmer Dave” – kicked things up a notch with the unintelligible babble in a deep

WWU #2

Six-foot-seven. Hard not to immediately recognize the giant of our starting pitcher, even when he walks by unannounced, escorted like royalty by two or three “guards”. Without these guards, no player would make it a yard across the room without being swarmed. After Adam gave his KMOX radio interview from

WWU #1

“So what do you think about Anthony Rizzo saying the Cubs’ll win the National League Central?” the emcee had just asked former Cardinals pitcher, Brad Thompson. “That’s cute,” Brad deadpanned. Linnea-Irish and I were back at the Winter Warm-Up again. Six hours in, and it still felt like

Good Ole Nicholas Cage

The first official day of my book launch on Kickstarter was a success. By the end of Friday, I had received 32.5% of my total goal: laurasbook.com. An unexpected beginning. Another plus: laptop returned early from the computer hospital. I was back in business. I had also signed

Short Trip Northside

“I’m considering to feed on you, Puck.” Snicky hungrily eyed the orange and gray sleeve of Puck’s winter coat that Snicky had twisted around about ten times, Puck having earlier removed his arm. I could almost hear his stomach gurgling. Then he turned to me. “I’m thirsty,

Always Progress

What was that pale orange light coming from the living room? I scrubbed my eyes awake. I knew I hadn’t left any lights on last night. But I had left something else on … a candle. Seriously. If I wasn’t almost accidentally incinerating the house as a teenager, here

The Agony and the Ecstasy

Puck walked past the school office window. Snarl on his face. Up went his arm, hat clenched in his fist, down to the ground. WHAM! This prompted further investigation. As Puck disappeared down the hallway with his class to the cafeteria, I wrapped up my hour of service: phones and

Word Processor

Puck ran straight down the hallway to those tempting blue and green beanbag chairs, plastering himself into the center of the one at the far end of the hall. I usually let him get his fix before we leave, and I commence with the expected pleasantries. “So … what color were

No Bad Weather

Driving down the street from the Big House to Dairy Queen. Wasn’t intending to arrive at Dairy Queen, but turns out I didn’t even make it that far. Packs of tornadoes, twenty or more. Didn’t see it until it hit – blinding gray-white wall – threw me out of

Grade School Wow Factor

The Christmas tree and decorations were boxed up. Love Tap’s paperwork paid and license plates installed. Puck filled with grilled cheese. Driving out to the Silverspoon’s for the afternoon. Puck studied the Oriental Trading catalog intently from the back seat of the car. He had never been so

Figuring it Out

Something in Dad’s morning email devotional had caught Puck’s ear: equal and fair measures and weights in the book of Deuteronomy. Dad used a Snicketts-family modern-day example of family members not always fairly splitting the last piece of gooey butter cake. Puck stared at me with accusation. “Mom,

A Few Scrapes

“Everything is awe-some … everything is cool when you’re part of a team…” “Mom.” Puck stared at me like I was crazy. “That song is just so old … school.” I laughed in spite of myself. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “It’s an ‘enspression’,” he said seriously. Puck had

Back in the Game

“This sandwich isn’t fresh anymore. Why would it do this?” Sometimes I think Francis honestly believes that food is capable of personal affronts, stingy personalities, and – on occasion – personal vendetta. Today was clearly no different. In fact, it was little surprise to me that the first word out of

Hours Around Town

Crackers threw herself across Puck’s open yellow homework folder, sprawling like a damsel in distress. I don’t know. Sometimes I think she wants attention. Puck wasn’t buying it though. From the window, I could see him smashing chunks of ice on slabs of frozen puddle in the

Back at It

“Mom, you were wrong.” “Was I?” “Yeah. Mr. V is 50. He isn’t even close to your age.” Puck was back in school again. His most important piece of information gleaned from the day was hardly academic. For the past few weeks, after learning that Mr. V’s birthday

One Last Round

“Dad? Can I have this?” Sunday morning wake-up call: Puck requesting transfer of possession of one old Nintendo joystick from his dad to himself. “Sure,” Oxbear mumbled, hardly able to coherently make such important decisions regarding valuable property at such an early hour. When I joined Puck in the kitchen

It's Almost Over

Puck woke up at 7:17 that morning sounding very much like an old woman who had smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, for four decades. Didn’t bother him any. “Can I play on the iPad, Mom?” First question every morning since Christmas vacation. Anyway, the rain probably

A Slight Hiccup

Puck sat down to breakfast at about eight o’clock. Although I suppose it would be nearer the truth to say that breakfast sat down to him. Him and the cardboard network of inventions he had built up around him in a particular flurry of creativity. “My imagination is really

Welcome, 2015

Hunting rocks in the hills of St. Peters with Puck and El Oso. Evening lecture in an old farmhouse on the hill, gray sky. Dark lake in the highland. Fossils, polished hematite… “Mom?” Dream over – 5:17AM. “Yes, Puck?” “My pillow fell off the bed in the night and I’

Adios and Hola

We picked up where we left off and spent the afternoon and evening of our last 2014 day at the Silverspoon’s. Cold. Puck and Elvis found themselves confined mostly inside with toys for the day. They managed to entertain each other enough before and after Elvis’ nap to be

Navidad - Cinco

With El Oso quickly mended, he made plans to join the Silverspoon Christmas gathering, where Izzy was just finished with the stomach bug himself. Puck and I declined the invitation due to the fading storm of germs, just in case there’s any way to still save ourselves. Puck wasn’

Playing Dad

Three Christmas week bombs in a row now. I’m beginning to not like this holiday very much.   One of my first orders of business was to collect a few foods that might be needed later in the day, such as knock-off Saltines and sparkling Perrier. Also, new toothbrushes and

Uh Oh

Considering that Gloria, Relevance, and Kitts also came down with the bug Saturday night (not to mention Relevance’s brother, his wife, sister, her husband, and their son), I landed myself in the nursery with Mom during the morning service to cover for Gloria. (Why is it always Christmas week?

Gods and Kings

Upon hearing that the stomach bug might possibly be trolling the Silverspoon residence by early Saturday morning, we decided to hang out at home for the day. This gave my boys the opportunity to catch up on their Minecrafting skills together. Eventually, Puck came skipping into the kitchen to borrow

After Christmas

A little quiet to catch up on the first rounds of Christmas. The morning was basically one explosion of Legos, Minecraft Legos, modeling clay, and Minecraft hot beads. And of course Minecraft itself and more Adventures in Odyssey. Puck’s dream-day.   Mid-morning, Puck pulled his bike out of the garage.

Navidad: Tres y Cuatro

“Waaaake-up, wake-up-wake-up!” For the first time – I think – Puck was excited to get Christmas morning started. This year, it was a fat National Geographic photo book and a Lego set. “I really like the Lego set too!” Puck told me later that morning. “Tell Dad I’m really thankful.” Puck

Navidad - Dos

Rainy Christmas. Two potato casseroles mixed and poured. Terraria for the boys. Laundry. Adventures in Odyssey for Puck. And somehow it was almost two o’clock in the afternoon.   Christmas Eve is traditionally Mom’s side of the family. And this year it was at the Big House. Nineteen of

Tradiciones: Navidad

“Puck, you can’t run here. Slow down, bud.” Puck’s Chucks stopped tearing up the cement for a few seconds. “You can’t blame him now,” said an older African-American man walking by with a big grin. “He’s got brand new legs!” Soulard: the morning before Christmas Eve.

Unexpected Paper

It wasn’t even 5:30 and Puck was already awake. It’s only ever the days he’s allowed to sleep in that he never does. And naturally the days he needs to get cracking by 6:30 – Zzzzzzz… Anyway, the morning was already splashing in rain when we

Navidad - Uno

“BIRTH-DAY SMOOOOOOOOSH!” I looked up just in time to catch Puck careening towards me. Lately he’s been interesting in squishing things. Including me. At least finally I get all those coveted hugs again. Even if they’re rib-cracking, gut-squeezing, bone-crushing hugs. It also clearly wasn’t my birthday anymore,

Celebration #3

Paninis, Sun Chips, and chocolate cake. They were celebrating my birthday right at the Silverspoon House. Gifts: Belgian chocolate seashells, a new sky blue ESV Bible, and a nice check for more Cardinals tickets. “Linnea will want to steal these from me,” I said, examining the box of chocolates. “She

30

“When I sneeze, I have to move my Adam’s apple back in to place.” That’s basically how my 30th birthday started, with El Oso rubbing his throat on the way out the door.   It was Puck’s last day at school before Christmas break. And when I picked

It's Almost Started

Puck was almost late to school – again – because the numerous distractions of being a boy continued to delay the process of finishing his breakfast yogurt. This time, that distraction was a large springy metal coil, which he decided would work best as a self-appointed catapult. (There were almost a few

What Inspires Us

CardGals: Episode 14: cardgals.tumblr.com   “Hey, Collette,” Linnea grinned through almost two-year-old braces, decked out in the second-hand gray Billabong sweat set I found at Ditto on Tuesday. She held out both arms for effect. “Now I can look like a 40 year-old mom from the 90s.” There was

Another "Last"

Between sisters being checked for head lice, a confirmed case of whopping cough, and numerous phone calls and requests for envelopes, mailings, baby-sitting, etc., I finished an hour and fifteen at the school office before leaving early for Ditto. Volunteer appreciation lunch, including Chick-Fil-A catering and ten dollar gift certificate.

What's in that Head?

El Oso’s truck situation had finally been sorted out over the weekend. He and Francis towed the dead black beast to the Big House where it would take up winter residence in the driveway under Francis’ direct supervision. And extensive tinkering. Francis would have no doubt gladly taken on

Celebration #2

It was a two-car day. El Oso sent me a text as I took my seat in Sunday School. A Puck-quote for the morning: “Do you remember that Irish movie where they got married? I didn’t like that much. But I did like when they got punched. I like

12-13-14

Puck stuck his head through the front door. El Oso was in the kitchen arranging sweet potato fries on a pan. “Wanna come ride your bike with me, Dad?” “My bike’s broken, bud.” “Wanna come ride your motorcycle with me?” “My motorcycle’s broken, bud.” “Wanna come drive your

Early Celebrants

“Dad? How do box tops give you ten monies?” Puck was getting ready for school that morning. Earlier, he had been interested in the few box tops collected in the ziplock bag fixed on the fridge. Ten cents a clip sounded intriguing to the second grader. “Can’t I just

That's My Puck

Puck walked out of the library with a stack of fighter jet and war memorial photo books under his arm. “I’ve gotta come back later and study a bunch for all this boring stuff,” he sighed, with the pathos of any college freshman. I asked him what he meant,

A Couple Stops on the Map

CardGals: Episode 13: cardgals.tumblr.com   Puck was organizing his scented markers after breakfast. “I’m leaving this raspberry one for Snicky. He’s gone all week on a ski trip. But he said he’d trade his blueberry one for this raspberry one when he gets back. We shook

All in a Day's Work

“I finished all my food and all my water and I was on White today.” The walking school report marched past me as Puck exited his classroom on the way to the gym. He’s growing up, I guess. Like Sunday during the service where he felt the sudden need

That Boy

Monday’s mail: Spanish textbook. Linnea-Irish and I were playing it cheap for the spring semester and sharing books. Nothing like two sisters thirteen years apart taking the same college class. Who was I kidding? I was auditing that sucker. But it was about time to learn the language of

Weirdos

“Can I just have one of your dungeon doors, Dad?” “A meteor has landed!” “Dad, I just got like a million weapons going into The Crimson!” Puck and his dad on a Sunday afternoon. Between worlds, Puck began the passed-down-Rose ritual of shaking presents under the tree. I don’t

A Proper Education

Puck sat at the kitchen table over the remains of breakfast, snapping rubber bands into the air. He listened while El Oso and I discussed my plans to return to Spring Training in March. “CAN’T I GO TOO?!” His eyes were so big and bright, and with that one

A Few Items of Note

Dreaming. Honestly, it’s like punching a ticket to anyplace in the universe for a few hours. Usually more exhausting than relaxing hours, I’ll admit. This time it was a farm near the woods in Australia, outrunning/outlasting thick soft white mist tornadoes in a giant ramshackle conclave of

Making Stuff at Home

If I wrote a paragraph for every night I remembered my dreams, I would clearly have a fat book in my library right now. This time, I was on a little excavation in the street just outside the Big House. Whether it made sense in my mind or not at

Six Years, Eight Months, 23 Days

Mom called me before eleven o’clock that morning. Little Bonnie was gone. Buried under the burning bushes, her favorite spot Carrie-Bri said. Six years, eight months, and 23 days. She had lived a happy and very good life at the Big House.   My “flu” or whatever from Tuesday seemed

Not Exactly on Top of the World

I could feel it coming on: achy joints, that weird sick feeling in the back of the throat. Oh well. I had work to do. Chalk it up to all the vitamin C I’ve consumed on a near-daily basis for the past twelve months, but it wasn’t really

When Ice Falls

I checked Google Map’s estimated time to school. Two hours, two minutes. This wasn’t looking great. When I got the text message from school announcing a snow schedule late-start, I wasn’t clear why until I realized that the streets were all coated in ice. In fact, it

He Said What?

Somehow Puck managed to escape into Sunday School with no less than a lifeguard whistle, hammer, and … an antique gravy ladle. The times you live as a distracted parent.   As Puck merged onto Terraria with his dad later that afternoon, he critiqued El Oso’s various moves on their collaborative

More of the Good Stuff

It might have been only two days before December, but the weather didn’t agree with the calendar, apparently. When Puck opened the front door to smash a bottle cap on the front porch with Mom’s old pink and white polka-dot hammer, he was just as shocked as the

The Best Way to Black Friday

I’m no shopper. Neither are my three sisters. Mom’s usually up for it. But I still left Ditto that morning with a $15 bag stuffed with two sports coats, a collared shirt, and a pair of pants for my boys. On top of the sweaters and other merchandise

Double Turkey

When I gave Puck a kiss during breakfast – always a hugely welcomed gesture from my son – he rubbed his temples. “It’s sort of a strange thing that they call it temples,” he said, feeling around the bony area. “I guess because the things that protect you, the bones, are

Happy Birthday Again

“DAD! DAD! DAD, DAD, DAD! A GOBLIN ARMY IS APPROACHING FROM THE EAST! HELP ME DEFEAT THEM!” I think my son was feeling better. Who am I kidding? Even when he’s sick, he’s packed with zip. “Come eat your breakfast, big guy.” “Mom! No time for breakfast! I

Round Two

El Oso got the notification that all employees would be working from home today. Just in case. Those who could anyway. Joe, for example, got the day off. El Oso had to take on the load of a few developers who also couldn’t work from home. So the reward

Blah

Monday was not a super day.   I was worried in the back of my head all morning that Puck wasn’t feeling well. I was so convinced I was going to get a phone call from school saying that his cold had worsened, that I even left for the grocery

Happy Birthdays

The rain was still falling lightly, but steadily, Sunday morning, on an already lazy kind of day.   Following church, we gathered to celebrate Carrie-Bri’s birthday, five days late, and Mom’s birthday, three days early. Surprisingly, Mom was okay having Dad cart in six boxes of Cecil Whittaker’s

A Rare Party

My boys hit up breakfast in a big way Saturday morning. I heard legends of pancakes, buttered toast, bacon, and eggs. Then they drove to church for choir rehearsal. While they were out living it up, three hours blinked by in a hurry while I typed and edited. Typing and

A Chilly Interlude

With El Oso in Clayton for an early breakfast appointment, I had the rare opportunity of escorting Puck to school myself in his four mostly orange layers against the morning chill.   Instead of driving all the way home, I camped out at the Big House. Mom was just leaving for

I Need to Save Up

Puck was halfway through his oatmeal and honey this morning when he stopped to audibly clarify a thought he had obviously been working through for awhile. “You can’t stop time by stopping all the clocks in the world, like the cartoons say that you can. Because the Indians didn’

Too Famous For That

Following Episode 10 for the podcast that morning, Mom and I drove down the road to the 1868 farmhouse for fresh eggs and pork sausage. Dozens of chickens flocked in the barnyard, black cows grazed the brown-green fields as we pulled in. One of the last remaining farms in the

Happy B-Day

It’s fun sitting at the secretary’s desk on Tuesday mornings watching the kids walk by, just staring at me like I’m a body snatcher or something. What happened to the familiar secretary – tanned, and short dark hair? Replaced with long blonde hair and skin white as a

Brrrr

Irish travel trailer campsite. Matt Holliday and his family lived just around the corner near some of the gypsies. I had loaned him my little antique copy of “The Merchant of Venice.” Dreams. Can’t live with ’em; can’t live without ’em.   There’s always something up. Already this

Too Soon

I don’t know why it’s never happened before in his history of sitting through I’d say about 379 church services in his lifetime, but today, Puck got the hiccups during the sermon. Rose wrote him a note: “Hold your breath.” “It’s so nice that I can

Sort-of Celebrating

Puck was waiting – hiding – at the Big House when we came to pick him up mid-morning. I think El Oso finally found him scrunched up under the cabinet in the kitchen waiting to surprise us.   As we were standing in line at the Target check-out about twenty minutes later, we

Friday Nights

It was Gloria’s birthday on another cold November morning. Some sun, some definite chill, and a lot of work for me at the kitchen table where Crackers constantly tried to wiggle her way into my lap, leaving batches of gray fur on my black leggings, and disrupt my typing.

Beans & Snow

For the first time since school started – I’m pretty sure – Puck was the first one to wake up. At least on a school day. This morning he came running into our room in his spacecraft footie pajamas, threw himself on the bed – all 61 pounds – thrashing around like an

One Thing After Another

CardGals: Episode 9: cardgals.tumblr.com   SNARL CLAW MEOW SCATTER The cats were at it again. The problem with trying to maintain harmony between four cats in one house is that half of them hate the other half, and when they accidentally join company in the same room … fur literally

One More for the Bank

I spent my allotted time at Ditto pricing infant girls’ clothing while the other women tagged Christmas ornaments and antique dishes. Can’t say it’s a thrill. But there are very much worse ways you could donate your time on a Tuesday afternoon, no matter the season. I left

This is My Opinion

It was a new week, a week where anything could happen, a week where something surprising might happen, a week where you learn you 78 year-old grandma has officially learned how to send text messages. We were all impressed.   Meanwhile in other news, the wind was back. Sun. Balmy temps.

Sunday Afternoons Abroad

Carrie-Bri took a seat up front in the van, right hand bandaged and swollen. It was just after services and the whole family (minus Joe and Jaya; more musically-based events) was driving to New Salem for the afternoon. Including Carrie’s “toothed” hand. “Cat fight,” Mom told me earlier. I

Buddies

Puck was intensely studying the screen of the iPad at Gloria’s later that morning, full of breakfast and still in his footies. The perks of spending the night at grandparents’. Bob was sleeping, Bob the Woolly Worm. Apparently none of his blossoms were enticing enough to snack on. Myself,

When Puck Gets a Day Off

When Puck gets a day off school, he manages to squeeze out every drop to good use. Today, his fascination centered around a small Coca-Cola thermos purchased as part of a fountain drink pass on our first Caribbean cruise. For some reason that thing has still stuck around ten years

Keeps Me Young

The wind was up today. It pushed against the house, all quiet except for the silk of Crackers stretching out over the linoleum. Somewhere, I heard wind chimes.   From 7:30 to 2:20, I was busy. Busy, busy. Typing, researching, cleaning, typing, typing, and more typing.   By the time

Every Wednesday

CardGals: Episode 8: cardgals.tumblr.com (iTunes Podcasts: “CardGals”)   Due to some annoying technical difficulties, Carrie was editing and refining our eighth podcast up until around the dinner hour. (What program doesn’t employ auto-save anymore?) So by the time she hung up the earbuds after about six hours of

He's a Great Kid

The rain was back. But November rain is a little different from August rain. Basically: no storms.   I sat in the car for two hours on the school parking lot that morning after dropping off the Puckling in the gym with buddies. As I had walked in, his teacher’s

Not the Kidneys!

“No, Puck. No more candy this week. We’re going to have to get rid of it. Too much.” Puck stared – a little wide-eyed – at me. Sure, I had only let him have one piece from the whole bag of trick-or-treat goodness since Friday night. But any more than one

Diner on the River

Puck’s arms stretched out for the benediction. In one paw was a little stuffed bluejay – former relic of Rose’s childhood – and in the other, a hand-sized arrow-head-shaped rock he found in the street. Although we weren’t convinced it was a rock. Too light. “Might be a petrified

Gladiator

Seven times – I counted – woken in the night. Between Puck and Crackers… Whenever El Oso goes out of town, Puck likes to abandon the twin-sized bunk and take advantage of extra space in the king-sized. Like converting from a neighborhood to a city. So between Puck tugging on the comforter,

Boo

Carrie-Bri and I have this sort of unspoken agreement that she creates Puck’s Halloween costumes on an annual basis. (Not sure what she gets out of it except the admiration and respect of other parents who wish their costuming skills were up to equal snuff.) In fact, I think

It's Almost November?

“Come on, Puck. Eat up. You don’t want to be late.” It’s a morning ritual. Puck doesn’t mind the 6:15 wake-up call much. He’s a bright-eyed morning bug. The problem is, he’s usually so fascinated with new ideas and options for the day, that

All That Goodness

CardGals: Episode 7: Oscar Taveras Tribute   While we sat on the parking lot at school this morning, waiting for drop-off in the gym, Puck listened a little in awe of my stories from Israel – the time I almost died. Everyone has that fraction of a moment somewhere in life where

Keep it to Yourself, Pal

An hour in the school office left me distracted from more sobering events taking place in the Dominican that day. Bumped teeth, bee stings, tardies, shipping labels, phone calls. An easy way to keep you from thinking about anything of substance for extended periods of time. Just like the old

So Long, Kid

I woke a couple of times in the night, thinking it was just a bad dream. Maybe it was just one more crazy dream in the nightly deck. But it wasn’t. Oscar Taveras was still dead. It’s hard to describe that feeling – the feeling St. Louis seems to

(untitled)

Oscar Francisco Taveras June 19, 1992 – October 26, 2014 Born and died in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Sort of a Circus

Another baseball-based project brought me out to the Big House again mid-Friday morning. This one was inspired by Mom and moving into the second phase. So while she read over a stack of papers I had typed up, Carrie-Bri and I ran errands for necessary materials. Also, hair dye: silver

Boys Like Weird Things

8:15. Puck and I walked into the school gym of screaming children. Sometimes I do stupid things, like volunteer to drive a pack of boys on a field trip to Purina Farms. Fortunately for me, that pack was small. Only three will fit in the back seat. It was

One, Two, Three

CardGals: Episode 6: cardgals.tumblr.com (iTunes Podcasts: “CardGals”) Puck breakfasted while reading a small book about mummies this morning. Oatmeal and mummification just don’t mix. If I had thought about it too long, I would have lost my appetite. But it didn’t stop the questions from coming

Last Pass

Puck arrived three minutes late to school that morning – in the wake of one-hour traffic – and received his very first tardy. I don’t think he cared.   As for myself, I ended up hanging around at the school office for two hours that morning instead of the usual one-hour. Sometimes

One Month In

We were still in the heart of Indian Summer. I certainly wasn’t complaining. Neither was Crackers. She watched life happen through the screens of open windows. It is also the season of the wooly bugs, crawling as fast as insect-ly possible across the pavement in the wake of speeding

Mostly Recuperated

Puck sat quietly in church just before the service started. Pen in hand, he concentrated on the drawing he was creating on the bulletin cover. “These are mozzarella fireworks,” he said, chuckling to himself. “It’s a cheese factory.” Later, he whispered to me his goal of inking the entire

And Continued Recuperation

“You’re a restless sleeper,” Carrie-Bri told me early this morning. “I woke up at one point, and you were just rubbing your blanket up and down over your face. What did you dream about?” All I could remember was Adam Wainwright sitting on the loveseat pumped up watching a

Recuperation

CardGals: Episode 5: cardgals.tumblr.com   Friday morning’s soundtrack should have been “Taps.” The whole city was feeling it, despite the mild sunshine of a mid-October morning. A steady cold gray rain would have been more appropriate.   Puck had almost forgotten about his breakfast oatmeal. Not because he was

#UnfinishedBusiness

Francis needed assistance motoring his truck to the mechanic for more repairs. I followed in the Fit. We picked up Dairy Queen on the drive back. Linnea-Irish packed us up with burgers, chicken strips, and hot fudge sundaes to go. “You want to up-size that?” she asked Francis over the

3 - 1

Carrie-Bri opened the bag of Double Bubble I had brought over that morning. She’s a bit of a connoisseur. “Aw, man. It’s fresh,” she grinned. “I have to age it a little while.” This happened shortly after Mom had left on a road trip out east with Mrs.

1 - 2

Puck walked in for breakfast where I showed him the difference in color between cage-free egg yolks and pastured egg yolks. Puck, of course, preferred the orange over the yellow. Inside the pastured egg carton was a slip of paper featuring that farm’s “Bird of the Week”: Petunia. Puck

And Yet Another Interlude

CardGals Episodes 1 – 4: cardgals.tumblr.com   Mass chaos. Sound chaos, that is. This is lunch at school on a late Monday morning. Between serving up dino chicken nuggets, potato triangles with ketchup, canned pineapple, and Oreos, I sat with Puck for awhile at the table. The kid across from

1 - 1

“Does anyone know where the ice cream scoop went?” Mom asked. Carrie laughed tentatively. “Well … let’s just say it hopped over the rainbow bridge, Mom. I was hammering a nail into a tree with it the other day, and the head went flying off and all this blue stuff

0 - 1

Puck didn’t waste any time making my morning interesting. When I walked out of the shower – El Oso long gone to the men’s breakfast Bible study – cabinets and fridge were open, milk bottle uncapped, milk puddles spilled on the counter. “Puck?” “Oh. Heh heh. Anna and Eddie just

Another Interlude

Grandparents Day at school meant an early morning arrival at the Big House for Puck’s transport in Mom’s car. “I’m gonna be in a play today at school,” I heard him tell her in the kitchen. “It’s called ‘A Mushroom in the Rain’.” First I’d

Another Interlude

The Project Revealed: cardgals.tumblr.com   More distant thunder and lightning this morning, steady rain as we woke up early. Puck stared at me during breakfast. I don’t recall the context of the moment, but what he said next came as a surprise. “Eat somethin’, skinny person!” A little

An Interlude

After a big series like this, it takes awhile to acclimate myself to the next morning and what needs to get done. But a few articles and video clips later, I was ready to get to Wednesday.   By the time I got over to the Big House, Carrie walked in

3 - 1

This was it. Not only was little Linnea turning seventeen years old – our baby sister: seventeen – but Carrie-Bri and I were attending the first-ever post-season game of our lives.   NLDS Game 4 St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers 4:07 pm   On the drive over, Carrie and I weren’

2 - 1

Monday was a little unexpected. El Oso had already returned from two days in an isolated cabin in the woods of southern Missouri, overseen by an elderly Trappist monk, a true-to-life hermit isolated from humanity. “It was a little surreal,” he admitted. “Like crossing into another time.” He still had

This is What I Think

My seven year-old enlightened me on population explosion during the drive to church this morning. “There are billions upon quadrillions upon decades of people on this Erf, right, Mom?” “Well, you sort of have the right idea…” “It’s sort of like a dome filled with people. And when the

1 - 1

Francis scraped the melted cheese off his scrambled eggs this morning while we all stared at him. “Francis is not a real St. Louisan,” Carrie-Bri determined. “He doesn’t like Provel. I think we need to have an exorcism.” “Surround him with blocks of Provel,” Rose added. “Eat your way

1 - 0

The rain had passed in the night, leaving chilled air. I drove Puck to school. Thought I’d be clever and leave five minutes earlier than usual to beat the traffic. Landed there twenty minutes early.   Back at the Big House, Mom and Dad were getting ready to leave for

Rain Yourself Out Before Monday

A small spider raced across the linoleum during breakfast. Crackers watched the spider. I watched Crackers watch the spider. She lazily pawed it a couple of times, then quickly became bored. “Crackers, you are no good at spider patrol. … If I have to do it for you, you’re out

Puck Takes Moral Issue with the Hair Clippers

It was still warm. Indian summer warm; 86 and rising in the early afternoon. By this time, Puck’s toothbrush had already fallen in the toilet. Not my fault. That was earlier in the morning.   At the Big House for a few hours. While Carrie listened to more twenty year-old

Tuesdays Are Becoming a Habit

I left the house at 11:15 for my shift at Ditto. It’s amazing that now – in Puck’s seventh week at school – I have barely had the chance to just sit and do anything leisurely. Not a bad thing.   Ditto was packed with second-hand bedding to organize. Personally:

Life Patterns

“Oooh, Mom. My feet still stink!” This is Puck after a shower on a Monday night, wondering why the hot water and soap didn’t do their respective jobs. Clearly, no seven year-old boy knows how to scrub right. I had plunked him in the shower in the first place

Done and Done

Puck walked into our room this morning to snuggle, carrying his biathlon medal. The pride of the moment hadn’t worn away yet. On the drive to church, he still had the blue-and-green ribbon of the medal around his neck, looking thoughtfully at it. “Even if you didn’t get

All Kinds of Races Going Down

It was one of those moments this morning that El Oso was hemming my jeans and I was checking baseball stats from the game last night…   Puck was prepping for the big biathlon fundraiser at school that afternoon by jumping on the trampoline at a friend’s house down the

Number Seven

Once the boys had left that morning, I sucked it up and swallowed another cup of yogurt for breakfast. My skill set is improving. After one week I am now capable of shutting off the gag reflex. Improvements.   Carrie picked me up to hunt for post-season gear late that morning.

Keep Back, Pirates

Another Thursday gone in a shot. I choked down one more cupful of disgusting mixed berry yogurt for breakfast before tearing through about a third of the study bookshelves – further organizational purposes – before leaving for the Big House.   Carrie-Bri and Linnea-Irish talked spiders. “Carrie, that big spider crawled back under

Almost There

I was still a little crashed from all these pre-post-season late night games catching up with me by this morning. It’s easy to forget about optional life categories like food and sleep when things start getting tense out there on the Kentucky Blue. Or in this particular series, the

Challenge Me

Tuesdays spin by fast now. After recording immunization records and administering chewable Tylenol for a rolled ankle in the office, I was gone again by 11:30. My noon check-in at Ditto left me for two hours, with mostly my own thoughts for companions, in the back room sorting stacks

Tingly Feelings

Life had sped up about 50% since Puck started school. Maybe more. Lunch room. 10:15. The lady in charge wearing purple pants, red hair, and an upbeat attitude, showed me the ropes. Two hours serving chicken strips, fries, carrots, and grapes to three groups of incredibly loud children was

Twenty-Nine

Lunch after church. Someone had just mentioned how cold it was during the service, as usual, while the pastor got into topics involving the abolishing of animal sacrifice in the New Testament. “I don’t know what you’re all talking about, “Dad countered. “It was hot in there. “Me

Change-Up

Time for a different kind of game. In a day destined for temperatures in the upper 80s (I can live with that), my boys chugged off to the Silverspoon’s for friends, skates, scooters, and movies while I joined Mom, Dad, and Linnea-Irish at the Big House for the commute

Twenty-Eight

Here I was again, three games in three days, short on sleep, low on food (who can remember to eat during pre-post-season madness anyway?), and making arrangements for the musical chairs of five tickets in Section 433 since Carrie was attending a space weather lecture at Wash-U and Mom was

Twenty-Seven

When I woke up Thursday morning, I wasn’t expecting to see a humdinger of a show-down: St. Louis vs. Milwaukee, a four and a half hour spectacle downtown. But sometimes you just buy the right ticket.   It was Linnea-Irish after another long, and unexpected, shift at work who joined

Twenty-Six

The morning had a chill to it, not a bite yet, but it was coming; you could feel it. Real September was on the move, and I still wasn’t ready.   After I dropped Puck off at school, I checked in at the Big House where Linnea-Irish was just waking

While You Were There

After an hour of delivering papers to teachers, administering Tums and Advil, answering phones – and MLB somehow finding the need to text me about the Braves’ new ballpark opening in 2017 – I left the school office for two hours at Ditto. It was pretty quiet; I like that. And two

Opinions

“Carrie, you’re going to go out dressed like that?” Mom stared at Carrie-Bri, uncertain about the green Billabong t-shirt, yoga pants, and black leather bomber jacket she had just slipped on. “What, Mom? It’s just breakfast.” She switched the gray yoga pants for black anyway, and the t-shirt

Apples & Pizza

Joe turned around to us as he and Jaya took a seat just before the service started. “Jaya just ran ten miles,” he told us proudly. Although when he realized that he also wanted to sound somewhat impressive, he added, “I ran eleventy-twelve.” About ten minutes later, they became church

Something New

The Silverspoon’s were hosting the inaugural “Relatively Young Person’s Gathering & Bible Study” at six o’clock that evening. A very girl-heavy group sat in a contorted circle of chairs in the basement for one hour, re-introducing themselves to the book of Ephesians. It was a diverse collection

Twenty-Five

Diana was back in town with her August newborn. Baby Bee, they called her, a theme carried over into the chocolate cupcakes iced with yellow frosting and bumblebees waiting in a spread for the guests. There were faces from the old days, mostly girls with more daughters. Baby Bee was

These Characters

“SNUGGLES!” After another hard morning of work at home, I joined Linnea-Irish at the Big House right as the cat attacked her steak. Snuggles was deposited on the back patio in a finely misting rain as punishment. Linnea scowled at him from behind the glass, daring him to return. He

One Step Forward

After working hard for four hours this morning, Carrie-Bri and I caught up on what was happening at the Big House: quiet: Mom at a luncheon at Gloria’s, Francis at school (sleeping in the library, no doubt), and Linnea-Irish at work. Then Grandma called Carrie. A few minutes later

Good Citizen

Tuesdays are my workhorse days now, about as workhorse as a mom under 30 can get in Ladue and Kirkwood.   Ladue: One hour of running messages, a 4th grader with “achy teeth,” an icepack for a preschooler, and baseball-talk with the Head of School, Secretary, and Maintenance Worker. Also learned

Not What You Expected

6:30AM. I wasn’t expecting a certain enormous eight-legged guest suspended from the inside edge of the toilet bowl at that particular hour. But then again, any hour is inappropriate for that kind of behavior. He decided to hang around for awhile, hiding in some inexplicable crevice that flushing

Moving Fast

Found myself unconsciously humming the Imperial March as I waited in the car for the boys to come out of the house. It was another cool morning in September, enough to wear a sweater.   Puck left Sunday School with a banana Tootsie Pop in his shirt pocket for reciting a

Birthday Season

Big birthday lists these days. The weekend kicked off with El Oso hitting up a party at Whacky Warriors Paintball for a good friend turning 33. Sometimes I think about my ancestors living to the ripe old average age of 33 in their damp castles in Scotland, patting themselves on

Win Some, Lose Some

Two bulging trash bags I could barely lift. That’s how much of my past I deposited in the dumpster this morning before ten o’clock. Whether it had a memory attached to it or not, in the sack it went: wedding cards, madrigal dinner programs, Mediterranean travel catalogs, old

Slightly More Interesting Than a Bug

I spent forty minutes of my morning at the dentist. I’ve had the same hygienist for the last five years; that’s long enough for her to know what size toothbrush I prefer in my goodie bag. And she usually has all-around satisfactory news for me. “You’re doing

26/Twenty-Four

Little brother Joe was 26 years old today. Married, working hard, happy. Good way to celebrate a birthday. Speaking of things Joe would appreciate on his birthday, Crackers has recently discovered an interest in the flushing of toilets. She happened to notice the curious swirl of water the other day,

Twenty-Three

An hour at the school office involved one call about envelopes, a tardy slip sign-in, a sick-kid call-in, another call about eucalyptus cough drops, and then a 5th grade girl in tears over a bad stomachache.   On that last note, I joined El Oso at Protzel’s deli, as recommended

Tack on One More

That four-day weekend came at a good time, two weeks in to school. Puck was already awake crafting worlds by the time I got up around eight, catching up on a week of less-than-updated sleep.   The Silverspoon house had brought in barbecue from the man on the corner. Prior to

A Little Find

On the way to church to hear a visiting missionary speak from Japan, Puck clapped dead a blood sucker buzzing around inside the car. “Boy, I’m getting better at aiming at mosquitoes. I need a tissue.” He paused to take in the moment and then said again, “Boy, I’

Blessing's Big Day

“Joe, why aren’t you dressed yet?” This was the third time someone had asked Joe why he wasn’t in more appropriate attire for the wedding yet. “I don’t want to. I might get changed in the van…” “Well, that’s your choice,” said Dad. Rose’s eyes

Starting Decade Number Two

It was a four-day weekend for El Oso. This meant Puck would receive a full escort being dropped off at school. I was going to let El Oso walk him in without me (don’t want to embarrass the kid too much), but he requested that I accompany them anyway.

10

Ten years after walking to the alter, I spent two hours at the Big House that afternoon catching up on some unfinished business. Linnea-Irish was not enthralled with Dairy Queen, which had failed to live up to her pristine standards, if not expectations. “They keep the hot dog griller on

Life in the Second Grade

I had enough time to catch the game in Pittsburgh at the Big House between sitting out in the sun to warm up between innings. Carrie was working hair and make-up for Izzy’s shoot, Irish was leaving for training at DQ, and Mom told me about plans to visit

Hours Go Fast

My dreams these days … enjoying a conversation with the very bald Justin Masterson at some open-house-type party. Then he introduced me to his work of art in progress under glass entitled: “Star Warts.” He was requesting all his guests to sign it. Then Allen Craig walked by with a piece

The Intellectuals

Waiting for Puck to exit the gym at three o’clock I caught one of his female classmates talking loudly to her mom on the way out the door. “We saw a picture of the longest fingernails in the world today! IT WAS DISGUSTING!” Private school.   Puck did his spelling

Too Hot for That

Puck artfully elaborated on the front cover of his bulletin that morning, using my special black pen to create a world of Minecraft TNT. But he still listens, if not sometimes incorrectly… Sin had left a crimson stain… sang the congregation. Puck leaned over to whisper to El Oso, “Did

This is More Like It

Puck stretched out flat on his back on his undersized skateboard, “This is the perfect way to study the internationals of … dog paddling.” I don’t know. Before we left for the Silverspoon’s he was skateboarding on his stomach … in the street. Probably singing “I Would Walk 500 Miles”

Successful Launch Pattern

El Oso texted me about the drive to school today with Puck, “As we were talking about how dangerous drugs are and why people take them he said, ‘Pretty much everything brings me joy … except lasagna of course.”’ This sounded like a great way to begin a first Friday at

New Set-Up

Those pan rattles of thunder Wednesday night had left little damage other than some neighborhood trash tumbled across the front yard, heavy and soggy with rain water. The boys pulled down the driveway at 7:20AM, leaving me at home for a full day of hard work.   Thursday was about

Progress on Several Counts

A late-school start of 9:45 left Puck practicing pole vaulting in the living room with a wood pole he dug up somewhere. With mild success. During breakfast he had fully entertained himself singing “I Would Walk 500 Miles” with as genuine a Scottish accent as he could manage after

First Day/Twenty-Two

The big day had arrived. Puck was nervous, but not too nervous to finish his whole breakfast. El Oso had accumulated enough vacation days to take off for the occasion. And the Star Wars backpack and Iron Man lunch box were both ready to go. On the way we stopped

Meet Mr. Pence

Puck stared into his new classroom. Culture shock. A desk with his name on it, a cubby with his name on, a coat hook with his number on it. While we sorted and organized his school supplies, he took it all in, and shook hands with his teacher, Mr. Pence,

Playing Jason Motte

It was long after church during the game that Carrie-Bri, Joe, and Rose were arguing over what kind of car Rose should buy next. She had her thoughts set on an Audi. Carrie, however, had strong opinions about women driving said car. “Rose, women should never own Audis. Women who

Buddies

It was still raining when I got up late that morning. A green world, for August. Crackers joined me in a quiet kitchen. In thanks for me serving her breakfast, she decided to lose her breakfast right in front of me on the linoleum. I pretended not to see.   By

Whatever You Will

We were already in the gray days of September. Too soon. I’m all for gray skies, as long as we don’t hit winter too soon. I’ve become a much bigger fan of spring and summer in recent years.   Anyway, Curly and Lulu were back in town for

Twenty-One

Now that public school was back in session, Puck was short his morning/afternoon playmates. So, to make up for that deficit, we visited Target for a variety of exciting items: printer paper, hand sanitizer, foaming soap dispensers, a few bars of deodorant.   This time, it was Grandma’s turn

On the Checklist

11:30, waiting in a crowded Lake St. Louis pediatrician’s office for Puck’s back-to-school physical. He watched a muted animated film about bees in the corner of the ceiling while we sat. A young mom in a white sun dress fed her three year-old daughter sips of Mountain

It's a Process

Had heaping plates of colorful stir fry for dinner with Joe Kelly and Shelby Miller. Joe Kelly had made the stir fry, and I actually liked it. My dreams are clearly starting to get a little out of hand.   Puck scrambled outside with his buddies as two o’clock came

Last Lazy Days

The last snip of typical night-long dreams: picking up bake-your-own New York style pizzas and boxed cheesecakes with Joe, Mom, and the girls someplace in a sunny city, maybe on the West coast. I don’t have food dreams very often. Especially not about cheesecake.   “How does a pregnant woman

Twelve-Pack

Some faulty miscommunication between Rose and Puck ended up with a communion plate of bread cubes turned upside-down on the carpet. El Oso and Rose began the process of scooping the desecrated pieces back into the plate while Puck clapped a hand over his mouth, forcing down the laughs. I

Hanging in There

Woke myself with a headache at 5:15 in the morning. All these weather changes we get around here. Rose texted me a few hours later. Trying to keep herself awake sitting up all night in the Atlanta airport when her connecting flight back home was canceled due to, what

Remember Being Seven?

Another quiet half-rain day at home found Puck and myself sitting on the couch with another stack of books. Stretching out his arms, he hooked some of my hair in the process. “Careful, man. Don’t pull out what little hair I have left.” You know, mom-stress and all that.

Noah's Kind of Day

A crack of thunder started the morning as El Oso left early for work and Puck transferred to the couch with a fat packing box of Legos. I slept in after back-to-back nights of late ballgames. After breakfast, Puck watched Noah’s deluge from the front windows, streets coated in

Twenty

Crackers is a little devil in the mornings. I open the basement door, she charges, flies onto the kitchen linoleum, and starts head-butting my legs for breakfast. Feeding her, of course, is not my job. So if Puck isn’t out there within five minutes, she naturally takes out her

Nineteen

This time, we had a larger gang tagging down to Busch. Sort of went on a spontaneous shopping spree – the only kind I really know – when we remembered the Red Sox were coming into town, bringing back two of the lost boys. I took the Mazda. Mom, Irish-Rose, Cherry, and

Who's the Mom Here?

The remains of Sunday night’s bonfire were still present that morning. A few charcoal-like scuffs on Puck’s bike-bruised legs. “So … how many marshmallows did you eat over there, exactly?” I finally remembered to ask him after breakfast. “A few,” came the casual reply. “I burned my marshmallows. The

Nineteen

Irish-Rose was late to church that morning. No one knew where she was for awhile until she texted me at the end of the service. Her volleyball coach had died unexpectedly. Eleda English joined us in the parking lot minutes later. Sometimes when terrible things happen – blindsided – it’s good

A Brief Road Trip

I don’t think any Snicketts-by-blood girl is a true fan of bridal showers. Rose dodged this one, an afternoon plane ticket to Pensacola Beach. However, we are fortunate that this particular bridal shower in question was thrown for our cousin, Blessing, who made it clear that shower games were

Eighteen and Crumbling

I don’t know. It was a strange day… After eating enough chocolate to kill a small cow Thursday night – depression will do that to you I guess – I found Puck on the couch, cutting up his Star Wars Angry Birds pajamas. They were, as he explained, too small, enough

The Perfect Storm of Horribleness

Live, breathe, eat, drink baseball. That’s what I do, I guess. Never planned for it to happen that way years ago, but it did. Sometimes it rubs off in the subconscious – like dreaming last night I was astronauts with Matt Carpenter – or on my son, who was singing, “the

Rich Rewards

This morning before I was even fully awake, El Oso tried to convince me that he had a dream in the night. “Matt Holliday and I were ballroom dancing together. Tango.” Didn’t buy it. Try to get that picture out of your head.   Puck’s “long-awaited” prize was just

Lazy Days of Summer

It was another unnatural July morning in the 60’s when Puck’s – potential – future school phoned me about arranging interviews/evaluations for Thursday afternoon. Sometimes life feels like one big evaluation, frankly, so a couple more of those wouldn’t kill anything. I wrapped up the brief conversation with

Jerky

I could hear Puck getting frustrated in El Oso’s office. He had reluctantly passed the iPad over to Eddie so he could take a crack at the blue fuzzball that was Leopold, the newest computer game in Puck’s repertoire. “No, no! Eddie, no! You can’t do it

Steaks & Memories

Puck sat over his breakfast strawberry yogurt and completely unbruised banana (a feat in this house), wrapped up in his green Angry Birds hoodie blanket. A spider raced across the linoleum. Second in 24 hours. Crackers wasn’t doing her job. Puck grabbed a squirt bottle filled with water, still

All in a Saturday

On a day that was predicted to hit 100 on the dial, Carrie-Bri texted me that the A/C had gone out again. Fortunately for her, she could escape to the next bunny expo. We couldn’t make it out there to pick up Puck until eleven o’clock that

While Deliberating...

I don’t know what happened to Friday morning. By the time I realized it was lunch, thunder was growling under low-light sky in the west, and we had signs of a coming deluge. I do remember the black label microwave popcorn. Puck and I helped ourselves to two bags

Changes?

Mosquitoes were on the rampage in the house that morning. All this going in and out all day between Puck and the neighbor kids. He was biking hard before lunch again, the girls trailing on their scooters.   After lunch they came knocking on the door again. “Can you play?” “Uh,

Sixteen

“DISCO!” Puck always finds some creative new way to start the morning. This time he had transplanted his birthday disco ball from Grandma and suspended it from the ceiling fan in my room. Sparkly beginning.   The morning continued with a surprise for the Puckster out at the Big House. Mom,

Fifteen

By ten-thirty that morning, Puck was splashing in the pool with his old pal Anneliese across town. Nine months after their last visit, they caught up in the magical world that was Anneliese’s grandmother’s house, a mini theme park of entertainment all young girls and boys could appreciate.

In-Betweens

Something was crinkling over my head. When I opened my eyes, a large paper ring was sitting around my face, framing my head on the pillow. “Puck?” “It’s a necklace for you, Mom.” Puck had already been hard at work on his art projects before I was even awake.

All These Kids

Sometime around 10:45 we became the newest members of the fifth church I’ve attended in my life. (Although one of those I guess I can’t really count because it was just for those six months we lived in Ohio.) After the induction, Puck was congratulated by the

An Accidental Find

Puck relaxed at the breakfast table; clearly had questions for me. “Who created Star Wars?” “George Lucas.” “Does he exist today?” “Yes, he does.” “I’ll bet Eddie would be honored to meet him. He loves Lego Star Wars.” “Wouldn’t you be honored too?” “Well … I don’t have

Fourteen

The familiar sound of plastic trigger and chemical spray woke me that morning. Someone was hard at work on the bathroom sink with a bottle of Scrubbing Bubbles. Puck. “Mom! Come check out how clean I made the bathroom!” I guess I could handle having this as my daily alarm

One More Day

“Mom? Do you fink Crackers would die of fright if she went on a roller coaster?” One day these th’s will kick in. “She might…” Puck stared at Crackers stretched out on a sunny patch of linoleum, oblivious to her master’s suggestions. “Do you fink if she was

A Little More Quiet

Puck was still jammed up at the breakfast counter, shortly finished with bacon, and in-depth with Minecraft, while Gloria prepared to leave for the office. It was 8:30 on another cool summer morning, and why not enjoy living it up at Nana’s and Papa’s for just a

Sometimes, it Just Happens

Weather like September. When Puck and I found ourselves shivering on a park bench with two sacks of McDonald’s at 11:15, we sort of wished we had worn jeans instead. We were waiting for Louis, his mama, and baby sister to join us. The invitation had come via

Lots of Glory

Another blur of a Monday left Puck and myself loading up the Mazda with groceries sometime after three o’clock in the afternoon under the wingtip of another storm, passed about an hour earlier. It had been a brief shower, rain falling light enough for Puck to lead the charge

Taking it Easy

Carrie-Bri and Puck were busy brokering a business deal at the dining room table during lunch. Pans of chicken and home-grown veggies had already been passed around. Because Puck had agreed to clean the bunny room in four sessions over two days in exchange for a shiny new Playmobil RV

Fun Things

“Did Gloria show you the donuts yet?” That was about the first thing Theodore asked me when we walked through the door that afternoon. Mini chocolate Entenmann’s. I don’t remember how many I ate. But who cared; it was Saturday. Half an hour later, Puck and I were

Bollywood in Theaters

Puck and I had spent most of the morning reading. After awhile, two canker sores required me to pause. When I returned to the living room, Puck had my small antique rocking chair turned completely around to the window, legs crossed, chin propped in his hands, staring. “What are you

Youth en Masse

Friends were already pestering Puck to play during Science that morning. He again politely declined and returned to sit next to me on the couch where we were discussing fish ponds and their occasional lack of oxygen. “If a pond is eight feet or deeper, it helps the oxygen supply,

Always Something Different

Half an hour out to Florissant in Dad’s old gold car; he drives Goldilocks now. Puck tapping my shoulder – and Mom’s – for every, “Yellow car! Yellow car!” The day Irish taught him that game should live in infamy. Carrie-Bri and Irish followed in car two.   Grandma was waiting

So Many Buddies

After another midnight stint – must have slept through the early morning storm – my throat was still sore; I could feel it through the night. But nothing else felt sick, and I don’t yell during ballgames, so I chalked it up to all those thunderstorms and pollen. Either way, it

Number 13

Puck and I were discussing Dad’s daily morning devotion at the breakfast table. Topics of the morning included children pestering their parents. Puck contemplated the many times he had pestered his own dad in his “entire seven year existence.” “And sometimes Dad gets mad for very ‘hypodelic’ reasons,” he

Lazy Lazy

El Oso was already on the road, playing viola at Memorial Presbyterian for their 150th anniversary Sunday morning service. So Puck and I lingered over breakfast, Puck mostly distracted by the creatures hopping around the patio, brown bunny included. “Aw, look, Mom. You can see his little lips chewing.”   Our

After the Explosions

Punch, punch, punch … punch, punch. Someone was re-shingling Sasha’s roof before seven o’clock in the morning. On a Saturday. After post-midnight firecrackers blistered the streets two doors down.   By the time we finally got out of the house early that afternoon, Puck turned in his first library reading

Boom

Carrie later told me that Independence Day morning at the Snicketts house ran something like this: Francis comes pounding up the stairs around six AM with sacks of fireworks, announcing, “IT’S THE FOURTH OF JULY!!!!” Mom tries, futilely, to stop him, “No, Francis! Francis, no! It’s too early!

Unexpected Thursday

8:40. That’s what the clock read this morning when I woke up from an uninterrupted eight hours. These west coast late night Cards games… Anyway, Puck beat me to it that morning: 5:15. His explanation to Carrie-Bri went something like, “I’m just so used to getting

Better as Dudes

Carrie-Bri showed us the new ladder golf set in the backyard, just in time for the Fourth. Practiced a couple of rounds while Francis and Puck set off fireworks in the front yard. Francis had also hooked Puck’s new blue and red hammock (another Puck-and-Grandma-box speciality) in the tree

Another Fascination

I heard the alarm go off at six o’clock that morning, the boys rummaging through piles of clean laundry, loading the bikes up in the car. That early morning bicycle trip was happening even earlier than I thought. I took advantage of this rarity and slept in. When they

First Half Down

Sending El Oso off to work from an already warm front porch in his Star Wars Angry Bird jams, Puck entertained himself by singing over and over to himself: “Oopa gang-gum styl’! Oopa gang-gum styl’!” I knew he was trying to imitate the often-annoying Korean smash hit “Oppa Gangnam Style.

Summer Drives

11:15 was about the time of my Saturday night return from KC. Somehow I was still awake by 6:30, probably used to Puck coming in for the morning wake-up call, even though he had spent the night at the Silverspoon’s, no doubt feasting on eggs and bacon.

When it Rains in Kansas City

Five and a half hours of sleep later. Even if it was short, I slept straight through it. And in case anyone wanted to know, yes, Rose slept in the bathtub. So while Mom and Grandma breakfasted at iHop – took the wrong direction going to and from – we girls packed

We're in Kaaaansas City Now

Three months after Spring Training we found ourselves on another baseball-inspired road trip. This time, we swapped Irish for Grandma, and shaved off about thirteen and a half hours. All good trips need to start off with an argument. “Rose! Are you drinking my water?” “What? This is yours?” “You

Happy Birthday, Rose

It was Rose’s 24th birthday. Because Dad doesn’t always immediately remember our exact birthdays – six kids and all – he will occasionally ask one of the rest of us to remind him. Like this morning, when he asked Carrie-Bri. She told him to send himself a reminder on his

St. Louis Traditionals

Flying to Patagonia, Dad in the cockpit, Carrie-Bri and myself as passengers, in a little white Cesna using Highway 141 as a runway. Success. I think Carrie yelled at Dad for ascending too quickly through some stratus that sparkled, glitter-crusted.   Anyway. Reality. Big House. Francis was sprawled on the couch

Charging

Huge crashes of thunder before midnight. Wasn’t expecting it; a little shocking, it was so loud.   But by morning the evidence of storm had basically been erased. Puck watched El Oso drive to work with a flood of rainwater sloshing out of the bed of his truck. A little

Finally Got Around to It

Celebrating El Oso’s 30th only ten days late. We work these things in when we can. Puck led off the morning running through the house exclaiming, “OH MY SWISS! OH MY SWISS!” He finds creative ways to get around the rules of what’s appropriate to say, and what’

Three Happy Birthdays

As we sat together in church, two half-rows of us, Puck listened to the sermon while sketching monster-robots on his bulletin. During the rhetorical question of: how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?, Puck turned to whisper loudly (and of course seriously), “Fousands!” Somehow I feel

Short One Buddy

With Puck over at the Big House from Friday’s spend-the-night, El Oso bought a sack of Hardee’s for breakfast before helping Tasha next door with more computer issues. I lay flat on my back, Crackers napping on my stomach, with El Oso’s heated rice pack under my

Twelve

Green and rain on a Friday morning, last day of spring. Of course it’s been summer for weeks around here already, but a nice closer to the season. Puck got down to business with word problems to the tune of the old Ben Hur soundtrack, one of my few

Don't Diet, Dad

By the time I got up, Puck was already blading through the house in taco truck t-shirt, using Grandma Snicketts’ cane and his old bed rails as props while urging me to decorate more for holidays that weren’t Christmas. Between laps, he had built Crackers a “Crackers-topia” on top

Eleven

Game Number Eleven on the season. Irish and I left just after nine-thirty in the morning with a couple of frozen water bottles and an STL cooling towel that Carrie-Bri had just ordered in.   A few of the boys were on the sizzling Kentucky Bluegrass, lobbing baseballs. Irish sat front

Shut Up

Somewhere in a night of heavy sleep – where I’m also pretty sure Puck woke just before one o’clock for a drink of water – I dreamt that Carlos Martinez had been ultimately traded to the Braves, after some haggling. Reviving myself into reality: eggs-in-a-nest for Puck’s breakfast, counting

Learning the Lingo

We had a new addition to the living room. Joe and Jaya brought back gifts from Mahogany Bay, Honduras: a small polished mahogany jar for each family. And black coral earrings for Rose.   “Nice handwriting, bud. Try not to smudge the letters though.” Puck inspected his latest word, holding pen

Double Party

Father’s Day kicked off with a joke for El Oso. Seemed appropriate. “Hey, Dad. Why did the ladybug fall through the leaf?” “I don’t know. Why?” “Because it was a fat ladybug. Get it?” “Oh, I get it…” “Really?! Did it rhyme?”   Francis was excited at church. The

Celebrate Again

My kitchen suddenly became Main Street late on a Saturday morning. Puck had collected neighbor friends, two brother-and-sister sets to explore fun times at his home. Crackers immediately attracted attention: “She might not like you at first,” Anna told the new boy, Rocko. Eddie added, “And she doesn’t have

El Oso: 30

The big man was 30 years old, on an almost cold morning in middle June. To celebrate, he joined Chet Danger, Red Strike, Joe, and more work buddies for breakfast before another full day of work.   My full day of work started with the last day of counting pennies, shoes,

Hello, Mr. Wong

So the thing about being a Cards fan living in St. Louis is that there are actually just too many intriguing opportunities to meet and observe the players in their natural – and unnatural – habitats. An example of unnatural habitat? Chesterfield Mall on a rainy Thursday night in June. Who cares

Three of Five

Puck was sitting at the breakfast table with an ancient walnut grinder, or something like that. Gloria had given it to him awhile ago, and Puck – who had initially broken it – had just discovered how to fix it: “See? I fixed it, Mom. Why couldn’t you do it? You

Two of Five

Before our eight o’clock departure that morning, Puck paused his yogurt and toast to ask a question that I’m glad he decided to ask me while we weren’t in public: “Why do you have to buy kids to adopt them?” Oh boy. “You don’t buy kids,

One of Five

“Eat your oatmeal, son.” El Oso called across the house to Puck in the kitchen. He was a little distracted with Vacation Bible School about two hours away, and a full breakfast still waiting on the table: “OKAY, DAD! BUT YOU DON’T COOK OATMEAL AS GOOD AS MOM DOES!

Date Night

Mom and Dad were celebrating their 34th anniversary in Branson that weekend, including a stay at the College of the Ozarks, one of their favorite get-aways. Theodore and Gloria were in California celebrating their 35th. All of us kids were on our own.   So … date night. It started with a

When the Folks are Out

A sleepy Puck walked into the pew aisle fifteen minutes late at church, clearly having enjoyed his night out on the town with aunt and friends. This included riding the ferris wheel on the top of the City Museum. And I’m guessing about an eleven o’clock bedtime.   During

Always Something Different

Puck woke me up by jumping on the bed and landing somewhere close to my head, if memory serves. This is not an uncommon occurrence these days. In my half-asleep state: the stories and ideas and questions that were already spilling out of his mind – I don’t remember what

At-Home Thursdays

It was a quiet one at the little house all day. Not much going on, a cool gray-skies morning, billowing honeysuckle, and more schoolbooks.   By the time Anna and Eddie exited their respective buses late in the afternoon, Puck went bounding down the street skipping in his blue flip-flops. I

Send More Storms

It was storming before five o’clock that morning. Might be one of the best sounds in the world. A couple of hours later, the wind was strong and rolling through the trees.   Puck skated through the house on the same smooth rubber wheels before breakfast. I recalled his conversation

Feels Like Summer

My phone was ringing. Too early in the morning after a late game out. Waking me from stocking a grocery cart with fresh grapes and enormous bags of frozen broccoli, Irish helping, Matt Adams standing in the aisle watching Irish sagging under the weight of the broccoli. When the ringer

Number Nine

With the tornado sirens whirling the monthly test that morning, Puck and I were ready for another day of school and catching up from the weekend. Halfway through the morning, Puck saw the leftover package of Chewy Chips Ahoy! that Rose had brought over Friday night, sitting on the counter

Afternoon Adventures

Joe texted me between Tampa and Detroit, back from a week of sunburn and Central America. I believe he told me he ran up the Mayan ruins and that said ruins were, in fact, “sick.” But we wouldn’t hear stories for hours still, because the rest of Sunday was

Changeup

The day wasn’t destined to go as planned. But what is life without a little change-up? First, Vacation Bible School volunteer meeting. I think I recall the last thing I said to El Oso before he dropped me off being: “I hope they don’t have us sit in

Rollin' Rollin'

While Joe and Jaya were probably snorkeling around the Grand Caymans that morning, Puck put together his own seaworthy garb for the day: paper pirate hat and eye patch from dinner at Steak ‘n Shake with Mom and Dad on Thursday evening. “Time for math, eh, me dog?” he snarled

Number Eight

Honduras was on the menu for Joe and Jaya that morning. Joe’s first flavor of international travel continues. (Because I’m still not convinced Hawaii really counts.)   Puck joined me at breakfast for further morning readings. I can’t remember what we were talking about, but he always manages

Little Ears

With Joe and Jaya docked somewhere in Belize that morning, Puck and I breakfasted across from cascades of sweet honeysuckle past the patio glass. A sign of spring being a success.   Puck waited in the car while I fueled up at QT. After a minute, I heard him trying to

Reprieve

I can rarely pass through three or four sentences in a reading with Puck at any given point in the day before he has to add two cents. This time, we got into the whole business of man’s fall in the Garden: “Some people might think they’re gods

Next Plate

“Mom? How was breakfast created? How was lunch created? How was dinner created?” I think I made up something about Adam asking Eve to fix him some eggs; hold the bacon. But this somehow ended up with Puck lecturing me on the irresponsibility of misquoting history. Once you plant that

And Next

Even after this next life-changer, it still felt like a regular Sunday morning on the way to church. Heavy rain. Mixed with souffles from St. Louis Bread Co. (Okay, that last part was out of the ordinary.) But I think it was probably because we were already so used to

Bingo

It was a three o’clock ceremony at Twin Oaks. Two hundred people, maybe more. When Joe walked out with Francis, El Oso, Thunderbird, Wally, and Magnus, I should have expected the Joe-gusher when Jaya floated down the aisle. But he pulled it together just fine. And then we had

One

Puck wasn’t there to wake me up early as usual, spending the night with Gloria instead. So I had to actually use an alarm this morning. Not as pleasant an option. Fortunately El Oso was off for the holiday weekend, so he could join the caravan to decorate Beaumont

Two

Forty-eight hours to the big happening and I found myself sitting in the parking lot of Covenant Seminary waiting for Joe and a pair of old jumper cables.   The morning had sent Puck and myself to Forest Park where he was meeting his Sunday School class – a whopping three kids

Three

Puck held up a single dirty sock in my face at the Big House this morning. It was Irish’s sock, and it was orange. I could guess what was coming next: “Mom! Mom! Can I get some orange socks like Lila’s? They were only like two dollars!” “But

Four

A last quiet day before everything started happening. With my little brother – as he put it – about to become “Mr. Joe Snicketts,” there was a surprising lack of things for me to do leading four days up to the wedding. About the biggest thing on my list was hunting up

Five

In the afterglow of celebrity bowling – in which neither Carrie or myself actually picked up a bowling ball – we were now five days removed from the next Snicketts kid walking the aisle. All those ten years later. Puck helped me start things off by once again describing how irresponsible authors

Ten Year-Olds

We didn’t actually see a red carpet Sunday night. Maybe we did and it just didn’t register with me. Not like it bothered us. Mom and Dad drove us down to the Flamingo Bowl on Washington. There was no way we were valet parking a Honda Fit. Had

Seven

“Just imagine it! Fousands and fousands of molecules inside this banana chip! Just molecules inside of atoms! And even more fings inside of that! And so on and so on!” That was Puck on Friday, amazed as always, by just about anything. It manages to make life just a little

Eight

A little panpipes on ADD started an early morning in the little Snicketts house. Fitting, in a way. While Puck spent the morning galavanting at the Big House, El Oso and I caravan-ed to Maryland Heights for our home study update. Was this number five? Probably, because as our social

Nine

“OPEN THE BOX OF PERDITION! OPEN THE BOX OF PERDITION! AAAH! … I WIN!!!” Puck doesn’t know what “perdition” means. And I’m pretty sure he didn’t even know he was saying it. But Legos didn’t care. And that’s where Puck found himself at the breakfast table

Countdown

It was now ten days till the wedding. Mom and the girls were waiting for us when we got to the Big House at 10:30. Something about fifty-something glass vases waiting through craigslist. Irish stayed with Puck while Mom, Carrie-Bri, and I left to pick up the goods. Another

How We Roll

I often have natural disaster dreams, apocalyptic. But late Monday night/early Tuesday morning was probably the first time I ever experienced a hurricane/ tornado/flood/tsunami combo. Including a beetle-green VW rolled up on the beach in the surge.   Once we were all finally awake and schoolbooks finished and

Fun Fun Fun

Nine o’clock in Clayton. Puck and I camped out in the dentist’s waiting room while El Oso got his teeth cleaned. I guess it wasn’t the most interesting way to start a vacation day, but we had more exciting things prepared. Apple Store at the Galleria. Fun

Eighth Round

I walked into Puck’s room that morning and noticed the mess: “Puck, you need to clean your room on Tuesday before you play with Anna and Eddie.” “Why do I have to clean it before I play with them, Mom?” “Because, since the beginning of time, kids have had

Drop-Kick

Puck was sitting in a city of Legos when I met up with him at the Big House that morning. Dad and El Oso were at the men’s Bible study/breakfast at church. Irish was leaving for Pointfest, whatever that was, with Hansel and Gretyl. And I was riding

Keeping up with the Calendar

Friday began with the police station. No, we weren’t in any kind of trouble. Rather, our (circa) sixth visit in five years to this very Scandinavian-architectured building was only our most recent adoption update criminal background check. Every sixteen months. While we waited for our paperwork, Puck prowled the

Always Prepared

I checked in with Joe that morning. The chap was now sixteen days away from the wedding and decided that it was about time to get those five cavities and a root canal looked at. Or was that six cavities and a root canal? Either way, needles, anesthetic, pain.   Puck

Busy Weeks

Puck studied a hand-drawn map of a fictional Medieval forest during Social Studies that morning. His eye was on a large boar in a clearing of pines: “They probably de-teeth them now, right?” he wanted to know. (Naturally ‘de-teeth’ came out closer to ‘de-teef.’) Then: “Do you like England, Mom?

Blowin' in the Wind

Mountainous Spain with Mom and the girls. Night. Traveling uphill, too steep for the car. That is what sent me through dream world on a warm Monday night in Tuesday, leading to a mild head cold in the morning.   Puck was already folding white printer paper into an armada of

Exciting Quiet Times

It was now less than three weeks till the wedding. With Joe moved in to his Creve Coeur apartment just down the road from Rose, things were moving fast.   Puck and I wrapped up things at the Silverspoon’s that morning after waving El Oso off to work. Some light

Traditions Continue

As if we didn’t have enough sun baked into our skins already on Saturday, we decided to pile on a little more Sunday afternoon across town. Extra crispy.   But first, church. Puck sat next to me during the service drawing a “lightsaver” in great detail on the back of

Up Up and Away

I redeemed myself Saturday morning and slipped a single dollar under Puck’s pillow, just about two hours after he woke up way too early to play Minecraft. Then Dad and Joe picked up the truck for the move, early before the air show. Joe had a head cold and

End of First Grade

Sometimes I think Crackers almost misses us when we’re gone, even if it’s just for the day. You couldn’t have told by the way she sunk her teeth into Puck’s forearm the other day while he was gently petting her. Temper, temper. This unnecessary act of

These Boys

Sometimes Puck takes a long, long time to finish math. Not because he doesn’t like it, but more because he has to answer every flashcard with an entire sentence incorporating that answer, like: “Today’s lesson will include … twelve children.” Or just random statements he’s collected and/or

Visit Five

Shekels came up in Dad’s devotional reading this morning. Puck wanted to know if I had found any old shekels during my digs in Israel: “Nothing that old. I found some Roman coins though.” “Well, coins have been around for a few years, I guess.” Puck expounded. “Even when

They Can Do This

I had stayed up too late Monday night catching the discouraging 12-inning loss against the Brewers downtown. When I emerged to prepare breakfast, Puck was already awake at the table. He walked over, already understanding the situation. Granted, I didn’t look that upset, but he patted my shoulder comfortingly

Sometimes You Just Have to Think

“Soggy, soggy, soggy. I like that word, Mom. Soggies. It’s a fun word to say. I like saying pumas too. Puma. Puma. Puma. Isn’t that a fun word to say?” My morning had started. An hour later, Puck sat behind a deck of addition flashcards, slowing down to

Hoping for Better

It’s not exactly a ritual, but I usually find myself checking news around baseball before most to-do items every morning prior to breakfast. This Sunday was no different. Puck heard me mention something about Albert Pujols hitting 500 home runs, and had to ask: “He hit 500 home runs

Minor Success

A good day for a game. And ordinary things, like taking Puck to the Coinstar at Dierberg’s with a red tupperware of change. Two fives, two nickels, and four shiny pennies rattled out of the machine. Puck felt kin to a king, so: Target. Lego aisle. Minecraft aisle. The

These Fast Fridays

Puck slyly held a Lego contraption up to my face early this morning as I passed him in the hall. I could tell by the look of suave pride on his face that he had created it himself: “Look, Mom. It takes a brilliant mind to figure this out.” I

All in a Day's Think

Puck had been waiting a long impatient 48 hours for his breakfast bowl of cereal. Spontaneously carb-crazy. When the delectable prize finally sat in front of him at the breakfast table, he tried to wait with eyes closed during the prayer. Right before he dug in, spoon in fist, he

It's Getting Closer

“MmmEOW!” Pumpkin’s protests are always fruitless. As the feline most recently dubbed “Fattest Cat in America,” there’s not much she can do to protect herself from tickling or other tortures. Irish and Puck took this opportunity to decorate her flat-on-her-back-flopped-out self with gadgets from the knick-knack drawer, a

Earth Day

Puck and El Oso sat at the kitchen table over breakfast. Puck, who had already finished most of his meal, was not interested in concluding with the rest of his fried eggs: “I’m not hungry, Dad.” “That’s what your mouth is saying to your stomach,” El Oso role-played

Becoming Seven

Puck was crushing it in math that morning. Had to give the kid some credit for learning how to carry to the tens column after one try. His explanation, while lacking in accuracy, was given with great confidence: “So I multiplicated it.” Somewhere between loads of laundry and lunch, Puck

How to Celebrate

It was early; Puck, who hadn’t had a cold after all, was just sniffing from his room examining some Where’s Waldo on a Sunday morning. “Puck, blow your nose,” El Oso called to him. “Dad, it doesn’t work. It just really annoys me to sniff … (sniff, sniff)

Round Four

BOOM! I knew it even half-awake: El Oso had stubbed his toe into something hard. His $400 lifetime-guaranteed boots. Not the first time it’s happened, so I may or may not have pretended to be fully asleep to avoid seeing blood on an empty stomach. “Blood everywhere,” he reported

Happy Seven, Baby

My big little guy was seven. Seven on a Good Friday where the entire city had apparently poured outside to join us in our route through the city for good times.   The Arch is quickly becoming tradition for Puck. He had a plan in his head, and this was the

One Till Seven

Dream on the night: examining boards of ancient white petrified seashells during the Reformation service at Kirk of the Hills, chilly October night. Who knows why, really. Not worth evaluating, I’m sure.   10:45, an ant came running frantically through double-spaced lines on my manuscript. First on the season.

Round Two

What do you do on a cold Holy Week/Birthday Week with no school? That’s easy: double grandma plans. We Mazda-ed out to Florissant and Grandma’s warm little apartment, Mom, Carrie-Bri, Puck, and myself, and arranged a schedule. After gifts for Puck from Grandma: Star Wars backpack, Crayola

Tuesday Like a Monday

4:07AM. There was a bird tweeting outside the window. A bird. At 4:07 in the morning. Happy, annoying, trilling. Maybe it was because I was only half-awake, but I was in a little disbelief. The bird from Crazy Town. He started some ridiculous concerto-worthy trills a few minutes

Slow-Like

Munch, munch, munch. Puck, almost-Danish-blonde fat-cheeked boy, sitting next to me on the bed early that morning, snapping circuits together, munching giant pretzel sticks. I should have taken them away of course, it being pre-breakfast and all, but it’s his birthday week… He was pretty intent on his electronics

Round One

I was apparently testing for a math teacher’s certificate; didn’t want to; got suckered in somehow. Ended up at the wrong testing facility, with Puck as a baby, on an early Saturday evening: a church in Springfield. Was supposed to be in Columbia. Relieved it didn’t work

Ready for Summer

In a warm Saturday morning, I pulled myself out of dreams: driving through South Carolina countryside at golden sunset, weathered graveyards and antique greenhouses from 1907.   When I met up with the kitchen later, Puck had second breakfast plans already in the works. Before I knew it, he had dumped

Processing

“How many llamas were killed to make this?” Puck held up the rawhide and bone Native American necklace from his 6th birthday. “I think that’s deer skin actually, bud.” “Oh.” His silence was momentary. “They killed a deer to make this?” “Well, only one. And they probably killed the

Back in the Lou

Another diving thump to wake me up that morning. Sometimes Puck plays it cool, when he gets up first, feeds the cat, sits himself on the couch with a pile of Garfields, laughing hysterically at intermittent periods. Especially if he knows I’ve had a late night and he’s

Second Attendance

Puck attacked my back with complete zest that morning, still hard on the floor: “WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!” I had expected it. He only tackled me two more times before I actually woke up and helped Mom with the first round of bacon. Francis, of course, found himself

First Attendance

El Oso’s Monday afternoon and evening had involved meeting some “fancy interviewer guy” on the plane, returning from St. Louis’ ComicCon. And feasting upon “sea urchin on squid ink pasta for dinner with tiramisu for dessert.” A tad more exciting than the usual, I suppose.   Tuesday, Puck served me

The Real Opening Day

Jerked awake by El Oso hunting down his iPhone, pulled out of walking the streets of India, persuading rebellious older children from vandalizing stone buildings, yanking small green potato bulbs from walls like pop beads, discussing aversions to obeying traffic laws. Who knows, really. Puck was already on the couch

It's Getting Real Now

“So what do you think of my outfit today?” Sometimes El Oso asks me this, just to get a strange reaction. Usually while we’re driving to church. “Well… I guess I’d call it: UPS Man Gets Cold in Norway, Borrows Local Sweater.” “Well, I like your style.” “Thanks…

Spray Chart

6:45, awake. Didn’t matter that I fell asleep close to one that morning, I was done and up. Puck awaited – perhaps not eagerly – my arrival at the Big House after a night of hot-fudge-sundae-Prince-of-Egypt-awake-till-9:30-sleeping-under-the-kitchen-table debauchery. The life. With the Daniel Boone practically shut down for the weekend,

Tornadic Tradition

A fast morning of bookwork led Puck and myself to the library to pick up Movie Night’s feature presentation of the evening – Night of the Twisters – after chatting briefly with one of the librarians about our respective tickets to the games next week. It really is a small-town-big-city feel

And We're Back

My dream in the night centered mostly around me rescuing tiny tropical fish from dry brown stone riverbeds in India near the train tracks. Analyzation is futile, of course. Then Carrie texted me about the tornado damage in U. City. It’s that time of year again.   Puck sat at

The Thunder & The Lightnings

First news of the morning: our cousin, Blessing, was engaged with a sapphire ring over her birthday weekend. There were rumors of Australia somehow involved for her future. So potentially two family weddings in one year. Irish wasn’t a fan of this idea: “When I get married, I’m

Best Bits of Tuesday

Early text from Carrie. Another late-night call from the police about Francis and his buddy “playing on the railroad tracks.” I think three squad cars were mentioned in this particular “harmless” fiasco. I mean, the kid is pure Snicketts blood when it comes to shenanigans. But I think by now

Opening Day

“HMM-MM-MM! That applesauce was delii-ii-ish!” Puck wasn’t actually eating applesauce for breakfast. I think he meant apple juice, which he was downing with a Tablespoon. When I turned around next, he was sprawled on the floor wrapped in three blankets: “Puck, sit up at the table like a man.

The Weekly Catch-Up

6:45 alarm. Not necessary, really, but it sort of feels wrong to sleep in on a Sunday. Feed the cat, email from Carrie about the Blue Angels flying back into town, pack up, two cake pops at Starbuck’s. Bad idea. Happy birthday cake pops. Worse idea. Whatever. Yolo.

Pizza & Burgers

Cold enough for a fire, my boys slept another hour after I was awake. I could hear Crackers pad up the basement stairs in a shot, always desperate for food, more food. Her double-dinner leftovers weren’t going to make the cut. The purring creature knocked her head into me

Early Spring Progress

Disappointed in the lack of sufficient thunder and lightning Thursday night, and about twenty seconds of deluge, I hoped for better things in the week just cool enough for a heavy sweater, and only one week removed from faded t-shirts and yoga shorts. But first: back again. A quiet church

About Time

I didn’t hear the rain in the night, or the thunder – sadly – but cars sloshing through puddle-filled streets behind closed curtains when I woke up. Puck was always excited about bad weather; that fun-filled family trait. He walked in, quiet enough, then flopped his whole body face-down on my

The Undergarment Dilemma

“MOM!” “Yes, Puck?” The six-year-old yelled out to the kitchen from his bunk bed Tuesday night, “I’M NOT SURE IF I’M GOING TO WEAR THE RED UNDERWEAR OR KEEP IT FOREVER!” I assured him that we could work out this existential crisis in the morning. But it wouldn’

Trending

I never could have guessed it, but West Palm Beach had spoiled me. Florida, of all places in the book of places I never really cared if I visited or not. Isn’t that always the way it goes. Anyway, I hoped it was the last cold day in St.

Catch Up

Puck slathered the living room floor with blankets and erected a tent in the center of it before I could even get started on subtraction flashcards: “Crackers doesn’t like this tent because she is Egyptian and a little bit snooty,” he told me. “Because she has some Egyptian in

Home Sweet St. Louis

Saturday night we had fallen asleep to the tune of Carrie and Rose arguing: “If you pull the sheets off me in the night, I’ll punch you in the face.” (Giggle.) “Well, then I’ll just have to kill you.” (Giggle.) “Then I’ll come back as a ghost.

We Can Do This

The sun was just ringing the sky as we smashed our luggage into the back of the Fit for what ended up being just about 15 hours on the road, originally intended as only twelve. Only. “If we do this again,” Carrie groaned at the end, “we’re flying. I’

Another One Before We Pack

One last game for the five of us. Patchwork skies in gray, blue, and white. Rose saved us “seats” behind the yellow line while her three sisters huddled tight by the dugout, even more crowded and pinched than the other games. Probably because Adam Wainwright was out on the field

More Goodness

“Aaah! My itchies!” “I don’t think the sea likes you, Rose.” “It’s Poseidon,” Carrie added. “No,” Rose concluded. “I already offered him a cow.”   Game Three: more billowing dark-white clouds, the sun catching Carrie’s shiny sequin ball cap here and there, but more sun burn. Once inside

The Stars Shine Bright

Rose was still mildly displeased with the “rogue wave” that had stolen her phone, but not enough to fail laughing at Carrie for mistaking a pretzel washed up on the beach for a “circular crustacean.” (The jury was still out on that one.) Rose had also gotten herself involved with

A Couple Unexpecteds

We did get that storm in the night. I guess somehow we missed that we had actually been in a tornado watch. But when the door blew open, held only by the chair propped under the door knob because the deadbolt still had to be fixed, we got the idea

St. Pat Without the Beef

If there’s anyone in the world who is happy about everything, it’s Mom: “Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!” before the lights were even on. “For those who celebrate it,” was Carrie’s predictable response. I’m not sure what the Irish ever did to Carrie, but she

First Installment

Irish and I waited in line outside Roger Dean Stadium, wind and palm trees. We had already visited Target for breakfast that morning: bananas, peanut butter, Cliff Bars. And we had already walked around the stadium to the practice fields. Irish discretely – or maybe not so discretely – removed Carrie’s

Adventures on the Interstate

Friday Night: Alexander City, Alabama: “Alright, I’m sleepin’ in the bathtub. I need something to catch the drips from the faucet though.” “Just rubber band a plastic bag around it.” “What if I put a coffee cup inside the bag, too?” “If anyone hears any gurgling in the night,

The Long March South

Alexander City, Alabama. That’s where we landed fourteen hours after my alarm went off at seven this morning. Puck was still asleep. He walked out a little later hunched over like an old man, asking why I had gotten up “so early.”   We walked out the door at eight,

Saddle Up

My last full day at home before Spring-Training-or-Bust began with the familiar sound of cracking glass: “Oh, Crackers!” The delicate purple crocus Puck had picked for me – well, let’s be honest; Crackers had already mutilated the first three – the fourth crocus in question had taken a spill off the

A Few Last Items

We had a little Irish banshee wind that morning, wailing around the house corners, wrapping in bare black branches and pale violet light, cream morning sky. Puck got out to the kitchen where he was creating a habitat for Crackers on top of the kitchen cabinet: “Do you want some

Sweet Sounds

Something popped in El Oso’s back during the night. While controlling the urge to vomit from the pain, it seemed to push itself back in place – whatever it was. We sent him – warily – off to work.   Puck eyed the drawing of an Ozark hellbender in his conservationist magazine that

Closer Signs

I looked up and it was lunch. Must be a Monday. Four loads of laundry running on a freshly fixed dryer fuse. A couple phone calls about bridal shower gifts and algebra/degree major issues. Temperatures ticking up into at least 78 into the afternoon. Puck was more interested in

Pre-Patrick

“Crackers, I don’t think you understand English, but those birds are just doing their jobs. They’re trying to feed their kids. And theirselves. Oh, by the way, your name is Crackers, if you didn’t know.” Puck’s effort to communicate with his pet doesn’t always pan

Early Ireland

6:30 wake-up call. For no other reason than that Puck felt like waking up at 6:30 like he always does: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and, well, not Sunday. I don’t know why. He just sleeps in on Sundays. Anyway, as Puck opened our Saturday, my

The Artist in His Natural Habitat

“Congratulations, man. Today you have completed your entire set of addition flashcards.” I swear the little man almost started tearing up. “Awww!” “Why does that bother you though?” “I’m just a little sad. I love addition.” Beats me.   Spring was coming. You could feel it. A whole week of

What One Side of the Brain Doesn't Think Of

“I’m decorating the house for St. Patrick’s Day, Mom.” Puck might as well be my morning newspaper. Each new headline is different. And today’s was hardly unconventional. Usually I’m too groggy to bother sorting out the final details of whatever repercussions these announcements might incur: “Okay,

Gooey Louie

Gooey Louie’s: St. Louis gooey butter cake, sandwiched inside the Irish Catholic community off Chippewa. Three bullet holes in the glass (probably pre-teens with BBs), painted up purple and yellow inside, shelves of cardboard boxed cakes, all twelve dollars apiece. The owner walked out, pointed to Puck, toting his

How We Think

Puck’s theme of cheeseburgers had continued heavy duty into Monday evening. It wasn’t dinner yet, and Puck had already worked his way through no less than five clean white undershirts from his clothes drawer: plastered in Sharpie burgers. The artist became disgruntled as, one by one, each shirt

Under Cover of Darkness

Puck rummaged in the fridge for anything spare that morning. Not food, mind, but containers, anything close to being finished. Or not so much. He pulled out an unopened glass bottle of Fanta, picked up at Walgreen’s on the way into the city Saturday night: “Can I have this

Let's Ignore Some Travel Advisories

4:48AM: The rattle of ice on windows. Much later: snores from the other room indicated that El Oso would still be out for awhile. Church had already been canceled for over 12 hours. So I fed the cat and flipped on a sermon about hell.   Puck opened Rose’s

An Involved Weekend

Puck and I sat in the car on the Aldi parking lot, waiting for El Oso to hunt up a pack of avocados in the mess that is pre-winter-storm-shopping in the Greater St. Louis Area. Puck leaned over to the front seat to flip open a small compartment, hunting for

An Unexpected Deviation

Crackers was trying to wake me up. Sometimes we can’t find her before we call it a night, so we let her roam the upstairs as well as the downstairs. This often results in an early wake-up call: “MEOW! MEOW!” My mostly asleep brain interpreted this cat-speak into, “I

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas, Mom!

Puck was ready for another dance party, getting behind the idea of a tango a little, if not an actual tango. Or a disco. Crackers seemed mildly interested in joining. She stuck to my shoulder for a ride. I figured if nothing else, it’s practice for riding in the

A Slight Escalation

“That silly cat, Mom. She was just sitting there staring up at me when I woke up this morning.” Puck grinned at me over the edge of my bed in a similar fashion, waiting for his own breakfast. An hour or more later, he was sitting on the couch with

The Collector

Puck woke me up this morning with a handful of red tabs from the La Croix cans: “Look! Red ones! I didn’t even know they made these! Mom, can I try one? This ro-ho-ho and a bottle of rum?” He pushed another cold, tall thin can of La Croix

Another Change

“Don’t forget about this,” El Oso reminded me of the Jimmy John’s bread loaf wrapped in a red kitchen towel on the counter. “Might make good croutons,” he advised. “Slice them thin, toast them. Add some cheese. Might go good with a soup…” “Why don’t I just

Puck Says

“EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!!!! When you’re part of a teeeeam. EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!!!! When you’re part of a dreeeeam.” I don’t know if those are the exact lyrics from the Lego movie, maybe because I don’t feel like searching the internet and leaving that request on the

The Spoils of Grandparents

El Oso decided to pull a Puck on me that morning: tray filled with breakfast-y grub in bed. The difference would be the ability – and permission – to use the stove. Therefore eggs were an addition. Crackers hopped up on the covers to see what that was all about, sniffing out

The Humanity

“PLUTO IS STILL A PLANET! I DON’T CARE WHAT THOSE SCIENTISTS SAY!” It suddenly occurred to me that colder Friday morning why Puck wants to be a scientist when he grows up. Reverse all those verdicts against his favorite rocky wad in the great “out there.” He was absolutely

Blow Wind Blow

“Well don’t blame me if I get shot by a thunderbolt!” This was Puck’s response to my suggestion that we visit the park Thursday morning as we waved El Oso off to work. The Snicketts Family tradition continues. It never stormed. Puck and I walked the neighborhood instead,

The Six Year Old Mind

“I SEE PANTS! I SEE PANTS! I SEE DADDY’S UNDERPANTS! AH HA HA HA HA HA!” With this promising start to a mild February day, Puck restored the confiscated boxers to their original location, and got ready to leave. This included, of course, putting his head inside Joe’s

Week Two

Ground-shaking thunder did not wake me in the night. Unfortunately. I was more awake during breakfast, a flash of lightening in the west, another. Low rumbles. Then the back windows started leaking, little waterfalls. The basement drain was also on the verge of backing up; it was about that time

The Way to Celebrate

Puck walked out of Sunday School working on another lollipop. “I got two donuts too! CHOCOLATE DONUTS!” The kid fully believes that throwing in the word “chocolate” anywhere, somehow makes everything “okay with Mom.”   Rose brought the fat meowing gray beast over to the Big House that afternoon with a

A Little Quiet, A Little Loud

On Francis’ 19th birthday, Puck threw aside our curtains to black tree skeletons against pale orange morning sky, right out of “The Willows.” And he already smelled suspiciously of Penn Station. “I love stale French fries! … I need some water. Yeah, I’m starting to hydrate.” At eight o’clock,

Happy Bday STL!

A light sleet introduced us to the morning. Crackers watched from the patio door, trembling with fascination at the pudgy squirrels nibbling seeds in the snow. “Mom! Mom! Look at that squirrel! He’s saying, ‘What the heck?!’” “You mean, ‘What the what?’” I usually tell Puck that words like

One More Snow?

“Easy peasy. That’s just so easy peasy. Because the answer is … easy peasy.” Puck: at his addition flashcards. Despite how much this sounds like stalling, the kid loves his flashcards. When his up-and-coming subtraction set arrived in the mail last night in a shiny blue box, his face lit

Middle Week

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch … crunch crunch crunch. It woke me, but I wasn’t self-motivated enough to inspect. El Oso walked out to the living room instead to check out the food mongering. “It’s just dried pasta, Dad. It’s just dried pasta.” Head start on Thursday’s dinner.

Somewhere in Russia

Irish called me Monday night while I was boiling the potatoes. She had tested for her driver’s license for the first time, and passed. Just like her big sister: four months after her sixteenth birthday.   That morning, after Puck walked out of his room with his entire necktie collection

Nothing to See Here

For the first time in days, the saber tooth icicles began to drip from the eaves. Even though it was still only 14 degrees at two o’clock. In the night, I had dreamt of damaging hail showers – all the family vehicle windshields splintered – (and also about a desecrated Indian

Too Cool for the Olympics

My morning started off poorly. Puck ran out to get me from packing up the car for Sunday adventures. “Mom! Come quick. I don’t think you’re going to be happy with what Crackers did to your plant.” I was not. Mutilated bonsai, my gift from Rose. The shoot

Fully Entertained

Mom told me later about this. I had explained to Puck Friday night that he should stay in bed (a.k.a. air mattress next to Mom’s and Dad’s bed) until everyone else started waking up Saturday morning. He followed protocol, for awhile. Mom heard him move around

Analyzing Sochi

I heard rattling in the kitchen; Puck was out there somewhere making things. El Oso had already left – it was still very early – for a breakfast meeting at The Original Pancake House. I didn’t inspect the rattling. “Surprise, MOM!” Puck carefully walked into my room minutes later with another

One More for the Books

Puck used the toaster without help that morning to make “butter toast.” El Oso talked him through the situation before I could scold the young upstart. But Puck insisted that he had retrieved the toast with a cloth, not a fork. Still, that’s what I get for not setting

Dad Gains One

Waiting for the streets to be plowed on Dad’s 56th birthday. We didn’t leave till after nine, El Oso captaining the Mazda through brown sugar slush roads, unsalted highways (MODOT had run out of salt), and “sea-mist” snow swirling pavement, all lightly plowed.   Puck had packed a whole

The Farmer's Almanac Predicted It

The dusting had begun; not enough to keep El Oso off the road, but the ice blue jaws of the frozen monster surging in from the west on the radar, did. All day, in fact. Despite this fact, Puck was still able to focus on school, digging in with one

First Grade Problems

El Oso scrambled eggs on the stove, pulled out the tin of dominoes from Walgreen’s, while Puck complained about life being difficult. To his dad’s, “Son, right now is easy. Just wait until you’re older and you have problems,” Puck answered, “Dad, I have problems now. Addition

Always Celebrate the Same Day

Gloria found me first at church. She nodded to Puck sitting with buddies down the hall and an iPhone game. “He stayed up till nine last night watching This Old House with Theodore!” Maybe there’s some banister carving or plaster slapping in his future. At this point, I think

One Out Till Spring

Dripping silver on a bronze world; rain fell heavy at 5:30 and continued through the morning, glassy puddles on pavement. Puck was in the kitchen discussing dollhouse miniatures with his dad. “Maybe we could stop by Hobby Lobby and see what else they have,” El Oso suggested, mixing tea

The Singing Police Inspector

Puck rocked his addition flashcards and clocks that morning, then quickly found his next project: collecting all the wallets he had accumulated throughout the years. “I have five wallets. Can you believe that, Mom? Isn’t that awkward, or what?” Or dance parties with Puck’s evolved signature move: “Lava

Always Entertained

Crackers bat unclipped paws on the patio glass. The wind. She can’t help but go crazy over it. And we had some great wind that morning and into the afternoon, when it dropped dull just before dinner. She had also woken me in the night – 3:03 a.m.

One Monument in an Ordinary Day

Puck was in the living room already, hooking up computer apparatus to my computer. “This inspires the whole computer to shut off, and it goes through the wire out into all directions and it goes to the VMI and even powers the mouse. It inspirations the whole computer. Valla!” (Voilà.

So That's Settled

“I decided I’m going to make a living on electricity,” said the getting-taller young man in footy pajamas before seven o’clock that morning. He made this announcement, then departed our room. These early morning revelations sometimes inspire the whole day, leading – in this particular case – to collections of

A Young Man's Monday

“Go bodder dem instead!” Poof. Puck, grinning, tossed the sleek cat on our bed and left the room. Crackers can be a little whiny in the mornings, screeching for breakfast long before a necessary hour, and I guess Puck decided she needed to bug us instead: the cat grandpa and

A Brief Reprieve

Sunday School: sitting behind the buzzed head and hulking rugby shoulders of the South African dad, another Trinity hymnal shoved behind my back for support. Church chairs are somehow the worst for lower back pain. Watching “70AD” scrawled on the white board, analyzing various dating methods for Revelation, thinking it

Say What?

My morning started with a Bengay rub on my neck. I’m still convinced I have extra vertebrae in there. Not so conducive to varying life events, including dance parties where Puck insists on sliding across the floor, dragging me with him. I figure that’s partly to blame somehow.

One Hour Too Long

Munch, munch, munch, munch, munch. I’ve really got to start waking up before the First Grader. Unapologetically crunching through that tupperware of uncooked macaroni on the couch, still clad in footy pajamas. I knew he was practicing for his upcoming spend-the-night at Rose’s condo. Snack buddies. El Oso

Quarantined from Cold

I should have known Crackers was involved in the recent murder of a particularly velvety scarlet primrose petal in the night, in the dark, when no one was looking. Puck found the now crunchy, shriveled cadaver on the table, one set of guilty yellow eyes taunting, guiltless – and careless – from

Ice Cube

Puck quietly walked into my room around 6:30 that morning. “I almost ate a cookie, Mom … so I threw the rest away.” I thanked him for his honesty as he departed. A couple of minutes later he returned and carefully set a box of Trader Joe’s maple leaf

After Red

Monday Night: “Now, it’s just time for you to go to sleep now. I don’t want you playing or doing anything. You just need to go to sleep now.” This one-sided conversation coming from Puck’s room intrigued me. And though it was past his bedtime, I still

One More Time, Gents

“AAH!” Puck’s shout from the bathroom early that morning somehow didn’t surprise me. After an unintentional reactionary delay, I asked him what was wrong. “There’s a spider in the bathroom! He just went doodle doodle doodle into the cabinet.” “How long were you watching him before you

Dance, Joe, Dance

I put aside my dislike of over-heated claustrophobic autograph lines, to indulge Irish’s hopes of receiving not one, but two, signatures for her growing collection. After Sunday School, that is. I had time for forty-five minutes of Revelation before trading seats with Mom in the Fit and driving downtown

Star Struck

Nine o’clock, sitting in the cold gray sludge of a Saturday morning, waiting for Irish to walk out to the car from her slumber party. El Oso, our escort into the city, dropped us off at the corner of North 4th and Chestnut. He would spend his day with

What You do on Cold Midwest Days

Snow was still falling in a light dust that morning, which meant it was cold enough for El Oso to want the Mazda instead of the poorly heated truck. He drove us out to the Big House, snow snakes slithering over the highway in post rush-hour.   Francis and Carrie-Bri argued

Sixteen Days

“You were right, Puck,” I told him from the Cardinals wall calendar in the kitchen that morning. “It was a full moon last night. I thought Sun had told me it wasn’t until tonight. I guess I heard wrong.” Puck, never one to be proven wrong himself, informed me

Fifteen Days

Puck was up early that morning. When I asked him about it later he explained to me that his brain didn’t decide when to wake up. His body did. But his brain made the dreams. I’m glad he finds life to be so simply explained all the time.

Hoy es Martes

Two nightmares between 11:00 p.m. Monday night and 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning: 1. Crackers the insane attack cat, albeit white, and the size of my hand. 2. Family vacation to Mt. Sinai: evil spirits and demons, caves, and natural springs. I was now ready to start

Hoy es Lunes

Before El Oso left for work, he hung the green bird feeder Mom had given Puck, filled with black sunflower seeds, over the patio. Puck and Crackers waited patiently for customers. Turns out there wasn’t a single winged creature in the neighborhood that day. Snacking must have been limited

12

There was a moderate bulge under Puck’s ski cap before he walked out the door to church this morning. “What’s in there, bud?” “It’s my mud face. It’s under my hat. And it’s wrapped up in a cloth and tin foil. It won’t make

Puck's Calvin Side

Garbled shrieks and meows echoed from the stairwell early that morning. After a brief, yet luxurious, taste of freedom on Friday, reinforcements had been issued on Stalag 58, and Snickers howled in protest. Finally, after a week of indoor isolation, Puck returned to the great outdoors, streaming with sunshine on

Getting Warmer

More jowl bacon and fried eggs: we had found our rhythm. So, apparently, had the weather: cold and wet. Of course, in the weather’s defense, El Oso discovered somewhere before six that morning that the heater had somehow been switched off. Puck claimed innocence. Maybe one of his honorary

Play That by Ear

Another inch in the night: very slow-falling powder through black branches. There were now schools canceling their fifth day in a row. But with rain on Friday and Sunday still predicted to be 55 degrees for the high, this whole thing promised to be interesting. At least if you’re

Has the Mail Started Running Again?

7:30 saw us crunching down the driveway, El Oso behind the wheel, animals fed, thirteen of sixteen water-able house plants: breakfasted. The roads were still coated with sheets of slushy dirty snow, inspiring Joe to leave the Miata home and once again drive in to work with El Oso.

No Release

8:43 a.m. -6 degrees. No wind. Slight improvement. Although two days after impact, neighborhood traffic was still basically non-existent.   “Agh! More dog hair!” I picked another piece of curly black fuzz out of the egg yolk in the frying pan. “How is that possible? I just cracked it!

A Good Day to be Lapp

8:43 a.m. -7 degrees Fahrenheit. -28 degree windchill. Before shoveling out the deck, stairs, and a path from the garage to the tree swing in the backyard – happy to partial-work from the fire-heated living room – El Oso advised Puck to watch his cabin fever attitude of the day.

Something for the Grandkids

Four inches on the ground, still falling. Farm-fresh eggs fried in pork sausage fat, farm-fresh bacon. We watched the weather report for fun. That’s what Snicketts do. Considering that a foot of snow was still possible with wind gusts up to 25-40 MPH and negative three for the high

The Calm Before

Puck was in his space footies stretched out on his stomach on top of Crackers’ cat condo, arms stretched out on both sides like a bird. “Imagination never ceases to surprise me,” he declared. Me neither.   “Why is everything so ridiculously busy today? Oh …” I always ask that dumb question

Before the Fall

“I can’t go back to sleep.” The red digital numbers on El Oso’s alarm clock read 6:20. I had slept heavy. In fact, I wondered if I had moved all night. I turned my head back to the voice. Puck was standing by my pillow. “Just try,

Variation on a Snow Day

I slept better Wednesday night, which usually implies a return investment in the form of a decent set of dreams: family vacation to New York City, Rose and I browsing a rare book shop on the corner, tables outside the door loaded with stacks of library copies: a volume of

Lazy Talks

By the time we drove back up to the Big House that morning – Puck had spent the night on Irish’s (recently Rose’s) cat-clawed celeste leather love seat – it was almost ten. And somehow I had still only scratched about six hours’ sleep out of the night. Somehow most

Blast in the New

I started the last day of the year with six and a half hours sleep, a quarter teaspoon salt down the hatch, and Puck bobbing his head to Daft Punk, The Sunbeams, and Justin Timberlake over a plate of toast and eggs, nest-style. “Drink your water, Puck. But don’t

Super Hero Recovery Speed

A footy-pajama-ed figure zoomed past the open bedroom door, arms thrown out, one forward one back, super hero style. “PUCK! Don’t get into the food yet!” I was prepared. Earlier, around 4AM, Puck had woken asking food and drink. Two more Saltines and water. I nixed his huge idea

And ... Five

Puck carefully aimed his Nerf gun at Crackers, sitting behind a breakfast of strawberry yogurt and banana. “Put your hands up in the air, or less! … You’ve got one more chance!” About an hour later, he had lost that breakfast all over the living room floor. Just when I

Spring in December

We cracked 53 degrees by one o’clock that afternoon. Windows open, of course, breezes fluttering green polyvinyl chloride branches of the Christmas tree. Before lunch, I had driven out to pick up one of those fresh-made sandwiches from “the bad place”. Waited double-time in line for the elderly gentleman

A Subtle Mark in Snicketts History

Then Rose got it. Five out of eleven. Down. Chalk scratching out check marks, one name at a time. But, by the early afternoon Bær was fine. Tired. But it hadn’t been “so bad”, was his verdict. Plus, Rose got another much-needed unexpected day off, hanging out at the

Victim Four

Sausage, eggs, Sister Schubert’s cinnamon rolls. Gloria was ready to feed the whole tribe before the Great Unwrapping commenced. Christmas #5 (or #6 … I’m not entirely sure) had begun. Chocolates, microscopes, board games, tool sets, arts supplies, wardrobes, cappuccino machines … Everything sounds better in plurals. Kitts knitted me

Glass Half Full

We made it through Christmas Eve night with no subterranean disturbances. I slept awful, of course, constantly waking up anticipating an eruption from Puck’s room. But that’s a mom’s job. Anyway, gifts wrapped in brown paper under the tree for Puck. A bow and arrow set, a

Uh Oh

It was almost Christmas. Presents were coming. But when Bær discovered the enormous bag of frozen Oriental stir fry in the freezer, his day was already made. “You don’t know how excited I am. Like, four!” Also, considering that Linnea had contracted another Christmas stomach flu that morning, and

The Interlude

Last night, Puck came home with another satchel of Grandma Snicketts toys. He was so excited, he planned to immediately reorganize his room in the morning to accommodate them. When I told him he was on Christmas break, even more excitement. He started prancing. “I am so delighted! I just

The Consequence of Ideas

Ice forest. Not a very good one, but so-so. Or, as my limited Spanish allows: “Asi asi.” I’ll get there.   Anyway, a no Sunday School morning of church (half of which Bær missed due to a minor work emergency), led to a couple of hours lolling around before Dad’

Happy Wedding

So Red Strike was getting married on a rainy afternoon in December. (The Koreans would say that was lucky.) Running through that rain to the “chapel” cathedral on Wash-U’s campus at 12:30, a pipe organ, and those stained glass windows formed with white stone like sculpted sugar cookie

Addition Tables & Champagne

“MOM! Why is there a cake and candles in the kitchen?” I had been awake at six. Bær was leaving for a breakfast meeting with Chet Danger. I guess I had fallen asleep again. Turns out, Bær had come back first with donuts. Christmas sprinkles for Puck, chocolate long john

Close Enough

Giggling. WHOOSH! Puck was trying to hold back his excitement. It was very clear that the surprise he had been keeping for the past fourteen hours was a set of balloons that he and Bær were inflating in the the next room for “Mom’s birthday!” They walked out two

Things Happen

My dreams led me into the unnatural world of Bær participating in the Winter Olympics as part of the United States hockey team. I wondered just how well this would go. Never did find out. But I sort of thought he might make a good goalie.   “Quit whinin’ like a

A Few More Arias

“The buns would like some company, Puck.” Puck likes important jobs. Eventually he emerged holding a fluffy black bun in both hands, Earnest shaking his feet in fear. Or maybe indignation. Turns out it was just Carrie, Puck, and myself over at the Big House that afternoon. Francis had taken

Perception of Value

I woke up a lot during the night, pushed closer and closer to the edge of the bed until I had to sleep pencil-style at the precipice. That’s what I get for letting the cat tunnel under the covers at 10PM and slumber straight through the night. At my

Testing New Roads

“Today is the DAY!” Puck look happily across the living room at me. “This is going to be the best day of my life!” I guess starring as one of the five wise men in the Sunday morning Christmas pageant will do that for you. The kid did good. I

A Wise Man

Funny how a chance for snow earlier in the week can turn into seven inches of white fluff by 6:30 on a Saturday morning. Dad had to rescue the Japanese maple before it bent in half, before breakfast. It didn’t keep Joe from picking up Jaya for their

A Tradition of Food

Soulard was cold as usual. Trays of fresh pineapples, pomegranates, Brazilian nuts, Italian bakery loaves, potatoes, scarves, fresh flowers … Puck paid for a pretzel stick with a paper dollar: ninety-two cents. And slung a sack of his very own boxes of blueberries on his back, from Grandma Combs. Francis’ eyes

Early Gifts

“Mom! Here’s a birthday present for you!” I opened my eyes, still seeing dreams from the night. “Oh yeah?” “Yeah! Open it!” On the outside of the tin foil packet was written on a square of paper: “MOM” in chunky dark blue permanent marker letters. Inside – a tin foil

Puck's Factory

Bær layered up for a frosty drive. We had – already – reached that level of extreme cold by now that basically made you feel angry if you stand outside for more than eight seconds. “You think you’re going to Heaven, but you’ll really going in the trash. Heh heh.

The Young Prince

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. The silhouette of my pajamaed son ran down the hall into our room, brandishing his foam baseball bat. “I thought someone was burglaring our house! I thought maybe he was trying to steal all the cups. But I waited a little bit before I came

Sleigh Rides

Joe had a question for Puck that morning. Did he want to be the “signature person” for the wedding, and wear a tux? “What’s a signature person?” “You would greet people at the door in a suit and ask them to sign their names in a book.” “I am

Eleven Links

Another soft feathering of snow on an early Sunday morning stop at the fuel station. Fuel for the car, fuel for the body: tea and/or fruit juice.   Church was draped in swags of evergreen, white lights, and candles that probably couldn’t be lit due to fire codes. But

Crisis of the Bubble Bath

In my dream, I was sitting in a car in a car garage, followed by a group of protesters who blasted me with a powerful applesauce cannon. It was effective.   Half the Christmas presents were wrapped in brown paper and red curling ribbon, lined up on the piano, by the

First Dusting

“I’m never leaving this house. Or I will buy a house next door. Or maybe I will look in Nana’s neighborhood. I will just look for for-sale houses. But one that is not as small as this house. Because this house is the size of a ladybug!” Puck’

First Punch

Around 6AM I heard the swishing sound of little ice pellets outside the window. It had nothing to do with the weather, but Bær had already decided to work from home. Good thing, too, because all the sneezing and Kleenex kind of gave the indication that he might not be

Create, Operate

A wintry morning mist outside the windows disguised the fact that the day was, in fact, completely mild. 60’s, gray until the sun pushed out in the early afternoon. Puck walked out of the shower rubbing a towel over his head that still had a little shampoo in it.

Little Times

“Hi, Calvin!” Brother and sister waiting at the door in the shallow pink twilight of another mild December evening. While Puck gathered his shoes and coat, the young girl watched me behind her glasses … “I feel like I know you.” I didn’t get to hear why though, because Puck

It's December

We had another mild December afternoon. Puck ran outside, three small glass bottles clutched in his arms, two of them full. “I have to pour these out, Mom.” “Ok …” I was a little more interested in keeping Crackers out of the rotisserie chicken before we even got a taste. I

Because We Can ...

“If Crackers found a hole she could fit through, it could lead to gold; you never know,” Puck followed Bær through the house with this vital information on an early Sunday morning. “Gold that Indians left here long ago.” No doubt. “Mom?” Puck pulled on his coat. “Could I have

One More Round

I pushed a whole bowl of oatmeal with honey and cinnamon down my throat for breakfast. I have issues with honey. Every time I think about honey, I think about Egypt, because honey has been discovered in tombs thousands of years after burial – still edible – which makes me think about

Five Days Off

“DAD!” (Puck’s whispers are always loud.) “LET’S GET UP BEFORE MOM TO PLAY MINECRAFT! WE NEVER GET UP BEFORE MOM TO PLAY MINECRAFT!” Meanwhile the trash mongrel was sucking raw egg out of the discarded shells in the egg tray. She is quickly inheriting the traits of her

29 Turkeys

I woke up to my house wrapped in strong white string. “MOM! Don’t open that door! You’ll RUIN IT!”   Puck raised his hand during the time of congregational thanks, and said, “I’m thankful for the beautiful day He gave us,” then continued drawing a robot graveyard on

When Bær is Home

Bær was off work, a rare “personal day” as his company called it. This basically meant a lot of catch-up emails, IM-s, and phone calls all morning, which left four and a half days over for the rest of the holiday week. Puck organized himself with a large crayon box

Uncommon Goods

Silence, peace, morning quiet… “DEATH RAAAAAY!!!!!!” The 56.5 pound shadow of my son came flying onto the bed and into my back. “IT’S MORNING TIME!!!!” Yes. Yes, it was. But apparently not too early to continue rolling that giant tin foil ball which Puck asked me to help

Three Days Isn't Early Enough

Puck watched Crackers carefully sniff the smorgasbord lined up on the linoleum. He was beginning to lose his patience with her pickiness. “What do you pick, Crackers? McDonald’s? The meat bone. Or the meat … that you can eat. Pick now, else or you do not get a snack for

An Alien Phrase

Dad sang to himself, peeling a clementine in the kitchen, “Oh clementine, oh clementine, how lovely are your branches…” This is where I get my tendency to mishear lyrics. “Dad, you’re not wearing that to Joe’s engagement party, are you?” Carrie eyed his old jeans and sweater. “Yeah.

The Nonsense

This is how early Saturday family morning conferences go. This time, Puck joined us back on the king-sized bed with the iPad, warming up a round of Minecraft and a few half-wrestles with Bær. At one point, Puck’s head came crashing towards mind. I intervened with a hand just

Trade Acquisition

5 a.m. – awake. Puck’s and my early start was due to Grandma’s recent hit-and-run totaled car earlier in the month. Carrie and I were driving her out two and a half hours to the bubbling metropolis of Morton, Illinois for her ’09 Honda Fit, a recent trade

A Take on the Day

Puck was pretty proud. I could see it in the concentrated face of the red-pants-red-sweatshirt-clad chump as he broke the egg into my best red bowl and stirred the scrambled eggs in the red frying pan. His first true cooked egg endeavor. Bær had left goodies from Wednesday night – his

A Small Yawn

Puck took a ride on the mower while Carrie mulched the leaves, over and over and over again in the cold before the sleet came, and then the rain, which continued to fall throughout the afternoon. Because late autumn has finally caught up with us. Linnea lounged in fuchsia sweatshirt

Of Beards

“Mom?” I couldn’t open my eyes yet. A late night out on the town with my sisters – a.k.a. 11:30 – and I needed to recover. This did not deter my son, who had, as always, questions … “Did you ever think about if Adam and Eve went to

Little Sarajevo

“So your Uncle Joe got engaged last night,” I explained to Puck early Monday morning. “That means they’re going to get married.” Puck didn’t seem any more impressed than any other six year-old. “Oh. Where are they getting married?” “I don’t know. They haven’t decided yet.

축하

Warm violent winds, tearing violet clouds, thundering rain. This was the Tornado Watch morning of mid-November during the morning service.   The big story of the day, of course, was Carrie’s foot tattoo. “St. Louis” scripted on the arch of her foot. That had been the original intent anyway… “Both

한국

Oscillating bands of white and gray sky, bony skeleton trees, rattling. High mild winds. November can still be beautiful. I opened the windows, cleaned up the place some, two fuzzy ears sticking over the edge of the pick-up truck bed. A boy and his cat. Puck’s idea of Saturday

In Moderation

“Want to ride the World of Wonder, Crackers? Come on in. It’s free.” This was Puck’s way of enticing the cat back into Bær’s black umbrella, twirling like a carnival ride over the linoleum. Crackers wasn’t biting. I let these two sort it out while I

My Quote Book

Sometime that week, I think it was Tuesday night, Puck consumed almost an entire jumbo pack of orange Tic-Tacs. In fact, I think he had left only one. The next morning… “Where is the Tic-Tac, Mom? I can cut it in half so we all can have one.” He said

Just Puck and the Girls

“Mom?” “Yes, bud?” “Did you write all those post cards from Donkey?” I looked at him in the rearview mirror, both plush Donkey and horse cuddled up against his face. Post cards “from Donkey” sent to him several years ago when Donkey had gone traveling in Scandinavia [a.k.a.

10,556

By the time the alarm went off that morning, Rose was already on a plane to Vegas. Something about business-related disaster recovery training. In Vegas.   “Crackers and I were just sitting in the kitchen watching the neighbor dog dig holes in his yard, like a show,” Puck told me later.

It's Never the Same

“Nine plus four is most definitely… thirteen.” Puck raised a hand of protest in the air. “No compliments!” About a quarter hour later, he bent his head carefully over his math sheet, his pencil scratching… “The six and five are getting married,” he explained. “Why?” “Because they’re sort of

When Mom and Dad Aren't Around

During the congregational meeting following the worship service, Bær found Puck sitting at the Sunday School table with his buddies, their hands folded on top of each other like they were in an important meeting. “We’re going to be in the sanctuary, so you can play back here for

Saturday Staples

“Come on, Dad! There’s a whole jiffy of coal down here!” Saturday morning. Windows open. Twelve more kitchen cabinets, Puck’s room – again, and office supplies organized and my morning was already done. I was sort of stuffed up in my throat and my back hurt, but what can

If Puck Organized the Day

“Uh… Mom?” A bright-eyed boy with ruffly blonde hair stopped in his tracks as I walked out of my room. “Yes?” “Well, Dad and I were going to have a Minecraft meeting this morning… without you…” Despite missing my VIP ticket to breakfast – goat cheese and kale omelet for Bær

Teaching Methods

During math and writing, Puck just goofed… “Chubby eight! Chubby eight! Chubby eight!” “The ‘q’ is smashing its enemies!” He shoveled fresh pomegranate before his grilled cheese at lunch. During Quiet Hour he took apart an old computer scanner.   The sun – white gold – already beginning its steep descent at four

Male Antics

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! “What…” A grinning face beside my bed plastered the pillow with a fly swatter. “Puck. Why?” “It’s a joke.” My son had decided that 5:48AM was a better wake-up call. He did give it about an hour before he pulled my Chinese gong out to

You Can't Always Avoid It

On another rainy morning, I woke up with a head cold. Hadn’t had one of those in some time. The boys were sitting at breakfast discussing Minecraft for the upcoming weekend already. “So what do you want to build after Ethiopia?” Bær asked. Puck had a list in mind…

Relics of a Boy

“I just ate one of your whole chocolate bars, Mom. BLECK.” The always determined young person that is my son walked back out of my room. I think it was six o’clock in the morning. This was all very promising. I could hear the boys breakfasting together. They needed

Rite of Passage

Puck carefully scratched more Sharpie over the sheet of paper, to cover every centimeter. I read the daily email devotion to him from Dad… “…If a priest’s daughter marries a layman, she shall not eat of the contribution of the holy things.” Puck didn’t even stop the scrawling…

How We Live

Joe and Jaya walked in late during a prayer. Joe shot a guilty look back to me and took a seat beside his girl. Carpet face. I guess all this talk about beard growing and/or harvesting and whatever had inspired Joe to just let it all sprout. Puck ran

The Gray Month

Puck walked into breakfast… “Mom, I want to be a bookworm when I grow up.” A noble goal.   The contrast of Hallowe’en to the first of November was stark. Friday morning was gold and sun and cold blue sky, but not enough to keep the windows closed. Puck watched

What Did I Miss?

Static.   Sheets of rain washing sprawling carpets of yellow and orange leaves. The weather joined in the disappointment.   Now I guess I could at least finally focus on the reality of a Hallowe’en that had passed me by completely in the last few weeks. Puck was already sorting his

Deflation

Breakfast. “Deeor Jesus, thank You for saving us and thank You for giving us such a beauuuuuutiful day amen… Oh, I almost ran out of air in my air lungs.” Perfect October morning: heavy mist, sprawls of orange leaves, soaked soil, spiderwebs and grayness. “Mom, would you do the honors?

Bootstraps

Grooooan… Anyways… it wasn’t the end. You wouldn’t think the weather agreed though. A rather weepy sort of morning. Which is fine by me. They were off to Boston anyway.   Puck dressed himself for the morning. “MOM! WHERE IS MY OTHER RED SOCK!” He walked out in red

Keep it Light

“Dad, prepare to get trampled by Crackers. She hears the tunafish.” Bær is good to our cat. He always leaves her the tuna can. Crackers may not seem grateful, but I think she still appreciates his generosity. Puck was still cracking jokes… Why did the milk say ‘milk’? Because the

Odd Things Happen

While Puck wrote another letter to his brother, one of the readings at church this morning snagged Puck’s conscience… “There is no one righteous, not even one.” He almost glared at me and whisper-shouted, “GOD IS, SILLY!”   “AGH! BOYS! You have no idea how loud our family is!” Rose

Rarities

I woke up with a pin-pointed headache on the top left side. Maybe from Crackers bothering me. Maybe from the disconcerting dream I had involving Mom stealing ice cream cones.   Crackers hissed at Puck, sent out a shooting claw towards him. “Crackers!” “She’s just a little grumpy,” I explained.

Pause for Life Identification

Puck was mildly concerned that an upcoming youth retreat for Bær meant the possibility of limited Minecraft interaction with his father… “Dad! Dad! Can’t you play with me?” “Sorry, son, but I don’t think I’ll be able to play Minecraft while I’m gone. They don’t

I'd Say That's Marked Improvement

The thing about post season is – I stop paying attention. To most things. Particularly after a particularly amazing – or particularly horrible – game. Example: at breakfast, I eventually noticed Puck was slurping milk out of an enormous glass salad bowl, something he obviously rigged himself. Looking up from post game interviews

As Rose Would Say: Blug

“Mom, I’m trying to be a vegetarian… With fish.” Linnea was talking in the kitchen, probably about how the house was low in groceries. Puck was listening. “I’m a VEGETARIAN!” “Bud, what do you think a vegetarian means?” I asked him. “It means you eat fruit and vegetables.

One More Day

Our presence was required at the Big House. With Lucia reverse-bribing Carrie-Bri into a Nine Inch Nails concert in Nashville: overnight road trip, Mom and Dad not flying in till seven that evening, and the boys at work and school, we were Linnea’s single ticket to choir and volleyball.

It's a Waiting Game

It was clearly the fog before the storm. Red and red in Boston. I have a hard time with the east coast in general.   I heard Puck on an “off week” Minecraft session during Quiet Hour… “Come one and all… to monster’s vacation.” Crackers had crawled under a roll

Transplant

“I would go down like a meteorite on this hill with my bicycle,” said Puck. We were driving to church on an unconventional route, if any route could already be considered unconventional in three weeks of attendance. With Mom and Dad still in L.A., we picked up Linnea while

Aside from Baseball

I was awake by seven [despite the midnight video-clip-watching from Busch] because I have a six year-old son… “The sun is just peeping over the hills. Time to wake up, sleepy heads!”   A green caterpillar had taken a ride on my jeans from the park, Friday. While Puck and I

Pins, Needles, Pennant

The house already stunk with Odor de Green Bean, before breakfast. Bær might have lost twenty pounds in sixteen days, but the subsequent accompanying nauseation of mushroom, cauliflower, and green bean, could not be appreciated. Understanding my acclamation towards forgetting food on – or in – the stove, Bær heavily advised me

Sealed Pact

I poured Puck a bowl of cereal, underestimating the slippy-ness of the contents. Too many Corn Pops clacked into the bowl. Puck wasn’t disappointed… “YES!! BWAH HA HA!!” When I poured myself a bowl, he stabbed his pencil into the middle of the pile of golden orbs… “I conquered

The Artisan

Sometimes I blink and my house has been turned upside-down. Puck had already collected a mountain of old paint cans, a director’s chair, and a variety of cushions in the kitchen to build a house for Crackers. “Mom? Could you go into the living rom to give Dad a

General Impressions

Crackers would not leave me alone Tuesday morning while I tried for breakfast, a bowl of shredded chicken on the couch. Puck owns a chicken thief. She bugged me so much, I finally put the scraps, still bowled, on the floor. Weepy skies. In sympathy for the loss in Los

Fragile: Handle with Care

Snack, snack, smack, smack, snack. What the… Pushing down the impulse to punch-slap whatever “thing” was eating my face at 6:33 in the morning, I reasoned myself out of sleep and realized that Crackers was only eating my hair. When I fell asleep again I woke up a few

It's a Circus

“Man Cave is probably…” “…the worst term ever?” Bær interrupted me. “Yeah, it sort of sounds derogatory,” I agreed. I guess we do finish each other’s sentences sometimes. “At work,” Bær went on, “if someone said ‘man cave’, I would say, ‘Negative ten beard points.’ And I can say

More... Car-Bel?

In all the excitement, I overslept. You’d think I was playing shortstop for the Cardinals. But, no, no, I don’t forget about my boys during Post Season. I just get a little… distracted. Anyway. Carrie texted me that morning: “Dad woke Francis up today and he shot up

I've Forgotten How to Multitask

Puck had been sporting an Angry Birds tattoo for several days. The endless blonde cowlick stuck up on the back of his head. While his breakfast oatmeal cooled, he played “Pharaoh” [mummy] and “Moses” [a button]. “…but I’m already dead.” “Oh yeah?” “I’ll prove it.” “I see.” “Thank

Dig up Colors

Puck and I stood over our dirt pit, calculating the best way to begin. “Remind me to cover this up when we’re finished,” I told him. “So no one walks through our yard and falls in.” “Yeah, so there’s no ‘fallibility’ in the night.” Who’s taught this

Dominoes

We turned into Mom’s and Dad’s neighborhood, crunching branches and twigs under rubber tires. Several men were in the process of carving down an old tree. As we passed them, Puck looked offended in the rearview mirror… “Haven’t they ever heard of nature?” At the Big House,

It's My Job, Mom

“Mom?” “Yes, Puck…” I was under another stack of books and papers, unaware of the scissors flashing near my face. “Could I cut off some of your hair?” “Why, son?” “Because I want to add it to my collection.” I granted him a small clipping. But I was behind the

Someone Ate Spinach

Our baby sister was sixteen. Sixteen. Puck was chanting to himself in the living room… “We want home. I want mama. We want home. I want mama.” “You called?” Puck grinned, embarrassed. “I didn’t think you would take it seriously.” Later, we discussed history… “Did any Native Americans believe

Monday's Memo: Eat Your Spinach

In the early quiet darkness of a Sunday morning, a 55-pound shadow slinks into the room, grinning, flying leap onto his dad’s back. A little game I like to call “Froggy on the Rock”. “Did I bounce the wind out of you?” he giggled.   A new church, and fortunately

The Clouds Have Changed

“I’ve just insulted the macaroni and cheese recipe of a whale! What part of that is not evil?!” So these are the cartoons my son inherited from his father. The things I never knew… “DANE IT!” [Dang it.] “What Puck?” He had just flown back in the front door

Just Give me the Month Off

Puck was begging another band-aid: an infinitesimally small blood spot at the base of his thumb. The first one quickly peeled off, as he dabbed his hand on his writing page. “I’m makin’ blood prints!” Linnea walked through the front door after ten, carrying a Target sack of math…

Indian Summer, Red October

“Mom, can you set my old clothes out tomorrow so I can be ready for the mud path?” Two bright eyes stared back at me in the rear view mirror. It was almost eight o’clock on a Wednesday night, and Puck was already making plans for Thursday’s Quiet

Wednesday Webbery

R-i-i-i-i-i-p! This time, Puck was not involved in disaster. Fortunately for me, at about 7:30 that morning, he was only strapping my hand mirror to the back of his door with duct tape. I can handle that one. Puck took a few extra minutes actually getting inside the Big

Batten Down the Bathroom

“I declare that this is my favorite yogurt!” Puck finished the last – apparently delectable – spoonful of mango-strawberry yogurt at breakfast, and added a final piece of silver duct tape to his already black electrical taped space gun. Approving of his latest creation/invention, he left the table to visit the

Ch. 273; Vol. 10

“Mom?” “Yes, Puck…” “Um… why does Crackers always eat that poisonous plant?” “She doesn’t,” I answered over a pile of books and papers. “She leaves that one alone. She just eats the other one.” Proof in dead and crunchy slivers of brown fronds. “Well, why do you keep the

Ch. 272; Vol. 10

Our last Sunday at Grace. Fourteen years, one week, three days later. What can you do.   Purple and white flowers cascaded over the cold wood stove, mementos from Saturday. Francis complained about the leftovers for lunch. Carrie squashed Linnea on the couch, “You cute little baby.” After digging up something

Ch. 271; Vol. 10

Puck stuffed down sausages, eggs, and Texas toast from Gloria’s counter, around games of UNO and Spot It, washing it down with a cold sparkling raspberry water, a little oblivious to the idea of funerals and homilies and flower arrangements on a mild Saturday morning in September.   So a

Ch. 270; Vol. 10

The whole house was littered in Legos, marbles, and crayon paper peels. Breakfast dishes soaking in the sink. Behind in three dozen different things I hadn’t finished because of everything that was happening in a short week. So we said adios to soap suds and plastic blocks and hit

Ch. 269; Vol. 10

It was probably a good thing Thursday was an off-day for the Cardinals. There is just only so much stress and excitement the fans can take at this point in the season.   Anyway… “I can’t believe this!” Puck’s eyes were wide. He held up an unidentified object between

Ch. 268; Vol. 10

Carrie texted me late Tuesday morning… “Just got a call from the doc. Blood tests came back. I’m officially infected with Lyme Disease.” She added a smiley to that message. Who wouldn’t? The doctor had already been certain about the diagnosis, but now it was 100% confirmed. Four

Ch. 267; Vol. 10

“BOO!” It’s been happening every morning for awhile. I walk into Puck’s dark room to open the shades, and he’s already awake, trying to give me a small scare. Never works of course. But I “Boo!” right back.   “Mom?” “Yes, Puck?” It was mid-Monday afternoon on our

Ch. 266; Vol. 10

“Yeah, if Francis had a farm, he’d just grow potatoes. For French fries.” “Or I’d just plant French Fries… ‘Why aren’t they growing?’” “’Grow, my pretty ones!’” “He’d have a burger farm and give tours.” “Yeah, he’d plant the sesame seeds from burger buns.” “’Here’

Ch. 265; Vol. 10

I was waiting in the car for Bær to bring Puck back from Sunday School, holding one of those weedy cat tails against a blue sky. I got a text from Rose. “Dad just went to the hospital.” We knew it was the end. We stopped for eggs for Carrie,

Ch. 264; Vol. 10

Carrie offered her services that morning to help me paint the trim on the house, because… “Dad’s grounded me from any more renovations,” she said. “He doesn’t like the mess.” “Feel free to come over any time,” Bær graciously offered. Scrapers, primer, white exterior paint, brushes, four of

Ch. 263; Vol. 10

Puck called to me from the loo again. “Mom, look how bad Calvin’s being! He’s suuuu-per bad!” The child’s inspiration. Inspiration to delay math. Eventually, he returned to the kitchen, but not before a new distraction out the window… “MOM! COME LOOK!” “What is it, Puck?” “Come

Ch. 262; Vol. 10

Misty-Hanna unwrapped a new package of red Swedish Fish during our Church History class, asked if I wanted a piece. “It’s not the softest package,” she explained. “But it’s new.” [I didn’t even mention my aversion to expired expiration dates.] They had just discovered sometime that day

Ch. 261; Vol. 10

Puck waved Bær off in the truck, and became immediately distracted by a golden-colored feline prancing the streets. She sensed a sucker when she saw one. “Aw, Mom, please! She wants to come inside!” Puck immediately had a shadow. For awhile, he lost her to Tasha next door, where he

Ch. 260; Vol. 10

Puck took a seat at the school chair. Some small speck popped off the edge… “Agh! What was that thing that moved?” “I think it was just a crumb, Puck.” “…Speaking of crumb, my stomach growled in the bathroom.” “You’re still hungry?” “I’m telling the truth. Can I

Ch. 259; Vol. 10

“Could I keep that dead moff [moth] for my collection?” I think he’s asked me that twice now in 24 hours. This particular specimen was sitting on our doorstep, just waiting for a pack rat little boy to find it. “No, Puck. You may not keep the moth.” The

Ch. 258; Vol. 10

Flat on my back on the floor of the sanctuary during Sunday School. Flattering. So much for that once-idea of being an emergency room doctor. Too many horrific birthing stories in a row, and I’m seeing tunnel vision. In my defense, I had eaten only two spoonfuls of Greek

Ch. 257; Vol. 10

As soon as I walk into Puck’s room and roll back the red shades, Puck is awake. Like a shot. “BOO!” Pad, pad, pad. He’s gone before I turn around. “DAD! MINECRAFT!… [mumbo jumbo about Minecraft things I don’t know about]…” He sits on the couch, growing

Ch. 256; Vol. 10

The Garbage Truck. I don’t know what fascinates little boys about this vehicle so much, but everything else goes on pause when the dirty truck comes trolling up the street.   Puck and I weren’t having a red letter day. He spent some time in his room that afternoon,

Ch. 255; Vol. 10

“Mom! Look what CRACKERS DID!” It’s not a rare phrase, no. This time? A decapitated black cat, still stuck to the glass patio door. Really, Crackers? Just couldn’t stand the competition, eh? Bær – at home to work – spoke for her later. “This room ain’t big enough for

Ch. 254; Vol. 10

“Agh! I just chunked my tooth again!” Puck ran to the bathroom for a tissue. Two wobbly front teeth, hanging by threads for weeks. “IT CAME OUT! IT CAME OUT IN THE BOX! I SPIT OUT MY TOOTH!” Third Lost Tooth: 8AM; Upper Left Central Incisor “Agh! I have to

Ch. 253; Vol. 10

Puck’s prayer at breakfast was concise, mentioning gratitude for another day, for the food… “And thank you for the new game that Dad posted up. Amen.” The iPad is not forgotten, Monday through Friday. There were other things Puck hadn’t forgot. From Monday night, for example, when I

Ch. 252; Vol. 10

Rubbery squeaks in the other room. Bær handed a tall green giraffe balloon to Puck before he walked out the door. Nice way to start the day; until Crackers unravelled it. Some cat. Bær walked down to the black truck, Puck waving him off still in his jams, talking excitedly

Ch. 251; Vol. 10

Finally, a rumble in the sky. Rain and thunder had returned to St. Louis. And not just in the yard down the street and another one four neighborhoods over. “Aren’t you thirsty out of your brain, Crackers?” Puck pet his creature with a laugh that said, Silly Girl.   Late

Ch. 250; Vol. 10

“I’m giving you raw fish, apples… and soup. Is that enough now, Dad?” The sounds of Bær and Puck Saturday Morning Minecraft. “We have to break the candles now, Dad, so we can go to sleep.”   Paige Popp pulled her chubby nine-month little girl from the stroller. Set her

Ch. 249; Vol. 10

Bær was already gone: 7:00 appointment: The Original Pancake House: M&M’s brother-in-law. St. Louis is a small world.   I heard Puck whispering Calvin-style menacingly over his Lego people. “A triceratops invaded the elementary school.” Considering that Puck doesn’t even know what an elementary school is,

Ch. 248; Vol. 10

“Hurry, Mom. Check this plant!” Puck pointed to a loose tropical red leaf on the linoleum. “Crackers could be feasting on this poisonous plant. I hope Crackers didn’t see that plant fall down. It could be dangerous for her!” Puck the Police. “Caesar!” I’m pretty sure he actually

Ch. 247; Vol. 10

A tiring night of tornadoes and questions. My son – after falling out of the bed at midnight; never seems to bother him – infomercialed Legos to me over the chocolate yogurt he just had to try but didn’t actually like at all… “Or you could try lifesavers.com [light sabers]

Ch. 246; Vol. 10

Twenty-five. How am I old enough to have a younger 25 year-old brother?   Puck tattled on Bær that morning, just walked out the door. “Dad didn’t bring lunch with him today.” “I know. I guess he just has other plans.” Puck wasn’t happy about this, and – in great

Ch. 245; Vol. 10

“Want some rice, Puck?” Gloria was envisioning a late Cuban breakfast. “No…” “Is that tooth still in your mouth?” Puck was already starting to hide. “Come here, big boy. Let me knock it out for you.” Then she stuffed him with apples and videos of six year-olds playing cello, watching

Ch. 244; Vol. 10

Another gold and white field – sun and mist – eight AM. Puck, raiding the recycling basket for orange bulletin inserts, walking through the doors with Mini Elvis’ half-used Johnson’s baby shampoo, the strand of lighting chain, May the Force be with You bracelet, and a coupon booklet for Valvoline. – Questions

Ch. 243; Vol. 10

Bare feet running through the grass. Puck helped open my car door… “Look! For your anniversary! Nana let us have this! She said it was ok!” Pre-used small water cooler with spigot. There was also a length of unused lighting chain. Give my son a Junk Yard. An hour on

Ch. 242; Vol. 10

“Mom, there’s another one on the floor!” Puck pointed to the crumpled brown carcass on the linoleum. Cat had done her duty – two in two days – she stared heroically out the patio door. Crackers: Great Spider Hunter. But Puck was too busy to bother her with his own congratulations

Ch. 241; Vol. 10

Puck – elbows deep in nails, screws, thumbtacks, and nine years of other unidentifiable pieces of unfiltered junk in the Junk Drawer – already finished his whipped strawberry breakfast yogurt. “Why is my hand mirror out, Puck?” “Because I was showing Crackers her face in the mirror. She’s never seen her

Ch. 240; Vol. 10

Number Nine: comes up fast. Not enough sleep, Bær: 5:30AM headache, you live.   Flipped on Spanish Génesis, Puck in the back seat with a pile of beautiful glass marbles… “Pretend this is the Earf,” he held up a blue, “and this is the sun.” [Yellow.] “It’s a good

Ch. 239; Vol. 10

Squeak, squeak, squeak. Tell-tale floorboards. It wasn’t too early or anything, but Puck in his too-small blue jam pants tip-toed into my room anyway… “Go back to sleep!” he whispered loudly. And he wasn’t fooling anything. I knew he was looking for the iPad.   Banged my head against

Ch. 238; Vol. 10

You take the risk of begging questions when you open a book – of any kind – with Puck. Questions like… “And those Egyptians who didn’t believe in God I guess are not in Heaven.” The heavier issues of life can come to light after two sentences.   We’ve been doing

Ch. 237; Vol. 10

You could just see it in the eyes – Puck – hungry for weighted objects. How did I know this? Maybe it was hunting out ink pens in chair pockets to swing around on a nylon cord. “You want something else?” I decided to brave my personal property before the church’s.

Ch. 236; Vol. 10

Somewhere between tomato juice and pretzel sticks and hiding out in a swampy cornfield from the authorities, Crackers woke the house. Too early.   Minecraft explorations and creations… “See, Mom? This is my bathroom. And this,” Puck displayed an endless pit, “is where the ‘spoil’ goes,” Hmmmm… Rattle, rattle. “Crackers!” Trident

Ch. 235; Vol. 10

I walked out of my room that morning; Puck was already reading books on the couch… “Hi, my sweet chub chub.” “Yeah, but Mom?” – This was promising. – “You know that wood horse they brought into the city with people inside?” – He held up a library book: The Trojan Horse. – “How

Ch. 234; Vol. 10

Puck waved Bær to work from the porch, watching MO Highway Dept trucks parked on the street. A young African American man walked up to the pick-up, hoisted himself over the side to grab something out of the truck bed. I watched Puck’s face through the window… “Cool…” He

Ch. 233; Vol. 10

The 10:24PM Tuesday night text I had missed from Carrie:   “Hospital just called. Gma has blood clots in her lungs. Life threatening.”   Ug. Sort of like Great Grandma Jewel had been all her life, Grandma Snicketts was basically healthy. But a fall makes dominoes, especially with low oxygen levels.

Ch. 232; Vol. 10

4:54AM. Purr-rr-rr. “Not now, Crackers…” But it was too late. By the time I had deposited Crackers downstairs, I was awake for a long time until it was almost too late to fall asleep again, but I did. . . . . . Fluff… fluff… Something was dusting my face. Hazy sunlight through half-closed

Ch. 231; Vol. 10

“That’s a lot of milk, bud…” The youngster passed me by with a glass of watery white liquid. “It’s not milk, Mom. It’s glue.”   It was already twelve o’clock. Puck and I had just finished reading about how glass is made. “Alright, man. Time for lunch.

Ch. 230; Vol. 10

“I’m going to wrap string around the whole world!” Puck gets these random ambitions sometimes. I don’t know. Maybe they’re not that random… “That’s fine. After breakfast.” Puck had been eyeing the dolls’ table I set on the counter for a little girl at church. Naturally,

Ch. 229; Vol. 10

Somehow I wasn’t surprised when it happened. Wasn’t surprised at all when the Christmas tree in the church foyer exploded into a tiny volcano all over the faded blueish carpet, lava flowing slowly to the sanctuary. I figured it was my duty to warn the Sunday School classrooms.

Ch. 228; Vol. 10

Puck was mumbling things to himself at the breakfast table… “Our Father, who heart on Heaven…” I set a plate of toast next to his yogurt deciding to officially correct that misquote at a later time. Although. I guess he also has a point there. “WHAT DAY IS IT TOMORROW,

Ch. 227; Vol. 10

4:45AM. Thunk-a-bump-bump. I jabbed The Bear in the shoulder, half-awake. He rocketed out of the room. Puck had now fallen out of bed, twice. And it doesn’t seem to bother him. At all.   Sometimes I wonder how bad it’s going to get. If Puck can stink up

Ch. 226; Vol. 10

“Linnea cleaned up the toy room downstairs. Why don’t you let Puck go down there?” Mom suggested shortly after we walked in the door that morning. The Toy Room. A curse of childhood. Well. Only because I self-imposed the pointless responsibility of cleaning it up after my siblings about

Ch. 225; Vol. 10

“Mom?” “Yes?” I was digging through a lot of papers – hard and electric – while Puck dug into oatmeal. “Are gummy bears only vitamins?” “No. Sometimes they can be candy, too.” Puck thought about it. He knows only one gummy bear vitamin a day is allowed, for safety reasons. Didn’t

Ch. 223; Vol. 10

Spanish on CD, Calvin & Hobbes, a little Rumble of Thunder on a Monday morning. Why not.   Puck had found new inspiration in the land of workbooks and mathematical calculations. You could see it take off behind two bright eyes, like a sunrise just about to pop… “I like math.

Ch. 223; Vol. 10

Spontaneous Double Nursery Lead Duty. Not what I expected to hear on a Sunday morning in August, with a gimpy back to boot. Considering that I’m not even a Nursery Lead in the first place. But you do what you have to do. “Oh, your favorite!” Ivy teased, after

Ch. 222; Vol. 10

Friday night, Puck buckled himself into the car. Dug a hand into his glass jar of pocket change – the full contents of his piggy bank. Handed it to me. “I want you to have this, Mom. For my baseball ticket. Because you gave me your allowance to get a ticket.

Ch. 121; Vol. 10

Clink, clink. Puck was already at the table in his jams, hacking clay. I rubbed at my eyes. “Here, Mom,” he held up some bright chunks of clay. “You want to be the planet maker?”   Scratch. Crackers’ claw swiped Puck’s ankle in a game that she thought was a

Ch. 120; Vol. 10

“Mom. When we go to see Allie, we won’t know if it’s him, because only his head will stick out of the water.” Somewhere in the middle of the night, Puck had not forgotten Allie, the boy turtle. “We’ll figure it out, bud.” Sometimes early morning plans

Ch. 219; Vol. 10

“MOM! LOOK MOM!” Puck awkwardly lifted the box turtle from the sidewalk. “How did he get here, MOM?” “I don’t know, bud.” “Maybe he crawled out of that hole because drains go to the river and turtles like rivers.” “I think that drain comes from the house actually…” “I

Ch. 218; Vol. 10

Puck carefully examined the numbers he had circled on his counting chart… “It’s like a… 40 and a 50 sandwich, Mom!” “I guess it sort of is…” “And the 30 and the 60 make a sandwich, too…” “They do?” “Uh huh!” He pointed to the 40… “That is the

Ch. 217; Vol. 10

It was going to be one of those mornings… “But I want to run away to PENNSYLVANIA because I hate school so much.” I smacked at waves of fruit flies. Puck forgot about his animosity towards writing by 2’s… “Mom, you keep making a little building for him so

Ch. 216; Vol. 10

“You’re wearing your cowboy boots today, Puck?” “Yup.” “Where are your Chucks?” “I didn’t want to tie them. I’m not as good a star at tying shoes.” “A star…” “You know how when someone’s really good at something and they’re called a star?” Puck continued

Ch. 215; Vol. 10

“TRAPPED!” I didn’t open my eyes, because half of me thought I had dreamed a shout. “TRAPPED!” Eyes popped. Ok, that was real. “MOM! I’M TRAPPED IN THE TENT!” Oh, that’s all… Somewhere in the vague early morning transition, wherein The Bear assisted Puck with the stubborn

Ch. 214; Vol. 10

“Dad, every time we go on a trip – like to Huh-why-uh [Hawai’i] – could we bring a pillow and this truck?” Puck sat in the back seat of the truck, excited for another ride, like a puppy on a windy day. And he was advocating hard on behalf of the

Ch. 213; Vol. 10

Last night, Puck walked out of his room with a small whiteboard and dry erase marker in his hands… “Dad? How do you write, ‘I do not accept’?” “Son, you are supposed to be asleep. Go back to your room.” About ten minutes later, The Bear left to make an

Ch. 212; Vol. 10

“JINGLE BUM!… JINGLE BUM!… JINGLE BUM ALL THE WAY!” This was Tuesday night, Puck changing into his jams… “JINGLE BUM!… JINGLE BUM!… JINGLE BUM ALL THE WAY!” “You… want to address that at some point?” I asked The Bear, sitting beside me on the couch. “Yeah, I should, but… then

Ch. 211; Vol. 10

Rumble, rumble, rumble… Puck zoomed by my door on his Strider… “I’M THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!” Rumble, rumble, rumble… “I’M THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!” Groan. I’m not a pushy parent. I have no blueprints to mold my son into a superior athlete or

Ch. 210; Vol. 10

We tried to start our dig again this morning – gray and cool – petrified chunks of clay-dirt, signs of buried civilization. But even with mosquito wristbands and repellant, it wouldn’t do. Clouds of blood-sucking pests poked our skin. “Sorry about that, bud.” “That’s ok, Mom,” Puck assured me as

Ch. 209; Vol. 10

Puck was sitting out at the counter, in his jams, waiting on a breakfast burrito and farm bacon from Gloria’s All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast Diner. I can’t blame him for preferring Sunday mornings at Nana’s, over cold strawberry yogurt and banana back home.   Walked through the church doors about

Ch. 208; Vol. 10

5:00AM Rose floated down to home runway on a 747 – or something like that.   6:30AM Puck crept into our room, flying leap onto the bed… “Gero-m-ino!” He was quietly escorted into the other room for a little while longer…   7:00AM “Gero-m-ino!”   7:30AM Francis had left me

Ch. 207; Vol. 10

11:00PM, Thursday night. Rose had just IM’d me briefly about her day in San Diego… “Went to the horse races and all that jazz…” All that jazz… Thunk, thump. “I think Puck fell out of bed.” “Naw…” “Maybe you should go check on him…” The Bear was gone

Ch. 206; Vol. 10

“Thank you for being such a good boy today, bud.” Puck grinned professionally from his booster seat behind me. “My pleasure.” That was Wednesday evening, waiting at the fuel station for Simply Apple apple juice. [Mama’s Memory w/ Puck’s Drawing Assistance] Thursday morning, Puck handed me another sock

Ch. 205; Vol. 10

Before breakfast had been completely cleared away, I had to stop Puck in the act of cutting holes in his socks. “Puck, not that one.” “But, Mom, this is a creepy sock.” I helped him locate a more… applicable sock.   Puck made a hard dash for the pine grove – to

Ch. 204; Vol. 10

It was somewhere in the middle of I-can’t-remember this morning, and Puck had new ideas to share… “Don’t you wish that strawberry trees would shoot strawberries up into the air?” “Well…” “And bananas would shoot down into the ground!” “Well… why the ground?” “Because, they have so much

Ch. 203; Vol. 10

“MOM! Can we please sort through all these old receipts?!” Nothing more thrilling on a Monday morning. Most of them had faded to blank scraps over nine years, so I didn’t mind too much. A thin envelope from September – December of 2004. I sorted through, expelling all the bank

Ch. 202; Vol. 10

Puck’s suspenders were a hit at church. I’m not much for fashion shows during a worship service, but it was pretty clear that trousers-with-suspenders were tops on the “kids look cute in this” list. Especially when he goes tearing down the side aisle to Children’s Church – we

Ch. 201; Vol. 10

“Puck? Did you eat your banana?” A blonde head popped around the corner of The Bear’s library… “Uhm… I didn’t eat the banana, Mom, because it had a black line in it, and I don’t like black lines.”   Gloria peddled Saturday relaxations… “thin crust pizza… strawberries/blueberries…

Ch. 200; Vol. 10

I dragged my eyelids open; tired, tired, tired… I was still halfway through forgotten dreams and book readings on a Thursday night – Adam drenched in resin sealed in an alabaster sarcophagus inside the Ark, scavenged by the Smithsonian. That part wasn’t a dream. So they say… “Come on, buddy…

Ch. 199; Vol. 10

Two boxes of Pop-Tarts sat unopened on the counter – an idea of The Bear. I don’t think I’ve ever actually bought Pop-Tarts before. And if memory served, Puck had never been witness to this American atrocity… Breakfast, little man. Two tarts in the toaster. “This is a whole

Ch. 198; Vol. 10

Lasso in a tree – Puck laced himself into the branches: mosquitoes – probably – red shoes, weight machine rope, looking out for the arrival of Uncle Fran. “Want a cat to help you sleep?” Puck knows how to play the game. Francis was wrapped up with the fuzzball on the couch about

Ch. 197; Vol. 10

“I want to wear the guacamole shirt [taco truck] and my trousers [pants with suspenders] today, Mom.” Puck’s wardrobe was discussed, given the new inclusions purchased by Carrie-Bri and Rose the previous week.   Carrie filled me in on the crazies of mini vacation in Nebraska, including the surprisingly tasty

Ch. 196; Vol. 10

“Come on, Puck. Time to read Grandpa’s devotion.” “Ok, Mom! Read it while I LIFT WEIGHTS!” Lift weights: flat on his back on unswept linoleum hoisting an antique kitchen chair into the air with his feet. Why I own anything older than three years… mystery. “SORRY MOM I BROKE

Ch. 195; Vol. 10

Somewhere between Puck loudly whispering answers to Pastor De Silva’s rhetorical sermon questions and The Bear lightly sketching dinosaurs, turtles, and radios in Sunday School during a recorded lecture from a pastor with cerebral palsy in Tennessee… I processed the weekend.   Dad squashed another brown recluse inches from Puck’

Ch. 194; Vol. 10

So Daisy-Jean hosted Idlewild’s baby shower – boy baby shower – at a tea house, a plate of French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and cheesecake – that’s how they roll there. Daisy-Jean knows how to entertain the masses, young and old. Anyway, mixed with homemade caramels in fat gift bags, and

Ch. 193; Vol. 10

“Bomba la bomba.” . . . “Bomba la bomba.” . . . [Puck picks up things and repeats them sometimes…] “Bomba la bomba.” Reading about a Mexican volcano for morning studies also encouraged this sound effect.   While I prepared the alternate shewerma idea for lunch once more – essentially seasoned chicken, fries, and Ranch dressing on naan

Ch. 192; Vol. 10

The fridge coils needed cleaning. Again. The Bear – up at five – had already begun cleaning out the cat hair. [And I thought she didn’t shed much.] The water dispenser, thus, was working again properly. But the freezer had not yet completely frozen, and the fridge had not yet completely

Ch. 191; Vol. 10

A grumbling in the southwest. Thunderstorm in the early morning, after six hours’ sleep, which got us up at 5:30 to beat traffic.   6:15 and the Big House was dark. Fine by me. I wedged myself onto the loveseat with a blanket and almost snoozed away another twenty

Ch. 190; Vol. 10

At 10:22PM Monday night, Rose sent me a text: “Stinkerbelle is a terrible cat.” This is an expected statement, and a very ordinary, if not common, and casual, observation. Although no explanation is required as follow-up – insofar as the cat in question is concerned – Rose did enlighten me as

Ch. 189; Vol. 10

“Can you be naked in Heaven?” Puck whispered the words into my ear at breakfast, just in case Crackers would overhear him and he would become embarrassed. “Well, Adam and Eve were naked and it wasn’t a problem, so I suppose maybe you could be if you wanted to.

Ch. 188; Vol. 10

My son heard part of the sermon today. I know he did because I spent ten minutes or more scratching his green-and-white-striped back – per his request – while he leaned further into the sanctuary, staring at the pulpit. But for the rest of the time – it was pen on paper, sketching

Ch. 187; Vol. 10

The idea of a Friday night for four sisters and their cousin: watch the sun set from the bluffs over Creve Coeur Lake, Lucia with her coffee bean brew, four girls with water: the elixir of life. A family of raccoons digging for a late dinner in the garbage bins

Ch. 186; Vol. 10

The Park. 10:00. That had been the original plan for Idelwild Redcoat, her three girls, Paige Popp, her two kids, Carrie-Bri, Puck, and myself. But… Two Year-Old Redcoat was wiped out from late-night explosions, and napping at home. Paige Popp’s son had required an emergency weekend doctor’s

Ch. 185; Vol. 10

Saturday on a Thursday. Four day weekends. 48 deviled eggs.   Theodore, The Bear, and Izzy discussing all the amazing restaurants in the city and surrounding suburbs with cigars on the deck. Puck got back – wet red Chucks – playing in the park creek, ready for promised Minecraft, barefoot. Gloria set cream

Ch. 184; Vol. 10

Tuesday night: Ghostwriter mysteries over dinner [a verboten PBS show from my childhood], baby bunny munching dinner salad near the patio, nibbling greens and weeds and clovers. And it was another circus of Puck shouting out his own lullabies… “BUM BUM BUM! BUM BUM BUM! BUM BUM BUM, BUM-BUM!!” “Why

Ch. 183; Vol. 10

– Five Minutes Of Morning – “MOM!” I was up and dressed, but hadn’t opened my door yet. Sometimes locks are useful things… “Yes, Puck?” “WHAT IS THIS SQUISHY STUFF?!” “What squishy stuff?” “IT WAS IN THE FRIDGE! I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS, BUT I LOVE IT!” “It’s

Ch. 182; Vol. 10

I was trying to wake up. Puck blasted through the door – silhouette of Freeze Pop in hand… “No, Puck, you can’t have that right now. It’s time for breakfast.” “Ok. So I can have it for Dessert Breakfast?” He didn’t.   Spontaneous phone call from Francis sent him

Ch. 181; Vol. 10

We left church for a tall stack of tiramisu. Dierberg’s. [I knew trouble when I saw it; trouble avoided.] “It’s really difficult to make,” Red Strike’s Mom nodded to them as she placed them in the fridge. Puck: veggie/feta burgers, watermelon, blowing bubbles with Chet Danger’

Ch. 180; Vol. 10

Puck wakes up early on Saturdays. It doesn’t matter how late he went to bed on Friday, he just can’t help himself. All those Minecraft tornados and lava fields and floating-islands-in-the-sky are too alluring… “Puck. It’s way too early. Go back to bed.” “Dad! If I go

Ch. 179; Vol. 10

English Canada. A place I’m not even entirely sure exists. And a place my dreams sent me. Well. Sent Carrie. On a cruise. Which is, frankly, a method of transportation she would never employ again. Unless there were balmy treeless green hills involved.   It wasn’t long after breakfast

Ch. 178; Vol. 10

A new morning. Puck slurped into his breakfast oatmeal, banana, peanuts [?], listening to one of his favorite Adventures in Odyssey – “The Malted Milk Ball Falcon”. After a 5:30 wake-up call [then fell asleep again] and some kind of summer cold. Bad headache for his mother. He pulled a few

Ch. 177; Vol. 10

Our little toothpick-legged-bug-loving Rose was no longer toothpick-legged-bug-loving Rose. Not all these long years later. Now she was 23 and chasing after rich doctors. Well. Let’s just let that comparison fly for now. It sounds better.   Puck peddles ideas. The Science Center. A few pennies down the funnel. Big

Ch. 176; Vol. 10

Puck zoomed through the Big House on his Strider, inspecting the elements of the morning… “THE BUNNY ROOM SMELLS TERRIBLE!” he announced to the little world. “That’s vinegar, Puck.” He just wrinkled his nose. Jaya’s family had sent over four dozen eggs. I guess the chickens were doing

Ch. 175; Vol. 10

Five and a half hours later… up. I forgot to put Crackers in the basement overnight, and she was loudly demanding breakfast. I think Puck has been reading her too much Garfield.   “CAN I PLAY MINECRAFT TODAY, MOM?! CAN I NOT DO SCHOOL TODAY?!?!” This is the Calvin greeting I

Ch. 174; Vol. 10

Sometimes when we’re running behind, I have to coax Puck more than usual. 7:24 and still working on the yogurt and banana from his green director’s chair at the table. So I assisted with the socks and cowboy boots… “Mom! It’s not going on all the

Ch. 173; Vol. 10

Bacon, biscuits, eggs, avocados, cherry tomatoes… Gloria was ready to serve four and a half hungry men, and myself, on a muggy, drizzly Saturday morning. Claus and Rupert were making plans for St. Louis sight-seeing prior to Game #2. More of the Texan crew called in via Skype to join

Ch. 172; Vol. 10

Last day. Last checklists. Last piles of sticky coins. I was tired. Didn’t even really know why, but I was in a heavy company of exhausted volunteers, so I let that one go. We arranged tables heavy with hot dogs, condiments, bags of chips, and cookies… I ate the

Ch. 171; Vol. 10

Lick, lick, lick. Crackers cleaned the inside of the glass Italian lasagna pan while I packed the last three squares into The Bear’s red-topped Tupperware, with a side of Honeycrisp. Everyone has their tastes, I guess. Even cats. The Bear was conducting an interview at 9AM. So we were

Ch. 170; Vol. 10

Last night while the electrician fumbled with a faulty meter in the darkening evening – which he said could possibly have caught on fire; toasty siding – Puck and I watched fireflies from the living room windows, and candles. “How do they glow like that, Mom? A little glow coming out of

Ch. 169; Vol. 10

I reverted to tendencies in olden days – waking my siblings for school with obnoxious selections of music. Today it was the Bee Gees – “Stayin’ Alive”. I set my laptop in Puck’s room, still dark, him bundled up in the thick purple blanket, refusing to wake up. I pestered him

Ch. 168; Vol. 10

“Mom, are we doing school in the deep afternoon, or the afternoon?” Puck just has to know these things. As we drove out that morning for Vacation Bible School. I misheard the lyrics to The Bear’s music as usual, mistaking some bluegrass gibberish for “St. Charles Sea”, but it

Ch. 167; Vol. 10

“Puck,” I called him over before we walked out the door. “Do you know what today is?” “What?” “It’s a special day where all dads are celebrated.” Puck’s eyes showed recognition… “Happy birthday,” he mumbled – embarrassed – to The Bear. Well, sort of. Walking out Sunday morning – the change

Ch. 166; Vol. 10

Posnians. [PAW-z-nee-ehns.] That’s what the brochure called them, buried deep in the caves of Augusta. The ancient archaeological site Puck and I discovered, and inadvertently mangled. Skull and skinny bones. Shiny orange and yellow ceremonial rattles. Shrink wrapped.   Puck voyaged into the glass bubble biodomes of Minecraft by nine

Ch. 165; Vol. 10

Stabbing tomato, basil, and baby bell with two-pronged wood skewers. That’s where my Friday morning was. Mom was hosting Annamaria’s bridal brunch. Carrie – brown hair whisked back sloppy – prepping the food. Rose organizing the final details of the decorations, grumbling about the spring green/yellow skirt she was

Ch. 164; Vol. 10

Atlantis. The museum – half on land, half in sea. Aegean blue ruins in the deep. And all my family visited the donut of a floor paired around the abyss. The gift shops and art galleries, the intense Imax reality of descending below floor-level into the blue pool. A moss-green-clay-blue leather

Ch. 163; Vol. 10

Before our morning “work-outing”, Puck wrapped a chubby arm around my neck… “Mom. I need your help with something downstairs,” he looked at me carefully over the top of his nose. “It’s a little complicated to say.” I didn’t find out what he wanted, because mornings are busy

Ch. 162; Vol. 10

Every day it’s something different. Today I woke up late, finally catching up from the weekend. And Puck had slapped his vitamin bottle on the bedclothes, followed by a few serious looks of intensity… “Mom. I brought these weights up from downstairs.” – He lifted a bar with 2.5

Ch. 161; Vol. 10

The Bear dropped us off at the Zoo a little before 9:30. It was going to be our first all-dayer with Ivy and her 14 year-old nephew, Peter. This meant wrinkly elephants eating hay and fat cinnamon-roll coiled millipedes, docile guinea pigs in the petting zoo, brushing backs of

Ch. 160; Vol. 10

Heavy snow. In June… “Last time it snowed in June here… 1968,” someone told me. I woke up with an ill foreboding.   “Oh, Puck…” “I’M SORRY, MOM!” he whispered as loudly as possible to me over the new pastor’s sermon. Blue ink pen. On my sun dress. “It’

Ch. 159; Vol. 10

I didn’t really feel like attending a VBS leaders meeting for two hours Saturday morning. But you do what you have to do. I dropped off my boys at the Silverspoon’s and chugged over there to find out what I had signed myself up for in a week

Ch. 158; Vol. 10

“Death could be right around the corner. Right, Mom?! You could just trip on the sidewalk and fall on your face on the concrete. And then that’s THE END.” Puck was shouting to me from his bedroom Thursday night, supposed to be asleep, while I watched the MLB draft…

Ch. 157; Vol. 10

Last night I discovered, for the first time, that Puck does not think I am the best mom in the world. Surprisingly, I was not greatly bothered by this revelation, and forgot about it. However, this morning, I was curious as to which esteemed lady he believed deserved this award.

Ch. 156; Vol. 10

Last evening while Puck attempted to join the neighborhood posse across the street, casually, by mild consideration. Well. Puck-casually. All I saw was my son flying down the street, legs hanging out in the air off his Strider bike yelling back to the kids… “I DON’T REMEMBERRRRRRRR!” Later I

Ch. 155; Vol. 10

“I hope you didn’t act this way for Sun and Grandma while we were gone,” I told Puck. He was being ornery about something as he buckled the seatbelt around his assertive person. “I wasn’t,” he told me quickly. “I was as good as a angel.” Hmmm… “I

Ch. 154; Vol. 10

“Mom? Where is the sheet that you said I can have to wrap around me today and now it is today and so I can wrap it around me over my clothes?” How was I supposed to remember stuff like that before I got out of bed in the morning?

Ch. 153; Vol. 10

“Tim Samaras died.” I didn’t know who they meant at first. Carrie and Rose were stretched out in the living room with laptops and iPads, just hearing the news. Their favorite storm chaser was gone. In the El Reno tornado. “I can’t believe it,” they kept saying. “How?

Ch. 152; Vol. 20

“DAD!” – Boom. Door flies open. I was awake enough to understand that the emergency did not involve any relevant tornadic activity. – “DAD! Can you go put Crackers downstairs? I’m trying to sleep and she’s pounding ON MY CHEST!” That was around seven o’clock this morning. Weldon Spring

Ch. 151; Vol. 10

Carrie notified me on the drive into the city… “Five percent chance of long track tornados.” Fifteen percent would have been considered extreme. Our evening plans weren’t looking great. “Just $1.99. Oh. Yeah.” I didn’t know what Puck was talking about at first, but he was sitting

Ch. 150; Vol. 10

“Dad! It’s supposed to STORM!” :girly giggle: We decided to give The Bear a break from our noisiness and ran around town for about an hour and a half before anything but wind really hit… Library – Garfield, of course, and Holland in finger paints. Target – a pair of $5

Ch. 149; Vol. 10

Puck watched The Bear jam on the fat cigar box banjo Tuesday night, thinking carefully… “You’d be great at a show.” It was Wednesday morning… “Dad, can you please drop me off here?” We were just driving up to Mom’s and Dad’s, bursts of yellow roses, pink,

Ch. 148; Vol. 10

“MOM! COULD WE HAVE OFF SCHOOL BECAUSE IT’S THUNDER DAY!” Seriously. He was right about the thunder though. Just as I walked out of my room at 7:13 – it had been a full weekend – you could hear the crack somewhere in the west, and coming… “IT’S RAINING

Ch. 147; Vol. 10

MEOW. THUMP. MEE-YOW!!! Crackers was chasing a mosquito killer around the living room again, Sunday night. And when she pounced triumphantly and achieved her kitty goal, you could see it on her face. She was now a lion. Sprawled in glory on the floor, her paws folded smugly in front

Ch. 146; Vol. 10

Puck gathered all of his essentials for church like… “I have to get my telescope really quick!” And the… Yellow Pages. He’s really big into phonebooks these days. Our interim pastor and his wife were at church for the last time. Pink cake, punch, a large group photo in

Ch. 145; Vol. 10

I eyed Puck’s attire, somehow wondering if the color of his jeans was bluer than usual… “Are these really your church jeans?” “Yes! They don’t have any holes!” Thank you for that. “I’m going to go down and talk to Snuggly.” Ok. Puck circled the deck with

Ch. 144; Vol. 10

“SNUGGLY’S NOT BREATHING!” I woke up like a shot. So did The Bear. Puck ran into the room cradling the limp bunny in both hands. Tear your heart out. “HE DIED!” He was sobbing now. The Bear gently took the little guy in his hands and talked with Puck

Ch. 143; Vol. 10

After some heavy deep-sleep Twilight Zone/Hitchcock dreaming, a gray day started. We were at the Silverspoon’s to watch the animals and the house, considering that everyone else was in Texas. We started things off by making the stunned baby bunny – a victim of Snickers’ jaws – as comfortable as

Ch. 142; Vol. 10

Bomb. The entire contents of Linnea’s room had been spread throughout the dining room and living room while her floors were being de-carpeted and redone. Everyone was running around and needed cars. Dad and Joe were long gone. Francis was training at the Rec-Plex before he and Linnea left

Ch. 141; Vol. 10

“AH! My brain is going to pop out of its socket!” Puck’s morning had begun. And his brain was really in no danger of popping. The Bear’s and my morning started with the realization that we had both dreamt about renewing our vows. We were not inspired. Then

Ch. 140; Vol. 10

The thunder rolled sometime after three in the morning. The Bear had another rough night with the old noggin – heavy sinus pain – nothing a little sudafed couldn’t fix, I guess. But by the time the storm had hit, he was feeling better and could appreciate the faraway crack of

Ch. 139; Vol. 10

Except for Joe, we had a full-family field trip. We drove up after church in time to join the big green for Cahokia: The City of the Sun. “Off we go!” said Mom. “Happy happy happy!” “Speak for yourself,” Rose replied. “Heh heh.” Sun Chips, purples grapes, carrots, iced tea.

Ch. 138; Vol. 10

I was dreaming heavier again. Somewhere sinking on a cruise liner in the Baltic Sea – prow up – attending a cold underground cave lined with bright white tile summer camp in violet swimsuit with kids a good ten-plus years my junior [and no one seemed to notice it], I woke… 9:

Ch. 137; Vol. 10

Sometime after 2:30 I was running – somewhere near Mom’s and Dad’s house, but nowhere really near it – running up a hill, a great hill, trying to get to it by crossing patches of flaking brownie tops. Then a dark black night, rain, driving with Mom, Carrie-Bri, and

Ch. 136; Vol. 10

It was all about Crackers today. Miss princess was escorted to her cat tent, by Puck, where the gray feline was soon lounging on soft green grass [weeds] accompanied by breakfast… “Mom,” Puck looked at me concerned from the patio, “I really need to be out here with her, because

Ch. 135; Vol. 10

Slap. “Francis, stop slapping me. Grandma, Francis slapped me.” “I think those are love pats,” Mom tried to reassure him. “No,” said Francis. “No, those are slaps.” At least they’re honest about it. Francis: wrinkled green AE shirt, pulling on socks from the dryer for his early flight. “Here,

Ch. 134; Vol. 10

We split a package of chocolate cupcakes at seminary that morning. Hostess-style, but not really because I guess they went out of business. It took us awhile to decide that. We walked through each row of pastry/chip/chocolate based snacks until we decided that the cupcakes were the best

One Hundred Thirty-Three

“Good morning, stretch,” Puck welcomed his daily ritual. As he tore into three more pomegranate leathers while watching part of Night at the Museum 2 for about the fourth time, we packed up to go. The Bear had an important final to study for on the drive home, and we

One Hundred Thirty-Two

The Bear had been out with the guys till about 11:30, folding paper airplanes for the reception. As a rice-bubble-alternative. We slept in later than usual. “How’s the shower?” The Bear called in to Puck. “Ah! Dad! You startled me! I like the soap! I think it’s

One Hundred Thirty-One

9:22. We were on the road. Somehow, we were on the road, only missing departure goal by about 20 minutes. Puck made it just past East St. Louis before his first required pit stop at McDonald’s. I’m pretty sure half of his urge involved hopes of French

One Hundred Thirty

“Mom. I reckon to take out all the stuff and hide in there,” Puck pointed to his toy cabinet. Why not. I wasn’t feeling so awesome. And when I’m not feeling so awesome, I don’t care too much about what’s destroyed or not. He changed his

One Hundred Twenty-Nine

Puck crashed our room again. He had already breakfasted. Sometimes I am amazed at the things this kid can get done before I even open my eyes… “Did you get a banana, too?” I asked, half-awake-aware of my son’s need for some early morning potassium to accompany the protein

One Hundred Twenty-Eight

Puck had been fascinated with a particular matchbox car inherited from his uncles the last few days. This one was splashed obnoxiously with the stars and stripes. He had been pondering. I could see it. “Mom, I know this is kind of silly, but should we put this in the

One Hundred Twenty-Seven

We drove into a blanket of strange cloud falling across the city. Almost subtly apocalyptic, really. Tearing up the Zoo at 9:30. I guess I forget how crowded that place can get, even in the spring. Parochial schools in plaid jumpers, visiting schools from the country counties, moms with

One Hundred Twenty-Six

Puck lounged on my bed beside his feast-pile of parade candies, making offers, counting costs… “Here, Mom,” he tossed me a hard cinnamon candy, where I was writing insurance checks. “I presume you don’t want this, but just try it.” “Thanks, bud.” He thought about things a little more

One Hundred Twenty-Five

“Puck, do you want to wear a tie to church today?” The six year-old in cowboy boots, jeans, powder blue collared shirt, and sea urchin hair pondered this idea… “Well, it would look handsome at the fair… sure!” Yes, we were going to the Valley of Flowers festival that afternoon,

One Hundred Twenty-Four

Puck was chilling next to The Bear in bed, discussing his morning plan… “Dad, I didn’t want to bodder [bother] you and Mom. So I sat on the bunk and played with Legos until the clock changed to a seven.” About an hour later, he was sitting on the

One Hundred Twenty-Three

We were busy that morning. With the dripping rain throughout the night and still going, we stayed inside. Started things off with devotions. Puck seemed to have other ideas during the reading though… “Why is there such a big wall of China?” he interrupted. We try. Ordered a clip-on bed

One Hundred Twenty-Two

“A-CHOO!… A-CHOO!” Puck’s signature morning sneezes were accompanied by sniffing. A lot of sniffing… “Puck, do you have a cold?” “A-CHOO!” I felt the shower of my son’s exuberant sneeze spray the back of my sweater… “I was saving that for your BACK!” he declared too loudly. “Right.

One Hundred Twenty-One

Puck marched into Costco with earphones strapped onto his head. The heavy kind Francis wears to mow the lawn. He didn’t care that some people stared. He just walked in, solid red and Cardinals down the aisles, hunting out early food samples. There weren’t any ready though, even

One Hundred Twenty

“Look, Mom!” That tiny rubber duck floated on the surface of Puck’s breakfast milk. I guess he hadn’t forgotten about that trinket again yet. So the duck floated on the milk and The Bear induced screaming giggles with a morning tickle. He was working from home today. Then

One Hundred Nineteen

“Dear Jesus, thank You for today, and for my syrup bottle, and my duck. A-men.” Puck fingered the mini rubber duck sitting beside his plate of egg-in-a-nest. Sometimes he re-finds his little trinkets and becomes grateful for them all over again. The Bear half-recovered from another headache and walked out

One Hundred Eighteen

Rose had made a purchase. An expensive new bag. Real Italian leather. Well, I think it was Italian. She paraded it around to all of us. Dad wasn’t as interested in the leather as much as he was about her hair… “Well, you have it pulled up…” he sort

One Hundred Seventeen

It was nice to have a little monster snuggled in between us again. A rainy Saturday morning sometime before eight o’clock. Of course he’ll never just lie still for more than two seconds, so after a few minutes I get up with him anyway. But it’s nice

One Hundred Sixteen

Rain spit as I hunted down a new red ceramic skillet and apple red Eclipse curtains for Puck’s room. Plus onions and rice and gluten free bread machine mix and other things for the next week. Gloria texted me: “I love adventures with Puck. 7:40 BRAUMS ice cream

One Hundred Fifteen

At ten o’clock that morning I walked through the ridiculously heavy glass doors of the Art Museum. I wasn’t exactly on a mission. But for once in my adult life, I was visiting the Art Museum alone, and could do whatever I wanted. This sort of meant walking

One Hundred Thirteen

Spongy yards. The rain had returned again. “BYOOM!… BYOOM! BYOOM! BYOOM!” Punching fists went flying through the air like Calvin-&-Hobbes inspired super heroes… “Puck…” “I have to byoom everything, Mom!” He went back to visit The Bear who was getting ready for work… “I’m going to miss

One Hundred Fourteen

That gray-green Wednesday morning in April my big boy was on his way to southern Missouri and it was a sort of weird feeling. To remedy that weirdness, I joined my family for the morning – eggs, sausages, gluten free toast, to prepare Puck’s belated birthday celebration on Friday. Mom

One Hundred Twelve

“I want to polish my boots, Dad.” The Bear told me about a brush and cloth in his polishing kit that Puck could use. And that is what he carefully did after downing a full bowl of oatmeal, a container of yogurt, and a banana. While he got busy with

Chapter One Hundred Eleven

I guess kids just bounce really. After some big kid accidentally stepped on Puck’s head in the ball pit at the City Museum on Saturday without negative effective, he continued his demonstrations of resilience after the worship service. He swiped an iced oatmeal cookie – those things are disgusting – off

Chapter One Hundred Ten

“Time to get up, Dad! Today’s a big day!” Puck’s timing was better, and later, this Saturday morning. We were grateful. Especially after a later night with Carrie and Rose watching a silly movie about salmon and Yemen. They had stumbled in after eight o’clock that evening

Chapter One Hundred Nine

Crackers was causing trouble. Knocked over a blue water glass on the counter by the sink. Cracked it. Puck followed up with discipline by putting her in the basement to ponder her crimes for the rest of the day. He added two water dishes… “She’s going to stay down

Chapter One Hundred Eight

My baby boy was six years old. Growing like a weed, grinning mischief, my best bud. The unusual combination of simultaneous birdsong and thunder woke this big Puckster at a healthy 6:20 on his most exciting day of the year. He came in for another snuggle, despite being “too

Chapter One Hundred Seven

“Come on, Puck. Finish your strawberry bread and your milk. We’ve got to go.” “Ok, Mom. Just a mentos. But I’ve got to conquer the world.” This guy had been up since six. I opened my eyes to see him staring, inches from my face, chin propped in

Chapter One Hundred Six

We were in for rain most of the week. And we weren’t complaining. Except that it fueled the front green yard-jungle, which I once called a “lawn” in front of my mother-in-law, and she laughed. It’s pretty ratty. Anyway, the alarm didn’t go off this morning, so

Chapter One Hundred Five

Rain, beautiful rain. Somehow I had forgotten it was coming. Birdsong, a crack of lightening, fluttering white blossoms, green, green grass. Mom had scrambled eggs, buttered toast, strawberries, blackberries, and giant purple grapes waiting for breakfast. Carrie was cramming in more study hours, which she had not been able to

Chapter One Hundred Four

“OH! I forgot my LASSO!” an unhappy Puck announced to us from the back seat of the car. “We’ll get it later, bud.” “But I was going to lasso Uncle Francis!” The Great Exodus had begun. I think our family was split between five different churches today, Baptist and

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

Chapter One Hundred Two

“OLD MACDONALD HAD A FARM! E-I-E-I-O!” Why had I thought letting Puck bunk down in the king-size bed overnight was a good idea…? “OLD MACDONALD HAD A FARM! E-I-E-I-O!… TAE KWON DO!” Maybe I had hit the hay a little late the previous night. 58 pages into Eben Alexander – just

Chapter One Hundred One

“PLEASE GOD PLEASE LET US BE SAFE!!” Puck yelled it as we tore back across the parking lot, the skies cracked with lightening, pounding rain. I couldn’t tell if my son had been terrified, or just very very loud like always, at that moment of truth as we sprinted

Chapter One Hundred

Yelling myself awake from being chased by two of a triplet of “green foxes” [how I knew they were triplets, I don’t know] on a stone fence in some old country at midnight did somehow not alert the rest of the family to arrive at my aid sometime after

Chapter Ninety-Nine

Thunk. Puck landed on top of me… “WAKE UP, MOM!” “Puck?… Let me smell your breath… You’ve been eating cookies!” Screeching giggle… “It’s no sin, Mom!” “Yes. Yes, it is.” Half an hour later he was negotiating with The Bear over artifacts intended for the garbage… “Ok, Dad.

Chapter Ninety-Eight

Zap! Zap, zap! Another rubberband grazed the top of my head as Puck clicked the trigger of his wooden gun. “Hold out your head,” he grinned mischievously. It was early. We were at Rose’s two hours after leaving the house following all that false pretense of thunderstorms and hail.

Chapter Ninety-Seven

My son walked out of a 1950’s picture book this morning. His Doctor Who bath robe tie almost dragged the floor as he entered our room, rubberband gun in hand, ready for breakfast. [And, yes, I realize Doctor Who did not exist in the 1950’s.] “Watch me hit

Chapter Ninety-Six

Puck had been batting the bushes yesterday afternoon, just to clean them up for his own amusement. With a badminton racquet. Dirt dust went flying everywhere. “It is a bit of a fog, I presume,” Puck explained as he continued to light-whack the shrubbery. This same young sprout was up

Chapter Ninety-Five

“Mom! Do I have a hole in my EYE?” I was already awake. How could I not be when my five year-old had already walked in about six times since 5:55 to snuggle in between us before remembering something else he had to do, i.e. put on socks,

Chapter Ninety-Four

Rumble, rumble. The rocket burners that were Crackers’ purring mechanism increased in volume as she pressed a delicate velvety paw on my esophagus. I figured she was trying to nest down deep under the covers in memory of her kitten days. Then I got – to her credit – a timid whap

Chapter Ninety-Three

Crash. Splash. Dribble, dribble, dribble… Of course we were in the act of walking out the door, and Crackers splashed my red roses all over the table. Our theory was that she was seeking water. So that delayed our morning a little. We walked in late to Mom’s and

Chapter Ninety-Two

I was being a nerd and sports nut simultaneously this morning. I’m not sure this combination is meant to exist. But sort of like the Paradox Machine, it does. I managed to quickly check in on the Cards’ 2-6 loss against Arizona while sifting through the press coverage on

Chapter Ninety-One

Puck stood under the ceiling in the living room, vigilantly watching the green and orange sticky hands from Nagle’s stuck dangling several feet above his reach. Hands outstretched, hoping for a fall… Kloonk. Pop. Puck caught the orange one with a grin. Kloonk. Pop. He caught the green one.

Chapter Ninety

So… another year, another Easter, a small handful of kids running around a deserted sanctuary collecting plastic eggs at church which I’m… not sure what that has to do with church anyway… And tables packed with brownies, cookies, and bright colors of sugar and frosting. I just have a

Chapter Eighty-Nine

ACHOO!! “Cover your mouth, bud.” “Ok.” ACHOO!! “Bud…” “I’m trying, Mom. I just had somethin’ in my lungs. That’s all.” 40+ eggs into boiling water. Two. Hours. Later. The 84 eggs or something were done, and with no great disaster to my kitchen counters. I wasn’t feeling

Chapter Eighty-Eight

Puck took a running dive into the covers next to me, pulling the yellow comforter up around his neck. Crackers began to beg in the other room. She knew her boy was up. Puck looked carefully at me… “Do you think that meow means – ‘Food’?” “Yup.” He paused, patiently, and

Chapter Eighty-Seven

I guess it’s a sign of a good day when the Cardinals sign Adam Wainwright to a five-year contract extension. And when The Bear teaches Puck how to “shave” during a mid-morning break. “Cheetos.” The Bear wiggled his eyebrows up and down when I asked him if there was

Chapter Eighty-Six

“Crackers gave me a little bite to show that she loved me,” Puck said bravely. “And I took it like a man.” That was last night before he fell asleep. This morning… Puck has really enjoyed the whole ballroom dancing idea lately. He spontaneously called me up for another number

Chapter Eighty-Five

“I hope you didn’t eat one of those cookies, Puck.” My son sat on the couch before eight o’clock, his yellow boots hanging over the edge. I knew he would tell me the truth… “I didn’t…” I could see the accompanied dejection. “Good.” “But. I put it

Chapter Eighty-Four

“CAN I HELP?!” Clearly, every question or comment Puck ever makes hovers somewhere around the Caps Lock. “Sure, man. That would be great.” I removed the lavender rubber gloves from the soap suds to help Puck establish a station beside me over the sink. He stepped up onto Crackers’ “condo”

Chapter Eighty-Three

A dusting grazed the lawn. Just a dusting. They decided not to cancel church. “How’s the weather?” Rose texted me just before 6:40. I had a bad feeling about it. Checking KSDK revealed a storm of up to twelve inches north of the metro area. But we had

Chapter Eighty-Two

Rose sent us this lovely little number from her week at sea, roughly hand-crafted for our enjoyment… Yes, that would be Rose “Me” on the Norwegian “Pearl”, accompanied by “Shark” and “Sewage”. Fortunately, she liked Mexico. Something about ancient ruins, a lion cub, and not getting sick from the food.

Chapter Eighty-One

The Bear was sort of sick. Not super sick, just a weird head cold sick. And because he has unlimited sick days with the shoe company, I advised staying at home. “Can’t,” he groaned through headache and throat-ache. “Important… meeting…” Snore. That’s what you get for full time

Chapter Eighty

Rose claimed to have “almost died like 59 times” while driving around Jamaica Wednesday, from “all the crazy drivers”. I wasn’t completely sure if that meant someone else was driving her, or if she was driving herself. Either way, a frightening prospect. When I emailed her later to find

Chapter Seventy-Nine

I think it was spring. That’s what the calendar said. Of course there was a chance of snow Thursday through Monday, whose graphic I first misinterpreted as lightening instead of snowflakes. Did I say I still had 20/20? “So I’m going to go around to all the

Chapter Seventy-Eight

“Happy Mother’s Day!” A sweet voice and jammed fellow entered my room carrying a tray stocked with breakfast. My little honey wasn’t kidding. Buttered toast, boiled egg, and yogurt. With a glass of cold water. Sometimes he just splits the old heart strings. He followed that up with

Chapter Seventy-Seven

The ground was plenty soggy this morning. Squishy muddy holes in the back yard where it didn’t drain properly. Puck would be in heaven, if I had let him out. But Mondays are pretty busy days, so I abstained from that urge to let him have at it. Puck’

Chapter Seventy-Six

Carrie followed me through a sparse sanctuary to the small mint green classroom for Ray Bolger’s new Sunday School class – “Evil”. The puns were numerous, and terrible. “What I want to know is,” Carrie asked me later, working cabbage over the stove. “Who actually teaches that class?” I guess

Chapter Seventy-Five

My dreams have been sketchy lately. Not the usual good stuff. But last night I got something closer in the vein of what I’m used to – hiding in an old attic, gifted a boxed set from Gloria of tiny chocolate Egyptian sarcophagi in sparkling gold, lapis, and bright shellac-red.

Chapter Seventy-Four

It’s all Ireland in St. Louis right now. I’m not even sure we have parades for any other holiday besides that one, worth mentioning anyway [which means whether I know about it or not.] Bright green shamrocks painted on the streets. Whether it’s Cottleville or Dog Town,

Chapter Seventy-Three

The Bear was home to work. Pale rose-gray skies. Some heavier blue-gray in the west. 29 degrees. But they said 72 for Friday… Puck can’t just ever sit still completely without something to do. It’s nothing like ADD or ADHD or ABBA or whatever else they come up

Chapter Seventy-Two

The Bear arranged us around the table for “Family Worship” [I don’t know why that always sounds so pretentious, but it just does.] I was assigned the reading from Genesis 2. Puck stopped me quickly… “I think you need a glass of water, Mom. Because your voice sounds kind

Chapter Seventy-One

It felt a lot later driving out this morning, even if it was the usual Tuesday hour. The sun hit full blast on a frosty 7:30, and light traffic. We talked church and siblings and the regular ticket items. I wasn’t feeling 100% myself. Maybe I had a

Chapter Seventy

Yeah… Puck wasn’t up till almost nine. I should have expected that. Nothing like a well-rested Kindergartner. He’s used to 11-12 hours a night, so scrape off a small chunk of that, and we still had a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young one, as Mom always puts it… I

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Ah, rain. More, more rain. You could feel it almost there. The spring. The Irish spring we always waited to come when we were kids. It just had a different feel, those few days before it arrived… I adjusted the hems of Puck’s dark church jeans into his yellow

Chapter Sixty-Eight

6:06AM. I knew it would be just too much temptation to stay in bed any longer. “Grandma’s House”, “Sun” just waiting to play Saturday morning games, the weather… “It rained in the night, Mom!” It was still raining, softly. “I think there will be thunderstorms tonight, Mom.” One

Chapter Sixty-Seven

My laundry detergent rash continued. I wasn’t feeling too clever about having fallen into that trap. Curse you, foul blue syrupy substance! Puck was making triangles out of green and blue drinking straws at breakfast. [We haven’t quite graduated to the expensive Italian restaurant etiquette quality yet. But

Chapter Sixty-Six

“My sock came off in the confusion.” Puck told me this as he emerged from his room after unwrapping the egg roll he had managed to become in the night. He had explored alternative jams options, discarding the footies for my ancient oversized bleach-stained Budapest VBS t-shirt and way-too-small fleece-y

Chapter Sixty-Five

“Mom. My clock will not read seven o’clock. I saw a seven at the end of the time.” Oh boy… “Puck, what time does it say?” “Six! Zero! Seven!” “Go back to bed, bud. I’m really tired. When the first number is seven, you may get up.” Two

Chapter Sixty-Four

“Mom.” The light from the hallway outlined the solemn silhouette in footy pajamas with the big head of blonde fluff… “I think I’m a little sick. I achoo-ed and sneezed at the same time.” He was bark-laughing a few minutes later on the couch after another sneeze-cough while I

Chapter Sixty-Three

Puck chomped through a ripe pear for breakfast that morning. And a peach yogurt. Crackers worked on the remains of a tuna can, remnants of the lunch we packed off with The Bear. I took the last hard-boiled egg from the fridge in a thin dish of salt. Sustenance for

Chapter Sixty-Two

Puck was giving me Shirley Temple faces by the patio door. I’m not really sure why, but they were dead ringers. Crackers licked his yogurt cup… “Crackers! You’re under arrest.” He sent her down into the basement. After Puck did his usual rounds with Francis at church – adjusting

Chapter Sixty-One

It was still snowing. Just wandering bits of fluff, even more like fireflies now, drifting in the wind. Half sun, half pale gray. Puck was up like a snap at 6:15 to enjoy it… or maybe just to find the iPad for “game day”. I think he can appreciate

Chapter Sixty

It was already too late. After Puck had opened our door to do a little dance and then run off again, at least shutting the door behind him, he returned later to inform us that the snow was still falling, after which he plopped himself on the floor with the

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Puck was already in his apron, grinding popcorn kernels in the antique jar which he removed from the kitchen cabinets, most of which were all open. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to stay in bed till seven… Four more casualties littered the rug from the night. I was afraid my

Chapter Fifty-Eight

We got that sugar frosting after all. It arrived in the form of half an inch and scattering white dust, like tiny fireflies in the wind, still falling into the first hours of the lit morning… Puck was ready for anything, including his newest idea of becoming a scientist. He

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Crackers, who had dug herself under the covers beside me all the way to the foot of the bed Monday night, was still there Tuesday morning. Somehow she had survived in the dark cave of the yellow bedspread, and without an accidental kick or shove. She trotted out sometime around

Chapter Fifty-Six

After having taking that “snow” day on Friday, we got back into classes later in the morning. Puck tries to focus; I know he does. But sometimes he has questions that extend a little further than “au for faucet”… “What would happen if people worshipped false gods… in the city?

Chapter Fifty-Five

It wasn’t quite seven yet, and Puck had removed himself from breakfast for a huddle of blanket in the living room… “Puck, you need to eat your banana.” “I have to get warm, Mom. It’s 5,000 degrees out here.” Puck found himself pretty important at church today.

Chapter Fifty-Four

“Ok! I’m just going to wake up now because my clock is too stuvvorn [stubborn] to say seven o’clock!” Puck’s determined pronunciation of every word he trumpeted was presented with one hand confidently gripping the silver knob of our door. A wedge of orange hall light pushing

Chapter Fifty-Three

“It’s 6! 2! 2!” Groan… Yes, we transferred my alarm clock to Puck’s room to teach him how to stay in bed until seven o’clock. I’m beginning to think this is a bad idea now. It’s like he’s got a cue in his head

Chapter Fifty-Two

The best that seven AM could boast for us was a dust of ice on the street, which… on second look, was probably just salt. But we were in a winter weather advisory till midnight, so we hoped for better. Something in those heavy dark gray clouds in the southwest…

Chapter Fifty-One

Francis stamped up the stairs in a “first” for the Snicketts household – an high school seniors t-shirt, complete with this name on the back with all his other classmates. I guess home schooled kids are trying a little harder to make their way in the world these days. But Puck

Chapter Fifty

My Kindergartner in tomato red footie pajamas stood on my dresser, both hands clutched around the lenses of his binoculars, surveying the land out the window. Mostly houses halfway to falling apart in at least one corner, if not three… “What are you doing up there, bud?” “Ah, I’m

Chapter Forty-Nine

“Dad! Dad! I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! But I’m afraid… I’m afraid I broke your jump rope.” A disturbed young man still in his pajamas walked over to The Bear’s side of the bed. We knew he had been up for a little while

Chapter Forty-Eight

Bing Crosby’s White Christmas album wasn’t exactly how I envisioned myself starting a twenty-degree-cold Sunday morning in mid-February. Too soon, man. Way too soon. But Puck likes his Christmas tunes. Linnea-Irish hopped out of Dad’s gold car at the church door. A purple satin top, dark jeans,

Chapter Forty-Seven

So in good news, the buns [as in fuzzy] were doing well following rabbit surgery, even if a little sore. And in the worst bad news I could conjure, my dreams had been inadvertently and mostly just suggestively laced with images of Singham and his gravity-defying world. And then those

Chapter Forty-Six

Francis struck the big one today. That mountain of gold all those kids are sure absolutely signifies their induction into adulthood, but really only requires the draft, maybe voter’s registration, and a handful of other irrelevant or unnecessary legal allowances. And because we had already celebrated, pretty much all

Chapter Forty-Five

Hadn’t I just been talking to Joe Wednesday morning about teeth dreams? The kinds where all your teeth are loose and they start knocking around together in nightmarish collapses. And so I wake up Thursday morning with vivid memories of popping two of my upper incisors in and out

Chapter Forty-Four

5:30AM. Why did I have to wake up an hour early? Oh right, something about Rose being tested for strep throat. Maybe we picked up germs at her apartment, too. Never mind. It was a dream. Again. I rubbed my eyes. How could eyelashes be so loud? We left

Chapter Forty-Three

“Mom? Would you read this to me?” Puck held up the colorful instruction booklet for The Bear’s new transportable wireless digital hand-carry-able makes-chili-and-fries scanner. Cartoon instructions included. Sometimes it’s way too easy to chalk up a purchase as “school expenses”. We may or may not have included a

Chapter Forty-Two

Mondays are usually sunny around here it seems like. Maybe it’s because most people you talk to don’t like winter or Mondays and somehow the sun helps that I guess. Makes them feel a little more alive or something. I’m glad I’m not on that boat,

Chapter Forty-One

“We need to get up, OLeif…” “Yeah…” The Bear was snoring again in four seconds. And then I heard… a rumble. One of those beautiful rumbles we Snicketts family can’t help but be inspired by… “Thunder…!” I was up immediately. Unfortunately, there were only a few more, a few

Chapter Forty

The last memory of the night left me wondering what my brain did in those hours of unconsciousness. I could see it – the idea of it – something I was supposed to stitch up in needlepoint and hang on the wall – rose and aqua colors – or something like that. It was

Thirty-Nine

“Ha! Ha ha ha ha! Mom! I think I have to give this back to Sunday School! Ha! They gave me two red paper hearts when they thought they only gave me one! Ha ha ha! Ha ha! Aw…” Puck’s wake-up call this morning. The kitchen was an early

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Cough, cough. That’s all I needed to hear. “Tea, Puck. With honey and cinnamon.” “Mom, noooo! Please, not with honey and cinnamon!” It was Ireland out. A rain had fallen in the night. And the gray bands of sky slipping dark over yellow morning sun, left me thinking of

Chapter Thirty-Seven

“Francis. You look miserable.” He squinted his eyes in the still-early light… “That’s because I keep beating myself up.” He held out his thumb… “I jammed this at the Y. And then my nose during the life guard tests going down the slide…” It looked just like someone had

Chapter Thirty-Six

Rose texted me at 5:48AM. “I’m sick.” The bad cold sick. Of course she still went to work. But she was stocked with broth and tea for a hoped-for half-day. So our original plan to use her apartment as home base for the day had been adjusted. I

Chapter Thirty-Five

Sometimes The Bear and Puck swap goods – papers, folders, cards, etc. Today, Puck accidentally got his hands on a shooting range membership license, and thought twice about it… “Here, Dad,” he said, handing it back to him. “I have no right to keep this.” The sirens droned about three minutes

Chapter Thirty-Four

A familiar roll of rubber and metal on rubbly ice rumbles by the windows around six. I know that sound. Haven’t heard it in awhile though… “We’ll need to get going earlier,” I mumble to The Bear. “Sounds like something happened.” Four inches. That’s the estimate. The

Chapter Thirty-Three

Judah and Evangeline were back in the dreams that don’t work – a hazy reinterpretation of church, meeting in a dark-hallways school, thousands of paper cut-outs waiting for Sunday School. Evangeline was fine and normal, but Judah was a foot shorter and… Korean. “Mom?” – The chubby face peeks out from

Chapter Thirty-Two

The windows had frosted over in ice forests in the night. Puck squished Crackers in his arms at the breakfast table paraded with bananas, peach yogurt, and honey dew, which elicited only wild gold-eyed meows of protest. Puck took this response to mean only one thing… “Come on! You wanna

Chapter Thirty-One

Four AM. The Bear didn’t see feathers until that time. Fortunately he got the job done, whatever it was. Dark pages of endless green, white, and purple code that I used to know a fragment about, but forgot these seven years later. Somewhere around the time I was aware

Chapter Thirty

The wind cracked around the house. “The Willows” skies, tearing seams of dark and light. We whipped past the red beard brush by the long stretch of wildlife conservation. A little gray with the red. Mom and Carrie had repainted the kitchen a pale shade of yellow. A fat 1200+

Chapter Twenty-Nine

5:30AM. Click, pat, pat, pat. “Ok, he’s up.” This time, though, it’s Cracker’s fault. Hunting for food in Puck’s room, of course. Fortunately for myself and The Bear [who’s back is ailing him again], we had hit the hay at nine Monday night. So

Chapter Twenty-Eight

We shook things up. Now that Puck was halfway through Kindergarten, the idea of more field trips was intriguing. Even if it meant a 6:30 wake-up call for the one-tooth-less man snuggled under the covers, what did he mind? He was going on another adventure. The dark gray ride

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Click. Our door opened at 6:05AM. Maybe a little early for a Sunday morning. But it didn’t matter. When a kid with a 1981 quarter pressed into his fat paw comes to cuddle with his dad for comfort, it’s never too early. Let’s say it didn’

Chapter Twenty-Six

I still had bunny fur caked on my jams leggings from Thursday night. Those blankets see some action. The same bright colors patchwork quilt I slept with in high school that now has a hole gouged in the middle underside for some reason. And combine that with cat fuzz… something

Chapter Twenty-Five

Puck tapped my shoulder at 7:18. “Good morning, chubb-chubb.” “Good morning,” he grinned. “I’m really hungry, Mom. Can you make me a bagel for breakfast?” Turns out Francis, revving up the flight simulator with Puck for another round, was also interested in butter-panned bagels. I pictured two cowboys

Chapter Twenty-Four

I was in Korea, all the family. At some point, between being gifted a variety of flowers and fruits, we had been invited to join a local church during our visit. There, I assisted a grandfather and his grandson with the grandson’s mathematics textbook. The first word problem I

Chapter Twenty-Three

Nine hours of sweet sleep. I was a happier person. I’ve never been a good candidate for insomniacism, but that fluke sent me for a loop. Of course we couldn’t make it out of the house before Puck slid down the steps on his tailbone again, slipping on

Chapter Twenty-Two

I can’t say it was the least stressful time in my life. A third rough night of sleep proved that pretty well. Fortunately for my ego, I was appeased by the discovery that my “chain of lymph nodes” had already gone down in the night after one dose of

Chapter Twenty-One

I wasn’t exactly looking forward to Monday morning, no, not in the bitter cold of a sun-shocked January day. But it had to be done, I guess. The physical that shoots my heart rate up into the nethersphere of some place that makes the nurses look at you funny

Chapter Twenty

I don’t know if it’s a mother’s worst nightmare, or just my worst nightmare. Probably just mine, but… 12:59AM. “I threw up!” If a shot could shoot faster than me, I wouldn’t put a bet on it. Somehow The Bear was already in his room

Chapter Nineteen

I forget to ask questions sometimes. Like why The Bear needed to be at the Spanish house music school in Faust Park at 8:30 this morning. Puck and I weren’t about to be left behind, though. Puck packs down two eggs and two scones, resurrecting the pop-gun once

Chapter Eighteen

I was starting to get tired of dreams. Too many, too vivid, too… excessive. Hiding baby bees – cartoon fashion – in baskets in the rafters of my parents’ basement from a gaggle of greedy gals gluttonous for… honey? I think?… Streets at night, tall, thin women from Taipei or somewhere, very

Chapter Seventeen

6:50 and I’m awake, but I don’t get up yet. I’ve just come back from a modern German hotel. Everything was bright and whiter than I’m used to in my dreams. But I can’t linger; I wake the boys and scrub out the hall

Chapter Sixteen

The superfluidity of nonsense… Sometimes that’s better than seismic catastrophe in the night. Although sometimes I wish I was like Carrie or The Bear, who recall about five dreams a year. “According to research, this apple is not right.” Puck was sitting at the breakfast table smorgasbord… “Who’s

Chapter Fifteen

I don’t know if dreams are the result of deep, personal fears or just caches of forgotten clips from the day. Maybe neither. But when the centerpiece of my dream features the old riverfront – a society of antique pastel riverboats patched together in a violent community of outlaws and

Chapter Fourteen

Jiffy blueberry muffin mix – the kind without real blueberries of course, not-yet-blossomed daffodils crowding out the driveway, lonely summer mornings where everything is bigger and shadier and more spread out and wide… at least there weren’t any hurricanes or armageddons this time… Sometimes Puck gets a little carried away

Chapter Thirteen

Every night is a marathon, as far as my brain is concerned, mostly involving various forms of possible – or absolute – disaster. One panel after another. Last night’s dish-up had me observing relays of tornadic cell walls unleashing winds so strong they spun entire properties in large Victorian-style neighborhoods right

Chapter Twelve

I guess I was a little tired after a night of drowning in a twelve-foot pool on a ship after a world-wide flood, being held hostage by a determined outraged yellow jacket in my parents’ back yard that just would not give up the chase, and industrial gray harbor beaches

Chapter Eleven

Ten days crunch out quickly. I guess they always do. Last day of Greek, and Puck and I join in. Rain had come in the night, a drumming around ten o’clock. It was still present in the cords of gray stone on the side of the road, little green

Chapter Ten

Wham! Wham! Wham! The face of a still fairly popular animated absurd sea creature printed on mini punching rubber balloon ball flashed back and forth through the air over a bowl of steaming oatmeal. Puck’s grinning face behind it. Another trinket from his youngest aunt, pulled from a gumball

Chapter Nine

A smokey haze of cloud padded the sunrise this morning. Mist in the fields, stretching parallel to cords of ruby-lights traffic. I turned around in my seat to check on Puck. Whenever it’s too quiet back there… “Puck? What are you doing?” Instead of the upper body of my

Chapter Eight

6:52AM “BOO! Wake up, MOM!” We’ll get there. The Bear was already up anyway. Good thing, too, because in the process of sidelining me, Puck landed square on The Bear’s pillows. As rude awakenings continued, I was drawn away from another heavy sleep and elaborate madrigal dinners.

Chapter Seven

I had tossed a full bird’s nest’s worth of hair last night. That’s about the size of it, usually. Maybe I just don’t feel like shaving off The Bear’s mane every month, so I always let it get out of hand before doing anything about

Chapter 6

THUMP, thump, thump. 1:48AM… “What was that?” “The cat,” The Bear mumbled. He had forgotten to shut our door that night, apparently. Good training tool to keep her on Puck’s bed instead of ours. Later I found out she had bit The Bear’s arm, which resulted in

Chapter Five

“It’s… WAKE UP TIME!” Audible groans emitted from the mountain asleep beside me. Grubbing out eleven hours of Greek and then a Sunday School lesson involving the cosmos till one o’clock in the morning, interrupted only by an episode of Portlandia… and a 6:30AM wake-up call… “Puck.

Chapter Four

Snaps of lightening crackled across the comforter in the dark. A bundle of purring gray fuzz had wormed her way into the warm folds, waiting for the day to begin. I guess Puck hadn’t taken the bait – still slumbering heavily in his green room – so Crackers switched her charms

Chapter Three

An older woman with long white hair dug one confident hand gently into a box of blue licorice. She removed a handful and carefully fingered the pieces together in a rubbery stalk of blueberry-flavor. As in a PBS documentary from the early 90’s, a narration began to overdub the

Chapter Two

Puck sat back in his breakfast chair this morning, thoughtfully observing my plate of apple wedge and cheddar… “That’s theology berk,” he muttered. “What?” “Theology berk.” “What does that mean?” “Means it’s not healthy.” Just like yesterday when his pants were falling down a little and he diagnosed

Chapter One

Sometimes, when Puck isn’t here to bother, the cat will borrow me for her tightrope instead. I can feel the jumbo-marble-sized paws digging between my ribs in all the worst places. It’s like she’s kidney hunting. Still, sleeping in on New Year’s morning has its merits.

Candy & Ice

Last word I heard, a very eager Francis and Mom – always up for a ride anywhere – were apparently driving out at 7:30 in the morning to Troy, the dinky little town up north, [at least, that’s how we always remembered it], to see what prize the blue lights

3.5

The Bear had made Puck a promise last night. The last brownie in the box was his. When Puck finished breakfast at the table and turned to see the now quite-empty brownie box perched against the trash can… “Mom! Did you eat the brownie?” “I did not.” Puck studied the

Divide and Conquer

Snow. Yes, again, a mediocre dusting. Couldn’t even shame a snowglobe. But of course that didn’t matter to Puck, as he plunged into his double serving of oatmeal. Today, he had reason to dig deep. When breakfast was concluded, he would be participating in Christmas 2.5.   “I

The World is Full of Them

“Dad! Dad! There’s something inside my pillow! I heard it!” The Bear auto-piloted himself before six AM back to Puck’s room where the space-man pajamas had strolled our way again. I fell asleep while he was out, apparently, because when he returned my next question was… “Did you

That Makes Ten

Puck lifted an angry Crackers onto the red sofa this morning, in attack position to sort out a few issues of invisible knots… “Oh,” he muttered, finally settling the feline beside him. “I forgot. I can’t use Dad’s brush on her.” I offered him the loan of the

The Mending

6:01AM. Click. Light on in Puck’s room. That was a better wake-up call. Crackers had already begun her morning routine of rubbing her silky self against Puck’s head and stomach, subtly requesting breakfast from her master.   Puck and I chipped away at the dino block before lunch.

I'm Just So Distracted By Life

3:30AM. Yes, The Bear had succumbed. 5:15AM. “Happy Christmas, Mama!” Sweet boy. So maybe I only got six hours of sleep to kick off the biggest day of the year. But now it was my turn to take care of the sick one, as The Bear – gimpy-kneed/gimpy-legged

Reconstruction

There’s nothing like feeling decent again. Even if you’re low on nutrition and scrappy in church clothes, dirty hair, and no toothbrush. There’s still nothing else quite like it. It was still dark and Puck had an announcement across the floor to me… “Mom! My tooth is

The Storm

I knew the uncomfortable combination of uncertain stomachache and abnormal unexplained paranoia was not a good sign at seven o’clock in the morning. But I was dressed for church anyway.   I knew it before The Bear even called Gloria on our way to pick up Puck… “Oh, he did?

The Calm Before

It was the day Puck had been waiting for the whole week – aside from his new little buddy coming to visit on Friday – which, in Puck terms, might as well be “one hundred fifty thousand years”. He was going to The City Museum. For the first time ever, and with

Let's Look at Lightbulbs

A Dream Account I was late to catch a flight. So was The Bear, Puck, Mom, and Dad. Mostly because we were detained at security for failing to provide photo copies of the scissors used to clip our identification documents. Then there was something about making plans to create worlds

You Just Never Know

Sometimes I lose track of the days. What seems like one, is actually three. Here we were on a Thursday, and I couldn’t remember most of what had happened since Sunday. The wind was high. Way high. I could hear it tearing through the neighborhood even before we got

One More Time Around the Sun

I started my birthday morning with a 1:17 wake-up call from Puck. “I’m thirsty, Mom.” I knew forgetting him a glass of water for dinner would come back to bite me.   Later, at a more leisurely hour, I camped out on the couch with him to watch a

Can't Keep up in December

I opened my eyes to Puck stuffing a wad of tossed magazines beside my pillow. “Here, Mom. Your early Christmas present.” I groggily adjusted my vision in the early light. “Oh no, Puck… Did you…?” Yes. He had. See, about a month ago, I had finally realized that recycling the

Bacon is Good

Dream Account So maybe a wood mailbox is a bad idea anyway, but my dream implied that it becomes only more compounded when you need 22 neighborhood children to help eradicate the two gray mice who made their home inside it. Plus one little boy with black hair who drilled

Change Your Plans

Crackers had been removed to the basement for breakfast. After a time of contemplation, Puck opened the door and spoke carefully to her… “Crackers, you may come upstairs now. Tell me what you did wrong… I let you go, and you made the wrong choice… Are you bored of watching

Donuts, Games, & Wind

I heard the familiar soft pat-pat-pat footsteps of a young little gentleman upstairs somewhere before 6:30 that morning. It was only the fourth time I had been pulled from a groggy fog with the shrill ring of something nearby. Because I had camped out on the leather couch in

We All Play a Part

Now that Paige Popp had her little girl as well, her little lad was in need of a pal before his mom resumed work with the police force. Call in Puck. Puck, who will friend the mailbox. Unfortunately… when that little pal comes down with a low grade fever in

Take What You Get

Puck was one mad cleaning machine. “Check the windows in your room, Dad! They’re as shiny as a new whistle!” “Wow. They are, bud.” “Shiny as a bug,” Puck affirmed with satisfaction. “Come eat your banana when you’re done, Puck,” I instructed. “I won’t be done for

It Doesn't Happen Often

Dream Account I had just booked a ten-day vacation to the Portuguese Azores with National Geographic. Three minutes later I had to call and cancel, because it overlapped with another international trip The Bear and I were about to take.   The Day in all its Parts The last time we’

Hoy no es mi día

Puck sat at the breakfast table with a box on his head. A box as tall as his body, and more thin, with two eye holes cut out at the bottom. “What’s wrong with the basement, Mom?” he asked. “People wanted to make cheap houses fast a long time

From Basement to Attic

Crackers pounced on my head this morning to wake me up. Twice. Just like a tiger. I guess it’s her version of the Serengeti prowl.   Figures it would be the morning I was kind of cranky about the house being old and rusty and cracked and grungy. I get

One Way or Another

Dream Account Colin Farrell, with several accompanying friends dressed brightly as ancient Aztecs [maybe], bright red feathers and, things… were holing themselves up in my parents’ basement storage room. I was involved, I know, somehow. Maybe they thought it was a bomb shelter or a living time capsule. But six

What's a Bit More

“Mom! Mom! Crackers was greeting me with her morning delight! She was purring with me and walking around on my lap!”   It had rained in the night again. I keep missing it. Puck likes to open the front door and step out on the porch in the mornings to observe

We Like Tradition

We can’t get through a December without visiting two of our favorite spots in St. Louis. A ten-person passel made the guest list. Only because Francis and Linnea-Irish had asked friends to accompany. Apparently the companies for which Dad, The Bear, and Rose work – don’t honor the national

Don't Bring Out That Bugle

Dream Account The Dutch Serengeti… someplace in eastern Europe, but the map was turned 180 degrees to the… right… Carrie was insanely furious with me because I was supposed to be a bridesmaid in a wedding, where she was also bridesmaid, and in the process of walking across a rain-soaked

We All Celebrate Somehow

Dream Account I was involved in a major sort of swampy obstacle course. Freija Toast and Samantha Bee were there. Running out of a shopping mall through the back halls with The Bear and Puck, passing a few homeless people sleeping in corners of the shipping docks. We ran out

We Need More of That

Rain. Finally.   “Dad! Can you help me find my antique car Grandma Combs gave me?… Thanks!” Yes, Puck was on the prowl again at a [less] early hour, fortunately. Maybe the rain had lulled him asleep longer. Or maybe it was the new and improved set of curtains. The kitchen

Blow, Wind

Windows open. Monthly tornado siren test. December 3rd… I knew at least Carrie was happy with the initial progress of the white Christmas projections.   “Dad! Dad!” – Wumpf. A five year-old still in his pajamas came hurling himself onto The Bear’s back. – “Dad! Could you make me two toasts. And

All in a Day's Try

Dream Account We had a new pastor, I thought. I saw him in the office. A shorter fellow, sort of stocky, thin brown hair – possible goatee – long face, probably in a gray suit… can’t recall. Friendly, but left me thinking not so optimistically about him in general after first

What's in a Day?

It’s probably time we start rethinking Saturday being labeled as “Minecraft Day” around here. It’s basically license to say every Saturday is Christmas morning. 5:30AM. Oh, yes, he was up. After The Bear sent him back to snooze a little longer – maybe… 6:30AM “Mama! Mama!” Slowly

Where There's Imagination

Dream Account We had plans for an ocean escape in a small dinghy sort of contraption. Secrecy was highly necessary. All us kids with Puck and the Bear. In a last-ditch effort to gather the remaininig necessary supplies, I in vain searched for glow-in-the-dark nail polish, a huge jug of

Similar Things

Sometimes dreams are too residual. Last night’s waking someplace before 2AM left me in a world where polar tornadic storms apparently suck you up the basement stairs at your parents’ house, leaving you grabbing at the railing and your son while the rest of the family hangs on. And

And Behold

Sometimes I remind myself more of a popcorn popper than a human being in the mornings, right out of bed. Pop. Pop, pop. Shoulder, elbow, neck, knee… Pop, pop, pop.   Some scuffling was coming from the kitchen… “What’s going on in there, Puck?” “Crackers is being a stinker, Dad.

How Do You Think?

“Bandaid! I need a bandaid!” I un-pillowed my head once again to the most recent outcry. “What did you do this time, Puck?” “Blood!” In desperation, the chap turned to the nearest form of salve available… “Don’t wipe it on the!… wall… Puck.” The pin-prick of blood from a

Puck's Eye View

“I have a cavity.” The ominous proclamation shattered the early morning silence. I lifted tired head from pillow… “What, Puck?” He glared back at me, two feet planted solidly in the hallway, against the injustice of a cruel, cruel world… “I have a hole in my tooth.” “Does it hurt?

Party Like It's 1874

I know that, on a sleepy Sunday morning, there’s nothing better to rouse my young chap than a silky purring feline. Even at 6:35, the trick is appropriately effective. A young man wrapped in Christmas red footies, rolled over to cuddle his little monster, mumbling something about… “What

A Broom

The Bear thought it would be hilarious to scare me this morning. For the record, this is pretty much an impossible thing to do. And also for the record, all I did was walk into the bathroom, set down a towel and wash cloth by the sink, and… “Rawr!” Fortunately

A Pan

While people everywhere wrapped up their tents and sleeping bags from cold hard pavement on a very dark gray morning, trampling each other into bins of discount Blue-rays and snow cone machines, I… …decided to spend my morning, by eight o’clock, organizing Puck’s room. Again. With a right

A Pot

The past few years we’ve sort of followed the three-part series version of Thanksgiving…   Episode One – Christ OPC, which was housed in a new facility in St. Charles, and where The Bear and Curly violin-ed and guitar-ed the hymns. And though I still find some bitter flavor in Pilgrim-aic

A Little Bit of That

Arm surgery without sedation. Abandoned brownstone Greek senate house in Jeff City tour. It was with great relief that I woke this morning realizing that my right arm was not about to be opened.   Fog in the morning is the second-best way to start a morning. Second to thunderstorms. But

A Little Bit of This

The morning was split up with corn tortilla flatbreads and cold brie. Between IM conversations and emails, catching up on to-do lists and projects, Puck was standing behind me cloaked in an evil giggle, sticking a bar of velcro to my sweater. After he had plastered his sweatshirt and face

If I Lived in 1862

“Should I tell all of my friends that God is my great great great great uncle?” Leave it to a kid to get to the bottom point. “Well…” It’s Kindergarten logic true, even if it sounds terrible. After all, when Jesus is, indeed, your blood great-great-great etc. half uncle…

No Special Reason

So it just sort of felt like the right kind of day to present Carrie-Bri with a stack of gifts for no documented reason. Maybe throw in a little cake too. And because no one could really think of what to have for dinner, Mom asked me to make two

To Each His Own

Six hours of sleep wasn’t what I had wanted, but life is life, and I welcomed my chubby-chinned son over to give me a morning hug. He obliged, but added further thoughts, or rather conditions of the future… “Mom, you know, I don’t know what God has planned

What do You do with the Mad that You Feel

I almost punched something last night.   It had been awhile since all the girls of the family had taken off a night together. Linnea had strep, so Carrie took her ticket to the organ concert Rose had discovered during the week. “How long is this thing going to last?” Carrie

Let's Find Something Awesome

The alarm came too early this morning. “I made my own breakfast!” Puck announced from the doorway. I’d say “poor kid”, but it’s sort of one of his dreams. After congratulating him and dragging myself into the reality of a new day, I noticed the almost-full cereal bowl

Remember Who You Are

My dreams are often no more than a nuisance. I’m not liking this latest kick… Greasy French kings from the 1500’s [I’ll blame that on genealogical research], wind suit wind surfing in the Bahamas…   Magic marker pasted the edges of Puck’s mouth. The result of intense

You Explain One

As I explained Spurgeon to the Puck this morning, his thoughts tumbled out in rapid succession… “Will there be a golden ladder going up from the new earth to heaven?” “I don’t know how that will work…” “How long will it take?” “Well, I think time will be different

Another Take

I dream about tornadoes a lot. Sometimes they’re some fantastic monsters, too. But last night was the first time I came up with a false tornado, that somehow still blew out someone’s basement window. Follow that up with Raggedy Anne and Andy [not the doll version] and “angry”

Drip, Drop

Puck watched a threatening breakfast sky through the window whose shade Crackers had not attacked… Principally because there wasn’t one there anyway. “Look at those clouds moving fast out there, Mom. That means there are going to be storms. They’re searching for rain to pick up.” Then he

Always Entertained

“Let’s build that earthworks house.” The Bear has this dream of an underground house. This particular blueprint is resistant to fire, earthquakes, atomic bombs, and zombies. I said I’ll think about it. After all, I had been thinking something nearer a Japanese shoebox, but… who am I kidding?

We Were Crazy

Sometimes days run like lists. I know my propensity is to see the world in numbers, in mathematical equations, statistics, charts, etc. And sometimes my brain just runs on auto-pilot, really. Other times, though, they’re just parades of random notes… * My eyes are a set of regular lint catchers.

Light at the End of the World

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have ten Pucks. Just for grins. If I had ten Collettes, I probably wouldn’t notice much of a difference between two Collettes and ten Collettes. Decently quiet, not a lot happening, just marking checklists, keyboard tapping, some light conversation during

Interesante

Asiago bread bites are probably a very terrible idea to begin the morning, I’ve found. While some people get the jitters from coffee, I manage to find the same reaction in bread. But when bread-cravings call, bread-cravings call. In other news, after dreaming that the vote was determined 60-something/

As Usual

“They’re acting like evil twins,” Puck announced with solemn observance. Another six-am groggy wake-up call. Crackers and Stinkerbelle were still mad at each other, for no apparent reason, which proved to provide an excellent ride on the way to the vet in Chesterfield that morning. Stinkerbelle meowed mournfully from

Tenemos Vida

Clink. Tumble. Clink. Tumble. The sounds of a quiet, Quiet Hour, in which the Lego box and clothes dryer mesh in simple harmony. A harmony that is much-appreciated after the drain, already, of another Monday morning.   As I removed a selection of items from the refrigerator that evening… ACHOO!! “Puck,

No Straight Faces

Church included… 1. Remedying a bleeding cankersore during the last hymn. [I think I’m becoming less confident with blood the older I get.] Then I felt silly after Mrs. Abbott explained she had once handled seventeen sores at the same time. She was a regular pro. 2. A passel

Unexpected Entrées

Dreamt I was drowning. Three times. Not sure what that implies, exactly – probably something mystically ridiculous – but it’s not a fair feeling unconsciously holding your breath under fictitious ocean and then gasping for air in the middle of the night.   It was nine o’clock and I still hadn’

Another Day, Another Anti-Dollar

Uuuuugggg… I decided to complain on virtual paper only. Now I know why they call them “bad” colds. I don’t remember getting stuff like this when I was a kid. [Or maybe it was just because I didn’t have adult obligations to fulfill when I was eight.] But

Offenses

Thump, thump, thump. Puck marched down the hallway, already seeing to business… “Where did I put that tortilla I chomped?” he muttered to himself.   Even though my sort of illusive cold had not yet disappeared, the regular amusements of the day had not been lost on me. Namely, cleaning and/

Creepy Corners

6:21 AM. Still wasn’t feeling so great. But things had to be done. I was back out serving up fried eggs in the groggy black morning. The Bear’s lunch had to be packed, which he forgot of course. I remembered it was Hallowe’en about an hour

Just Don't do Anything

The Bear pointed out a small patch of rainbow trying to build momentum this morning on our ride out. He treated us to croissant sandwiches, a word which Puck has learned to pronounce very well, I might add. Must be that ancient French blood in there.   With Theodore and Gloria

Epidemic

Puck crafted a blue “bow tie for Donkey” after breakfast while I continued disemboweling all the bags and sacks from the weekend. He’s so proud of learning how to tie knots and bows; I’m kind of surprised I don’t find my own shoes hopelessly knotted.   There was

Let Goods and Kindred Go

When Puck was handed another shopping bag of confiscated baseballs, golf balls, and tiny wiffle balls from Mr. Knotts at church before the service, his eyes brightened. “Go thank him during the greeting time,” I whispered to him. “Do you see him sitting over there?” Puck craned his neck… “Yes.

Make Stuff

“Boys!” Dad steadily shouted down the basement staircase, listing his announcement in bullet points. “Sausage! Scrambled eggs! Waffles! Come now, or forever hold your peace.” It didn’t take long to get the message across as Puck enjoyed some toons – a luxury – over his own hot plate, which Mom had

Here it Comes

Plunk. Right back in the desk chair. I wanted to believe they had immediate plans to hire a new secretary, but sometimes I just got that feeling… At least there was heat, a water cooler, and the internets.   Everything catches up with me this year, I confess. Here comes another

Let's Just Speed This Up

Maybe my best accomplishment in this drag of a collectively mounting things-I-have-to-figure-out week… Finally convincing Puck that Kleenex is his friend. The house smelled so heavily of Vicks Vapor this morning, that I quickly shoved open all the windows. I guess I overloaded the humidifier a little last night. The

Bronze Medal

So… Reality. Reality, reality. Now that the last seven to eight months of a great show [especially considering all the significant turn-over and extensive impacting injuries] had been rolled up and stuffed into the back of the dresser drawer until spring, I had to deal with the rest of life.

What Now...

Sometimes bronze medals still bite.   Collette’s dreams: Running from a monstrous bullish sort of animal, which was fighting with a donkey [I believe], and a cobra – watching from a high rocky cliff under the moon and wind with Puck.   Puck’s dream: “I had a dream the moon fell

(untitled)

Weep.

Not Gone Well

Prior to the officer vote at church this morning, there wasn’t enough time to allow questions to be addressed to the prospective elders and deacon, so The Bear, Francis, and I came up with our own, whispered back and forth down the row… “What’s you favorite color?” “Are

Two Shots Left

Perhaps indicative of my lingering feelings from Friday night, I dreamt through a New York City earthquake about three hundred stories up high in a skyscraper of flats. Why New York, I can’t say. The reality of a subtly tweeting morning bird eventually lulled me out of it. “I’

I'm not certain I heard you...

Puck emerged from the kitchen before seven o’clock that morning, gasping for air, as if he had just swallowed ghost chilies. “I almost ran out of the house, it tasted so bad!” I raised an eyebrow at him; I know I did. “It’s water, Puck.”   Arriving at the

I'm sorry. What were you saying?

“Want to dig up the yard, Puck?” I asked. “YES! Let’s go!” I explained that we had to prepare the tools of the dig before we were able to just go on an arrowhead hunt, which meant maybe next week. So instead he arranged those tiny town Christian school

Don't bother me about that now, man! It's the play-offs!

“Do you want to grab a banana before we go, Puck?” “That would be pleasant.” It was not quite seven, and we were hitting pavement again in time for The Bear to make mid-terms.   It is gorgeous now. The beauty of an autumn earth. It’s almost like a train

Hunt it Down

Before eight o’clock that morning… “Mom! Crackers is eating the playdough!” Then I caught Puck climbing trees in my Picaso wellies. I wouldn’t mind, except that he’s OLeif’s son, the son of the man who tears holes in new jeans and shoes after thirty minutes of

The Wait Game

I was tired. Puck popped his cheerful head into our room this morning… “Good morning! Don’t forget, I need to swallow another pill!” This “pill” of course, is basically just vitamins, ground bone, and vegetable extracts. But still, it made him proud.   Puck had gotten busy creating a new

The Art of Eclecticism

Despite a tempered sniffle, Puck was himself again, so he sat with me during church and was regrettably kept from Sunday School. To cheer his dis-cheer, I told him about my dreams in the night, which he asks about often… “We were out in the mountains and found a giant

The Unpredicted

Hanging on four hours of sleep last night, the seven alarm created endless loops of “If I Were a Rich Man” spinning through the forgotten musicals cobwebs of my brain. For no logical reason whatsoever. So that was a little annoying. But. The largest elimination comeback game in post season

What.

My red bean bento box and a detailed three-ring binder checklist was all I needed to get me through Friday #1. I was back in the office. The illusive snail that sometimes reminds me it’s still there. 9,384 miles back, but it’s still there. Waiting to drown

Find a Secretary

Puck was busy karate slicing all objects in eye’s sight… “Slice!… Slice! Slice!”   In between catching glimpses of afternoon innings, Puck and I continued our activities on a mildly cool October afternoon. Later, when I brushed out my hair, Puck looked at it admiringly, and took a handful of

The Feed

Puck eyeballed his oatmeal skeptically, as usual. “Mom? Know why I don’t want to eat this?” he pointed at the corner patch of gruel. “Swamp heaven.” He ate it anyway.   Puck stuffed his lips with happy yellow-orange peach wedges to make juicy grins in the hand mirror. “Mom, doesn’

Bugs & Floods

We explored space this morning, and learned the difference between meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites. Puck studied an image of a melted meteorite landed in Australia, composed partly of nickel. “Mom? Did someone just toss a coin out of a space ship and it turned into that rock when it hit

Fake It

Smash. Yes, another mash of glass and milk on the linoleum. The one time he chooses a thin glass cup that’s already lasted a mildly surprising eight years, over the Cars plastic cup. But we get over it. Carrie emailed me early – “Want to model for us…?” I didn’

What You Want in a Birthday

Linnea had reached a milestone for Missouri teenagers. A driving permit was just tickling in reach. But she had a cold, and didn’t stay for Sunday School. I think my neck burned from 10:30-11:30, backed up against the window, despite cool breezes in the 40’s.   We

Hunting for Something

I woke up late somewhere from 1) grocery shopping with Puck at Dierberg’s – eggs, chives, sweet potatoes, bananas, garlic, 2) sky-diving with Carrie right over a country of dense woods, and 3) Eve Avonlea wanting her lawn seeded before the baby came. The boys were deep into Minecraft already

When You Don't Expect It

Thunder cracked through domestic dreams of purchasing a different house, I think, and Mom telling me about her and Dad’s upcoming 41 days of travel to three countries in Europe and South America: Hungary, maybe Sweden, and who knows. So, yes – thunder. 6:30 in the morning. Just what

See Me Climb

As a mom with an avidly adventurous son who has lately requested that we rename him one of the following: * Adventurer Puck * Detective Puck * Mischief Puck …and with the gracious gift of a car left in the driveway, we hit the park. Good thing, too, because while today’s high

Thanks, Puma

This is when things really start to get interesting. With the Cardinals’ clinch of the second wild card late last night, a final pressure-less game set up a bold stage for a one-game winner-takes-all wildness in Atlanta, Friday night.   Puck was a little enthralled with the avocado seed I peeled

Tame a Tornado

Puck shuffled with a grin to unlock the front door for me, still enrobed in his spaceship footies. Minutes later he was cuddling bunnies with Linnea after a breakfast of fried eggs, moving onto a box of brightly colored wood shape blocks, railroad tracks, and Playmobil, shelling a large ziplock

¿Otra vez?

The Bear didn’t want to scoop himself out into a cold gray October first morning on the bike to a full crammed day of work, skipped lunch – well, a box of leftover Hawai’ian flatbread, fries, avocado, and deviled egg tucked down in between whatever – Greek class, and the

Add it Up

An image of Puck walking out to the car this morning – striped sweater over collared shirt with clip-on tie , a sandwich bag filled with pea gravel under one arm. Cross-eyed. I don’t ask questions. Well. Sometimes.   We polished off a sermon on hell – which was actually very sound and

Tell me a Tale

Puck rummaged through his cache of library books this morning while rapping – quietly, go figure – more lyrics from Krispy Kreme: “I. Am. The baddest of them all.” In his robot shirt. With a spyglass. Usually, little boys are the best. I knew I was going to get one. I’m

Tally Quick

Puck’s morning started with a bowl of cereal and a – “Dad? Would you give me permission to spawn pigs?” This would, naturally, be a surprising inquiry from any five year-old. Prior to the genesis of “Minecraft”, that is… We live in an age of space. Beyond space. Which is

The Clock Ticks

We had one of those English moors mists this morning – if England has moors. Maybe that’s only Scotland. Anyway, it’s what you’d picture an English misty morning to be like, and it lasted longer than usual. We sent The Bear out the door with a reserve stash

The Day Andy Williams Died

Sometimes even I have to recognize the unacceptably ridiculous train of my thoughts. What sometimes I prefer to view as the Orient Express or a Japanese bullet train is often, more than not, a clunky caboose falling off the tracks into woods of rabbit trails. Like last night, falling asleep…

We Want Some More

The nights have been colder now, so we hoped the mosquitoes had “disappeared theirselves”, as Puck would put it, and we could once again enjoy the seat from our front porch. Thick swarms of little devils had constantly plagued our attempts throughout the spring and summer. We took tea and

Ingrain

“It’s a plant, Mom.” “What’s that?” I looked back at the pair of serious eyes staring at me across the table and the empty cup Puck held up to me. “There’s a plant,” he repeated. “In here.” I looked inside. A stray fleck of golden apple, or

We're the Toughest of the Tough

After Puck simmered over the 102 mark, we tucked him down for the night. “How do you feel, bud?” “Good,” he nodded, tiredly. An hour later, the fever broke in his sleep. This is a pretty tough chap. The Bear caught him eating corn chips under our bed at ten

Is the Last Man Left

My body was not interested in complete recovery just yet. I dawdled. Plain, boring, gooey oatmeal. I sound like a kid in a kid’s book.   We had been invited to dinner. This was actually, I believe, a “first” for us. Maybe mostly given the lack of intentional social… “mingling”

The Only One Who Leaves

I dragged myself out of random dreams later than usual this morning. The groggy throat-eyes-cough had caught up with me a little. [I guess the ballpark adrenaline cure was only momentary.] So this called for tea and porridge. Puck too. Carrie-Bri suggested honey and cinnamon with the tea, which seemed

A Battle to the Death

After a tidy shut-out win down at Busch last night, nothing follows up that kind of entertainment better than a vet appointment, shots, vet bills, the dentist [with cankersore, I might add], and more Greek flashcards. Yawn… Puck enjoyed his Wednesday night with Carrie though. She drove him up to

It's a Fight to the Finish

With game days throwing a small unconventional loop in the schedule, we ran around back and forth to kick up the bulk of the day between various methods of transport while Puck knocked back a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of tea to cure the cough… also singing enormously

Yo Cocino el Pollo para la Cena

Somewhere in the morning I woke from dreams of high storms on the open sea by grand cruise ship, frightening swells. But no one seemed to mind it.   We got a good deluge last night while the Bear cranked out some hard Gospel through the minor lightening show in the

Monday Monday

The temporary rain pushed the wads of mosquitos back onto the porch, so we couldn’t sit out watching bleary-eyed nature for long. Instead, we holed up for the morning.   By lunch, the rain was steady and heavy. Crackers watched behind the shade in the living room. There aren’t

It Takes all Kinds

Grandma Combs handed me a box of unconventionally-colored gummy bears [including pink lemonade] at church for Puck. Mr. Puck, sporting a new blue collared shirt, clip-on tie, dark jeans, and very faded-stained superheros chucks, waved back to Anneliese from the balcony. All of his Sunday School friends willingly participated in

Pick a Shelf

So Saturdays usually call for a dish of Minecraft and eggs-in-a-nest for the boys. This morning’s run even included a brief documentary on sea pens. I turned on the heater for one of the rare times this year while they breakfasted in the library. Sounds half a ton more

Something Cooked Up

We kicked things off with a little rain residue, sweatshirt tunics, and the usual joint-popping. We Snicketts tend to have weak joints. Hey, I’d rather be known for that medical issue than most others.   So by the end of the week, I weed the fridge down to somewhere about

Calvin's Mom

After we explored dinosaur eggs this morning, Puck was all ramped up to start the dig. “I want one of my very own, Mom!” [Since when did he leave off with “Mama”?…] “I’m afraid we would have to give a dinosaur egg to the museum, my friend,” I explained.

Snores

The chaps in red were really getting killed out in San Diego. Beat up, bruised, men down, shredded… things were hanging by that proverbial, highly unkind thread. If they could just last… twenty… more… games.   But life went on. Cat rescue at 8:18 AM. After removing her from the

You Know It's Coming

The spiders were back. And by “spiders”, I mean one half-a-big-mama in the empty laundry basket in the basement. Which – I can only presume – fell from the ceiling and had become trapped. And, unlike the other day where I thought I might have improved as a person by not destroying

Remains of the Day

Dreams of high hills in the Middle East, sloping into short woods infested with bears and swarming honey comb while en-route to escape… I have to say, sometimes my dreams are fully entertaining.   I looked more like a golden-haired beet walking around in her flags-of-the-world t-shirt, ballet leggings, and black

You Know How it Goes

Church came coupled with fried chicken, pasta salads, baked beans, an abnormal variety of fruits, and moderate to healthy sunburns. Plus that bluegrass music they keep trying to sell us on. Maybe I’m just that one hard sell. I’m all for people enjoying their own types of music.

Didn't Expect It

After I caught up on a disappointing wee-hours-o’-the-night game – poor old chaps – and had served Puck his breakfast oatmeal and blueberry tea, I looked over to find him busy drinking said tea from a small rolled seashell, over his empire of Lego city-states and Calvin-&-Hobbes towers. When

Sleepy Numbers

I have decided that there are few semi-physical activities more sleep-inducing than archiving library items in a spreadsheet. I don’t know how many times… Although it started with a bacon, egg, and cheese McGriddle, because I guess Mom and I just didn’t feel like participating in the mash

Catch a Catch-Up

Before lunch, Puck got busy constructing a “paper ball maker” involving mail coupons and a bathroom sink stocked with discolored purple ink-water. I’m all for creativity, as long as it’s responsible, considerate creativity. Just more ways to learn “school”.   The wind rolled up wild in the afternoon bringing

Tempting

At a sleepy arrival some six or seven hours later, Puck was already being toted out to Walgreen’s in Big Old Green by Francis for a gallon of breakfast milk. Mom had the counter grill frying bacon and eggs, which Linnea – lounging on the roof before the weather – supplemented

Let Them Eat Nachos

The Bear sat at his home-desk for the day after escorting in a hot coffee from someplace close while Crackers joined Puck over his egg plate.   So… That time I knew was coming had finally arrived. SCHOOL TIME! [TIME… TIME… TIME…] [Again, I can only imagine those words echoed in

Hours of the Day

After a crabby greeting from Puck, he calmed down under a cool fan and a can of “fake pop” [sparkling water] in the basement away from the muggy dark clouds of the late morning. Curly left for Nashville after twelve. Now that universities were done and done, he returned to

Cake it On

Puck was already lobbying to attend Children’s Church that morning as I sleepily pulled his breakfast yogurt from the fridge. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Mom,” he said importantly, “but I didn’t get to go in one hundred weeks.”   Early gray spritz sent us winding towards church,

Talk and Play

It was a Minecraft-fun-breakfast morning. As I washed up dishes, made beds, swept up, etc., I called to the Bear in the other room… “Are you studying Greek?” “Nope. Looking up donut places.” And my boys certainly don’t need computers to provide entertainment… “I’m gonna go swat mosquitoes!

Need for Speed -- Truly

Early ride out – 7:30. The Bear was off work for the holiday weekend, but seminary didn’t observe Labor Day Friday, apparently. We joined him. After Puck downed another breakfast sandwich in the car, he tucked both hands behind his head, propping dried muddy boots on the console. We

Think, Work, Think

Dreams composed of audience participation air-ballet, endless public metaphors regarding “uncomfortable” colors and tin foil…   Puck was busy sketching dungeons and water-slides with purple pencil before breakfast, still clothed in his red footies, which are becoming too small. “Crackers. Eat your food before it goes to waste,” Puck commanded from

900

The church library. We were quickly running out of time in a project I, most of the time, forgot I had promised to direct. I carved out Wednesday, in full if necessary, to complete with Mom and another church lady the sorting, labeling, and shelving 900 of the current adult

The Old Favorite

Eight. My once-favorite. And today, on the eighth month, on the 28th, we celebrated our eighth.   We welcomed that day with a moderate feline disaster shortly after four in the morning. Apparently Pumpkin decided our couch was a better place to… relieve herself… Also with the hissing-growling combination that Crackers

Decadence, Not

When I suggested to the Bear that we visit stingrays at Caribbean Cove on Monday morning – yes, another vacation day tacked on just for kicks – the Bear’s response somehow just didn’t surprise me… “Can they do math with their fins?” [I don’t really know why…] We went

Water Water Everywhere

Weird – only one Sunday skipped from church, and somehow I couldn’t immediately conjure up the old routinely as perfectly as I would have liked. For lunch mostly: everyone teased Joe, Mom started singing “Kumbaya” because we were all together again, discussing Linnea needing eyeglasses, the weather, arguing about the

The Day Neil Armstrong Died

Unconventional Norwegian models road-tripping, rubbing oatmeal on their faces. Not the dream I necessarily hoped to have…   “Crackers! Come here! Come as you’re called, Crackers! Come to Daddy!” Sometimes… Puck, overly ambitious, “coaxes” Crackers from remote corners, resembling a tug-of-war pulled tea. Floozie had departed the premises with Rose,

Let There be Mailboxes and all Good Things

After a late night crunching out some basic graphic design models, the Bear rested off another neck-ache – he must have sneaked in a Dr. Pepper someplace – before the real morning began. Puck was already shouting from down the hall… “And, Dad! God is at the top of space! At the

This is How We Vacation

The Bear sliced off a couple of vacation days to throw out the junk bazaar in the basement and spruce up some paint, siding/gutter repair, mailbox, etc. outside the cracker box. I am very grateful. Meanwhile, the cats do their own share of re-destroying whatever I happen to clean

Linnea's Bucket List

Joe cracked open the door to St. Louis I’m guessing sometime before four o’clock this morning – after three months of adventurelanding the realms of all things Boy Scout. Even twelve-days-short-of-24-years-old young guys find themselves homesick by the end of that. Puck got down to business wrapping up bars

Burn the Books

Following a light sprinkle of rain – can never say that without conjuring images from the classic “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”; great book – we shipped out to the Bear’s Greek verbs-tenses-paradigms-of sing-song-sung Phonics-style, mixed with a hint of ancient Hebraic chanting. Oh. This is going to be a

Dopey Stuff

When I start hearing too many crashes, slams, and thuds from the living room, while the Bear is recovering from yet another migraine… It’s time to get up.   That baby bunny from under the shed – full-grown buck now – munched his breakfast staring passively-taunting at Floozie, pawing the glass. Puck’

Good Stuff/19 on 19

Aside from the weirdness of not attending church for, I believe, the first time in nineteen months, if memory serves – which it occasionally does – we piled up a box of truffles for the family at The Chocolate Box. Dark chocolate, raspberry, and mint. We don’t really shop much.   Babysitting

How to be Surprised

A giant yellow frog was hopping on the end of my bed this morning. Hop. Hop. Hop. Yellow only because the Kindergartner was donned in my eleven year-old Budapest Vacation Bible School t-shirt scrawled in Hungarian, clip art, and impossible-to-remove blueberry stains.   The Silverspoon house was completely gutted, and represented

How to Have Fun

Puck had found the pasta. He marched around gripping a handful of dried spaghetti with a grin equal to discovering the sunken Spanish mother-load off the coast of Florida. Like aunt, like nephew, I guess. He munched away while the Bear – in newly splattered bleach speckled Duluth pants [not my

Organized Disorder

I woke up Thursday morning thinking that something good had happened. Oh, right. The Cards had just tied Pittsburgh for the Second Wild Card.   Meanwhile, Puck was crazy-busy scrawling Swedish phrases at the kitchen table over oatmeal and milk. At least, that’s what it sounded like when I read

Data Entry Data Entry Zzzz...

7:01. Whine, whine, whine went the alarm. I had a seriously difficult time remembering which day it was. Sunday was my first thought.   Back on the ranch, that dead tree was slowly coming down, limb by crackly limb, scattered in skeleton stacks in an artist’s interpretation of the

Mold in Your Throat

Every morning since “The Quake of ’08”, I’ve been watching a line in the ceiling slowly descend and split near the bedroom door. Lately, a small piece of that plaster has been cracking off from this bulging fault-line, bit by bit every day. It is now dangling by a

Boys and Their Ways

There’s nothing quite like begin woken up to your tank of a Kindergartner sitting heavily on your back (aka “lungs”), practically head-butting you like a grown cat… “It’s morning time, Mom!”… with enough joy to suggest you just won Publishers Clearing House to get you up at a

Less Embarrassing

With our visiting reverend hauled in from seminary for the morning, we were basically guaranteed at least two bow-ties by the addition of Dr. Jimmy Agan. As Francis walked behind Puck to his seat, Puck – busy putting thought to paper with squibbly letters – whispered loudly to him, “Francis! I have

Circus of Dirt

You know it’s going to be an awesome day when I break sleep from a Mohawk Indian driving a small orange car from the 1970’s or 1980’s. Then I saw him later at church in my row in full headdress. 6:15 alarm. 7:00 departure. Breakfast

Too Soon

The sun poked out sort of creepy before nine this morning, like a haunted day. The cats liked it, sun-bathing on the cool linoleum of the kitchen, while Crackers hunted – and ate – random pieces of cat-infused fuzz. The Bear stayed late to read “The Happy Hollisters” to Puck. He likes

From Puck's Ears

So… a rather harshly demoralizing Wednesday night baseball game accompanied by highly unusual and less than exemplary behavior by the St. Louis crowd was consoled a little by the Noahic deluge and accompanying hail. I’ll admit it. I’m sure it didn’t comfort the boys in red too

One More Thing

I had my share of trouble falling asleep last night. Just that surplus of adrenaline after eleven; overflow of ideas. Last night it was because I had a ridiculous notion for incorporating a medal system, Olympics-style, into major league baseball, based on pure accumulative statistics during the regular season, in

Fix Me Tea

Puck requested tea for breakfast. In America, I have to believe that this is somewhat… odd? Of course, this is the same kid who eats salad raw – no embellishments whatsoever – and likes it. Will ask for it, if I forget to add it to his plate. Beats me. So I

Things that Have to Happen

The Bear switched on some old-time New Orleans jazz on our ride out this morning. I’ve learned to accept the Bear’s taste in music. Honestly, I guess most things don’t bother me all that much, even if I enjoy pessimistic studies and/or tirades of these same

Entertainments

The winds were huge last night. Huge enough to split off half the persimmon tree in Mom’s and Dad’s backyard, which left a jungle for Puck to explore. The lightening had been incessant over a couple of hours at least, which sent Carrie, Lucia, Rose, and Linnea to

Goodbye, Hello

“THUNDER! Thunderstorms, Mama!” I slapped my son a high five. This was, indeed, perfect news. I think, though, that I fell asleep again following this early morning interruption, because next thing I knew, a chatty teepee was sitting beside me, shrouded with a flashlight under the covers. “I found a

Check off the List

It was time to toss Puck’s black Chucks. The kid had worn them straight through, and they didn’t fit anymore anyway, even though I knew he would plead to salvage them, like he does with every scrap of everything in his life. So in they went with the

Yah-Yah

Puck’s first issue of the day – smashing his piggy bank. “Where’s Daddy’s hammer, Mama?” It’s plastic. Upon inquiring why, exactly, he wanted to remove the contents of the red pig, he explained it this way… “You remember when I dumped out half a gallon of Grandma’

Clean up the Act

So this time I dreamt up another weirdo concoction in which I – and the Bear – purchased a banana plantation in southeast Africa for $30,000-$40,000 in a country beginning with the letter “H” (as there is no such country, I believe I confused it with “Northern R(H)

Make it Count

One of the first things I noticed this morning was the smudges on my dresser mirror, because they had somehow fashioned themselves into an honest-to-goodness Tatooine Jawa – glowing eyes included. I know this because my sister was a nerd in the mid-90’s and didn’t know it. Before a

And so it Continues

I usually don’t need help remembering my dreams, but sometimes I get on kicks where I don’t even have a choice. They just sit there and stare at me the next morning till I acknowledge them. This time, Chris Carpenter dug up large gallons of grape juice in

Lessons in Optimism

“Aaah! Dad! Emergency! Emergency!” This before-seven-AM “emergency” was nothing more than Crackers wedging herself behind a passel of wires on the crown of the basement air vent. Also about this time, the smoke detector starting screaming. “Is it legitimate?” the Bear inquired sleepily, emerging from the back rooms. No. Just

Here We Are

Days that start with nightmares are never promising. Also, days where you run out of time for breakfast are not so spectacular. “Is that a termite?” the Bear asked casually as we backed out of the driveway. Oh, yes. This was going to be another winner. I realize any singular

Let the Games Begin

My primary job for today was – as usual – hoping my son survived whatever crazy notions struck his brain as “good ideas”. Naturally, I exaggerate. Most mothers do, I imagine. [By the way, am I the only person who conjures up matronly-hair-netted-rocking-chair-1830’s images at the term “mother”? Either that, or

Stuff & Stuff

By the time I arrived to pick up the Chub-Chub – who is really more lanky than baby fat anymore – he was lounging on Carrie’s shoulder on the couch like a prince sharing a laptop – adventuring in aviation over Egyptian deserts – or something like that. Linnea was just walking out

Together Again

After a daily dish of morning Caribbean techno, which had included my son hopping around with a happy fingers pointed skyward – Grandma Combs-style – which had followed Puck begging for mercy from being tickled to death with the excuse, “The house is melting!”… we got on to the real part of

If Dreams Were Reality

I never know what to think about a day that ignites with dreams of parched red corn ears cooked in milk, orange-mangos that grow without peels, and square dancing exhibitions at church featuring Clayton Kershaw of the LA Dodgers…   Dad’s daily devotion covered death this morning, and mentioned the

Back to One

Having a cat is a remarkable adjustment. Well, for me anyway. For the first time in my life, I have to remember to always set a volume of Spurgeon’s Sermons over my drinking glass for the day, every time I leave the kitchen. Because if I don’t, Floozie

What You Do in Summer Sundays

I was peeled away from exploring giant Egyptian cave-tombs by the announcement from my son that – “I have a boo-boo on my toe!” “Is it bleeding?” “Yes.” “You shouldn’t be wandering around the basement without shoes on,” was Bear’s concerned reply. [Fortunately, he has his tetanus shot.] “What

And One More Round

I probably mention it too much, but – I have a pretty bad sense of smell. I think it might have something to do with the time I landed teeth-first in the top of my brother’s skull. [But that’s another story.] See, I have this unfortunate capability of walking

Chalk it up to the Boys

So because Rose is, well, “Rose” about things sometimes, I had been informed by Mom that she planned on hanging out Thursday night with Joe and Ben-Hur in Albuquerque over dinner, hop a flight to Phoenix in the opposite direction, catch a red-eye back to STL where she would arrive

A Change in the Air

I, Collette Maritime Snicketts Silverspoon… …after seven years, eight months, two weeks, and six days, succumbed to my personal weakness of first person. And… felt a familiar ache in my knee at 3:20 Thursday morning. OLeif had suggested the idea of lightening in the air earlier that night. Somewhere

Another Battle Scar

Puck went flying out the front door with a tin whistle around his neck to give OLeif a hug goodbye, and landed in a skidding thud on his grandma’s sidewalk. “Ohhhh!” he declared loudly, running for the lawn and sprawling quickly onto the grass to ease the pain. He

Boy Stuff

Tuesday, July 17, 2012 SMASH! “OhhhhhhhHHHHH!” OLeif hopped out of bed. Dialogue from the other side while Collette remained “asleep”… “I kicked my ball and it fell down, Dad. I guess I have to tell Mama, don’t I?… A new toothbrush for me! Yay! Mama got me a new

Late Start

Monday, July 16, 2012 The felines still liked to nibble on the straw broom, apparently. Or attack it, more like. Crackers was beginning to take flying leaps for the kitchen table, clawing at the antique maple – or whatever – hinged wings. Dad would not like that… Due to various circumstances of

Comings & Goings

Sunday, July 15, 2012 Linnea broke St. Louis soil after one in the morning with all the other retreat crew. After Joe had spent his last three days over wedding preparations – rehearsals, dinner, parties, catching up with friends, and the ceremony, Rose was accompanying him back to Philmont for one

Sky-Dipping

Saturday, July 14, 2012 Another bright and sunny. To start. And OLeif was looking less hairy. In general. Although now that most of the hair was gone from the top of his head, his beard was more pronounced than before. Puck scratched off reading sheet #3 at the library – another

Come Back, Waters

Friday, July 13, 2012 Another potent headache for OLeif. Collette decided to blame it on the weather. So onward and upward. Messes. So many messes. The utensil drawer was breaking. OLeif called in with a delay report and alternate plan of action on the refinance timeline through the loan agent.

Gatos y Legos

Thursday, July 11, 2012 OLeif sprang up at eight and shoved off to work half-awake with a headache and tupperware of chicken breasts. Later he realized that… “I don’t even remember getting into the car.” Collette and Puck pushed into the usual routine of a Thursday, which now included

Welcome Back, Men

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 “Well, my flip-flops are making the house worser. They have spiderwebs on them,” Puck announced from his car seat, holding up his already worn-treaded flip-flop towards the rearview mirror. Joe was coming back for a mid-summer break. He was best man for the second time in

The Cycles

Tuesday, July 10, 2012 5:52AM. Another day. Another mess on aisle three. Puck blasted Medieval music from the old boom box. “Could I have burnt toast, please, Mama?!” As soon as she sat up, Collette felt the retroactive 42,438 mold count in the air. And the kitten was

Isn't that just the way it happens...

Monday, July 9, 2012 SLAM! “Mama!” Puck wailed, running into her room. “I knocked your picture off the piano!” Again. The fated “rather obscure” Rembrandt. And this time, the glass had, indeed, cracked out. She removed the wounded print to the bedroom, as Crackers — hiding under the bed — continuously attacked

Short a Few

Sunday, July 8, 2012 Following dreams of being chased by two black bears… Between five sneezes at the breakfast table, Puck ran out of the kitchen, declaring, “I have to go to the baaaathroooom!! I have to go to the bathroom every time I get up in the morning, right,

Let Them Eat Peanut Butter

Saturday, July 7, 2012 One more day to pack at the Rye house, which sent the two little snaps over to the church nursery again for one more round. “I’m drinkin’ my orange juice!” the young chap announced in his new haircut. “It’s tasty!” He already looked older,

More, More, More

Friday, July 6, 2012 OLeif stowed his gear in the car, snagged a bag of breakfast croissants, biscuits, and juice at QT while filling up for the week, picked up his forgotten laptop at the house – where the lawnmower was attached to bungee cords attached to branches on the dead

If OLeif Played Baseball

Thursday, July 5, 2012 OLeif was trading out one kind of work for another. The “another” included mowing the lawn [well, the few weed sprig patches] before the thermometer surged to 107, reading shelves to Puck, and he had a headache. Puck, who had been cuddling a kitten who always

Food, Water, & Exploding Things

Wednesday, July 4, 2012 It was a triple-whammy set-up for the day. After boiling, peeling, and stuffing thirty-six deviled eggs, OLeif drained the oil in his bike, and Puck added to another summer reading program card, it was time to go. Silverspoon Casa. Eleven o’clock. Gloria had invited Pastor

Until Later, Sheriff

Tuesday, July 3, 2012 Kate Middleton was vacationing. That meant hours of computer screen and folding paper for Collette, spread out over three days, which was always a a blast of adventure and excitement, on par with riding an elephant through the jungles of India, chased by Bengal tigers. Henri

"Adjustments"

Monday, July 2, 2012 “I am the fadder [father] human! I am responsibility to find your kitten for you. But. You must be patience.” 6:33 and Floozie had woken the house with constant meows of despair. Apparently someone wasn’t so great at keeping track of her kid. Puck

Puck's Surprises

Sunday, July 1, 2012 Puck ran around in his fauxhawk, which was roundly complimented, calling to Lulu Kennedy from the sound balcony. Her noise matched his noise… “You’re so tall, Puck!” “And you seem to be so small, Lulu!” Surprises were waiting for Puck that afternoon. Rose presented his

Round Things

Saturday, June 30, 2012 Puck did his same morning march… “Time to get up, guys.” “I’ll be up in a minute,” Collette answered, feeling cold. “Could you turn off the fan for me, buddy?” OLeif, who hadn’t heard Collette, said, “Puck, turn the fan back on.” “Dad. Mom

In the Red

Friday, June 29, 2012 Puck sat down to another breakfast, jacketed in red footies, despite the heat… “Smooth as glass my yogurt is,” he noted, digging the spoon into the creaminess. “But not now it isn’t.” He followed Collette into the hall to brush his teeth and jumped – now

Fry Me an Inferno

Thursday, June 28, 2012 “Maybe we’ll catch up with each other sometime,” Collette teased OLeif as he backed down the driveway. Life was constant catch-up. Relationships. Chores. Projects. Repairs. Activities. Obligations. Studies. Papers… Everything. But it sort of made every day feel like one more accomplishment to add to

Slice of THE SUN

Wednesday, June 27, 2012 107. 107! Index to pop at 110. Thursday was expected to be the hottest day in June on record. Wednesday was only going to be 97. Balmy. After pig-tailed purple-hands Naira (labeling boxes) was lifted from her house – which had gone under contract in the first

Happy Things, Rose

Tuesday, June 26, 2012 OLeif lifted Collette up into the air for no reason, as he often did. “Dude. Careful,” Collette warned, feeling her ribs creak like an old pirate ship. “What?” “You’re an ox.” “So what?” “Have you ever seen a delicate ox?” “Sure. In a china shop.

A Little Hard Work

Monday, June 25, 2012 After waking from dreams of pancake batter and ring-around-the-rosy at 5:30, Collette prepared for the next three days of childcare. Judah and Evangeline were finishing Africa-packing, so the two boys would be in the charge of Mom, Collette, Linnea-Irish, and Puck for Monday and Tuesday.

First Farewell

Sunday, June 24, 2012 The finale – last official-unofficial Sunday with the Rye family before disembarking for Ethiopia. It didn’t actually turn out to be a bawl-fest after all. Probably helped that they were still in town for another eighteen days to pack their life’s belongings into twelve Tupperware

Gardens & Burgers & Movies

Friday, June 22, 2012 Puck had employed himself in foot races in the living room before breakfast… “On your mark! Get set! Go!… On your mark! Get set! Go!… On your mark! Get set! Go!…” All while OLeif was catching extra winks. He had taken off work to celebrate a

What Gets Done in a Day

Thursday, June 21, 2012 Puck lounged on the kitchen floor by the basement door with a powder blue book in excellent condition – dated 1910. One more of his treasures. He paraded the open pages delicately in front of Madeline… “This book’s not about you, alright? You don’t need

Sharks, Experi-ents, and Stuff

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 So much for Wednesday tutoring. Francis was on an all-day bike ride with a buddy. Linnea was apparently “off school” for June. “Grandma! A camel has all kinds of water in him and hay on his face! He can drink a whole bathtub in a minute!

Puck's Mind

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 “Ahg! Maddie! You don’t even know how to make your own breakfast! Watch.” Puck was increasingly patient with the cat, luring her into a sort of boy-and-his-cat friendship. Apparently the feline even condescended to sit on his lap that morning. But sometimes her incompetence flabbergasted

The Boys Collect

Monday, June 18, 2012 Collette examined the mound of OLeif junk on the dresser. Bike gadgets, flashlights, camera equipment, t-shirts, pipe tobacco, etc. After years of digging through and cleaning, only to see it grow back like a mutant troll a week later, she had learned to leave it alone

Happy Happy Happy Mad

Sunday, June 17, 2012 Puck entered Collette’s room after breakfast, scissors in one hand, a scanty wad of hair in the other… “Seriously, dude…” “Mama, I want hair for my hair collection. Just like you!” Maybe it had been a mistake to show him the box of braided hair

OLeif Gets Manly Stuff for His Birthday

Saturday, June 16, 2012 Around seven, while Collette waded through the slugs of morning cold-allergies, the boys drove off together before the rest of the neighborhood was up. Puck had gathered his own wardrobe for the morning, which included wellies, Puck cowboy hat, rawhide vest, a bundle of weeds in

Out

Friday, June 15, 2012 One more time. Puck permanent-markered his red river rock during crafts… “Why are we coloring rocks?” he asked one of the instructors. “Because God is our rock. He’s unchanging.” “Right,” Puck agreed. “He’s not like Doctor Who, though. God doesn’t change.” Puck colored

It Goes Fast

Thursday, June 14, 2012 There was something to be said for honesty, but sometimes when it involved every single thought and action, Puck was second to Martin Luther… “Mama? Mama! Mama!” “Yes, Puck.” “I just licked my tongue!” Later he was sitting at the table with a tub of yogurt.

“Monday was Almost a Fluke”

Wednesday, June 13, 2012 Dreams of the apocalypse – technological holocaust – throughout the entire night, downtown scene under haunting skies, as usual, something of escaped animals maybe, overgrown foliage, and Rose not having to go into work… At least Mom had been happy; no more computers. Yes, they had become old

Maybe Monday was a Fluke

Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Puck always found “treasures at Grandma’s and Grandpa’s house”. This time, it was two sacks of “Highlights” and “Ranger Rick” magazines from the early 90’s. And a black cloth with tiny shiny dots on it, which Puck thought were… “It has dudes on

And so it Begins

Monday, June 11, 2012 The madness was beginning. 8:45 show-up to 11:30 last song. Vacation Bible School had returned yet again. Fortunately, the rain had been summoned. Puck stared at Snickers sitting on the deck watching the not-yet loosened skies… “Mama? Why can Snickers go out there naked?

Not Much Going

Sunday, June 10, 2012 “Sebastian was chasing a poor hummingbird, I think…” Puck declared early Sunday morning smashing open the deck door. He was already in dark blue polo and black jeans, the inevitable tuft of blonde hair volcano-ing in the back. He returned to his breakfast… “I’m going

Ragamuffins

Saturday, June 9, 2012 After OLeif had picked up Theodore from the airport at 11:45 Friday night, Puck roused himself somewhere around six on Saturday morning to join them for the same destination again. Theodore’s flight was headed for Columbus. Upon return, OLeif napped. Puck, meanwhile, was king-treating

Dig In

Friday, June 8, 2012 Puck examined his t-shirt options for the day. The emerald green “If you can read this, make me a sandwich” was tempting… “Should I wear this since it’s almost burger day?” he asked, holding it up to Collette. “What’s burger day?” Collette asked. “I

WHAM! BAM! POW!

Thursday, June 7, 2012 Wrestling match for the boys – 7:15 AM. OLeif smashed his tuna and bread around the laptop and phone for his bike ride into the city. “My bread will be flat,” he said with a shrug. “But who cares.” Apparently not OLeif. As Puck waved off

Sandbox Days

Wednesday, June 6, 2012 “I ‘fink’ I have a stomachache, Dad.” A serious Puck entered dressed in full gray, barefoot. “Maybe it’s from your disobedience,” OLeif suggested, noting the fact that Puck had not finished drinking his glass of water as commanded. “Dad. Disobedience isn’t in your tummy;

Catapults & Venus

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 Puck arrived early in the morning beside the bed for inspection. He pulled down the collar of his shirt to prove that he had not put it on inside-out… “Look. No flag.” Collette and Carrie-Bri reminisced… days of the 90’s, selling Kool-aid to passerby stranger…

Puck Finds his Inner Art

Monday, June 4, 2012 Puck found the expired First Aid kit that morning, including a packet of sealed burn cream… “I think it’s hot sauce,” he noted to himself. “Frosting…” Puck got busy sketching bananas, giraffes, and “rocket ships” while he waited for his oatmeal to cool. By that

Mr. Motte?

Sunday, June 3, 2012 Graduation Recognition/Promotion Sunday hit in after Puck snagged a peanut butter cookie from the mess hall and stashed himself in the corner by the Usher’s Closet in his usual position. “Could I have Mr. and Mrs. Snicketts come forward…” Henri called the youth Sunday

Weekend Collage

Saturday, June 2, 2012 A late wake-up call from Puck found Collette fixing oatmeal and snatching a pair of scissors from his hands poised above the blonde shag – something about, “Could I cut my hair, Mama? Oops…” Fortunately, the blade seemed to miss as the steel sliced more air than

Congratulations, Dr. Snicketts

Friday, June 1, 2012 OLeif worked from home that morning – squeezed behind the monster countertop desk in the orange library. Collette handed an postage-stamped envelope for Puck to put in the mailbox… “What’s this for?” “It’s to pay for your ear infection.” “Well. Since it’s my ear

Hours Pass Quickly

Thursday, May 31, 2012 “Puck, I wish you could find Daddy’s flashlight that you lost.” The culprit marched into his bedroom in the process or switching from “sleeping clothes” to “awake clothes”. “Just keep praying for God to appear it, Mama,” he replied with authority. “Every day. And once

Forts and Tents and Stuff

Wednesday, May 30, 2012 Another rumble of thunder. This time it produced as promised. Thick violet rolls in the southwest lightly showered the street in splatters of late rain. “Mama? I don’t think I really like it when you put this ‘St. Louis intolerance’ on me,” said Puck. “The

This is School

Tuesday, May 29, 2012 A distant rumble of thunder before 2:26 in the morning… The pipes had been droning a lot lately. A low lone fog horn in the deep recesses of the house. Switching on the faucet for a few seconds usually remedied the problem. “Mama? Could you

Stomping Grounds

Monday, May 28, 2012 “I’m going to be a baseball player and a painter,” said Puck in the kitchen that morning. “At the same time. I don’t know how I’ll do it. But… I’ll soon know how. First, you get lots of paints. First of all,

(untitled)

Sunday, May 27, 2012 “Let’s take a road trip out to Oregon or something.” This was not an atypical random suggestion from OLeif on the fifteen-minute Sunday morning drive-out scenario. “Sure, if you can come up with the dough, my friend,” Collette replied. “How many female deer do you

Cake and Lawn Sprinklers

Saturday, May 26, 2012 9:24 AM. “What?” So much for that assumed seven o’clock wake-up. OLeif made himself a breakfast burrito – rare case. Puck had enjoyed another 24 hours abroad. He had accompanied Theodore and Gloria in checking out bar stools for the upcoming kitchen renovations. And Izzy

Back on the Green

Friday, May 25, 2012 It had sort of felt like the weekend, all week long. And with the Bard visiting the green again on a summery spring night, it was time for the premiere of “Othello”. Sausage biscuit and iced tea for OLeif, apple juice for Puck. The park for

It's not 1972

Thursday, May 24, 2012 Puck immediately went on a cat hunt upon waking. Madeline hid beneath-the-couch all morning. “Mama? Why won’t Madeline come out of that tomb?” Words were waiting on Houston. OLeif worked from home leading into the bust-out shoe sale weekend, which, apparently, summarized all four-day weekends

A Temporary Member

Wednesday, May 23, 2012 OLeif entertained Collette on the morning ride out with explanations regarding the mechanics of a current British television game show. Chocolate chocolate chip muffins and bacon were waiting for breakfast. Naira and Puck spent their morning quickly, via wading pool, goldfish crackers and juice, books, small

Early Week Break

Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Puck had run outside for a tempting object at the side of the yard early that morning – a lumpy rock-like piece… “Mama! Probably it came from an icy mountain, or it’s an egg! Probably it came from outer space! A shooting star went plunk down

That Old Buddy

Monday, May 21, 2012 “Do you want blueberry or raspberry yogurt for breakfast?” Collette asked Puck. “Hmmm… Raspberry. For the Cardinals.” Monday morning began awaiting MRI news regarding the future of Lance Berkman’s tenured career. All the reports already had him sentenced to a torn ACL early retirement package.

One by One

Sunday, May 20, 2012 With Berkman out, the day looked bleak. On the dip around the round-about, OLeif noted the purple flowers growing in packs by the highway with Queen Anne’s Lace clusters… “What are those flowers?” he asked. “Chicory,” Collette replied, recalling a third grade lesson on Missouri

Keep on Playing

Saturday, May 19, 2012 Puck dug a red angry birds ring out of the couch cushions that morning before participating in a round of Cream of Wheat. Following breakfast, OLeif repaired the blinker on his motorcycle and puffed a pipe in the garage, Puck accompanying… not with the pipe. A

Dr. Snicketts is in the House

Friday, May 18, 2012 Last minute changes sent Collette to the office for Kate Middleton, whose illness was still twisting out new complications. On the ride out, OLeif pulled up some surprisingly serious new music about a mummy falling in love with an archaeologist. Collette could never concentrate on lyrics;

Those Boys

Thursday, May 17, 2012 OLeif reestablished the old television in the bedroom, now that Grandma Combs had gotten six months’ use out of it. Collette thanked him as he walked out the door to work. “Well, I figured you watching the game today, it’d be better up here, with

Creations

Wednesday, May 16, 2012 OLeif and Puck were getting ready for the morning. “What is that sound?” Puck asked. “Is that chickens marching on the ceiling?” “Sure, it’s chickens marching on the ceiling,” Collette replied, busy getting everyone out the door. But Puck was already distracted. “You know, I

Play by Play

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 Puck and the girls were watching bunny heaven in the back yard. Bounding bun-buns in greener pastures and sunshine, Snuggles frantically tearing at the glass hoping for breakfast. “Stop painting the window, Snuggles,” Carrie commanded. “You look like a nincompoop.” Shouts from the basement… “What’s

Keep on Trying

Monday, May 14, 2012 OLeif worked in his personal library all day, given transport issues for the afternoon and evening’s activities. Puck slurp-chomped a green apple popsicle while Collette finished the cleaning and light packing. A 1:20 inspection for the motorcycle drew OLeif away from the desk, which

Mothers, Mothers Everywhere

Sunday, May 13, 2012 Puck was the diligent soldier at the door that morning, passing out bulletins for half an hour while one of the mothers at church told Collette stories about the antics of her sons when they had been boys… “My oldest retired about ten guardian angels,” she

A Surprising Recruit

Saturday, May 12, 2012 For the first time – maybe ever – OLeif was taking up the bat for a good cause. The church’s woefully terrible softball team. Collette had mentioned to Richard, the recruiter, that OLeif had never played. Ever. Ok, well, maybe in Kindergarten, but that didn’t count.

Hazardous Deeds

Friday, May 11, 2012 Puck woke at 6:14. So OLeif decided it was time to re-caulk the tub. When Collette checked in ten minutes later, there was caulking everywhere. But at least the tub was mended, which was a start in the right direction. Meanwhile, Kate Middleton, the church

Boy Stuff

Thursday, May 10, 2012 Puck practiced his own version of Tae Kwon Do during Cream of Wheat for breakfast. He found a small tree growing in the deep crack in the street, mid-morning. And worked on a pile of tomatoes at noon, bicycle helmet still attached to his head. Then

Fuzzy

Wednesday, May 9, 2012 Carrie worked on a cake of breakfast Feta, while Francis got busy bribing her for a five dollar haircut. “You look better with longer hair,” Collette told him. “My friend thought those pictures of Dad on the fridge were of you,” Linnea laughed at him. “What?

Rescued

Tuesday, May 8, 2012 Collette dragged open her eyes at 5:50 to see OLeif flash-lighting through the room, piecing together his day. He was preaching that afternoon. “Do I look ok?” he whispered. Collette laughed into the pillow – checkery-plaid black, maroon, and white collared shirt with paisley tie. OLeif

They Can Call me Dr. Puck

Monday, May 7, 2012 Puck had found his stocked children’s Red Cross bag that morning in the linen closet. “Can I use this, Mama?” “Sure. You may save it to help your baby brother when he comes.” “Well, Mama, you will have to teach me how to use this.

Candy Toss

Sunday, May 6, 2012 Puck was already calling out greetings to every kid, by name, wishing happy birthdays, shouting down to Lulu from the sound balcony, who was toting around her dad’s harmonica case. If anyone could match Puck’s volume, it was Lulu Kennedy. When it was time

Order Up

Saturday, May 5, 2012 All day – OLeif wrote his sermon. Puck scarfed down biscuits and bacon for breakfast as the morning started out warm. After twenty minutes in the corner, Puck sprang from the leather couch in his red footies, bolting to the deck door, throwing it wide open and

Change Scene

Friday, May 4, 2012 As the three Silverspoons packed out the door for the possible-storm morning, Puck discovered a green measuring tape in OLeif’s toolbox, which he was absolutely convinced had, at one time, been yellow… “I have no other idea than someone coming into our house and painting

Feed Those Boys

Thursday, May 3, 2012 Two large protesting eyes greeted Collette across the breakfast table… “If they eat our all food, we will die!” “What?” “The ants, Mama!” On their very warm walk that morning, Puck found a bamboo pole lying in the street… “Why is that here, Mama? Probably when

Milieu

Wednesday, May 2, 2012 Francis requested two egg sandwiches just about as soon as Collette hit the front door, before picking up their lawn mower for self-service. Linnea caught a bad cold and plunked out more ukulele on the roof after completing her math assignment. Carrie had a business meeting

This is What's What

Tuesday, May 1, 2012 Rain woke Collette at 6:39. So did another coughing attack – ug. The fastest year to date – when was there ever a scrub-cleaned “To Do” list? – was coasting into another month of garbly spring. All that tweeting, chirping, buzzing, and scuffling. And dead-set days in the

Rollin' Rollin'

Monday, April 30, 2012 The world was still a rained-in green garden under covered sky. It was a slow-going morning, which Collette didn’t mind all that much, because she was still getting her bearings from the blow-out of the last five days, which included another spout of coughing in

Sometimes Things Happen

Sunday, April 29, 2012 “What’s for breakfast?” Puck asked. “Fried tomato and crushed frog,” OLeif immediately responded. While Collette prepared apple slices and toast for the young sheriff, Puck tried to reign in questions about the verboten-ness of the library, occasionally removing items he was certain were once citizens

Not Bad, Not Bad

Saturday, April 28, 2012 Due to some fancy apple cider swigging, vitamin popping, cotton swabbing, Collette’s chronically pain-swollen throat was now mending. But an elephant cough had taken its place, which was ok. Collette could handle that. Meanwhile, she opted to stay home and clean house instead of potentially

1st World 21st Century

Friday, April 27, 2012 The orange kitten had died. Another one had been still-born 24 hours later. Things weren’t so well in Catland… Collette’s fever broke in the night. The terrible sore throat was then remedied with ibuprofen. OLeif had returned late that night with four cans of

100.6

Thursday, April 26, 2012 A fever of 99.8 greeted Collette at around four in the morning, edging its way to 100.6 by 7:30. Virus, indeed. Puck was kept away. Collette could hear him in the hallway… “Dad, I still have an egg line across my face.” Apparently

Bailed Out

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 It had been a rough night. Four and a half hours of sleep, weird dreams, pounding heart, feeling pretty sick, and nothing but baseball plays running deliriously through her head, left Collette feeling very poorly at 6:34 the next morning. But she got up anyway

Keeping Tabs

Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Puck was ready to go at 6:34, hankering after breakfast and a set of clothes for the day. When asked if he would like to cuddle under the blankets for a little while, he replied… “I don’t want to sweat you, Mama.” – He tapped

Something in the Water

Monday, April 23, 2012 Puck was writing words that morning, thinking about some fun things he liked, or would like to do, with his dad. “Wouldn’t it be fun to fall off the Arch into the river with Daddy” he asked with a big grin. “Daddy would splash the

Add in Another

Sunday, April 22, 2012 A single white glow through the trees, right from the East, like a burst into the New Earth. On the way to church, Collette reminded Puck about opening birthday gifts that afternoon… “Make sure you thank everyone and don’t put the presents aside too fast

A Great Gentleman

Saturday, April 21, 2012 Collette was awake by quarter till six. This gave her plenty of time to start cleaning out the 3,300 emails in her old Juno account. Meanwhile, Francis learned how to tie a tie for the first time by himself. Carrie-Brie, having erected The Berlin Wall

Bug in the Ear

Friday, April 20, 2012 When Puck heard that he would be provided the opportunity to take a shower in lieu of a bath that day, now that he was five, he was not pleased. “Mama, I never want to take a shower, not until I’m as old as Dad.

Pile it On

Thursday, April 19, 2012 6:50 alarm. Collette shut it off… “Was I yelling in my sleep last night?” she asked OLeif. “No. Why?” “I was angry.” “Were you at a game?” “No. I missed my plane to Finland.” Celebrations kicked off with OLeif in the kitchen – bacon and eggs.

Now That I'm Five

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 After an highly rare night of Puck waking two or three times before morning – in anticipation of the day – the strapping young chap was now officially one-twentieth of a century. On the ride out that morning, he and OLeif briefly discussed cars. After a few minutes

Last Four

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 When Puck decided to switch on the lights early, his routine was to body-slam whoever was not yet risen. Given that OLeif shoved off between five and five-thirty most days, the job of receiver, usually fell to Collette… “Watch my head, buddy.” “And now, for the

On a Cold Day

Monday, April 16, 2012 The morning brought cold green, wind, and gray. “Mama.” “Yes, Puck.” “What did you do with the antennae on the stairs? I’m still busy reflecting somethin’.” Sometimes almost-five year-olds remembered. A little O.J. with breakfast. Juice didn’t happen so often in the Silverspoon

Wave it In

Sunday, April 15, 2012 “Did you hear an updated forecast?” Collette asked OLeif. In his best movie trailer voice… “Dangerously rainy!” He followed this with several rousing choruses of “What do you do with a Drunken Sailor?”. The ride in produced the usual sorts of interesting questions from the tike

That's More Like It

Saturday, April 14, 2012 The storms were really crashing through at around 4:30 that morning, scratching Collette out of the usual dozens of dreams, one involving purchasing Dr. Pepper and peanut M’nMs for 83 cents at a grocery store attached to a reception hall for one of the

Oh, Boys...

Friday, April 13, 2012 Maine. That was Collette’s first thought out the window. Wind whipping up the trees, dark spread in the southwest. Perfect. Except… It was a local holiday in St. Louis. Opening Day. It was one of those unexpected rarities. Puck was spending the whole day “at

Of Monsters

Thursday, April 12, 2012 “Holy tomato!” Puck declared. Apparently something had surprised the freshly woken whippersnapper. Puck’s first assignment of the day was to write a thank you note to Anneliese for the chalk set… “Ok…” Puck replied a little reluctantly. “But I’m not sure my muscles are

Tally Up

Wednesday, April 11, 2012 Riding out east, they passed a jester riding a bicycle down the service road. All Mom’s potted purple pansies and Carrie’s basil were sitting on the kitchen table, due to the threat of frost the previous evening. Snuggles was happy to see Puck. He

Ant Farm

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 Puck had preoccupied himself with an old book of poetry and short stories, indicating that he would be busy with it for some time… “Since I won’t be done for an hour, could you get somethin’?” he asked. Collette could only presume he meant something

Stay Cool, Mama

Monday, April 9, 2012 Puck wasn’t a fan of the tiny spoon accompanying his breakfast cocoa, and instead politely requested an “orginary” spoon. The cupboards were, if not bare, low, due to the nature of shops being closed on Easter Sunday. So apples and eggs were in order for

Hunt, Whack, Burn

Sunday, April 8, 2012 All ten turned up in one long row that morning, just in time for the service. Joe’s nose was cut up. Francis had gotten him with the frisbee. The Easter egg hunt commenced following the service. Puck, running out to join the gang – including a

Hunt Egg

Saturday, April 7, 2012 Puck was interested in selecting an outfit for the day. “You may wear anything you want,” OLeif told him, “as long as it’s proper.” Several minutes later… “I need help, Dad! I don’t know which one’s ‘proplier’ enough!” He emerged from his room

Don't You Go Spoil Anything Now

Friday, April 6, 2012 It was cold; very cold, actually. 50’s in the early afternoon. As in every other day, Puck was eager to help make the bed. He aided in straightening blankets and pillows, then sat in the window while Collette completed the details. Apparently she was less

Nothing Goes Together

Thursday, April 5, 2012 Garden green and rain. Just right for April. Puck enjoyed cocoa and James Harriet on cassette while Collette washed up the breakfast dishes. Then he saw a sparrow on the porch stoop and requested a “book about birds” and his “detective shoes”, so he could research.

Play Ball

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 So Kitts was turning 26 in Ohio. The day carried over from the previous evening – sweet gray splotches of rain from the night. Puck had been chugging the water at Collette’s direction that morning… “Blistering buckles!” he declared. “I have to go again!” Boys… While

And so it Begins

Tuesday, April 3, 2012 OLeif had forgotten to take his suit coat and tie for preaching that morning. He would be making an emergency visit to The Scholar Shop that afternoon. Dried helicopters festooned the front yard – already – in bundles. Hard-boiled eggs. Rain appeared to be on the move; Thursday’

Rotted Apples

Monday, April 2, 2012 Another dream sequence. This time, it was keeping a low profile in Colombia – while grocery shopping on a warm summer night. Ninety-two. Where was the rain? Where was the thunder and the lightening? Where were the tornado warnings? Blah. Puck sat at the breakfast table with

Is it Already Holy Week?

Sunday, April 1, 2012 After dreams of escorting Asian celebrity tourists through an Icelandic airport, Collette’s hair was not exactly cooperating that morning. She had the idea she looked more like Andrew the Apostle from the Jesus film than anything else. Meanwhile, Puck’s scrambled eggs weren’t cooperating

Write that Sermon, Boy

Saturday, March 31, 2012 Collette had found the snickerdoodles. Taken two. And put them away. Unfortunately, OLeif had also found them. He opened the box, parading them in front of Collette. “Fine,” Collette caved. – As she reached for a cookie, she looked at him skeptically. – “Do you have a second

You Know You Love It

Friday, March 30, 2012 Nothing like using up a personal day to buy a car. And then another to write a sermon. Followed by a Saturday to finish writing the same sermon. Ho hum. That was life. OLeif came out briefly in the mid-morning to check on things. He got

Tactics and Weapons, Special

Thursday, March 29, 2012 Whenever Collette had too-specific dreams about certain well-known people, she checked the internet upon waking… just in case. Including Wednesday night’s heart-pumping episode of a certain sports manager being crushed under a heavy tree limb outside of Atlanta… even if he wasn’t from St.

Everyone has a List

Wednesday, March 28, 2012 Puck was given permission to open the Puck and Grandma box upon arrival that day. A set of fat bunny-shaped chalks in white, violet, and sea green. Carrie-Bri was preparing to leave for a 10:30 business appointment/walk-through with Joe, Jonas Swiss, and several other

Smash, Cluck, Snip

Tuesday, March 27, 2012 There it went. Smash. Another one of Collette’s favorite plates. Squared. Spring green and turquoise. It had been awhile since anything had been shattered by her boys. And as the ceramic bits supernova-ed over the floor… “We can make another one?” Puck asked sorrowfully. “I’

Dole out the Hours

Monday, March 26, 2012 The usual 1.5 hours waiting for Puck to finish his oatmeal. Similar to the fiasco of Francis and Linnea the previous afternoon, Puck was not allowed to leave the table until all remnants of edibles had been consumed. So… A quiet day… Yup. Puck’s

Lasagna Wars

Sunday, March 25, 2012 Collette hadn’t seen Puck bring the mini bugle – which was somewhat effective at still working – into church. When she walked past two people talking in the foyer, something about, “That’s quite the welcome committee at the door there…” she needed no further explanation. Trumpeting

The Gang's all Here

Saturday, March 24, 2012 Not surprisingly… Collette dreamt of vicious bear attacks in the night. OLeif cooked up a quad of vary-flavored omelets and a side of bacon for breakfast, giving the morning off to Collette. He followed this by resuming the preparation of his first sermon until the late

Trolls and Their Ways

Friday, March 23, 2012 Following dreams of monster tornadoes outside Costco slashing near a sort of church building in the country, which was also somehow Costco… OLeif had been up and gone since shortly after five and Puck walked around wearing the circle glasses before attending to a cup of

Change Up

Thursday, March 22, 2012 After waking from dreams of OLeif shredding through invaluable family antique figurines of woodland animals… It was time to jumpstart another day. Rain had decided to fall in the night after all, and the world was subsequently a cooler place as OLeif kicked off to work

Play by Play

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 The sunrise was stripped that morning, subterranean bands of light on the ride out east. It didn’t take long to be surprised by something new, back on the ranch. “Whoa. What is that?” – Some curious looking feline sat patiently waiting at the basement door, that

Critters, Arise

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 Puck walked determinedly into breakfast, fringed red cowboy vest strapped over astronaut t-shirt, plaid blue shorts, and band-aids wrapped around several toes. “Mama, I’m not going to be as bad as yesterday,” he said thoughtfully, taking a bite of buttered toast. “Yesterday, I was as

RIP Old Put-Put

Monday, March 19, 2012 OLeif chalked up one of his vacation days and pushed off the little put-put to the dealership that morning. Having a car hospitalized was almost like sending off a family member to get checked for strep throat or an ear infection. They weren’t pretty circumstances.

Across Borders

Sunday, March 18, 2012 So, yeah… Car problems. They weren’t the only ones. Rose had called in Saturday evening as Mom, Dad, Francis, and Linnea deposited Mom’s Fit on their driveway. “The police towed my car for the parade,” she explained. – Her third run-in in three months or

Green for a Day

Saturday, March 17, 2012 Collette was woken from an endless reel of the Fruma Sarah dream sequence song from “Fiddler on the Roof”, by Puck handing out a couple of chubby kisses. “I have a St. Patrick’s Day button for you to wear today,” she told him. “I know,

This is how it Is

Friday, March 16, 2012 The day began with puffs of Sistine Chapel clouds washed in by spring-green rain and light sunrise. And a piece of cheddar for breakfast. Puck had a request… “Mama. Could you please make Donkey a St. Patrick’s Day shirt?” Sometimes Collette didn’t really think

Can't Call Your Bluff

Thursday, March 15, 2012 So much for that rain… OLeif departed looking very much like a UPS man in cowboy boots. Puck spent most of his morning in a box. Collette spent hers in a daily walk. An email popped up from Carrie near the lunch hour, entitled – “Dad’s

White Arms

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 “Mama, what does ‘pullette’ mean?” Puck was already at it with the morning questions as Collette pulled her eyelids open. “I don’t know, buddy.” It didn’t really matter though, because Puck already had answer ready for himself… “It means ‘polite’ in a different language.

Walk About

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 OLeif was feeling somewhat ill the following morning – enough to remove himself from work for the day and clock in remotely. But not quite horrible enough to skip class. And so, being the grade A student and dad that he was, he encouraged Collette and Puck

Summer Creeps

Monday, March 12, 2012 The windows were pulled open before nine. Puck was in a squirrely mood that morning. This called for spending as much time out of doors as possible. He stared with an irritated look at Collette while completing his second lesson of the morning… “Why are you

Ye Olde Corned Beefe

Sunday, March 11, 2012 Nursery. The dreading. Times when reading the church bulletin was never more an essential item to address. It might as well have been high literature. Anything to distract from the uproar of… Four quiet two year-olds. And three of them were girls dressed up in pink

Smile.

Saturday, March 10, 2012 Collette had forgotten to turn the heat back on before retiring the previous night. 54 degrees that chilly Saturday morning. Indoors. Maybe it had somehow contributed to her dream of being bit by a cobra, or a rattlesnake, or something. Linnea had been bit too, but

Spin Around

Friday, March 9, 2012 Puck requested a straw at breakfast. Collette handed him one with red stripes. “Mama?” Puck giggled a little awkwardly. “I was presuming… an orange one.” Hawai’i and Texas from Bing Crosby that morning. As studies and readings commenced, Puck was very curious to know… “Do

A Nephew's Care

Thursday, March 8, 2012 Puck would have slept all day. Collette finally coaxed him awake at eight o’clock. The tired little fella had been up till nearly nine the previous night, and wasn’t thinking much about snapping his twelve-hour night an hour early. Yet oatmeal called. And rain…

Wish Granted

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 Still in recovery mode, Collette packed up the bags while Puck ran around in the early gray wind in the yard with the front door open shortly after seven. 76 was on the day’s slate. 40’s and a few thunderstorms for Thursday. Paul’s

The Wilds

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 The wind was up already before seven. Gusts predicted up to 50 mph. And temps had been upgraded to 74. Also, a Fire Weather Warning had been issued for the city. Puck threw open the front door at 11:30 to the crazy tangle of winds…

To Recover

Monday, March 5, 2012 Puck decided to drink his mid-morning glass of water with a straw through the spout of Collette’s small silver teapot. He had been gifted two items of clothing from Linnea-Irish over the weekend, including a discarded tie-dyed t-shirt written with Harry Potter phrases in black

How to Forget You're Sick

Sunday, March 4, 2012 If Collette had still been in high school, she would have stayed in bed. But Sunday morning called loudly. “Mama,” Puck announced over his oatmeal. “It’s one thousand fourteen minutes till the aliens pick us up.” Collette was too fatigued to ask him about this

It Strikes Again

Saturday, March 3, 2012 The weather had taken a shine to Collette’s throat once again and dull aches, fatigue. But mothers of four year-olds don’t take sick days. So Collette wrote Carrie in the earlier part of the morning to check on Puck, who had spent the night

Outbreak

Friday, March 2, 2012 The storm slashed through at 5:35. The House of Snicketts had seen weather moderately worse than the small House of Silverspoon II. Walking up the path, a large pile of hail sat lumped together like salted snow, just off the porch. “The buns were really

Thursday's Slate

Thursday, March 1, 2012 Collette was resuscitated from dreams – rehabilitating a baby giraffe attacked by birds inside a car outside of a hardware store… The drain was backing up before eight. With the mild winter, those tree roots must have taken advantage of the situation and split for the pipes,

In the Wind

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 February 29th would have been an attractive birthday to pencil in on standardized tests and tax documents, but Collette had missed it by over ten months. Her second pick would have been March 17th. But apparently neither were available that particular year for her debut. The

Puck Collects

Tuesday, February 28, 2012 Five o’clock again, and up. The day was already dark gray banding up beneath a pale sunrise. Pork chops were prepared prior to lunch in the standard Worcestershire sauce and paprika. Collette read further rounds to the young chap as he somehow, without her noticing,

Blue Day

Monday, February 27, 2012 Collette prepared scrambled eggs and toast for Puck’s breakfast. After awhile of pondering the best way to fork over the straggling scraps… “Mama? Can you pick up those eggs? They’re too squirmy for me to pick up.” The morning began with sunshine and mild

The Rare Silence

Sunday, February 26, 2012 “Birds!” Run, run, run, run, run. “Birds! There are birds flying around everywhere!” Puck’s eyes were wide as he ran to the next congregant to share the news once again. Two “cow birds”, as OLeif labeled them, had escaped into the rafters. They fluttered back

Nothing is Certain But

Saturday, February 25, 2012 Puck was involved in a round of baseball with Donkey and his spyglass, as breakfast commenced. This was followed with a bath, after which he entertained himself by slipping around the tub like a wet noodle. He warmed up in his Mexican poncho. OLeif briefly administered

A Night in the 1980's

Friday, February 24, 2012 Collette woke from aerial views of a Hindustani temple city planted across from an even larger palace in a valley between desert cliffs in the heart of the panhandle of Florida – a town starting with the letter “D”. And a little lucid dreaming about enormous wall

Out in the Air

Thursday, February 23, 2012 “Mama!” – An alarmed young man stormed into the room. – “Where’s my donkey card?!” It didn’t long to locate the thank you note Rose had sent him in the mail, including a sketched donkey. His new favorite item. He was also eager to assist that

Never Stop Chasing!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 Wednesday was going to be unconventional. Now that Carrie-Bri and Joe were certified Storm Spotters with identification numbers, they, with Collette and Linnea-Irish, were scheduled to visit Lindenwood at ten o’clock for a speaker series lecture that morning. Francis had also been due to attend,

On Quiet Days Review October

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 “Why does summer pass so quickly? Why does summer pass so quickly?” – Puck was talking to himself. – “Why does summer pass so quickly? Because the Bible tells us ‘yes’. Tells us ‘yes’. Tells us ‘yes’…” The rain had fallen in the night and the skies were

Before the Rain

Monday, February 20, 2012 “This is a dragon and he has chicken spots,” Puck explained over his breakfast oatmeal, smashing the black marker all over the green foam dinosaur from Sunday. It was the first time in a long while that Collette hadn’t been slammed with the “To Do

On a Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Sunday, February 19, 2012 Mrs. Lord-Welches and Pearl were coming into town for pageant dress shopping. In order to cut down on the level of involved activity, OLeif, Collette, and Puck opted to refrain from joining in the afternoon. Mom, Carrie, Linnea, and possibly Rose, would join the crew at

That's How We Roll

On the way to the Silverspoon’s, they dropped by the library. Collette rolled down the window to the cool air as Puck handed her a small book… “Read this, Mama!” The Steel Square Pocket Book, 1946. A pristine piece passed down from Puck’s great-grandfather. 13 and a half

Movies, Movies

Friday, February 17, 2012 Puck strolled out into the frosty sunshine that morning. “Start the ship!” he declared. “I meant the car,” he giggled. His half-laugh was a mirror of Izzy’s those days. Back on the ranch… Linnea was still asleep. Puck was given permission to wake her with

The Birthday Boys

Thursday, February 16, 2012 Puck spent the first part of his morning throwing paper “jets”, which OLeif had crafted for him the previous evening. And a valentine from Daisy-Jean which served the same purpose. Puck was having a rough time of things. After awhile, he turned to Collette. “It hasn’

Almost Adult

Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Collette was preparing the morning. Puck marched out and sat himself down on the couch. “Good morning, buddy.” “Yes, but. Mama. You didn’t even let me finish my dream.” Back on the ranch… Francis was 17. Mom had cooked bacon, and Carrie was preparing pancakes.

Hate-ten-tine's Day?

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 So that’s what the kids were calling it these days… according to Linnea anyway. Puck arrived at a more comfortable hour of 6:35 that morning, announcing his intent to endeavor in further reading lessons, immediately. Collette pondered the idea of having a wristwatch while

Powder Sugared-In

Monday, February 13, 2012 When Puck woke Collette at 5:55 that morning, somewhere within that hour, the snow was falling. Puck had been in the bathroom for awhile. What Collette hadn’t realized before he deported there, however, was that he had taken with him a wad of black

All That Noise

Sunday, February 12, 2012 Puck smashed through the door. “I slept till night!” “Huh…” “I thought I was a monster!” The intruder cuddled in between them. “We have a little visitor!” he announced happily, as Snickers also joined the party. “She bursted in like a firework!” It was unusual to

Costco Grub & The Rye Entourage

Saturday, February 11, 2012 Puck was ready to go by 6:30 Saturday morning. Collette finished frying up the bacon… “Everything you cook is delicious!” Puck said importantly. R-i-i-i-i-i-i-p. Puck had been perusing the Mid Rivers Newsmagazine. “This picture is inappropriate for little kids,” he announced, bearing the torn ad

Subtitles in February

Friday, February 10, 2012 A little Mexican music to start the morning with the rain back, falling lightly and sporadically, given the pattern on the back deck. “Dad! Look! My dream came true! I’m tall enough so I can open the microwave!” OLeif departed late so he could spent

Deviation

Thursday, February 9, 2012 Thursday passed quickly with cleaning, packing for the weekend at the Silverspoon’s, quesadillas for lunch, questions from Puck (i.e.)… “What would happen if lightening touched the sun?” …who sat at the window with his spyglass, waiting for the arrival of Luke and Leia at

"The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep"

Wednesday, February 8, 2012 The snow had fallen in the night. Robert Frost woods… Earnest had met with a bit of an “accident” on Tuesday. Mom had found him, just having chewed through the power cords behind the couch. With a shower of sparks, the crispy critter had made a

Japanese Ideas

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 “Mama?” “Yes, Puck.” “Could you make me a BIG BIG breakfast today?” “What did you have in mind?” “Cheeeeeese… and miiiiiilk… and thaaaaaat… and, no, not that. And that’s all. That’s all I order.” With the early mail, a box from Amazon arrived bearing

Those Questions

Monday, February 6, 2012 LABEL: Those Questions “Why did God make the Earth and the planets, Mama?” “To glorify Him.” “Oh. Why did He make the Sun bigger than the Earth?” “To keep us warm and make it light.” “Oh. But why did He make it bigger?” – – – – – “Who wrote the

Happy 27/50th of a Century

Sunday, February 5, 2012 So… Dad was 54. And his day started with severe back spasms. He stayed home from church; this never happened. Collette spent that hour speaking with Ivy, Daisy-Jean, and several of the other women about thyroid cancer. Back on the ranch, two boxes of Paul’s

And in the Spotlight Tonight

Saturday, February 4, 2012 Puck was hiding in the living from a rogue moth inside the table lamp. “The moth! The moth!” he shuddered. Theodore and Gloria were meeting a client, so their paths couldn’t cross conveniently for more than a few minutes the day. Although there was baked

This Always Happens on My Birthday

Friday, February 3, 2012 5:55 AM. “Mama! I told you to wake up before me!” Groan. OLeif sent him back to bed for another half-hour. About half an hour later… “Why is it taking so long?” Collette sat him at the breakfast table with a glass of water. “Look

Alpha Males

Thursday, February 2, 2012 Puck was eager to begin school. During a break, he carefully examined his Chronicle of the World and a small picture book about ancient Egypt. When Collette offered to read it to him… “Let’s not read it yet…” he said thoughtfully. “It’s a little

Pump it Up

Wednesday, February 1, 2012 “Mama?” Puck nudged her. He had been up since 5:24, and Collette, needless to say, was at only five and a half hours sleep… “Yes, buddy?” “Do you see that crack?” he asked, pointing to the bright yellow hallway. “That came from the earthquake on

Kickball, Korean, & Kings

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 Despite the intended rain, the highs were meant to hit 65 that afternoon. “Do you see any storm clouds out there?” Collette asked Puck early that morning. Puck quickly drew the curtains… “Nope! Only the glows of the sun!” Part of the morning was spent in

Organizing the Week

Monday, January 30, 2012 Collette hadn’t fallen asleep till nearly midnight, so when Puck marched in at 6:45, it still felt a little too early… “Mama,” he said. “I need paper and tape to makes Valentines.” Shortly later, she heard rummaging in the hallway… “I made a studio!

The Razz

Sunday, January 29, 2012 With another eight o’clock rehearsal – sometimes it was agreeable to remember the old days of Kirk’s baby grand and solitary worship leader waving a hand and songbook from the pulpit… all those red-dye-edged hymnals in uniform lines in the pews – another cold Sunday had

Quiet Hours

Saturday, January 28, 2012 Once again, Collette was awaken by a little person snuggling himself under the covers. “I want to be next to Mama because I love her,” he explained to OLeif. “So… tell me about your life.” He stood up on the bed to pull aside the curtains…

Friday & French

Friday, January 27, 2012 “Mama? Can I lay in the bathtub?” “Why…” “Calvin did!” “It’s too cold.” “I have socks on though.” “I suppose…” “Yay! Can I do school in there too?” The white angel was still growing on its back in the jar of water. Puck would sit

Rain + Thursday = Better

Thursday, January 26, 2012 “Why is God raining mud pie?” Puck asked, shortly upon waking. Collette had only moments ago explained that he and Luke would not be allowed to play outside, given the status of the backyard. “Mud Soup”, she told him. The rain continued to fall steadily for

Wednesdays Need a Positive Beginning

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 On the way out that cold gray morning, Puck thought he saw a volcano in the wildlife reserve. There was lively conversation at the Snicketts house. Sundays and Wednesdays were almost entirely new information spills. “I visited Bon and Hamish yesterday,” said Carrie. “I took Dad

Haunts and Hovels

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 The next seven days but for Wednesday were set in the 40’s and half-sun. Cold enough to stay buried in the maroon Gap fleece pull-over from Grandpa Snicketts and family for her 12th Christmas. Puck waved goodbye to OLeif and watched the man from the

Happy China-Korea

Monday, January 23, 2012 After waking at 6:53 from some intense bear attacks on the front porch, the two small aggressor bears had somehow turned into blonde-headed twin boys. Collette had allowed them to stay. “Maybe it means we’re going to adopt twins,” OLeif suggested. “Blondes from Columbia?

Those Docile Sunday Afternoons

Sunday, January 22, 2012 After dreaming about the first phase of the “Apocalypse”, Collette was slammed awake by the 6:30 alarm. Something about huddling in an open-air tower in a castle, high winds, uncertain about food stocks, Puck was somehow much smaller, younger… And she still had an eyelash

A Day at the Movies

Saturday, January 21, 2012 Another ug morning for a cold. Puck was already ready to go in the cold gray breakfast hours, decked out in Cardinal red, 1920’s fur cap, and Chick-fil-A cow wristwatch. His signature wardrobe accents. More of The High Kings further roused the boys into preparing

Nicholas Cage is Dangerous

Friday, January 20, 2012 The first thing Collette heard that morning came from Puck, marching into the room to greet them, and then departing… “Oh no,” he muttered. “Fifty calories?” And with the dragging end of her cold, Collette felt that familiar low tenor tone emitting from the attic of

Some Days

Thursday, January 19, 2012 Another two hours at the breakfast table for Puck. He was also about an hour or more short on sleep, and still had the last part of his cough/cold, which didn’t help. The little man was teary-bleary-eyed. Collette gave him a glass of water…

Pretzel Rolls Make up for Anything

Wednesday, January 18, 2012 Eighteen degrees. “Earnest! Stop eating that! Ketseh! Don’t eat your bridge!” Bunny Heaven had been completely completed. Including grass-green rug, floorlength mirror, dinosaur-sized grass in an equally monster glass vase, and soft lamplight, including the moon on the wall. The “bun-buns” were so pleased with

The World of Puck

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 Stalling at breakfast… “I just have one question to say to you, Mama… Could I bring some books to church tomorrow? You don’t want me to be making more ‘french’ [fringe] and getting bored, do you? You wouldn’t want me to be bored.” Calvin.

More Like Spring

Monday, January 16, 2012 Aftermath was usually rewarding in its own way. Puck’s forever-to-keep blue-penned cowhide was spotlighted at the top of the piano. In theory. Collette was awoken to a little, still somewhat pudgy, hand giving her a back rub. OLeif was out the door after a quick

Hello, Mr. Berkman

Sunday, January 15, 2012 “Now, Collette, it’s nothing to get too upset about…” Dad greeted her at the door with a stack of bulletins in hand, in his ever-black suit. Collette’s Sunday-smile faded… “What happened?” “Well… someone took your seat in there…” “What?” “It’s an elderly couple

Research & Films

Saturday, January 14, 2012 It was time for a little research. The Barnes & Noble was just the right place to conduct and piece together a proper competitive analysis. First, though, in order: 4:30 headache, Ibuprofen, wake late to sleep it off, breakfast prepared by OLeif, papers, write a

Kings of the Sun

Friday, January 13, 2012 Well, the snow had almost stopped. But that didn’t end the 17 degree leave-taking temperature of the morning. Rose’s car was still in the driveway. Due to the condition of the road, she had traded and taken Dad’s car to work instead, to

Snowglobe

Thursday, January 2012 Puck threw open the shades. “SNOW!” Yes, indeed, indeed. Snow in inches, unsalted roads, unploughed highways, ice, black ice, canceled schools (which meant no Luke and Leia for the day), temperatures were in the teens… Even Rose, who had spent the night at the house to help

Rennovations

Wednesday, January 11, 2011 Another cold morning. But not so much. The highs for Thursday were supposed to be only in the 20’s… Out on the ranch, Carrie’s room had been returned to its original skeleton. Completely repainted in neutrals. Carpet up. Bunny heaven was about to enter

Books & Bread

Tuesday, January 10, 2012 Another cold morning of sun, though not freezing; highs were to be in the mid-50’s. It was just one of those strange winters. Meanwhile, Puck perused his expanding collection of The Berenstain Bears over his buttered toast, following the first course of banana and cup

All in a Day's Work

Monday, January 9, 2012 Collette’s day began with a cold little nose rubbing against hers. “Mama,” said Puck seriously. “Soon I will be too old to give you ugga-muggas. When I will be married to Anneliese and live in Texas.” He wasn’t letting go of that anytime soon,

The Usual Gathering

Sunday, January 8, 2012 An eight o’clock rehearsal was on the table: OLeif on violin and mandolin, church at nine, and Sunday school (Revelation) at ten-thirty. While they waited, Puck was busy snipping copious sheets of notebook paper into Indian buckskin fringe… “I want to do this,” he said

Downtown

Saturday, January 7, 2012 By ten, out the door with packed lunch, four bottles of chilled water, and a heavy-duty sized hand sanitizer to pick up Rose, and then to the Art Museum. The weather was more mild than originally anticipated. The Art Museum. It was predictably crowded, but comfortably

That Trilogy from the 80's

Friday, January 6, 2012 So it was back to the office once again for the day of Epiphany. But not before OLeif and Collette shared accounts of their respective dreams. While Collette was busy raising her heart rate over the guilt of having accidentally murdered a man with a gun

Almost Friday

Thursday, January 5, 2012 After waking from dreams about tornados, a broken window in a basement that was Mom’s and Dad’s house, but wasn’t, unfinished wood floor in the same basement, etc… things were getting back to the usual swing of the semester… well, they would have

Out for the Day

Wednesday, January 4, 2011 OLeif was still recovering from what was apparently a severe head cold and sinus trouble. Puck came back to his office, where he had decided to work from home after a visit to the store for more tissues, to visit him. OLeif hugged him. “Dad,” he

Farewell, Buns

Tuesday, January 3, 2012 Before departing that morning, Puck was busy packing his bag for the day and threatening to send trouble makers to the “duck house”… “With all that quacking around,” he said seriously. Back on the ranch, Carrie was icing carrot cakes for the party and frying up

Last Holiday

Monday, January 2, 2012 As Collette washed the breakfast dishes, Puck expressed thoughts on his impending future… “Mama. I think I have decided not to marry Aneliese. I still love her, but… I’m not sure that I want to marry her.” “Well, that’s alright,” Collette replied. “You’ve

Without Resolution

Sunday, January 1, 2012 In the year that the world was intended to end, by some accounts, in an uproarious fire and pillage of doom and mayhem and destruction, capsizing oceans poisoned with toxic comet dust and obliterating disasters, devastating calamities of 19.7 earthquakes, volcanoes spewing liquid alien life

Goodbye, Old Punk

Saturday, December 31, 2011 In which the last day of the year happens… A final day to the year to get whatever needed to be done, done. It really wasn’t feeling so very much like New Year’s Eve. Puck was picked up from the house where Carrie was

And Once More for Good Measure

Friday, December 30, 2011 In which the final hurrah of the season commences… OLeif was off work once again, and so a holiday had been planned with those of the family willing to participate in novelties and hooliganry. There were four principal points of the day. The first one began

Wrapping it Up

Thursday, December 29, 2011 In which another day of work is completed in time to celebrate the last days of the year… As the 5:32 alarm rang, Collette mentally prepared for the day. Her hands still smelled like onions from the chopping board in the kitchen the previous afternoon.

A Little Work

Wednesday, December 28, 2011 In which another day of profitable work is concluded… So… back to the old office… Collette was deposited on the doorstep at 7:32, while Puck was delivered over to the Snicketts’ schedule for the day. Irritation at sloppy handwriting… Henri and Daisy-Jean arrived after ten

Further Bounty

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 In which the Christmas season enjoys a final hurrah… Sqeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaal!!!! Collette quickly snapped awake as she heard the drilling run of Puck in his footies. “It snowed in the night!” he declared in jubilation, running to pounce on the bed. Yes, there was a decent slushy

Merry Monday

Monday, December 26, 2011 In which the non-school, non-work, and play continues… So OLeif was off for the day. And the chickens had a home. The afternoon was for errands, and deciding what film to watch over dinner. “What about Kung Fu Panda 2?” “Yes,” Puck agreed. “What about hot

Merry Happy Christmas

Sunday, December 25, 2011 In which the nearly complete tribe gathers once again together… The Christmas service was a little sparse that morning with the visiting associate minister from Kirk of the Hills. Although Puck found the matter intriguing, given that all the children were called forward to participate in

Merry Hanukkah

Saturday, December 24, 2011 In which the first Christmas is attended in all good cheer… The chickens shared cookies for breakfast. What the heck; it was Christmas Eve. Over at the Silverspoon’s, Gloria was shopping, while the boys gathered around Theodore to discuss social media. And a brief discussion

Those Hilarious Old Noir Flicks

Friday, December 23, 2011 In which the quiet Christmas week nearly concludes… OLeif had brought back a large half-consumed Christmas tin of gourmet trio-popcorn late Thursday night. Unfortunately, all it took was for Collette to mumble something about possible ‘germs’, and Puck had dumped out the entire thing into the

Calm Before Everything

Thursday, December 22, 2011 In which the quiet Christmas week nearly concludes… The chickens were back, in demanding indignant plumes and ruffles, and continued to tap at the patio glass in a fat clucking cube of feathers for the better part of the day. A little arnica on Puck’s

Quiet Midweek

Wednesday, December 21, 2011 In which the necessary deeds of the week continue… The first day of winter. The week was still steely gray. The chickens had not been back since Sunday. And it was Aunt Petunia’s birthday. Puck had recently become very interested in Collette’s old book

Tuesday Before Christmas

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 In which events proceed calmly… Waiting to start the day; already about 74 tasks popped into mind in the few minutes before summoning the determination to begin another round of everything all over again. OLeif had been up and gone since shortly after five; breakfast meeting

27

Monday, December 19, 2011 In which Collette becomes three years shy of 30… Fortunately, the day started off with a false alarm for the main drain. And OLeif continued incorporating that uncanny ability to resemble a deranged sea urchin in the mornings. Meanwhile, Donkey’s cousin, Wendimu, had arrived in

That Old Tradition

Sunday, December 18, 2011 In which Collette’s 27th is celebrated one day early… The day began with more chicken action. And Puck’s contemplation of Collette’s approaching birthday… “Mama, I think I know what you’re going to get for your birthday.” “What’s that?” “A library book.

The Pecking Patrol Returns

Saturday, December 17, 2011 In which the morning begins with squawking birds and annoying basement drains… After a slice of bread and two hotdog buns shared between them, the chickens were sunning themselves in a clump by the back fence. Plans were made. Capture was imminent. In other creature news,

Market, Soda Shop, Middle Earth

Friday, December 16, 2011 In which that one day of the year comes around again already… Soulard Day. Crown Candy Day. For everyone but Carrie-Bri and Rose. And Francis and Linnea had brought friends: Zuñi and Eleda, respectively. Grandma added in for a total of eleven. It never changed. Festive

Put Your Fingers on the Scanner

Thursday, December 15, 2011 In which prints are taken yet again… On the wet streets of the city, the little family of Silverspoon arrived at USCIS to be finger-printed for the fourth time as the adoption continued into the fourth month of its third year. Upon arriving at the metal

Shake Things Up

Wednesday, December 14, 2011 In which Grandma is ill, and the weather takes a semi-unusual spin… Puck always had interesting things to say. When Collette set out a fresh set of clothes for him, he responded with… “Could you buy me a new body, Mama?” And later… “I make your

And for the 16th Annual Festive Viewing

Tuesday, December 13, 2011 In which another exhibition of the Christmas season is attended… In the drizzling, mild gray of the morning, traffic kept the little Silverspoon family at bay for about 45 minutes on the highway, following a night of late paper completing for OLeif. Once finally arrived at

Fowl

Monday, December 12, 2011 In which those silly creatures return yet again… OLeif and Puck were busy feeding bread to the rogue chicken trio in the backyard that morning. OLeif’s theory was that they had escaped and lived in the abandoned animal hospital down the street. A little wintry

Moving in Continues

Sunday, December 11, 2011 In which more things happen and everyone is busy doing something… It was still bad… photos of Albert Pujols and his family already in Angels uniforms, smiling and waving at their fans. It was pretty sad… A few hours of sleep, and nightmares of packs of

Headaches, Cats

Saturday, December 10, 2011 In which a headache day incorporates festal services and brown bear… Sigh… things were strange. Adding to the list of St. Louis’ recent-years downfalls: Classic 99, Tony LaRussa, Albert… it just wasn’t right. Collette woke up with a decent sinus headache on the floor. Mom

The Season Starts off Sour

Friday, December 9, 2011 In which Christmas things start happening… A weird series of rapid-fire dreams ended with waking 37 minutes late and the fresh remembrance of Albert Pujols leaving St. Louis. It hadn’t just settled in yet. Over to the house, discussion centered around the shocking news over

Knock the Wind Out

Thursday, December 8, 2011 O woe the day… Over breakfast, Collette shared information about exotic plants around the world with Puck: water lily pads that could support the weight of an adult, a palm tree that ‘walks’, the Arctic Willow (which contains ten times more vitamin C than an orange,

Mentors, Mathematics, & Middling Mantles

Wednesday, December 7, 2011 In which Puck receives moderately new articles of clothing and more work is accomplished by various parties… On an ordinary early winter day in December, the little family of Silverspoon bundled up against the elements, ski coats for Collette and Puck and a thin fleece for

First Snow

Tuesday, December 6, 2011 In which winter officially makes its early debut… A few flurries had bopped around the previous afternoon, checking out the scene, seeing what was what. And by Tuesday morning, there was an highly shallow dusting on the ground. Meanwhile, the Santa Clause jokes had been rolling

A Few Kerfuffles

Monday, December 5, 2011 In which the usual anecdotes swing through a week day… Puck started the morning off on a roll. He watched both garbage trucks thunder down the street at the same time, more or less racing each other to the end… “Those are some hot babies!” he

On the Level of Flying Halos

Sunday, December 4, 2011 In which another Christmas concert manages to ignite laughter… yet again… For the second Sunday of Advent, the little Rye family lit the purple candle. As Judah shared with the congregation, Hesed had been running around the house yelling ‘Purple candle! Purple candle!’ and ‘He’s

The Great Move

Saturday, December 3, 2011 In which the fourth bird leaves the nest… Collette was not feeling too great that morning. She found herself likely half awake when she noted to OLeif that… “You smell like macaroni and cheese.” OLeif was prepared with a proper response… “I am macaroni and cheese.

Ribs, Orcs, Etc.

Friday, December 2, 2011 In which everything happens as usual… Collette was feeling that forgotten tell-tale initiative of a sore throat/cold combo coming on. It had been awhile. She prescribed herself apple cider vinegar, which seemed to work moderately well. Seven o’clock drop-off, and things were getting hopping

Squinkies

Thursday, December 1, 2011 In which Puck is introduced to new objects of entertainment… Collette woke that morning to find her son sitting on the edge of the bed, ‘whale fishing’. The chickens were back… apparently thought they ruled the roost or something. Puck’s ‘lucky little package’ had arrived

Goodbye, November

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 In which everything sort of happens altogether like it usual does in a family of so many people… When Puck arrived at the house in the frigid 28 degrees of the morning, he found Linnea-Irish up on the roof, stuffed in a robe and blanket, soaking

Suggestions

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 In which OLeif has a sort of little holiday… OLeif was working from home that morning because Rose’s realtor friend from church was coming over to check out the house in the afternoon. Two hours of work in the morning, followed by reading to Puck

Numbers & Numbers

Monday, November 28, 2011 In which work is done… An enormous bowl of yogurt for Puck that morning; he was becoming full… “My mouth is about to not eat anymore, Mama…” Collette had allowed the Christmas station to be turned on, now that the festive season was in high gear.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Sunday, November 27, 2011 In which Mom’s birthday is mildly celebrated a day late on the first day of advent… Dreams of packs of Buddhist monks in yellow robes… OLeif had 1970’s New York jazz and 1600’s sea chanties going that morning over breakfast… In the cold

Red Meat at the Silver Spoon

Saturday, November 26, 2011 In which the Silverspoon family is gathered together again… Mom was 52. Happy birthday phone call; to celebrate on Sunday. She was finishing arranging the Christmas tree and decorations. The day was mild, mild and gray. Puck opened the front door to the wind… “I can

Of Mattresses, Elves, & Pizza

Friday, November 25, 2011 In which old times are revisited via Middle Earth… While all the stores were being plundered… Collette got busy continuing to clean and organize the house. Puck threw on a crash helmet and began typing away at his desk while OLeif was busy at his. There

Happy Turkeys and All That Stuff

Thursday, November 24, 2011 In which the second-to-last holiday of the year is celebrated amongst 28 people in two settings… Thanksgiving One. 9:30 worship service at Christ Presbyterian, which included the rest of the Silverspoon family arriving in batches. Relevance from Texas, Kitts (with longer hair again) from Ohio,

(untitled)

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 In which the usual pre-holiday activity and mayhem is conducted with enough civility… On the way to the house that morning, Puck monitored his dad’s operation of the vehicle with careful observance… “Doors unlocked!” he heralded his first announcement. “Dad! You forgot to turn on

I Love Her

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 In which Puck decides his future after deep contemplation and careful study… Puck had new thoughts about his future… “Mama, I want to marry Anneliese. I love her.” “Well, that’s nothing so easy,” Collette replied. “She has to love you too.” “She loves me. She

Gray November

Monday, November 21, 2011 In which weather is meant to turn fowl… 90% chance of rain. 40% chance for thunderstorms. The week was looking good. Puck had questions about burglars at lunch around the new-old walnut table. And about the passing of the soul… “So if you fell down and

Happy Everything

Sunday, November 20, 2011 In which days of note are celebrated late, early, early, and early… At church that morning… Francis and Linnea-Irish were recovering from a swing dance the previous evening. Puck sang with all the other kids up front. He forgot to participate in the hand motions, but

Shake Down

Saturday, November 19, 2011 In which the house is shaken upside down… sort of… Collette’s stomach ached that morning. 500 staples had done her in. Stapling the bulletin, that is. She had forgotten the inflicted soreness done to specific muscles from the old days before stapling copy machines had

Just an Ordinary Day

Friday, November 18, 2011 In which another work week concludes with some laughs around a box… Back to the office. Henri and Babe Ruth were in for some time. The phones were pretty quiet. Of course the day she had not been in, Thursday, Babe Ruth had been swamped with

Just Another Day

Thursday, November 17, 2011 In which the usual world of a Thursday is explored… Mark McGwire was staying in St. Louis. That was good news. Mornings were used up faster those days, what with experimenting with reading programs, alphabet tests, practicing writing, Spanish, etc. And so far, Puck still seemed

Mid-Week

Friday, November 16, 2011 In which Collette returns to old stomping grounds yet again… After three months away, back to the office once more. Things were pretty quiet, pretty empty. Evangeline and Hesed walked over to visit for awhile in the cold morning air. Happy boy and his eight-months preggo

Eat Them Greens

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 In which a reprieve in the week provides revisited ideas about the near future… Puck practiced writing his name that morning to the thunder of full orchestral arrangements. A call from the church secretary; Collette would be filling in that week, unexpectedly. An edit of Dad’

Spoiled Day #4

Monday, November 14, 2011 In which another day of relatively minor responsibilities ensues… At breakfast, gray November had brought the sun and temperatures already in the low 70’s. Puck was busy thinking… “Mama, when I have bad thoughts, that’s not the devil makin’ those bad thoughts. It’s

Round and Round and Round They Go

Sunday, November 13, 2011 In which the week’s occurrences are shared with the family, as usual, and food is consumed… On the way to church, Puck spoke his thoughts aloud, which often included prefaces such as… “Excuse me. I have a question to make.” His more particular idea was…

Paint. Wind.

Saturday, November 12, 2011 In which the boys are themselves as usual… What else did a Saturday morning entail, but Minecraft for the boys. O, yes. Nothing had changed there. By 11:30, the Silverspoons had joined the other Silverspoons, who had been reduced to Gloria for the weekend. Theodore

Holiday

Friday, November 11, 2011 In which another mini-vacation is taken… Eleven-Eleven-Eleven It was a day to be spoiled. 1. Breakfast parfait for Puck… “I didn’t eat it so perfectly,” he admitted later. “I made it a mess.” 2. OLeif was off work. This meant a drive into Ladue for

Thoughts

Thursday, November 10, 2011 In which Puck’s notions of the world, and beyond, continue to be built… Puck had thoughtful words that morning, clad once again in ‘Cardinal red’ footies… “Mama, even when I’m grown up, I want to live here with you.” Before he left for work,

Things Keep Happening

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 In which fresh news occurs as always… Back on the ranch… Dad was preparing a letter for the universities. He was also buying Mom her own personal car. Carrie was leaving to pick up the ‘bun-buns’, rented for the holidays… “This bunny lady is crazy. She

Moving On

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 In which the rain continues as Rose makes changes… Early that morning, Puck crawled in for a cuddle with Collette. “I’m havin’ bad thoughts, Mama.” “What kinds of bad thoughts?” “Oh, like a carrot… bein’ thrown into the ocean…” “Anything else?” “And a door… bein’

Rain Day

Monday, November 7, 2011 In which the better part of November is portrayed in the weather… The rain had returned. A pound of Dubble Bubble in the cupboard. Some Berenstain Bears for Puck… “But bears don’t really wear clothes and talk,” he said seriously. “They only say ‘growl’.” The

November Sundays

Sunday, November 6, 2011 In which a cold gray Sunday is passed in and out of doors… After dreams about wandering through New York alone at night… The chickens were back. This time, in the yard catty-corner. Puck observed them while eating his toast… “It tastes very lovely, Dad.” And

Of a Saturday

Saturday, November 5, 2011 In which a somewhat unorthodox Saturday is conducted… Collette prepared a traditional South American breakfast, or what she liked to think was a South American breakfast – preparation for the future – of black beans and a fried egg on top. Talking about cowboy songs with OLeif… “Look,

Keeping Busy

Friday, November 4, 2011 In which the usual escapades of the Snicketts house begin the weekend… On the way out that morning, Puck was in his own train of thought as usual… “Mama? Mama, I’m surprised. I haven’t watched Redwall in a long time.” Subtle as usual… Back

Puck's Prayer

Thursday, November 3, 2011 In which a Thursday is a Thursday is a Thursday… The rain had returned. A week after the most incredible game in baseball history… well, once again, there wasn’t much to report, as in any ordinary, especially November, Thursday. As Luke and Leia arrived with

And the Season Continues

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 In which things happen and things happen… So the week was on a regular roll. Back on the ranch… As Collette got down to business with Linnea, who was busy thinking about future careers in chiropractory and specialized cake toppers, Dad was on his eleventh donut

Days for Thought

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 In which nothing of physical consequence really happens at all… It was warmer. That was pretty much the size of the day.

Cards & Candy

Monday, October 31, 2011 In which a Hallowe’en that doesn’t feel very much like Hallowe’en begins with sentimental news… Monday started with the dampening news of hearing that Tony LaRussa had retired from coaching. This was a very sad piece of news for fans everywhere, naturally. But

The Red Sea

Sunday, October 30 In which the Sea of Red once again gathers together… Sunday was pretty awesome. Following the usual normalities of the morning and a quick chug-down of deli-style sandwiches, the first car with OLeif, Collette, Mom, and Linnea (all in red), met up with the second car (Joe)

The Fever Continues

Saturday, October 29, 2011 In which baseball is still fused in the mind… In recovery from the past three intense weeks of intense baseball, Collette could only manage five hours of sleep before waking at 6:30, after which, several hours later, she and OLeif returned to the Silverspoon’s

Kings of the Year

Friday, October 28, 2011 WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! “Wasn’t I lucky to be born in my favorite city?” – Tooti, Meet me in St. Louis

Unbelievably Believable

Thursday, October 27, 2011 Twelve noon: Complete distraction… Twelve midnight: No words! Absolutely no words!

One Thought

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 In which distraction is the name of the day… “Carrie has a pound of black soap for your hair if you want it,” Collette told OLeif that morning. “It might help.” “I don’t know…” OLeif teased. “will it turn me into…” “A pumpkin? Yes.” “A

Waiting, Waiting

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 In which the day is spent perusing art and autumn in the city… OLeif was joined by Collette and Puck on his commute into the city that morning. The day was predicted to reach 86, and Forest Park was almost entirely empty by nine o’clock.

Five

Monday, October 24, 2011 In which the day is concluded with another irritating game of baseball… Puck was feeling chilly that morning. “The omelet will warm you up,” Collette told him. When Collette turned around, the omelet was gone from the table… “Why is your plate on your lap, Puck?

Four

Sunday, October 23, 2011 In which another game is passed over, under the stars… Sunday morning passed quickly. And with the traditional sausage supper upon return to the house, including a pot of Carrie’s creamy mashed potatoes and truffle brownies, as the subject of mono was being discussed… “Balthasar

Happy Flight

Saturday, October 22, 2011 In which a highly tense ballgame is experienced from 650 miles away… Puck had found the cookies early. But this time, he refrained. “You may have one at ten o’clock,” Collette told him. “But the lid of it is already broken…” “Breakfast first.” Puck hurried

Vampire Jane

Friday, October 21, 2011 In which October continues at two-thirds of the way complete… already… In the aftermath… Collette was irritated with the media all day long. And Puck had odd sorts of shocking questions as usual… “Where are you going to bury me when I die?” “I sure hope

House Sit

Thursday, October 20, 2011 In which Collette is reminded that allowing herself to watch competitive sports is never, if never, a good idea; not even an occasionally-good idea; no, not even a rarely fractionally good idea… Game 2 was on the roster for the evening at Busch Stadium, as the

All Creatures, Fat or Great

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 In which the good old redbirds are awesome again… When Collette opened her bedroom door that morning, Puck was standing there with an entire armload of stuffed animals, including a brown bear almost as big as he was. “I’m taking these to see Ketseh and

The Cold Days

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 In which life progresses as usual… On Puck’s 4.5 year mark, he was fascinated with the pile of pottery dishes that Rose had gifted him, and endless combinations of Marbleworks. Water glasses and the peanut butter jar were substituted for various missing bases. Pork

Hermann Without Crowds

Monday, October 17, 2011 In which the quiet hills of German lands are visited… Hermann was calling. Cloud covers of silver; dark blue versions in the west. Cool snap of a morning. And two cars filled with eight passengers split almost exactly according to personality type, McDonald’s for half

And they so Conquer

Sunday, October 16, 2011 In which gatherings commence and triumphs spike… Something new was allowed that morning on the way to church. Heaven Scent. Chocolate-filled, chocolate-glazed. “I’m the king of this house!” Puck declared, as he and OLeif toasted donuts. Then OLeif allowed him to listen to some Doctor

Birthday & Memorial

Saturday, October 15, 2011 In which the beauties of autumn are enjoyed… Puck had the particulars of his morning already worked out… “I can’t listen to Big Music during breakfast, Mama. That music is only for when I’m eating eggs.” They made a stop by Target for a

Bunnies & Baseball

Friday, October 14, 2011 In which bunnyland increases and victories continue… Upon arrival at 7:02 that morning… Carrie announced that she would be fostering a ‘grandpa bunny’, an eight year-old lop whose owner, Louis Tecumseh’s aunt, was moving to Florida and could not bring him with her. “Earnest

Second Woe

Thursday, October 12, 2011 In which the games continue… The sunshine had returned, but morning-masked via sheets of midwest-country grays and blues, gold-splashed by noon. Meanwhile, five days of nothing but beef, chicken, eggs, cheese, and beans was taking its toll. Collette was tempting soft-curses upon Tim Ferriss. Although even

Redbirds, Fly

Wednesday, October 12, 2011 In which the sweet rains of autumn return and the post season continues… Finally. A thunderstorm. Early in the morning, hardly acknowledged by a dead-to-the-world Collette, and more than acknowledged by a migrained-OLeif… “Here’s what I think,” he explained later. “I had so much information

Change-Up

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 In which OLeif attends all-day lectures and Collette and Puck prowl around for awhile… OLeif had all-day lectures at seminary, given by a reverend from Milwaukee, so Collette and Puck decided to join him in the endeavor. Not in attending lectures, but in exploring the campus.

Smashing

Monday, October 10, 2011 In which things progress nicely by way of St. Louis pride… As Collette laced up Puck in his Chucks that morning, Puck had thoughts on the next pair to be purchased, and the various color-options… “Purple Chucks are for nuffin’. They’re just for scruffy old

She's Growing Up

Sunday, October 9, 2011 In which Linnea’s birthday is celebrated, October style… Following the relative brevity of the congregational financial update and pastoral search committee nominations and the completely extinguished platter of Carrie’s first delicious attempt at caramel-stuffed apple cider cookies… Rose began relaying her experiences of the

As Puck Sees It

Saturday, October 8, 2011 In which Puck asks his standard trail of questions… “Mama?” “Yes, Puck?” A increasingly lanky, yet somehow still beefy Puck, donned in yellow Budapest VBS T-shirt climbed up into the bed… “I [fink] I saw somethin’ coming from my room.” “What did you see?” “Frozen fish,

Linnea Changes Years

Friday, October 7, 2011 In which Linnea graduates to another year… Linnea was 14 now. Word on the street was that, in celebration, she would be taking friends to Fright Fest. Meanwhile… OLeif was off early to carpool with Rose. Puck had questions about black holes and was busy imagining

Someone in the Bush

Thursday, October 6, 2011 In which there are things that happen… Waking from dreams of enormous tropical islands of gardens high in green hills around a cemetery, visiting with the whole family, a Korean couple (the guy had reddish hair) who ignored them, giant strawberries growing in the woods, a

Razzing Francis

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 In which fish are saved and Rose returns to the hunt… Shortly after breakfast… “Mama?” “Yes, Puck.” “I just ate a Popsicle on ax-dent.” “Why did you do that, Puck?” “To keep the fridge from creaking like dat.” What followed was an explanation of the exact

Revise Revise

Tuesday, October 4, 2011 In which the editing of eye-ball straining numbers of pages continues… Another day of editing. The happy-Malian-blasting-music was already going before seven as Collette helped the boys ship off once more for her final day of editing. Unfortunately, Indian summer seemed to have invaded the city,

The Nasty Beasts

Monday, October 3, 2011 In which work continues, avidly… Collette woke late, dreaming something about the Armenian basketball team… In the mid-morning, notes from Carrie. When she had told Puck that his mama loved him, he had replied… “Good, but I’ve already had breakfast.” And earlier, when he had

October Begins

Sunday, October 2, 2011 In which October begins with the usual sorts of Sunday issues… “Do you want to wear Chucks or wellies today, Puck?” He grinned… “Feet.” During services, Collette noticed that the music during offertory was taken from a Chinese hymn. Mom learned how to tie scarves a

Work, Work, Work

Saturday, October 1, 2011 In which much work is done… The perfect month. Puck came in at 6:23 that morning with thoughts on his mind. “Puck, you should go get dressed so you don’t get cold,” Collette advised him. “I can’t,” he sighed. “Putting on morning clothes

Some of the Earth's Citizens turn into Zombie 'Robut' Slaves and Die

Friday, September 30, 2011 In which the horrors of the 1960’s are once again debuted in black and white… After a 5:18 wake-up call due to OLeif exiting the warm house for a cold bike, Puck snuggled into bed with his mama. Later, at a more acceptable hour,

A Quiet Thursday

Thursday, September 29, 2011 In which things happen… Puck came shuffling into the room, stripped to his waist from his footies to have OLeif unlock the soap bottle for him. A rush of water from ‘the loo’ not later and a yelling… “Are they killed yet, Dad?” [The germs, that

French Fries & Parabolas

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 In which ideas are reviewed, life is caught up, and the usual activities of Wednesday are executed… To begin the morning, Puck wanted to know if they were going to church for kids choir, or to sing as they did so on Sunday mornings in the

Sub-day

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 In which the autumn days continue, just as they ought to be… During breakfast, Puck stared thoughtfully out the window. Collette counted the seconds until the predicted questions came rolling out as a result of this contemplation… “Do people put make-up on their eggs? No, that

Run-Around

Monday, September 26, 2011 In which work progresses in a similar fashion… The day was mostly regarding genealogies, paperwork, bank, post office, library, the park, and groceries. Collette allowed Puck to select a bakery item. He chose the two-dollar box of twelve soft chocolate fudge cookies, one of which he

Apple Farm

Sunday, September 25, 2011 In which there is an abundance of apples… Now that the two services had become one, Collette found herself thinking that perhaps creating a ‘This seat reserved for Collette Silverspoon.’ was not a half-bad idea. It would be just like the old days when families reserved,

The Season of Fun

Saturday, September 24, 2011 In which the season of autumn compels the activities that general involve funnel cake… To start things off, in pretty awesome news of the day… Justus of Orange was engaged to his gal, Lucille Smith. As to whether they were to be married in Japan or

When Worlds Collide

Friday, September 23, 2011 In which worlds collide… With the first day of autumn… “Guess what I found, Mama. The most ‘splendist’ cereal!” Collette couldn’t exactly categorize Shredded Wheat as being splendid. Even if it was frosted. But then, she also wasn’t a four year-old boy. As the

As Thursdays Go

Thursday, September 22, 2011 In which papers are edited and children are watched… always more children to be watched… Puck woke them early. “I ‘fink’ Sebastian needs to be feeded.” Those ‘th’s would come some day. OLeif cranked up some Queen while he haphazardly prepared for his camping trip

The Time of Pumpkins

Wednesday, September 21, 2011 In which teeth are cleaned, kids are corralled, and animals are fed… It was time for another trip to the dentist for Collette, so out to drop off Puck after a drive-by wave to Dad running across the bridge to the Research Park. Mom and Carrie

Research Days

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 In which the week continues… Puck had a dream… “Donkey went to visit my baby brudder in South America.” He then began to busy himself with a pair of sticks confiscated from a dying chair, before breakfast. “Look, Mama,” he said in his important voice. “They’

Back to Monday

Monday, September 19, 2011 In which another week begins… Back to the proverbial grind. 33 frames of William and Martha Hamilton research. A final read-through of the updated Home Study. Puck’s studies, which involved reviewing his Sunday School crafts regarding Creation… “I put the stars around the sun because

East of Weldon Spring

Sunday, September 18, 2011 In which the city is explored for relics of the older days… The day started with a groggy discussion between Collette and OLeif regarding the idea that every person, animal, plant, inanimate object, etc., were the same age… in reality… And Puck giggling, “You’re exactly

Happy Anniversary

Saturday, September 17, 2011 In which an anniversary is celebrated… The morning started with Battle-of-the-Hiccups for Collette. Puck arraigned himself in his own garb: Krispy Kreme sweatshirt, blue cargoes, yellow wellies, clip-on tie over the sweatshirt, and motorcycle helmet. Visor down. Automatic self-made Puck audio-control. It was… amazing. OLeif had

Failure to Glow

Friday, September 16, 2011 In which the balloons of St. Louis are put on the visitation schedule… Back on the ranch… Rose had taken a sick day. Bad cold. She discussed her possible roommate, who worked at the seminary library. She seemed a good prospect… “She’s also read The

Fourth Day

Thursday, September 15, 2011 In which… It was cold. Beautifully cold. In the night, Collette had dreamt of a large hot air balloon spilling upside-down at night. A little eerie… No injuries. Puck seemed quite interested in the Roman marches of Ben-Hur by the time Luke and Leia had arrived.

Continued Happenings

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 In which Puck resumes acquaintance with the sometimes-adequately-appreciated club of ‘baby singers’… Shortly after one… thunder. O, sweet sounds of life. And with it, the rain. Falling still throughout the morning. Back on the ranch… Word around town was that Dad had permitted Rose to bring

Second Day

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 In which things are done and more things are done… As was now customary for OLeif’s Tuesdays and Fridays (class days), he was off by five. In the early afternoon around chicken salad for lunch, there was continued communication with Rose regarding: roommates (a friend

First Day

Monday, September 12, 2011 In which the week is resumed, as usual… When Collette first woke, her thumb was feeling sore from having stuck it sharply with a rose thorn the previous evening. Puck waved off his daddy in swim shorts, oversized t-shirt, army cap, and wood sewing box in

Cotton Candy & Archaeology

Sunday, September 11, 2011 In which it seems a good sort of day for picnics and lectures… Now that OLeif’s hair (and reddish beard) was adequately braidable — that was an interesting night around a McDonald’s Dr. Pepper and 3rd Rock from the Sun — Collette had some decisions to

A Little Drive-About

Saturday, September 10, 2011 In which travels are made to various regions about the city… Steady rain… A little Minecraft for the boys. Puck, Donkey at elbow, pipe in mouth, observed the screen… “According to this research, you are in the right position.” Someone had been watching The Magic School

Journey to the Center of Mockery

Friday, September 9, 2011 In which another classic is observed… Rain. Sweet rain. Windows open. The mornings were all in the 60’s now. The busies of the day… OLeif gone by five. New death certificates located in the Hamilton missing link project. Emails to local cemeteries… Discrepancies in states

Loudness

Thursday, September 8, 2011 In which the usual autumn routine returns… As OLeif prepared to leave for work that morning, he and Puck spent part of their minutes together in goofy conversations… “I will miss you bigger than the ocean.” “I will miss you bigger than the ocean.” “I will

Another Party

Wednesday, September 7, 2011 In which Joe’s 23rd birthday is finally officially celebrated in all its Mayberry style… Puck was busy with breakfast that morning… “A fruit fly bit me while I was asleep. That was not appropriate.” Dentist. Puck’s third tri-annual appointment; eight AM. He was an

All Those Days

Tuesday, September 6, 2011 In which the day is spent in a number of useful activities… It was pleasantly cold that morning. The quiet of home resumed. OLeif was off by five. As Collette took advantage of the ‘sleeping in’ possibility — this time a success — Puck was already busy asking

Holiday

Monday, September 5, 2011 In which the holiday is spent waffling between various locations… 7:19. Awake. Collette could not manage the idea of ‘sleeping in’ very well. Sweater weather. At least to start. Back to the Silverspoon’s on another Labor Day. OLeif shook over on his bike, perhaps

The Party Continues

Sunday, September 4, 2011 In which Joe is visited for his belated-birthday and promptly falls asleep… A world of dark blue and rain… Beautiful change. And while Laurel Peach was enjoying Sunday brunch on her balcony overlooking Sydney Harbor, because professional Australian women with private pilot husbands could do just

Happy Joe Day

Saturday, September 3, 2011 In which adieus are made to an old member of the original youth gang… Joe — 23. Carrie had plans for birthday breakfast: bacon and pancakes. Of course the only day Collette could sleep in: 6:17 wake-up. No return. Pretty sore left arm from the immunization…

First Party

Friday, September 2, 2011 In which the first of Joe’s birthday celebrations is celebrated… Puck started his morning waiting for a hot breakfast, as usual… “I might as well just rock in my chair… while I wait.” He dragged his little rocking chair into the middle of the living

Ornery Critters

Thursday, September 1, 2011 In which critter patrol is called out once more, out of season… It was the first of September. And the highs for St. Louis were looking at 103. Unbelievable. Puck began his day with growing pains. Collette rubbed on the arnica while Puck mused… “That growing

The Rose-Mobile

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 In which Rose becomes the proud owner of a beautiful construction of machinery… On a last day in August… Mom and Dad had a 9:20 flight out to Burbank with a layover in Dallas. OLeif and Rose were carpooling towards the city in order to

Back to School

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 In which the same sorts of things happen, as could be expected, because it was another Tuesday… Start-off with another bad stuffy-head-mold headache. Would autumn never arrive? During breakfast, Puck watched Tasha’s backyard fence being pulled down outside the kitchen window. This was a fascinating

A Monday

Monday, August 29, 2011 In which nothing happens… OLeif had one more day to catch up on life before returning to a three-day work week. So it was a typical smorgasbord of nothing-very-interesting-but-had-to-be-done items: * add finishing touches on Christ OPC website * replace tail light in Civic * groceries * library pick-up * reschedule

The Seven Year Itch

Sunday, August 28, 2011 In which the end of things happens and the continuation of other things… continues… Seven years. Why did that sound so long? As Carrie said, “You’ve been married long enough to make it seem OK for you to give marriage advice.” And six and a

To the City

Saturday, August 27, 2011 In which things happen… Puck’s signature question of the week… “Could I have a banana to start the day?” Pick up Gloria’s contacts. Silverspoon’s. News that Alfonso and Velvet’s twins had also been born yesterday, and another C-section: Quince Candles, 6 pounds,

Linnea Libero

Friday, August 26, 2011 In which volleyball and the O-Zone are addressed… At breakfast, Puck stared at the irregular occasional plaster bump on the wall. “Look at all the ant hills on the walls!” “I’m not sure that’s what they are…” “They are. They’re ant criminals.” At

Home with Puck

Thursday, August 25, 2011 In which Puck speaks his thoughts about life as he inevitably does on every other day… Start of the morning… “Ahhh-choooo! Where’s the pepper, Mama?” Puck helped set the table for breakfast, make the bed, and straighten the bedroom with his daddy. “You want to

Game Day

Wednesday, August 25, 2011 In which the opulence of vacationing continues… Pancakes. For the boys. “Want another pancake, Puck?” “No thanks. It will spoil my skin.” “Are you sure?” “Yes. If you eat too many pancakes, you will die.” OLeif back to the website. He had clocked in about three

Appointments

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 In which further adoption requirements are undertaken… After dreaming at length about soccer, the first day of OLeif’s vacation began with a 6:30 alarm. Slicing up Puck’s breakfast eggs… “Mama, immediately I will eat eggs for breakfast, and oatmeal tomorrow. Immediately.” Then he

Greetings from Donkey

Monday, August 22, 2011 In which Puck receives a note of regret from ‘Amsterdam’… The morning: Puck began with a mug, each, of milk and blueberry juice. Compiling the last of the financial documents for the adoption update. Schedule appointment at Honda to replace left brake light. Puck’s ninth

Last Days

Sunday, August 21, 2011 In which the usual matters of Sunday commence around a good dinner and hot afternoon… After dreaming extensively about tsunamis in Hawai’i that morning, Collette woke up. A little dazed… At church, Anneliese came over shyly with her grandma to give Puck a handmade chocolate

Fair Fare

Saturday, August 20, 2011 In which a festival is visited and fair food is most happily, and greedily, consumed… The morning began with light rain, wind, and the occasional flash of lightening. And Puck’s comments… “It’s too deckilet [delicate].” Or when Collette told him that she would make

Bing is 25

Friday, August 19, 2011 In which Bing’s belated 25th birthday is celebrated in hot-sauce style… Five hours of sleep. Crash! Rumble, rumble. The storms had returned, and Collette was awake at 5:15. The Edenly green of a morning of rain. While Collette prepared Puck to leave for the

Term Paper

Thursday, August 18, 2011 In which term papers are written and late-night snacks are administered for sanity’s sake… Back to home and rising temperatures. 93 for the high. No rain. ‘Bref-test’ [Breakfast], as Puck called it. He had found a footstool with tapestried cushion in the basement and called

Diet Things

Wednesday, August 17, 2011 In which work is done on many fronts and Earnest visits the bunny doctor… OLeif was home for the day to write his twelve-plus-page-term-paper and study for his final on Saturday. Collette and Puck were back to the ranch, after Puck had tried on OLeif’s

Blooms & Rain

Tuesday, August 16, 2011 In which an unexpected delivery arrives and the clouds are just the right mix of summer-autumn… A barreling line of storms sliced through the radar that morning… “I don’t know why Jesus sends a big storm after us, every time!” said Puck. After a wave-off

Monday, Monday

Monday, August 15, 2011 In which the quiet comes back again like every Monday… Puck waved off OLeif on the motorcycle that morning as usual. One more hug, and another… “You’re the goodest daddy ever!” Back to quiet neighborhoods and uncertain skies. Renaissance music and open windows. Work: Puck

No Man's Land

Sunday, August 14, 2011 In which memory lane is revisited via method of great green slug and wary offspring… Rather horrific dream for Collette. Inspired dream for OLeif: revolutionary software that actually might completely change the tone of work at work… Puck marched in that morning, as usual. “My eyes…

Cloud Days

Saturday, August 13, 2011 In which a relaxing day is spent under a pretty awesome sky… OLeif woke up with ideas about building a Swedish Viking lawn game… Puck was intent on two hours of playing mah-jongg with himself at the kitchen table. No rules; just right. “Ah. It’s

A Day with Baby Hesed

Friday, August 12, 2011 In which Puck plays with his favorite baby and storms befall the lands… The morning began with Puck reviewing his colors in Spanish, snuggling in bed next to his daddy. Then he expounded on his dreams… “I had bad dreams about killing carrots. They ran away.

The Coolness

Thursday, August 11, 2011 In which life continues in a manner only to be expected on an ordinary Thursday in August… It was in the 60’s that morning. And for the first time in a very long while, Collette opened the windows. Mali: Kora. While Puck was working on

Back on the Ranch

Wednesday, August 10, 2011 In which things are caught up on again and unexpected weather is welcomed… The day was near cool. Amazing. Back on the ranch… Two books on silk painting on the kitchen counter. An old acquaintance from the choir days showing up on the social networks. Married

Sweet Potato Fries Days

Tuesday, August 9, 2011 In which a sleepy sort of day is spent working on all manners of things as usual… A tearful Puck waved his daddy goodbye at 6:30 that morning from the front porch, always waiting til the little red car had rounded the corner before he

Back Again

Monday, August 8, 2011 In which another, presumably and hopefully, less up-shaking week begins under a normal set of circumstances… Puck woke that morning to join them and get… “…all snuggling warm.” He went on to discuss his one-sided conversation with Anneliese (who was very shy with him lately) at

The Next Change

Sunday, August 7, 2011 In which unfortunate news is shared and further events are celebrated… On the way to church, they drove by a small farm pond. “I like lakes,” said Puck, “but not when they’re destroying the world… Like in Nashville.” Then he mentioned something about Noah’s

In Between

Saturday, August 6, 2011 In which papers are printed and family is visited… A little breath. To the office to make up the bulletins and complete the last of nine weeks of work in the office. Fastest summer to date. OLeif joined her to study, send out the mailing, and

Mr. Snicketts

Friday, August 5, 2011 In which Grandpa is laid to rest and the entire day seems properly befitting the occasion… It was hard to find the right words to document the passing of an era… Everything seemed to change after that day. After carpooling in the caravan with the rest

How Things go Down

Thursday, August 4, 2011 In which troubles brew and redemption is made with an evening of Puck and cookies… Rough day. Rough day. Sometimes, blow followed blow… At breakfast, however, Puck was thinking about fried eggs and talking about things and humming tunes to himself, including… “Baby Hesed. Baby Hesed.

A Royal Line

Wednesday, August 3, 2011 In which thoughts are thought and research done and preparations made for a weekend of remembering… After Collette received the news… Somehow she felt the need to trace the Snicketts family line back to 1620’s Virginia and from there to 700’s Wales, where she

Grandpa

Tuesday, August 2, 2011 At six o’clock that morning, at the age of 83, Grandpa passed away in his sleep…

How Days Happen

Monday, August 1, 2011 In which the list of things to do grows like any other Monday-list… Puck had concerns that morning about his dad becoming a pastor after Collette had explained his grandpa’s devotional from I Timothy at breakfast. “I don’t want Daddy to be a pastor,

Bounty of the Day

Sunday, July 31, 2011 In which friends return, family is visited, and the clownishly exorbitant heat disbands the amazing effects of the cool rain of the afternoon as though it had never happened at all… The Ryes were back: Puck immediately found Hesed to catch up on life, Evangeline was

With hey, ho, the Wind and the Rain

Saturday, July 30, 2011 In which the rain finally arrives… Bit of a rough night… OLeif returned at 1:39am, waking Collette so suddenly that a stomachache was the result, followed by the return of semi-intense pain in her leg, nucleizing in the knee. Before 5:30, Puck also woke

Hopeful Rain Gone Bad

Friday, July 29, 2011 In which there are further activities of interest to four year-olds in boxes… Back on the ranch… Wild Huckleberry Taffy on the counter. “Collette?” Francis asked — shining grin. “There are eggs in the kitchen… And bread.” Short-order cook. But there was no bread. Rose was bummed

Weeks Keep Coming

Thursday, July 28, 2011 In which the random collections of life make up yet another Thursday… During breakfast… “Isn’t it a nice day to have eggs together, Mama? Wow. A thunderstorm almost came by and shook down on our… shed.” But… there was no rain. However, when Collette’s

Wednesday Dates

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 In which July is relentlessly August… The heat was no better. 100 as a high for Wednesday, Thursday, (heat indices up to 115) and the following Tuesday. Nothing of much relief in between, either. For July, even in St. Louis, this was ridiculous. Shortly before one

As Tuesdays Go

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 In which tiny creatures are observed and transport is considered… Puck began his day with ‘Little Bear’ porridge; he liked it even more than Collette had anticipated. They practiced etiquette, should the Queen of England ever call up Puck to have breakfast tea. He thought this

The way Days Happen

Monday, July 25, 2011 In which a Monday is a Monday is a Monday is a… Ant infestation. A spare morsel of dinner trapped under the table leg had trumpeted in the ‘troops and troops of ants’, as Puck had put it. Fortunately, they were easily dispensed, and the morning

A Walton's Mayberry

Sunday, July 24, 2011 In which the silliness of Sunday afternoons commences as usual in Mayberry town… Puck was obsessed. Gloria had gifted him her old metallic-pastel-pink cellphone, which was no longer battlestar-operational. Noise, lights, and camera worked. That was enough for Puck. “I’m gonna text Daddy,” he would

Upsets

Saturday, July 23, 2011 In which some troubles brew, but do not end altogether badly… A day at home. Puck came in early for a jump-about. “It’s a circus,” OLeif mumbled after awhile. A couple of games of shrieking-laughter tag before breakfast… OLeif doctored up Puck’s oatmeal with

Cereal Days

Friday, July 22, 2011 In which the carousel of everything goes on and melting heats continue… The heat was absurd. Early drop-off. 7:15, and Puck got busy munching through a cup of Honey Bunches of Oats. No milk. As preferred. Carrie brought in the fat Earnest. “He thinks I’

The Inferno

Thursday, July 21, 2011 In which the day is atrociously hot, but things are kept cool indoors… Collette started her morning with memories of dreams… Terrifying ‘drop lightening’ storms (whatever that was) in the mountains of Colorado. Puck began his breakfast with a look of shock… “Mama! I didn’t

Treats

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 In which a pleasant evening is arrived at, unexpectedly… OLeif found Puck awake early that morning… “Oh, you’re in your morning clothes, buddy. But you’re supposed to go back to sleep…” “Wuhl… morning clothes cuts it out.” Some time later, Collette found Puck sitting

Tuesday

Tuesday, July 19, 2011 In which cookies are baked and things are learned… OLeif was off before Puck woke that morning; he would be meeting Simon and Alfonso for dinner that night. The boy kept a busy schedule. In other parts of the city… Joe had been in Kirksville with

Monday

Monday, July 18, 2011 In which Monday begins with its own trouble and is quickly forgotten in the rest of the day… Nightmare just before midnight… hunted down; racing heart. The true day started off with… “Mama! A squirrel just chomped on his tail! Isn’t that funny!” Laugh, laugh,

Quiet Times

Sunday, July 17, 2011 In which a day is spent relaxing around… 5:45 wake-up call. At church, Puck made a beeline for the donut holes. During Sunday School… Francis went off to breakfast at Steak ‘n Shake, due to the fact that youth Sunday School had been canceled for

Church Cook-In

Saturday, July 16, 2011 In which the day is oddly quiet, except for the always-and-forever rising decibels of Puck, and church is attended… Collette woke at an astounding 8:56 that morning. Rather shocking. But she was the only one at home, perhaps for the first time since before Puck

Francis Returns in High Fashion

Friday, July 15, 2011 In which wizardry is revisited… reluctantly… except for the chocolate… o, yes, the chocolate… Around the one-thirty mark, Collette woke from the pain of the canker. This was unusual. OLeif sent over an ice cube, which seemed to temporarily dull the pain. In some news of

The Unspoken Silence

Thursday, July 14, 2011 In which work is done… First to the house… Francis had called Wednesday night from base camp. Apparently, and, hardly surprising, he had not changed his clothes once during the entire 75 miles and ten days, or so. He was due to arrive home the following

The Old Times

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 In which an old friend is met for lunch… Broken glass. Spilled red apple candle wax. Collette was getting clumsy in her older age… Meanwhile, back on the ranch… Dad was assisting a neighbor with computer problems. Andy flipped on some Irish fiddling. Linnea-Irish and Puck

Waiting for Rain

Tuesday, July 12, 2011 In which normal life is resumed… When Puck had been driven home the previous evening, he said… “I haven’t been on this country in a very long time.” Back to the usual swing of things… Mold was still high. Excessive Heat Warning: 105-115 indices. Bummer

Road Trip

Monday, July 11, 2011 In which a return is made through the Heartland… Joe’s morning began with Dad slapping him in the head with a pillow so that he wouldn’t miss the waffle iron in the cafe. “Those waffles are calling your name,” said Mom. “’Joe! Joe!’” He

Janek Raven

Sunday, July 10, 2011 In which a wedding is attended in the south… Janek Raven was to be married that day. The same young man, now 30, who had been lost for three days in the Swiss Alps. At services, last-minute plans were being set for the afternoon. Joe was

Art for Getting out of St. Charles' Sake

Saturday, July 9, 2011 In which art is observed and the best chicken consumed in the same evening… Keys seemed to be falling out of Puck’s ears those days. “The keys to Redwall!” he would proclaim. Old Honda, old Ford, old house, old church, old who-knew-what… After a six-ish

All Those Crazy Fridays

Friday, July 8, 2011 In which the day dulls down… OLeif got his gear together for the morning. “I’m gonna miss you, Daddy.” “I’m gonna miss you too, Buddy.” “You know, Daddy… I like super boring stuff. You should take me to work with you.” Then he discussed

Freak Show

Thursday, July 7, 2011 In which adventures with the chiropractor are undertaken by Carrie-Bri… Back to the office… If things had been quiet the first four weeks, it was hopping that gray Thursday morning. Endless phone calls for Babe Ruth. Back to the house for a few hours. Puck-tellings of

Comments of the Day

Wednesday, July 6, 2011 In which rain is clearly hoped for, but not availed… Still hot. High 80’s. Puck came in early that morning for the day’s run-down… “We are going to watch Bug’s of Life today?” he asked. “Later, with Daddy,” Collette replied. He followed this

Books & Purple Ice Cream

Tuesday, July 5, 2011 In which things are made and things are read… The sun was back in full force. Not that it hadn’t been already the previous afternoon, once the rain had begun to clear. But it was officially back to heatwave. 90’s for the next full

Beautiful Rain

Sunday, July 2, 2011 In which Sunday’s day of indulgent opulence is well-appreciated by nearly all those involved… The day was already boiling. Another heat advisory. Over at the house… Puck was exchanging kisses for raisins from his Sun. “How many kisses do you intend to have?” “Well, I

The Theaters

Saturday, July 2, 2011 In which Puck attends the ‘fee-ah-ters’… 4:51. Puck awake. He was not going to fall asleep again; this much was obvious. “This is growing up to be a bad day for me,” he said. But then he remembered that this was the day for which

Friday Nights

Friday, July 1, 2011 In which the silence of a summer at the office continues… OLeif was home for the day. This meant fun things for the Puckster. Blue oatmeal. “With honey and cream and salt,” said OLeif. “Not the shaving cream, Daddy!” Puck watched curls of steam float in

Back to the Bulletins

Thursday, June 30, 2011 In which work is done and things are learned… Puck was inspecting the back of Collette’s Native American feather-print shirt with his magnifying glass. “Just checking out your beads, Mama. They look much bigger with my measuring mirror.” Early morning drop-off at the house, where

Sunshine & Watermelon

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 In which the first of summer fruits is opened… It looked to be a hot number of days coming up. Collette opened her eyes to see a big-smiling Puck standing over her, like something out of Wallace & Gromit. Breakfast included discussion of the events for

Book Days

Tuesday, June 28, 2011 In which the library is visited and the week continues in a predictable manner… June was coming rapidly to a close. The morning began with email banter between Carrie and Dad… Carrie: “Just to settle once and for all that R.C. Sproul trumps Mac-whatever [John

Puck's Imaginations

Monday, June 27, 2011 In which the day begins with an appropriate amount of crashing thunder… Thunderstorms. Enough rain to make motorcycling out of the question. Puck came in for a morning wrestle with his daddy. “We’re going to practice your numbers today, Puck,” Collette told him. Puck immediately

Happy Rose!

Sunday, June 26, 2011 In which Rose transcends adulthood with a simple introduction to that strange, strange world… Rose was the big 2-1. There were storms in the early morning. Giant crashes of thunder. “Sorry for getting up late, Mama.” The milk went down to the floor at breakfast. The

Questions

Saturday, June 25, 2011 In which a quiet Saturday of vegetation is spent following a long, rather warm week of activity… When Collette opened her eyes that morning, Puck’s face was staring back. “Mama. I already got dressed.” One of the shirts from Rose, and the shorts. He was

Early 21

Friday, June 24, 2011 In which an early birthday is celebrated for Rose… Puck began his morning with a question over his cream of wheat. “Mama? Why is everything made out of wood?” During his breakfast prayer, as was his wont, Puck started, and then paused… “Was that a little

Day 4

Thursday, June 23, 2011 In which a very early morning is followed by attending the office… OLeif’s 4:30 wake-up call inspired the can’t-get-it-out-of-my-head encore of Vacation Bible School’s Ten Commandment Boogie… o, the humanity. Shortly after OLeif had left, Collette got a text. Ran out of

Day 3

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 In which Collette completes her final day of aiding the class of rather compliant four year-olds… Puck started things out with a bouncy ball tossed down the hallway. He explained, “I gave it to the spiders to play wiff.” [Still working on those th’s…] And

Trouble in Flo-Town

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 In which little of account is recorded, except from Lucia’s perspective in old Flo-town… Day two rolled in quickly on the first day of summer, which always fell on Izzy’s birthday. His 18th this year, to be exact. He purportedly began his day with

Day One

Monday, June 20, 2011 In which the week of potential chaos begins… The first day of Vacation Bible School. More or less a success. Glitter crayons and finger paints. (Fortunately, the only two boys in the class, one of whom was Puck, opted out of visiting this ‘station’.) Acting out

Further Celebrations

Sunday, June 19, 2011 In which further multiple celebrations are celebrated… Three something in the morning… Thunder. Wind. Silence. Thunder. Puck had ideas about what to do after church that day. “We can play Minecraft! And watch Redwall! And eat candy!” And OLeif wanted to show Puck how to make

Happy Everything

Saturday, June 18, 2011 In which various celebrations are celebrated… 5:02am. Perfect silence. Then… That unearthly wailing whirr. Even before the thunder. Elsewhere, Judah was probably grumbling, while people like Babe Ruth and Collette’s brothers were likely standing in the front lawn, searching for rotation. Down to the

Smack-Down

Friday, June 17, 2011 In which the storms return half-unexpectedly… Back to the office. The steering wheel had a sort of satisfying 17th century sea-faring vessel creak to it. Friday was more interesting. It started off calmly and unassuming enough. Collette had almost forgotten that there was a good chance

Critters

Thursday, June 16, 2011 In which another day of little report occurs at the church office… Back to the office again. One week down; probably eight more to go. Things were quiet, really. Judah had a cough. Daisy-Jean made a run to Taco Bell for lunch. No events. No unexpected

Down to One

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 In which the temperatures begin to rise once again… Sometime after three o’clock that morning, a thunderstorm tore through the land. Crashing winds and rain, the blue flash of lightening. Three hours later, Puck was on his usual morning routine, the initial purpose, to waken

Back to It

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 In which life slows down a little… A day at home to catch up after being mostly gone for the last ten and a half days. Puck began his breakfast with the conventional set of observations. “If I eat dirt, I will become a baby again.

Happy 27th

Monday, June 13, 2011 In which OLeif begins his 28th birthday in a pattern of randomly predictable events… Puck woke up two hours early that morning, excited about one thing. “Can I have my chocolate milk now, Mama? But, Daddy, don’t waste any of it, or else I will

Another Precursor

Sunday, June 12, 2011 In which there is pig slop and stuffed mushrooms and Swiss chocolate… During Children’s Church, the Prodigal Son was being presented to the little class. Daisy-Jean had mailed ziplock bags to all the kids earlier in the week so that they could bring leftover food

Things & Stuff

Saturday, June 11, 2011 In which OLeif’s first pre-birthday is spent in various places doing various things… Off to the Silverspoon’s after a drop-by the library for Mulan, which Puck had never seen. As they made their exit, a lump of common fur paddled across the pavement into

The Stuff of Life

Friday, June 10, 2011 In which things happen… Out the door to another day. There was little of anything but busywork for six hours. But Daisy-Jean knew how to keep the office staff motivated. Peanut M’nMs in their mailboxes. Then Linnea-Irish was returned with the other junior high kids:

Relive the Past

Thursday, June 9, 2011 In which Collette returns to old places, old times… After nearly a year, Collette was called back into the church office. This time, for two months, now that the secretary was on maternity leave. Every Thursday and Friday. But first… OLeif woke up with a busted

Be it Ever so Beautiful

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 In which Nixa is left behind, and back to beautiful civilization… Last day. Hotel check-out. Back to the lectures. Collette wondered what sort of impression she must have made in her Doctor Who t-shirt, moccasins, and Princess Leia knots. Three days living out of a duffle

It Continues

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 In which lectures continue and chocolate is purchased… It was Mom’s and Dad’s 31st anniversary. They had dined at Red Lobster on Sunday in advance. As a continuation of their celebration, their day started off with an earthquake in Sullivan, an hour outside of

On the Road

Monday, June 6, 2011 In which Collette leaves town for three days at an ungodly hour… Up by 3:55 in the morning. Car packed. 32 bottles of water. Off on the road at 4:30. Four hours of asphalt to attend a three-day seminar regarding how to teach Linnea’

Grumpiness

Sunday, June 5, 2011 In which the usual Sunday activity transpires as Collette grumpily prepares herself to leave town… Not the most successful of transitions in promotion Sunday for Puck. Things started off well enough, but… well, that was life. Onto the rest of the day… Lunch. Carrie’s chicken

Run Around

Saturday, June 4, 2011 In which there is the usual mix of Saturday happenings… It was another scorcher. 97 for the high that day, and not much different for the rest of the week… OLeif was busy with websites all morning. At breakfast, Puck was deep in conversations with his

Some Like it Hot... Not

Friday, June 3, 2011 In which festivities continue following graduation… Puck was at it again with the interesting statements… “Why do you want a Hot Wheeled egg?” “My nose is thinking it needs a Kleenex.” “I will put my lie away!” He still called receipts, ads, filler papers, etc., ’emergencies’

Swedish Pancakes

Thursday, June 2, 2011 In which another day is spent at home… The day was silver. Hopefully this meant cooler temperatures than the 95 high and heat indices of 100 predicted for the following afternoon at the park. The usual day-quotes of Puck… “Mama, you know? Ten miles away, I

Too Warm

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 In which nothing really happens at all, which is actually nice for a change… Another day at home. Puck could be heard at the breakfast table repeating over and over… “Ten makes eleven, ten makes eleven…” Who knew… It was hot. 88.1 at least. Too

Additions

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 In which there are intended to be several quiet days at home… Back home for another stretch. The morning was already warm. Classical station. Ravi Zacharias apologetics. Review of Dad’s introduction to his dissertation. Puck broke a lightbulb… how he managed such things, Collette could

Joe Returns

Monday, May 30, 2011 In which Joe returns from New Mexico… Collette woke from having saved hundreds of people from killer monster tornados somewhere in St. Peters, but not really St. Peters, herding them all into the basement of an enormous old house. When they reemerged, the grass had been

Further Congratulations

Sunday, May 29, 2011 In which congratulations are given to Ben-Hur… At church, Linnea-Irish and Cherry Pie had returned with the Ryes from North Carolina, watching Baby Hesed for the week, and climbing a fifty-foot rock wall. “I died once,” said Cherry. “I died once too,” said Linnea. Baby Hesed,

A Merry Graduation

Saturday, May 28, 2011 In which Izzy progresses from one realm of life to the next… Collette woke from dreams of walking through a vineyard in the uncertain anticipation of stormlight in a late afternoon, skirted by gray mountains… Under silver skies… It was time for another graduation. It had

The Lady Vanishes

Friday, May 27, 2011 In which it is Vincent Price’s 100th birthday… It was Vincent Price’s 100th birthday. There had been original intent to attend a lecture at the history museum given by his granddaughter. However, there were other things to be done. And OLeif was home. After

Another Day

Thursday, May 26, 2011 In which the tone of one day bleeds into the next… For the morning… The rainish yellow-green weather continued, although a good degree cooler. The transmission was replaced in the car. No 2011 Vortex Blue Pearl Honda Fit for the present. Puck spent an hour alone

Tornado City

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 In which St. Louis is peppered with a whimsical array of Tornadic activity… The day bespoke Tornadoes. Before 4:30, the first wave arrived, bringing a wake of Tornado Watches and Warnings. Collette stayed awake until she thought there was a good enough break until the

Curly & More Storms

Tuesday, May 24, 2011 In which Curly is back in town… The day began with allergens. Supposedly. With another huge mold count of 93,000 plus, who could say, really. But the headache spoke to the possibility. Puck was up before six o’clock with his daddy and amused himself

Wind & "Laura"

Monday, May 23, 2011 In which the winds roar and Vincentennial continues… Dad and Francis were off to Colorado Spring: Monday: drive to Colorado. Tuesday: Air Force Academy and dinner with Joe. Wednesday: return. Whirlwind, as could be predicted by any of the Snicketts boys. Mom was watching the Blunt

Vincent & Pablo

Sunday, May 22, 2011 In which Vincent Price, Pablo Honey, and Tornadoes are celebrated… It was Freja Toast’s 40th birthday and she gave the final adult Sunday School class of the quarter to a gathering that included her parents, brother, sister, and extended family — one of the best women

Softball & Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

Saturday, May 21, 2011 In which the end of the world is suggested as having come to an end… Cherry and Linnea-Irish were off to North Carolina with the Ryes that morning with a stop-over-the-night in Kentucky with the Popples on the way. Some folks thought the world was going

Movies till Midnight

Friday, May 20, 2011 In which another movie night is held with one less participant than usual… To start with… the Doctor Donna had been on The Office finale the previous evening. And secondly, Collette and Puck left with OLeif shortly after seven o’clock in the morning to drop

New Mexico & McDonald's

Thursday, May 19, 2011 In which Joe launches off for the Southwest and a birthday is celebrated two and a half weeks early … Joe got on the road at two AM. When Collette called to check the status of his awake-ness at 6:30, he declared need of coffee and

Home Again

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 In which there is a day at home to work on nothing very particular at all… The day began with… Registering for the Classical Conversations Practicum as a Director. Booking a hotel for the three days. Cooking corn on the cob and making mashed potatoes. Wrapping

Tornadoes & Music

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 In which there is much tornadic exhibition and entirely too much singing… The morning began with some sort of obnoxious chemical reaction, or Spanish black radish, taking effect on Collette’s face. Red, scratchy, and burning. Carrie offered a pinch off a branch of her aloe

Sunday Feasts

Sunday, May 15, 2011 In which there is cold rain and hot food… Cold rain. Just right for a Sunday morning. On the road to pick up Puck for church, early. The flashing OPEN sign in the scuba shop at 7:30 in the morning. Watching a dark green mini

Red Robin & Doctor Who

Saturday, May 14, 2011 In which another date commences, the first since winter… It had been ten years. To the day. In that cold, gray, rainy morning, it was an early departure to bring OLeif to the coffee house with his buddies, where they would meet with Judah, via Skype

Friday the 13th

Friday, May 13, 2011 In which the Sixth Season of Doctor Who is unfolded… A cool morning of rain. Puck remembered his Rice Krispy Treat bar from previously in the week. “I want my bar,” he said seriously. “I waited for a billion years to have it!” So he had

A Visit

Thursday, May 12, 2011 In which Uncle Clarence and Aunt Galena return for a brief visit… OLeif dropped off Collette at the house on his way in to work to assist with the interview for a buddy from his Wednesday night group. Inside, Puck had just finished breakfast and demonstrated

Hodgepodge

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 In which adrenals and thyroid are checked around the hodgepodge of the day… Puck was greeted at breakfast with a collection of Reading Rainbow VHS tapes from the library. He examined the unusual shape of the tape. “We don’t have a ‘long DVD player’?” he

Tuesday

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 In which there is the suggestion of storms… It was going to be a May scorcher, the forecast predicted. Up to 90. However, Collette and Puck woke to light rain, a rumble of thunder, birdsong buried in the deep green, and a cough for the four

Monday

Monday, May 9, 2011 In which research is conducted and a film is watched… It was a usual sort of Monday. Most of the morning was spent in extensive research and compiling information for Dad. More registering of library programs for Linnea, including… Bellydancing, an introductory class given by a

Round Two

Sunday, May 8, 2011 In which Mother’s Day begins in an unexpected way, to which Collette responds in almost ridiculous slowness of realization… Collette surprised herself at just how oblivious she was Sunday morning. Around 5:30 she heard OLeif waking up. “Why in the world is he getting

Round One

Saturday, May 7, 2011 In which the first Mother’s Day of the year is celebrated after a quick ball game… Collette began her morning with a sore knee… those two years ago in Iceland riding Viking horses in a mild ice storm and high winds… yes, rain must be

Featuring Joe Caedmon Snicketts

Friday, May 6, 2011 In which Joe’s art is displayed at an exhibition amongst other works from around the country… The morning began with… Dad and Francis cutting down a dead tree in the front lawn… Carrie dying Collette’s hair dark brown, mixed with subtle strips of blue

Fifth Day

Thursday, May 5, 2011 In which a manner of things are done of little import during a cool afternoon… Puck gave OLeif a giant hug before he left for work that morning. “Poor Daddy’s gonna miss me, Mamma,” he said woefully. The morning was spent in: * eggs and bacon

Fourth Day

Wednesday. May 4, 2011 In which another project is finally completed… Before OLeif left for work that morning… “You’re a good wife,” he said to Collette. “I should watch that movie, The Good Wife, and see if it’s about you.” “Nothing like pick-up lines for your wife…” Collette

Learning to Ride

Tuesday, May 3, 2011 In which further work is conducted on operations of contracts… OLeif rode his bike to work for the first time, and successfully survived the early morning journey. There was little more to the day aside from the usual Tuesday-ish-ness of those sixteen or so hours. During

Second Day

Monday, May 2, 2011 In which the start of an anticipated quiet week begins… In good news, OLeif’s wallet had been found. In his suit pants. How they had gotten there… no one knew. He had not worn the suit pants out of the house, to the best of

Travis is Married

Sunday, May 1, 2011 In which the sixth family wedding occurs, the second to take place in the month of May… The whole day had been a bit of a blur, really. During church… OLeif was wearing a suit. Because of this… novelty… the praise team stopped as a whole

Today is Saturday

Saturday, April 30, 2011 In which Puck rehearses a song for the children’s church choir musical… Puck woke with thoughts of the day. “Sometimes I have bad plans in my heart,” he said seriously. By nine o’clock, they were at church for the kids’ rehearsal for the musical

Excuse for Chocolate

Friday, April 29, 2011 In which there is a theft and a royal breakfast… Puck woke up that morning as usual, with an announcement of how he had slept… “Daddy! I slept for a whole, whole, whole… very long day!” Then he got busy with his dump truck which was

MIA

Thursday, April 28, 2011 In which objects of rather significant value are missing and Puck is given a gift… Collette got breakfast started that morning. The frying pan was overheated and the kitchen slowly filled with haze. Puck watched the cloud of it grow larger, which he believed to be

Earnest Antics

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 In which Earnest is up to mischief and another long-time project is completed at last… Collette woke from dreams of waves crashing over her head at a secluded shore by mountains and pines and afternoon sunlight after a long trek across treacherous countryside in a strange

Small Energy Day

Tuesday, April 26, 2011 In which OLeif’s wallet is still missing… “Mama, my brains are hurting in my foot,” Puck said thoughtfully, as he took alternate bites from chubby half-bananas, one stuffed in each fist. “Why?” “I don’t know. Because I’m growing up.” Still rain; still in

Back to Monday

Monday, April 25, 2011 In which the rain continues as appropriately expected, given the month of the year… In the aftermath of it all… The morning was spent playing with moon sand for Puck. Moon sand was basically brown sugar that wasn’t sticky. Then Puck spoke to a cream

Easter III, IV, & V

Sunday, April 24, 2011 In which Easter is celebrated several times over… Notes from church: Trumpet, violin, oboe, flute, piano, guitar, drum set, keyboard, and various other rhythmic instruments to properly introduce the opening selection: only Judah would start an Easter service in suburbia with a Tanzanian hymn. Lazarus. Beaucoups

Easter Part I & II

Saturday, April 23, 2011 In which Puck hunts up the first round of Easter eggs and there is another evening down at Memorial… After dark dreams and visions of a gloomy Greek grocery store/restaurant… A 6:14 wake-up call showed violet-blue in the west, and the rain was not

They Come Every Spring

Friday, April 22, 2011 In which Puck continues his birthday celebration and there is anticipation of bad weather… There had been more thunder in the night. And in the morning, with hot ham in the oven for breakfast, the world was still washed in rain and the 40 shades of

Maundy Thursday

Thursday, April 21, 2011 In which Holy Thursday is observed… Despite the late arrival of Holy Week that year, it had come up suddenly that spring, and it was already Maundy Thursday. At breakfast, Puck was having difficulty remembering the entirety of his standard prayer, and had been starting over

Getting Back to Normal

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 In which a manner of recovery continues for the family… After another dream of the end of the world… Everyone was gathered together over at the house that cool morning. It was strange not hearing that familiar bark as they walked in the front door… Rose

Happy 4th Birthday, Puck!

Monday, April 18, 2011 In which Puck turns four and there is much jubilation… The Puckster was officially four years old, early that morning, as of 3:56. He woke shortly after seven to OLeif preparing made-from-scratch waffles with made-from-scratch whipped cream and fresh strawberries with tea-light candle on top

Palm Sunday

Sunday, April 17, 2011 In which there was much music and food and Baby Hesed learns a new art… Sunday was busy enough. Puck’s last day to be three. Service: new members and baptisms. Congregational meeting: poor finances. Sunday School: Babe Ruth teaching. Second service: children singing with palm

Happy Birthday, Baby Hesed!

Saturday, April 16, 2011 In which Hesed celebrates his first birthday at the Zoo… On that day of Curly’s 21st birthday and Baby Hesed’s 1st… OLeif was dropped off at the coffee shop with his fellow fellows by 8:10 for his bi-weekly Bible study, while Collette and

A Drive-In

Friday, April 15, 2011 In which storms return once again and Puck attends a drive-in… Collette woke before five to the tweeting of morning birds, just before the rain came in behind the open window. OLeif was not happy about the birds waking him so early. Not to mention the

VROOM

Thursday, April 14, 2011 In which a new kind of purchase is made… Puck had thoughts over breakfast, as a sleepy Linnea-Irish joined them at the breakfast table. He took a scoop of his yogurt and blueberries, eyeing the pan of sizzling bacon on the stove. “No one can find

Today is Wednesday

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 In which there are matters of hair and teeth and eyes… Puck began the day with a request. “Could I wear my cowboy suit today, Mama?” Collette permitted it. So on went the red buckskin fringed silver buckled vest over his Nike sweatshirt. Then OLeif remembered

Today is Tuesday

Tuesday, April 12, 2011 In which Collette and Puck spend another quiet and good day at home together… The morning began with Puck crowding in under the covers. “The sun is rising, Mama! My feet are cold.” And he snuggled himself into a bundle under the chocolate brown comforter and

Today is Monday

Monday, April 11, 2011 In which the day is like any other sort of Monday… Collette woke at 5:59 with the continued headache. Ibuprofen remedied the situation by seven, and soon Puck was hiding in her closet ‘space shuttle’, pretending to have just returned from the moon with ‘tons

OLeif Returns

Sunday, April 10, 2011 In which OLeif returns as the temperatures rocket and the wind drives into St. Louis… Whereas Saturday had been predicted as reaching 87 degrees Fahrenheit, Sunday was predicted to be only 88. But with this ridiculous uprising also came the great hope of thunderstorms, and some

The Goings-On of Saturday

Saturday, April 9, 2011 In which there is a wave of undesired heat in the very early part of the spring… Thunderstorms rolled in at four o’clock. After one particularly amazing crash, Puck was finally woken by it just before six. The day commenced with a short breakfast and

A Car, for Once

Friday, April 8, 2011 In which OLeif takes leave for Tennessee, and the park is attended for the afternoon… Collette dropped OLeif off at the Silverspoon’s by eight o’clock that morning. He would be accompanying Theodore and Gloria to Nashville for the weekend. Back to the house in

Doggy Depression?

Thursday, April 7, 2011 In which a whole manner of things come up to handle… OLeif departed late that morning, nearing nine o’clock, to catch up on some lost sleep after enjoying theological discussions later into the night with his guys’ group in the city. The morning began with

The TIV

Wednesday, April 6, 2011 In which a celebrity is met… St. Louis was due for a mini April heatwave starting Wednesday. April was not the time for heatwaves, in Collette’s opinion. But that, of course, did not much matter. Out to the house. Rose was house/dog-sitting for a

The Week Continues

Tuesday, April 5, 2011 In which Collette bakes bread for the first time in a very long while… An early phone call was put out to OLeif by Puck that morning. He had important notes to relay. “I was dreaming about the Dough Monster, Daddy. I slept for a whole…

Methodical Mondays

Monday, April 4, 2011 In which the day is spent in quiet at home… The wind had been up high around midnight, and it had brought the rain. In the morning, the ground was soggy, the skies were silver, and the winds were lower. It was Kitts’ 25th birthday up

The Best Sort of Day

Sunday, April 3, 2011 In which the wind is high, as it ought to be in the spring… Collette dreamt that night of a group of people who, by ritual, walked in a straight line, endlessly, through whatever was necessary, until the wind changed, and then they would follow the

At the Silverspoon's

Saturday, April 2, 2011 In which a quiet Saturday is spent at the Silverspoon house… OLeif’s 8:30 Bible study hour was spent, for Puck, with his daddy in the nursery with the other dads and their kids, including Hesed and Anneliese, while their wives were on the church

Gifts & Entertainment

Friday, April 1, 2011 In which Collette discovers gluten free cookies and the kids arrive for the usual Friday night routine… Mom and Dad had arrived safely in Lisbon, with more word to follow on Mom’s blog, http://137483.blogspot.com/. Francis arrived at 8:15 for brief studies

To Europe

Thursday, March 31, 2011 In which Mom and Dad depart for Lisbon… So Mom and Dad were off! To the airport, leaving the house by eight o’clock, in order to catch their 11:05 flight to Chicago, a four-hour layover, and then to their next connection in Spain towards…

Before Departure

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 In which OLeif recovers and Mom and Dad make final preparations to go abroad… OLeif was out of the shower by seven and feeling worlds better. There had been a light dusting on the ground in the night, a wink of the powdered sugar layers that

Sick Day

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 In which OLeif becomes sick… OLeif was feeling ill that morning. Collette had spent the night on the couch, just in the chance that he should be contagious. So because pneumonia could not be completely ruled out via his symptoms, Collette and Puck dropped him off

Jane Eyre & Chocolate Tacos

Monday, March 28, 2011 In which an outing is made to the other side of the river and to the Plaza Frontenac. It was a day to visit Illinois while the kids were in class. “Are we taking the boat?” Puck wanted to know, remembering his last tour to another

One More Sunday

Sunday, March 27, 2011 In which there is one last Sunday together before Mom and Dad go abroad… Puck woke up groggily when he heard Collette rattling pots in the kitchen. Almost immediately, he began to set the table with forks and add other objects from the counters that he

The Quiet Saturday

Saturday, March 26, 2011 In which the day is spent on snow and meat… Eggs, bacon, music from Belarus. Gray skies. 40’s. At breakfast… “Would you ever change your name?” Collette asked Puck. “Yup.” “What would it be?” “Guh.” Ocean breeze bubble bath for Puck. Scuba diving rubber ducks.

Surprise of Nature

Friday, March 25, 2011 In which the snow returns in spring… Collette woke from dreams regarding: 1. snow days at a nearby school 2. shelled corn 3. an old friend, Felicity Octagon, getting married 4. a rainy night 5. a rather grizzled gray-haired Scottish mountain man (short beard, short hair)

Dad Takes to the Skies Again

Thursday, March 24, 2011 In which Dad flies the chopper… Puck woke shortly after six o’clock. He decided to cuddle in his big eggplant purple blanket over the floor vent in his room ‘to get warm’. But in order not to disturb his mama with the light from the

Critter Trouble

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 In which worms fall from the skies… Puck woke asking for ‘breaftest’. “I was dreaming about the rice milk,” he said soberly, kicking ‘more shots’ in the kitchen. “You don’t like rice milk?” Collette asked him. “Noooo.” “Why?” “Because sometimes little boys don’t like

Where is Donkey?

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 In which there is rain and bacon… The day was goodly gray. Two weeks and no Donkey. Collette and Puck had discussed, upon occasion, where Donkey might be in his travels, similar to those he had taken ‘around the world’ the previous summer. Puck said a

Warm Weather

Monday, March 21, 2011 In which Puck explores things as usual in a quiet sort of spring day… Early morning: The high had shifted up to 81 degrees Fahrenheit. All of the windows were open. Puck took a leisurely breakfast. Snuggling on the couch, per request. Between pajamas and dressing

Sunday Plans

Sunday, March 20, 2011 In which plans are made for the afternoon on a warm Sunday in early spring… The first day of spring was another catch-off-guard. The highs were expected to be 78, and 80 for the next morning. Ben-Hur was back at church. He was accepted to Stanford

Goal Completed

Saturday, March 19, 2011 In which storms return… OLeif at 8:00 breakfast at the coffee house with his pals. At the house, Theodore was out for another breakfast. Gloria with bacon, laundry, and book-on-tape. Izzy sleeping in during the aftermath of the first madrigal performance. And a new Beta

Madrigal Dinner

Friday, March 18, 2011 In which the brevity of the bi-annual madrigal season commences… The morning began with… “Mama! I see a mole on my chair!” Collette walked into his bedroom. “That’s a piece of light from outside,” Collette explained. Over at the house… Bundles of tiny silk roses.

The Plumbing

Thursday, March 17, 2011 In which St. Patrick is remembered with nothing very Irish at all… Collette’s just about first favorite day of the year. And the hoped-for shamrock cookie would not be allowed. But enough of lost sugary dreams, that were slowly tapering away in intensity as it

Further Examinations

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 In which there are new obstacles encountered in the last days of winter… 6:00. “Mama? Is it time to get up? I slept four and a half minutes. Did you set the beep?” ‘The beep’, aka ‘alarm clock’ was almost always entirely unnecessary. What with

Puck's Thoughts

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 In which the evening is light, and Collette is not entirely sure that she is happy about it. “Mama. Soon I will let you be married.” “I thought I was already married.” “Soon I will let you be married to Daddy. Not already married. You have

Observation

Monday, March 14, 2011 Bit of a shocker out the window that morning. Snow. Two and a half inches or more at 6:30. And that was St. Louis. So… Collette was intended to have been dropped off by 7:30 in the morning at the house to accompany Francis

The Donning of the Green

Sunday, March 13, 2011 In which St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated four days early… Collette woke with a crick in her neck that morning, reminiscent of days as a child. A sprain, as she used to call it. At breakfast… “Listen to this apple,” said Puck, thrusting it up

Happy Birthday, Whisper

Saturday, March 12, 2011 In which Whisper Snicketts celebrates her first birthday… 5:58. Puck was up. He was also up for a snuggle and conversation. “I looked like a turnip,” he said, “wrapped up in those blankets.” And, when the birds came out… “Hear those tweets, Daddy? That means

Japan Shake

Friday, March 11, 2011 In which a huge earthquake strikes Japan, and word is waited from Justus in Nagano… OLeif left nearer seven o’clock that morning. This made Puck happy. A tickle-fest was in order. And it was not more than thirty seconds apart that Puck could be heard

Cold Days

Thursday, March 10, 2011 In which it is too cold and muddy to do much of anything but stay indoors… As usual, Puck joined Collette for a snuggle that morning. “Mama,” he said. “I slept for five whole minutes! I’m so hungry. What’s for dinner?” The near twelve-hours

Back from the Dentist

Wednesday, March 9, 2011 In which it is Ash Wednesday… The dentist. Good enough report. And gray skies continued; cold. Upon return to the house… Dad was working from home again, then out for another 6-mile run. Mom was reading Hawai’ian folk tales to Puck. Carrie was busy with

Land of Gold

Tuesday, March 8, 2011 In which Collette and Rose attend a lecture on Andean gold… Temptations were monumental that cool morning over at the house. Dilly bars. A box of Krispy Kremes. A plate stacked with giant homemade peanut butter cookies. It was a cruel, cruel world… Meanwhile… Dad was

The Normal

Monday, March 7, 2011 In which the usualness of life continues… 6:20 wake-up call. Puck had found the loaf of white bread OLeif had made in the bread machine the previous evening. “Just one more bite?” he pleaded. Collette agreed. When she walked out to the kitchen, she discovered

A Quiet Sunday

Sunday, March 6, 2011 In which they are reminded of sobering things… Collette woke to have regained a lost pound. She had nine servings of cashews to thank for that… Church. The sun was returned. And still the cold. It was somber in many ways. The recent tragedy of the

The Final Hurrah

Saturday, March 5, 2011 In which Linnea plays her last basketball game… Early risers. 6:30. Bacon and eggs. Out by 7:30. Drop off OLeif with his guys’ church group at the St. Charles Coffee House at 8:00. Bank. Target, where Puck had a fifteen dollar gift card

Another Find

Friday, March 4, 2011 In which another, albeit distant, fantastic relation is discovered… Dad had taken the boys to an all-day introductory visit to the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, the same university that Grandpa and Grandma Snicketts had attended in the 1940’s, to get more information on

Life Adjustment

Thursday, March 3, 2011 In which Puck and Leia have an afternoon to play together and Collette takes a turn for the weak… Off to another day of work and research. It never ended. That is not to say that it was a bad thing, or uninteresting. But work all

Uncle Jesus

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 In which Collette realizes that she has a very unexpected great-great-great-great-etc uncle… First item of the day was Puck’s dental appointment at eight o’clock. He had been looking forward to the event: the little vacuum straw that he could hold, wearing sunnies under the

At Home

Tuesday, March 1, 2011 In which life returns as normal… Although it was back to reality that Tuesday morning, it was a nice reality. Mom and the kids arrived for the usual tutoring session. Collette spent the unused part of her day on researching initial contracts and memorizing Dad’s

The Fleur-De-Lys

Monday, February 28, 2011 In which a good time is had by all involved… Sunday and Monday had been a beautiful 26 hours. The Symphony, as usual, was magnificent. In the mild temperatures of a half-gray afternoon, they entered under glass chandelier, red velvet, marble, and gold gilt as usual.

Away for Sunday

Sunday, February 27, 2011 In which OLeif has made special plans… A fragmented three hours of sleep the previous night sent Collette to church in a bit of a daze. Not too dazed to forget about packing the last of their over-night bag, or Puck’s. But dazed enough, all

Linnea Scores

Saturday, February 26, 2011 In which another great game is played… Out and about. Library drop-off. Basketball. Into the gym. Puck led the way. And, as usual, his green mohawk hat got the crowd’s reaction: everyone smiling and pointing and laughing, even all the girls on the opposing team.

Goodbye, Chompers

Friday, February 25, 2011 The world was white again. The powdered sugar lumped on every branch sort. Over at the house… Mom had dollar solar-powered daisies dancing in the kitchen windows. She and Joe were at the dental surgeon. Carrie was cooking homemade pasta. Francis was raiding the chocolate chip

Winter Returns

Thursday, 2.24.2011 In which the ice and snow return, in brief… Shortly after midnight, Puck did the growing pains shout-out. A brief leg massage and the little tike was snoring soundly once again. In the morning… It was a rainish world. Collette and Puck spent the first half

Back on the Ranch

Wednesday, 2.23.2011 In which the day spilleth over with sugar and projects… The day began with OLeif showing Collette the colour clock on his computer. And Puck was his usual self; in soccer shirt, skinny jeans, chucks, Ireland jacket, and Cardinal skull cap, he was ready to head

Home Day

Tuesday, 2.22.2011 In which nothing much of anything takes place… Puck seemed pretty much his old self that morning, and waking at a more convenient hour of 6:30. He got busy hunting bowls out of the kitchen cupboards which he proceeded to turn upside-down on the bed.

February 21

Chapter 2,088 In which a day at home is in order… The rain as they woke; that was nice. Puck was full of zip. 4:58. “I feel better again, Mama!” Better enough to pull the sillies and eat a large breakfast without prodding. Nearing eleven, Puck called Francis

February 20

Chapter 2,087 In which Puck is taken with Collette’s cold and cannot go to church, but still pleads to see the family… Puck had been awake the previous evening at 8:45, for a few moments, and then for a more extended period of time at 2:30

February 19

Chapter 2,086 In which two games are played well… The morning began with very important considerations. “Does God have toenails?” Puck wanted to know. An eight o’clock drop-off for OLeif at the Main Street Diner for the men’s group with Judah and Jordan Redcoat and several other

February 18

Chapter 2,085 In which Francis discovers that he is going to be late and is little concerned about it… The morning began with uncertain skies. Mostly gray and indecisive. Although the south seemed somewhat dark. And the sun pushed about here and there, hoping for a debut. At breakfast,

February 17

Chapter 2,084 In which spring comes early… Dream: large night party at the house: kids from all over the place: Dad and the boys brought back food — cranberry chutney over tortilla quarters, chocolate cake wedges, and fried asparagus rings and spiders. And something of flying double-stringed kites… The morning

Proceedings

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 Puck woke Collette that morning with his signature sounds which resembled very much Imperial robots from the ice moon Hoth. Over to the house… OLeif and Collette listened to Radiolab’s imported show regarding UK soccer goalies. Meanwhile, back on the ranch… Rose and Linnea-Irish were

Franny Boy: 16

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 Francis was 16. And, similar to most 16 year-olds, he was prepared at any moment to test for his driver’s license. However, Francis began his day with a 7:30 appointment with the foot doctor for a disgraceful ingrown toenail. Similar to his elder brother

Recovery

Monday, February 14, 2011 Laryngitis was quickly setting in. Collette was no stranger to this dilemma. It had come once before when she had worked at the church office and had been, gratefully, unable to answer the phones for the entire day. It was time to take things easy. Breakfast,

D-Day

Sunday, February 13, 2011 Collette was feeling somewhat less terrible that morning, and she had never had a fever to accompany the significantly painful sore throat, so she diagnosed herself as noncontagious and merely in a state of severe sinus issues, and prepared to attend church with the boys as

The Game of the Season

Saturday, February 12, 2011 Collette woke under the weather. Sore throat and lingerings of headache from the previous day. The morning officially began, however, with Puck locating an old Hickory Farms catalog in the library. “Look at all dese tasty candies dat will kill you,” Puck said, shoving the magazine

Birthday Season

Friday, February 11, 2011 Collette woke herself from dragging an enormous schooner through the high seas towards… was it Florida, Holland? She could not remember. And the attempted rescue at night of some unfortunate gentleman who was drowning off the side of the ship… it was unsuccessful, apparently… Beside that

February 10

Thursday, February 10, 2011 The morning was for tossing things, giving things away, and preserving what was to remain. And Puck, who was eternally fascinated with toss-aways, had found a broken silver chain in Collette’s jewelry box that he twirled in circles and other patterns on the linoleum which

Approved

Wednesday, February 9, 2011 Over to the house again… The basement server room (aka ‘mural wall’) had been completely finished by Rose, including golden Japanese lanterns, and the bath, everything looking squeaky and painted, including reclaimed hardware for the cabinet from some discarded antique. Additionally, while so organizing and pitching

En l'honneur

Tuesday, February 8, 2011 To begin with, as everyone knew, it was Jules Verne’s 183rd birthday, as acknowledged appropriately by Google. 1 Seven-fifty. ‘Bitter cold’ according to Wunderground. 9.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Feeling like -3. Eight-forty. Puck’s sixth reading lesson, in which he successfully recalled the sounds of:

Monday's Lists

Monday, February 7, 2011 Initial items for Monday: * check out ten-year tetanus booster information * look into Spanish programs for OLeif * develop game plan to research project manager positions for Dad * research preliminary transfer credits to MIZZOU for Francis * follow-up contact with Classical Conversations position * register Linnea and a buddy for

Typical Sundays

Sunday, February 6, 2011 Another early wake-up call. 6:10 on the alarm. 7:30 worship rehearsal, which was not uncommon when weather or other articles of interest prevented Wednesday rehearsals. Church was still a little snowed in. The Civic stuck itself in the front circle drive and was quickly

Dad's Birthday

Saturday, February 5, 2011 It was Dad Day again. He was now 53, although it was more like 23, really, what with all of the miles of running every week… And the snow certainly had come. Indeed, it had come. Even Dad was getting into the spirit of poor road

Back on the Ranch

Friday, February 4, 2011 Back on the ranch… Linnea was all set for the day in brown leggings, gray track shorts, black The Bravery t-shirt, and multi-colored striped toe socks. She took right after her two older sisters in manner of around-the-house dress. Francis had just returned from his Friday-ly

Chinese New Year

Thursday, February 3, 2011 Chinese New Year. OLeif was back to the Brown Shoe Company. Puck began the morning asking questions about his baby brother in Colombia. “Where is he?” he asked. “He isn’t born yet.” “Where is he?” “He’s not made yet.” “Is he in God’s

Kept In

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 So the whole thing seemed to have been somewhat of a joke, really. If that had been considered a blizzard… well, they had shook out more snow than that two weeks earlier. And the wind hadn’t even been up. Maybe seven inches of ice and

Neither Snow

Tuesday, February 1, 2011 The morning began with a cold rain, completing the fantastic fragile forest, which would have absolutely glittered had the sun made its debut of the day. But it did not. Predictions of snowfall were as ridiculously high as two feet. No less than a blizzard was

And so it Begins

Monday, January 31, 2011 Collette woke from dreams involving alligators, pituitary glands, dinosaurs, and an enormous flood in which she was gathering food and water supplies to follow a group of newly-met people to a cement shelter, though it was already ‘surely the end of all things’. Not long after

A Third Storm

Sunday, January 30, 2011 Events of the day… Collette worked the nursery again, holding little Hesed for the better part of it, who was in the processing of teething. And one of the other nursery workers had somehow managed to still arrive in her pneumatic condition with her husband and

Home Again

Saturday, January 29, 2011 Back home again to the boys, the rest of the family, and to the lingering of snow. The essence of the Bahamas lingered. And the trip, as a whole, had been a fine success. There was nothing more blue than the Atlantic of those particular islands.

Snow Day

Thursday, January 20, 2011 The morning was a white world. Reports of eight to eleven inches, perhaps, with two more on the way. Or… “Seven and a half inches on the trashcan lid,” said OLeif, coming back in with a ruler. Needless to say, OLeif was to work from home

Calm Before the Storm

Wednesday, January 19, 2011 Over at the house… Things were moving toward Friday’s departure. While Collette began gathering passports and hotel confirmations, Puck saw a decorative arrangement of dried orange slices on the coffee table, and subsequently thought that he would take a bite. Then he and Francis amused

January 18

Tuesday, January 18, 2011 6:02 awakening by the Puck-monster. Sometimes a full healthy eight hours of sleep were just not often possible. Especially now for OLeif, who had switched his schedule to a daily 5:00 alarm, but could still not usually get to sleep until after ten or

January 17

Monday, January 17, 2011 Another week begun. Puck came hurrying in that morning, with thoughts of spiders. “Spiders are trained to be sneaky,” he said. Come around nine o’clock, Puck begged a ‘Playdough party’ in the kitchen with the new ‘masculine’ cooking set that his grandma had given to

Various Occurrences

Sunday, January 16, 2011 Church. Sunday School: the Prosperity Gospel in Africa, incorporating clips of the 60 Minutes interview with Joel Osteen — the only time that particular gentleman would ever have ‘behind the pulpit’ at Grace. Mom and Dad had returned from Nebraska at two o’clock that morning, but

Game Two

Saturday, January 15, 2011 Collette slept in till 7:30 that morning. By the time she was up, OLeif had cleaned out the coat closet, fed Puck a breakfast of cream wheat, which he called ‘butter cereal’ at OLeif’s encouragement, and was busy organizing stacks of papers in the

Friday Nights at Their Best

Friday, January 14, 2011 As soon as Collette heard that distinctive rustle-rustle that morning, she knew she had made a mistake in not putting away the package of Reeses peanut butter cups the previous night. Far… too… tempting… “Puck?” Squeals. She took the peanut butter cup from the thief’s

January 13

Thursday, January 13, 2011 Puck came in at around 6:35. “It’s a little bit of waking up time, Mama,” he said, opening the curtain. “The sun is getting ready to rise.” The morning was a quick one, involving little more for Puck than rehearsing the alphabet, looking through

Back on the Ranch...

Wednesday, January 12, 2016 Back on the ranch… Mom and Dad were preparing for the possibility of driving to Nebraska to Mrs. Chalke’s memorial service. She had gone peacefully, and her last battle had been, mercifully, a short one. The previous day, Mom and Mrs. O had taken the

Another Gone

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 The weather had cooperated for school children everywhere. Snow was thick. Thick enough to cancel everything of educational value. Puck was up at six with his daddy and a somewhat green Guatemalan banana. When Collette joined them, Puck was concerned, still, about their radio having ‘been

Snow Cometh

Monday, January 10, 2011 It looked like snow was coming. Possibly 3-6 inches by Tuesday. And the high for Wednesday was predicted at a high of 16, and a low of 5. Certainly not as cold as some winters before it, but they were still, after all, only not quite

No Time to be Bored

Sunday, January 9, 2011 Collette was awoken twice in the night with her right knee in pain. She suspected a change in the weather by it… The second Sunday in January saw Sunday School classes resuming for the quarter. Although Puck, dragging a wooden yo-yo behind him, by which he

The First Game

Saturday, January 8, 2011 In good news, it had been three months since Carrie’s initial ‘collapse’ due to adrenal failure, and her recovery was coming along well. She had attended her monthly nutritionalist appointment that morning as usual, where Gloria, Theodore, and OLeif had already had theirs as well.

Meanwhile, Back on the Ranch...

Friday, January 7, 2011 On the way over that morning, the air, though rather cold, was not too cold for a deer staring at them as they passed the back road, but cold enough for the occasional flurry, and yet not too cold for them to pass Mom out on

January 6

Thursday, January 6, 2011 Puck came in at 6:37. “Want to cuddle, Puck?” Collette asked him. He climbed in under the covers. “I’m starving, Mama,” he said. “At least… my stomach was yelling. My stomach was yelling for food.” “I’ll feed you breakfast here in a minute,

January 5

Wednesday, January 5, 2011 On the third day back home… It was the day before Epiphany. And because Luke and Leia would arrive the following afternoon for their back-to-school schedule, Collette packed up any items too alluring: particularly the tower of ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ boxes and what remained of

January 4

Tuesday, January 4, 2011 The morning… …began with looking up old The Happy Hollister mysteries to add to Puck’s book collection at a later time, during which Collette came across a website that Rose had sent her of ‘Muslim swimwear’, which were no less than full bodysuits. Rose had

January 3

Monday, January 3, 2011 It was back to business. OLeif was out the door at 6:00. Of course, Puck was up at 5:20, so things had already been rolling for awhile… The previous evening OLeif had used his new anti-squeaky floorboards kit to repair the horrific squeaking. And,

January 2

Sunday, January 2, 2011 At breakfast, Puck stared at his bowl of oatmeal unhappily. And then at Collette’s bowl of cereal that she had let him finish. “This is driving me crazy. Now I have two bowls.” During church, Puck was busy trying to sing along as usual, in

Happy Year

Saturday, January 1, 2011 Collette had intended to fall asleep well before midnight. And her intentions had been well-built: under three layers of covers by 10:15 or so, a MacArthur sermon to cut up the silence a little, some good thoughts to sort through… But the pillow arrangement was

Tornado Winter

Friday, December 31, 2010 A last day of a year. The skies were still that sort of gray one would find on an early spring morning. Breakfast began with Honeycrisp apples for Collette, after Puck had done a much more appreciated 6:53 wake-up call, after having felt the need

December 30

Thursday, December 30, 2010 Puck woke that morning to find that Collette had put his old Nascar tin lunchbox in the box of donations. “Mama!” he whispered to her, holding up the lunchbox. “This can’t go to the other babies. Because they will ‘waaaa!’ for their lunch. It has

December 29

Wednesday, December 29, 2010 Another quiet day at home. Puck came in to cuddle at around 6:15. After awhile of being sandwiched between his parents, he stared off into the distance, eyes glazed… “This is getting worse,” he mumbled. At breakfast, Puck was intent upon his ‘baby Bible’. “Three

December 28

Tuesday, December 28, 2010 It had only been six days since Collette and Puck had been home alone in the quiet early winter. But it had seemed a great deal of time longer than that. So it was very good to be home together for some peaceful hours. Puck began

Christmas XI

Monday, December 27, 2010 A year of… interesting, and difficult times, though not without its joys and provisions, was coming to a quick end. OLeif had one more day off in that everlasting Christmas weekend. And so Christmas XI, technically, was conducted as ‘Aftermath Monday’ at the Silverspoon household where

Christmas VII, VIII, IX, & X

Sunday, December 26, 2010 The weekend had already been so long, and yet Sunday still seemed as if it ought to be only a Saturday. Christmas VII — sort of. Church was still filled with poinsettias and a giant lit Christmas tree. That was enough to make it count. During the

Christmas V & VI

Saturday, December 25, 2010 Christmas V was in session by 8:00 that morning. It would be well nigh impossible to recall the full amount of gifts exchanged that morning. The Christmas tree was so packed full beneath with shiny presents, that they had overflowed onto the television cabinet. Trays

Christmas II, III, & IV

Friday, December 24, 2010 It was a white, white world that morning. A sugar dusting. Something Puck at first confused with rain, after his 5:15 wake-up call. Unfortunately… Dad had to work all day. So Original Christmas #2 was postponed until Sunday afternoon, while Alternate Christmas #2 took effect.

Christmas I

Thursday, December 23, 2010 Somewhere around 4:50, Puck was up. After some tears for being so very disappointed that it was not yet time to waken — he must have been preparing in advance for Christmas morning — he requested that Collette turn on ‘a service’ (aka ‘sermon’) while he tried

December 22

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 The last day at home before the madness of, more or less, nine or ten Christmas celebrations, official and unofficial, ensued. Days at home were sort of like small vacations. In reality, Collette could sleep in if needed, leisurely breakfast with Puck, and then, truly, whatever

December 21

Tuesday, December 21, 2010 6:34. Puck was up. He got busy pulling the light-cover (aka flattened carboard box) from his window to make special tunnels. “I blew up my wake-up box!” he declared happily. That piece of cardboard had served them well over the last nearly four years. Complete

December 20

Monday, December 20, 2010 The morning began with a monster hunt for Puck. He came in to cuddle under the covers. “Quick! Get under the covers!” he exclaimed. “The monsters are coming! The monsters are coming!” In the kitchen during breakfast… OLeif had a pot of cinnamon on the stove

26

Sunday, December 19, 2010 Collette was 26. She could not decide if that sounded terribly older than 25, or relatively about the same. It had snowed a little the previous night. And the white dust continued to fall during breakfast. Church. Christmas Sunday and a forest of poinsettias. Silver sky.

December 18

Saturday, December 18, 2010 Puck was up before seven to rouse his groggy mama with the usual… “I’m starving, Mama.” Then he saw her new pair of leggings. “Is that new, Mama?” he asked, looking at the still-attached tags. “Yes. I lost my other pair of leggings.” Puck seemed

Who's Better?

Friday, December 17, 2010 Another chill morning with the snow and ice still on the ground after five days. On the way over to the house, Puck was thinking new thoughts… “I want four bunnies. Four bunnies that go boing, boing, boing!” he declared. And then they passed that beautiful

Visit from Judah

Thursday, December 16, 2010 The morning started with Puck, as usual. “Mama, my stomach is growling for food,” he half-whispered to her. He returned shortly later with his peanut butter-honey canoe and proudly showed his daddy. Then, while OLeif was in the shower… “Daddy! Do you want some bathtub toys?

December 15

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 The holiday season for the little Silverspoon family: commute, work, class, Bible study, study-study, church, music, side projects, tutoring, mama-ing, academic counseling, cleaning, genealogies, books, meal making, Puck-exercising, etc., etc., and etc… But that was the way it always was, despite the holidays. That morning was

Three Choirs Singing

Tuesday, December 14, 2010 Collette awoke from a dream of Armageddon-espionage. Some covert under-cover children-adult Bible school, in which the final ceremony was to take place in an art museum overlooking the city below. And inside, the glass doors had been covered with black cloth so that no one might

December 13

Monday, December 13, 2010 The day was cold enough to have windchills below zero. A reported high of eighteen degrees. The snow no longer fell. But it had been reported that AAA had received over 2,000 calls since Sunday. So indoors, Puck and Collette spent most of the day

First Snow

Sunday, December 12, 2010 Frozen. The world was frozen. Snow had fallen, and was continuing to fall. And the roads were bad. The plan had initially been for no visit to Grace that day. It was time for OLeif to play at Memorial again. And they were to pick up

December 11

Saturday, December 11, 2010 The day started with rain. Just how Collette liked it. And quite cold. OLeif told about the comedian he had seen the previous night, Todd Barry, from Comedy Central Presents and various films. At one point, Todd Barry had looked down at OLeif in the front

H.O.G.

Friday, December 10, 2010 Puck was full of zest that morning. He found the package of cookies almost immediately. “I have to have these. ‘Cause I’m starving for cookies.” There were no cookies for breakfast. After his oatmeal, he hurried back over to Collette to give her a hug.

December 9

Thursday, December 9, 2010 The morning was rose and violet-silver. Cold, but not so cold that one felt like shivering under the covers for another hour until the sun came up. 40 predicted for the high. During breakfast, OLeif attempted to crack a combination lock for Puck. Puck was very

The Gas Company

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 Collette dreamt that the old Sparrow family had come to visit a city, perhaps Kansas City or Branson, to put on a juggling show, where OLeif, Collette, and Puck were visiting the MacDonald family from Monarch of the Glen in their refurbished, repainted castle. And all

December 7

Tuesday, December 7, 2010 Collette woke from a dream in which she and Rose had been on the run as fugitives in the Middle East, or more likely than that, Southeast Asia. So while they were hiding any belongings of value, according to Rose’s directions, under the bed, an

December 6

Monday, December 6, 2010 Further genealogical unwrappings had revealed the burial of one of the great-great-greats in Nazareth, another great-great-great as being Mark Anthony himself, and for the cream: purportedly the first Christian king in the world, set on the British throne in 170, and baptized by Saint Timothy, although

The Great Angel Fiasco

Sunday, December 5, 2010 Breakfast began at 6:40 with Puck blasting away on his bugle around a bowl of oatmeal. Still cold, still gray… just the way December ought to be. After services, back at the house… “You want some of my omelet, Puck?” Carrie asked him. “No, Sun.

December 4

Saturday, December 4, 2010 It was frigid. At nine o’clock, the three pulled into church for the two and a half hour rehearsal for the children’s Christmas program, supplemented by Pop Tarts and Capri Sun, Play-dough, and Veggie Tales. Daisy-Jean sent them all home afterwards with candy canes

Soulard Day

Friday, December 3, 2010 Collette woke from a dream of Ray Charles playing the piano, with dreadlocks to his elbows, singing a song entitled Spit in my Heart, a gospel tune. In the dream, Collette had seen some sort of Biblical reference that had inspired the song, and yet when

December 2

Thursday, December 2, 2010 Time to decide the World Cup for 2018 and 2022, supposedly at 9:00 and 10:00 CST, respectively. In Zurich. But first… The morning began with a bowl of blueberries and pomegranate for Puck. OLeif shared a few selections from the band that one of

December 1

Wednesday, December 1, 2010 5:14 a.m… “Mama, I’m starving.” Blinded by sonic screwdriver… “Daddy, I’m going to help you dress this day.” A new month, and time to get back to the books: an entire revision of the current, and expanding, 387-paged family genealogy, then a

November 30

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 Another quiet day on the final of November. 5:30 wake-up call for the Puckling. Bing Crosby Christmas. Fry up. Eggs only. Tutoring. In the early morning, the skies were scattered with flurries. And in other notable news of the day… It seemed quite confirmed by

Family Night

Monday, November 29, 2010 Puck had a bit of a cold. Cool. Grayed-violet in the east. Only briefly did that topaz of sun crack the gray sea of the sky. When Mom arrived with the kids shortly after eight o’clock, Francis got busy teaching Puck how to shoot pretzel

November 28

Sunday, November 28, 2010 Sunday… 6:30, up. 8:15, nursery. Dad was there as well. Plus two other adults. And only two crying baby girls. 10:45, last Sunday School class of the autumn quarter. 11:15, four Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Very bad idea. 12:00, walk Linnea-Irish

Wild Lights

Saturday, November 27, 2010 First thing of the morning… Flowers for Mom, a bundle of autumn blooms. Then OLeif got a donut, each, for Collette and Puck. Puck settled on the ‘twisty donut’. Collette had the chocolate long john as usual. And then a mini pack of playing cards for

November 26

Friday, November 26, 2010 It was Mom’s birthday. And round number two of Thanksgiving. But first, as Mom’s birthday was to be officially celebrated on Saturday instead… it was up the Christmas tree, which took a grand matter of ten minutes. The little pre-lit tree from their first

Turkey Day

Thursday, November 25, 2010 Thanksgiving was always a little bit stuffed. A worship service and two feasts was quite enough for one day. The first matter of the morning was getting the three of them out of the door on time in the rather very cold weather. A drop-off of

November 24

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 In the night, the rain came. Collette had dreams of fantastically bad rain-wind storms in the plains. In the morning, the rain still fell. Back over to the house… Dad and Mom were leaving to get Mom’s driver’s license renewed. Collette tutored and made

November 23

Tuesday, November 23, 2010 Thanksgiving was one of those holidays that Collette did not so very much enjoy. Of course the gathering of family was not the trouble. It was more the matter of the spread of strange food: stuffing, cranberry sauce, strange salads filled with things that seemed befitting

November 22

Monday, November 22, 2010 The morning was sort of gorgeous. Puck was walking around with a hair dryer. “I’m fighting the zombies!” he announced. Thanks, Uncle Joe… Around 9:30, there was an explosion of frankincense and myrrh all over the library. Puck had been experimenting while Collette was

Happy Birthday, Grandma

Sunday, November 21, 2010 On the way to church that morning… “Get into your car seat, beebings.” “I’m not a beebings, Mama. ‘Cause I’m Superman. And I can’t do anything.” “Why are you Superman?” “Because I fly into space.” “How do you do that?” “’Cause I have

November 20

Saturday, November 20, 2010 The sad news of the weekend had come in Friday afternoon. Evangeline’s father had passed away at 80 years of age in a motorcycle accident. The family would travel to California for the funeral. As Judah had been quoted, saying… “When a 80 year old,

November 19

Friday, November 19, 2010 The day began with four hours of sleep. Fortunately, OLeif had napped an extra hour before actually leaving for the movies the previous night. Over at the house… Francis had been up and back to his weekly breakfast Bible study by 6:30. Grandma Combs arrived

Midnight Nonsense

Thursday, November 18, 2010 Wednesday evening had finally brought the rain again… Beautiful, cold rain. Puck cuddled up in bed with OLeif and Collette the next morning, and fell back to snoozing. After awhile, he opened his eyes. “Keep those little peepers open, Mama,” he whispered to her. At lunch…

November 17

Wednesday, November 17, 2010 That morning, Puck had been reading Calvin & Hobbes in bed again. He had also, apparently, been busy with other things… “Our son is an artist,” Collette told OLeif, after Puck had been installed in the kitchen with a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. “What did

November 16

Tuesday, November 16, 2010 Puck woke up a little early that morning, so he pulled out one of his Calvin & Hobbes. “This weighs two thousand pounds,” he said. Lately at breakfast, while listening to the iTunes on shuffle, OLeif’s Natalie McMaster came on. Puck listening happily. “I think

Home Again, Home Again

Sunday, November 14, 2010 “Munch, munch, munch… Crackle, crackle…” Not. Again… Collette opened her eyes. Puck was snuggled down in the pile of blankets and pillows and fat throw pillows, which he called ‘hot dog pillows’. Collette smelled the evidence, besides the exceptional guilty look on Puck’s face. Something

Esther's Wedding

Saturday, November 13, 2010 The day began early at 5:30. Puck was up like a shot. “Penguin’s gonna get married today,” he said. “To whom?” Collette asked. “Donkey.” After a coffee stop for OLeif (and powdered sugar donuts and apple juice for Collette, because OLeif spoiled her with

November 12

Friday, November 12, 2010 Back to the math once again. And the Portuguese. After more milk for Linnea’s bowl of Captain Crunch, of course… They had brought a new Gone Fishin’ game to show Puck, which was to be used at the Snicketts-Black Christmas get-together for all the little

November 11

Thursday, November 11, 2010 Veteran’s Day. Manhã… Linnea arrived with a bowl of Captain Crunch again, seeking milk. Puck was ready for them, fully dressed, and with green flip-flops and OLeif’s Ruckus helmet. So Rose took him on a walk with his new yellow and black bike after

Everything Day

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 Back over to the house… The day was looking warm again. Inside… Puck was busy ‘shooting bad bugs’ off of people. “You’re doomed, everyone! You’re doomed!” Or, with Francis’ old brown tank… “Kah-boosh! I’m shooting mail to you, Francis!” Meanwhile, the whiteboard read:

November 9

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 The morning began with Newsboys for old times’ sake while Puck asked to play knock-each-other-over, a very popular game in the living room with a stack of pillows, which worked quite well as a form of cheap entertainment. And something to look forward to in the

Comedy Night

Monday, November 8, 2010 Indian summer… still… Puck’s sort of purplish bump on his head from Saturday night had lessened in color. And aside from the small rug burn on his nose, he seemed to be fine. As for Collette’s injuries, the surprising medication of white Trident gum,

Klondike

Sunday, November 7, 2010 During church, when Puck heard Sinai mention ‘God’ for the first time in the sermon, Puck immediately whispered to OLeif and Collette, “God is a spirit and has no body as we do.” When they returned to the house, there was a dead mole on the

Early Birthday

Saturday, November 6, 2010 It was time to celebrate Gloria’s birthday one week early, for the smaller Silverspoon family would be in Nashville the following weekend for Esther’s wedding. First order of business: Library. And with those lovely printed receipts. Excellent idea. Costco for laundry detergent, jumbo bag

November 5

Friday, November 5, 2010 Another quiet day at home… The morning began with a new baby house, this time a dark green one, at Puck’s request, with windows, another special request, which OLeif sculpted for him before leaving for work and put in the oven again. There was no

November 4

Thursday, November 4, 2010 Munch, munch, munch… Munch, munch, munch… Collette opened her eyes. “What are you eating, baby?” He handed her the package. Apparently Collette had left the Milka chocolate bar in reach of three year-old hands. Puck had a surprise waiting for him before breakfast. “Daddy, did you

November 3

Wednesday, November 3, 2010 Over at the house… Rose and Francis were trying to talk Linnea-Irish out of the idea of getting her MRS degree. “If you don’t get your degree, you’ll be the dumbest kid in the family,” Francis teased her. And of course Dad had a

November 2

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 Puck was busy bossing around the ‘people’ in his resurrection set, before ‘Jesus’ fell onto the floor and rather cleanly broke off his am, and then his hand. Puck seemed sorry for this and then continued promising to finish both his bowl of oatmeal and his

November 1

Monday, November 1, 2010 The cold seemed to have come to stay by that first day in November. The spoils had come in: York peppermint patties, Whoppers, Reeses peanut butter cups, big Crunch bars, Hershey’s bars, even pretzels and a small container of bright orange Play-dough. And, true to

Hallowe'en

Sunday, October 31, 2010 Puck was still figuring out who could call whom by what title. So on the way to church… “Daddy can say ‘Collette’ to Mama.” Church was the ordinary Reformation pomp and circumstance, which was truly nothing more than the four ‘Sola’ banners and a whopping nine-person

Fall Fête

Saturday, October 30, 2010 8:20 departure. To the Silverspoon’s. On the way, the sun had sometimes been shining in Puck’s eyes. “The trees are blocking the sun for us,” he said, “because they said… ‘Yes. We will block the sun for you.’” 9:00 OLeif left to

Pumpkin Carving

Friday, October 29, 2010 It was finally time to carve the pumpkins with the aunts and uncles. Over at the house… Puck was busy at his oatmeal… then his sippy came flying through the air. “What was that?” Collette asked him. Puck grinned, embarrassed. “I was trying to get that

October 28

Thursday, October 28, 2010 It was really cold now. Gray. And wind. An intended high of 53 only. As Puck sat down to breakfast, he saw Collette take a slap at a tiny pest. “What was that, Mama?” “A fruit fly.” “Oh, Mama. That’s ok. It’s a fruit

October 27

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 Cool out… Over at the house… Dad was home between contracts, working on his PhD comprehensive final, and out for a long jog. Carrie-Bri was even better, and highlighting Mom’s and Rose’s hair. Collette worked with Francis on Scouts, MIZZOU prep for a Bachelors

October 26

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 3:40 and the storm whipped up. Crashing winds and rain. But no thunder and lightening… oddly. It left as soon as it came. Home again, home again… Puck piled every pillow in the house on top of his sleeping parents before Collette pulled herself out

October 25

Monday, October 25, 2010 The day began as Collette liked it — silver sky and rustling gold leaves. And at some point in the night, the rain had come. Puck started his day the same, after more growing pains at 1:37 in the morning… “Mama, I miss Daddy and everybody…

October 24

Sunday, October 24, 2010 4:45 snuggle wake-up call for Puck that morning due to the necessity of asking his mother a very important question… “Where does sand come from?” But more importantly, he wanted to know were OLeif was. “Mama? Where’s my daddy?” The winds were up. Mild

The River Boat

Saturday, October 23, 2010 Nearly everyone slept in until after eight that morning… highly unusual. Then Mom and Grandma were soon on their way in anticipation of a good time in Columbia for the parade and tailgate party. Although they had no tickets for the game… a thing they would

The Circus

Friday, October 22, 2010 It was time once again to pick pumpkins. Over at the house… Puck immediately went into wrestle-default when he saw Francis, and started swinging at him with a huge grin plastered all over his face. Carrie had been doing well, and even made pumpkin-ginger muffins on

October 21

Thursday, October 21, 2010 Puck was absolutely intent on making a ‘paper Daddy’ that morning, as he called it. So Collette drew him a ‘paper Daddy’ with her fantastic drawing skills. He came drawn with a green shirt, at Puck’s request, black belt, brown pants, and black shoes. And

October 20

Wednesday, October 20, 2010 A cold beginning. Toast with butter and grape jelly and a glass of cold milk at the house. Also there… Francis was busy sling-shooting Q-tips out of a metal spring from an old door stopper. Collette took a small handful of candy corn from the pantry,

October 19

Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Rose was over with Francis and Linnea by eight-thirty. Puck was prepared to play the flag-matching game, using the cut-out flags and Collette’s newer version of the Flags of the World t-shirt. Rose also brought out the flat cardboard that had been used as a

October 18

Monday, October 18, 2010 Puck was three and a half years old, exactly. The leaves of the trees continued to be shabby. Rain had come too early in the season, and not late enough. Yet there was still one great oak across the street that had half-plunged itself in fire-orange

October 17

Sunday, October 17, 2010 Puck woke up that morning asking for his milk to be warmed — his latest novelty. “’Worm’ up my milk, Mama?” About nine-thirty on Saturday night, while watching Monarch of the Glen with OLeif, Collette had given him what she liked to call, ‘The Doctor Who Hair

Apple Orchards

Saturday, October 16, 2010 Another cuddling Puck that morning, as usual, stuffing himself down deep into the comforter to warm his chilly ears and snuggle with his Donkey. And full of gusto and energy and wishes for a hot breakfast. OLeif had another visit to the nutritionist that morning at

Party on the Lake

Friday, October 15, 2010 Three hours up with Puck in the night with growing pains… less from the pain, more from the disinterest in going back to sleep again. 1:30-4:45. Meanwhile… the day had arrived for Linnea-Irish’s 13th birthday party with friends. First things first — bake another

October 14

Thursday, October 14, 2010 Puck came in for a snuggle that morning. After awhile, he pushed away his mama a little. “You go over there, Mama,” he said. “A little bit. I’ll still stay with you.” “Why don’t you want me over there with you?” Collette asked him.

October 13

Wednesday, October 13, 2010 At the house, Collette was greeted first by the ever-red-cheeked Francis. “I know how to fix my poison ivy problem,” he said. “I just need to get a small power washer.” In the morning… Carrie was doing better all things considered… sitting on the couch in

October 12

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 Puck was not happy to see his daddy leave for work that morning. He pressed his face up against the window screen to give him a kiss on the nose. “I miss you so much, Daddy. I miss you,” he said, mournfully, his big chubby hands

Theodore's Birthday

Monday, October 11, 2010 It looked to be a sort of quiet start to that October week… Puck played with his hand-knit Peruvian ‘Pup’ all morning long, and examined a giant brown moth hanging out on the living room window screen. Another part of the morning was reserved for consult

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR LINNEA!

10 Octobro, 2010 Unconventional sort of Sunday… Dad, Collette, Francis, Linnea-Irish, and Puck to church, and groceries, after Sunday School. Mom at home with Carrie-Bri and Joe. OLeif and Rose returning from Nashville. An odd beginning… Back at the house… OLeif and Rose had returned. Puck ran immediately to his

9 Octobro

Sábado, 9 Octobro, 2010 Everyone was off in different places that day… Dad had taken Joe and Francis to MIZZOU for a tour of his old stomping grounds, and the football game at six o’clock, where Wally also met them for the afternoon. Mom was accompanying Grandma Combs to

8 Octobro

Sexta-feira, 8 Octobro, 2010 Collette’s morning began with the like-clockwork snuggle bug burying under the covers with her. He had also found her cell phone. Some place between dreams and wakefulness, Collette was aware that Puck was placing calls… fortunately to no one at all… He had also sent

Happy 13!

7 Octobro, 2010 Linnea-Irish had become thirteen overnight. The little freckled pixie, who was known by ‘Irish’ now, to many of her friends about town… So now no more ‘kids’. Just two teenagers and three kids in their early twenties. Collette heard OLeif picked up by his parents just a

Birthday Cake

6 Octobro, 2010 That morning, Puck announced, at 6:50, that he was ready to get up and breakfast. “Go back to bed, Puck,” OLeif groaned, who had been pulling a pile of late-nighters. “Just for a little while longer.” “But it’s twelve, six o’clock, Daddy,” Puck replied,

5 Octobro

5 Octobro, 2010 The little dude had kept Collette awake from 1:50 in the morning until 3:30 or later. She knew something was up when he had been awake before ten o’clock that night, even though mildly awake, mumbling something about wanting ‘baby books’ and Donkey. And

4 Octobro

4 Octobro, 2010 Collette was awoken with the usual breakfast call from Puck. This time, they made eggs-in-a-nest, an old favorite from Collette’s childhood, which included a ‘little circle toast’ which had been cut out to accommodate the egg. This was Puck’s favorite part, as it had been

Monks Mound

3 Octobro, 2010 Church was doubled that morning. OLeif played at the first service where prayers were said for the Rye family, who would be leaving the following afternoon for Africa for three weeks. Then Sunday School. Followed by Theodore, Gloria, Izzy, Uncle Clause, and Aunt Agnes for the second

Games & Parties

2 Octobro, 2010 They were perfect October skies: mottled in violet and dark blue and silvers. A perfect sculpture to the beginning of Collette’s favorite season. The temperatures were equally right. 65 degrees for a high. And a little rain to set it all off. It was AC STL

1 Octobro

Sexta-feira, 1 Octobro, 2010 OLeif and Collette were woken at 7:07 by a Puck, who cuddled under the covers for awhile. Then he sat up to think. “I’m starving, Mama.” “Do you want oatmeal?” “No. I want toasts.” “And an egg.” Puck wasn’t so certain about the

30 Septembro

Quinta-feira, 30 Septembro, 2010 The last day of September. It was a day, almost in entirety, uneventful. There was nothing but tutoring in the morning. Francis had just been given the last Oreo that Collette had saved in the cabinet. “How old is it?” he asked. Someone had been listening

Redbirds vs. Seamongers

Quarta-feira, Septembro 29, 2010 When Puck woke up that morning, officially… he had actually been awake since before six o’clock… he pulled off his sleeping shirt. “Is that a T-shirt?” he asked. “Is it for drinking tea?” Then, as he came out to the car, he had lost his

September 28

Tuesday, September 28, 2010 Puck was not interested in eating oatmeal that morning. In fact, he was rather grumpy about the whole situation. “I’m not gonna eat oatmeal,” he said, “else my teeth will go out and fly everywhere.” He ate his oatmeal. Every bite. Meanwhile… Mom and the

September 27

Monday, September 27, 2010 Puck could not help but start his day with begging to set up his Hot Wheels track in the living room. And Collette’s morning began with credit card fraud. Fortunately, before OLeif had even notified the company of the charge to their account, they had

September 26

Sunday, September 26, 2010 It was cold. Well, chill. And Collette was pleased about that. The honeysuckle, which had been confused again, was blooming on the fence. At breakfast, Collette gave Puck ten pennies for his pocket to give to the offering at ‘baby church’, due to his helping her

September 25

Saturday, September 25, 2010 The morning began with cool airs, burning bacon in the frying pan (this time it was OLeif’s fault), and a chubby Puckling who had slept nearly fourteen hours, if not more, and had then bundled himself up in the dark blue crocheted blanket on the

News for Rose

Friday, September 24, 2010 Friday morning began with a Puck and Donkey coming to snuggle under the warm covers until it was time for breakfast. He was also busy learning about the heart. “It goes beep, beep in my belly!” he said. And in continuing to learn the catechism… “There

September 23

Thursday, September 23, 2010 Another quiet one at home… at least for the morning. It was, of course, into the 90’s that day, which made for a sticky situation for visitors from South Africa wishing to sight-see. However, the report flowed back in increments throughout that day that he

September 22

First day of fall. Over at the house… The rain was spritzing. Joe was attending to his morning coffee after having doodled a mustached man in purple dry erase marker on the kitchen window. (He had also been rear-ended by a teenage girl pulling out of the choir church the

September 21

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 The last day of summer… More mushrooms in the grassy median while out to the library. Like fat round gold dollars. When Collette told Puck that perhaps he shouldn’t walk in the grass because it would cut up his toes because he was wearing flip-flops,

September 20

Monday, September 20, 2010 Home. The day was bright. Warm. Things unfortunately appeared as though they were headed into an Indian summer. Upper 80’s and lower 90’s for the rest of the week… not so good for Carrie’s plans for the visitor from South Africa. But it

September 19

As it had happened, those folds of lightening in the west mutated, exponentially, into monsters. Not long after Francis had called them to warn of warnings, as they entered the highway, the natural forces of the heavens split. Lightening of enormous magnitude. Torrents of rain. Crashes of thunder. Bolts of

AC STL!!

Collette awoke from a dream at 4:11 that morning, in which she found herself a part of a Shakespeare production, principally orchestrated by Carrie-Bri, involving a number of the old families growing up. Collette was to play Ophelia, much to her surprise. And her first lines of the play

The Balloon Glow

Over at the house, in the chill morning, past the fields of mist and white flowering bush under spray of gold sun… OLeif carpooled with Rose. Mom and Linnea departed to pick up Francis at Steak ‘n Shake from the men’s Bible study. And Collette’s laptop was still

The Laptop

The sky was still a shade of steel to begin the morning… a morning that did not begin so well… To start, during math with Francis, Collette knocked a glass of ice water over her laptop keyboard. Immediately, she turned the machine upside-down and let the cold liquid drain onto

September 15

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Over at the house… Carrie had left a pretty amazing chocolate cookie dough bundt cake in the fridge. Linnea was using Collette’s old letter stamp set to send off notes to Cherry in pink, glittering red, and glittering gold. And, while Carrie-Bri had been out

September 14

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 Another quiet day… Meanwhile, Francis would be at another session of choir, trying to convince Puff ‘o Lump, who had just started his first year, to sing louder. “He’s got to let out his inner Italian,” he and Creole would joke to him. On Sunday,

September 13

Monday, September 13, 2010 Monday morning began with Puck dancing around to Spasenie and the reading aloud of Dad’s daily email devotional, which he had not failed to send out a single day in the past two years, which was no surprise. Then Puck commenced to answering a question

September 11

Saturday, September 11, 2010 On that ninth anniversary of particular tragedy, the skies were still ashen gray. Over at the Silverpoon’s, Gloria had an old friend in from Mountain Home, Arkansas, Emma Thompson, with her two grandsons, whom she was watching over the weekend while her son and daughter-in-law

September 10

Friday, September 10, 2010 Collette and Puck made an early arrival at the house that morning. 6:30, and all was quiet on the Western front, though everyone, but Linnea-Irish and Joe, was awake. “Good morning my little pumpkin!” Mom greeted Puck. “You just make yourself at home.” Puck looked

September 9

Thursday, September 9, 2010 The kids were back over to make up for the lack of tutorage the previous day. Grandma Snicketts was doing so much better. She had not felt so good in a very long time. And at nearly 82, she was doing pretty spectacular. No worries but

September 8

Wednesday, September 8, 2010 On Rosh Hashanah, Mom and the kids arrived near nine o’clock. While they were there, Carrie-Bri contacted Collette to request that Mom pick up a get well card and a package of horehound candy on the way home for Grandma Snicketts. Her back had been

September 7

Tuesday, September 7, 2010 A quiet day at home again. Collette and Puck took a walk in the cool morning around the neighborhood. Puck was fascinated with walking along all the cracks filled in with black tar, which he called ‘little roads’. “Is it squishy?” he asked, bending down to

Labor Day

Monday, September 6, 2010 Nothing better to do on Labor Day but to visit the Finn Inn. Again. Attempt number two in eight days’ time. But first, to the Silverspoon’s where OLeif taught Puck how to play cards, the family spoke with Curly on video chat, and there was,

AC STL

Sunday, September 5, 2010 While OLeif rehearsed at church that morning, Puck came over to Collette, trying to shove his hands into the pockets of his corderoys. He was having trouble with this, however, because he was not able to see over the bulge of his belly. “Could you help

The Incident

Saturday, September 4, 2010 The after-birthday-math. Puck began his morning with some sweet chubby cheeks. “I will never leave you, Mama,” he said with a grin. Over at the Silverspoon’s: the grill was pumping out chicken, baked potatoes, and baked beans. Come two o’clock, OLeif dropped off Collette

Joe is 22

Friday, September 3, 2010 22 Joe was. Puck woke them promptly at seven o’clock for his breakfast. “You’re going to work with the car today, Daddy,” he instructed. “Nope,” OLeif replied. “I’m staying with you guys today.” “Why? ‘Cause you want some cake?” “Yes,” OLeif laughed. “’Cause

September 2

Thursday, September 2, 2010 Four-thirty in the morning brought the rain. And… intense amounts of sinus pressure. Four days and back out into the world. Life with one car had become increasingly interesting that year… When arrived at the house, the usual things were afoot. Carrie was already preparing for

September 1

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 Home. After Puck’s yogurt and blueberry parfait for breakfast, he told stories to himself. “Once a little boy was walking and he saw a button on the road and he stepped on it and opened the refrigerator like loud!” Mom and the kids arrived shortly

August 31

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 For the last day of August, back to the purge. No sweets. Not a one. The rest of the enormous chocolate bag, well, the primary bulk of it, had been chucked off to the kids. As usual, Collette heard a ‘yeah right’ ring in the back

August 30

Monday, August 30, 2010 Schedules were changing again. Collette and Puck were home for three days. And Puck’s play microphone that had been in his ‘happy bag’ from from the previous afternoon had been forgotten at the house. So at breakfast, Puck thought carefully of what to say in

The Tire

Sunday, August 29, 2010 The night had been riddled with strange dreams. Of past times… and future times… Meanwhile, at church, things were as usual. And Ichabod Coca-Cola gave his testimony. Puck’s Sunday School teacher gave him a goody bag, which she called a ‘happy’, as it was her

Six Years

Saturday, August 28, 2010 It had been six years. And according to random records of information, it was traditional, on such a six-year occasion, to give gifts of candy or iron, or, perhaps as a more modern gesture: wood. Or in the land of the U.K., sugar. Ten hours

August 27

Friday, August 27, 2010 Over at the house early that morning, Snuggles had trapped a mole in his jaws. “Bad cat!” Puck cried. “Bad cat!” And then he went back to his bowl of plums, strawberries, and raisins, until he thought of something else to say. “You can have that

August 26

Thursday, August 26, 2010 Day three. Collette’s boys were unmovable that morning, so she turned on a traditional Rose-mix, which included: Tom Paxton, Bing Crosby, polka, Burl Ives, Andy Williams, bluegrass, Abba, Bocelli, and The Beach Boys. Over at the house, for a veritable strawberry feast for Puckling. And

August 25

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 Another quiet day… Only Moses and Judah made lengthy appearances. Moses worked in the basement all day. And Judah left early, feeling rather poorly, or ‘fuzzy’, as he called it. So there was nothing to do but to type, print, take calls, make calls, and send

Back to the Office

Tuesday, August 24, 2010 Collette was to work at the church office again, for the remainder of the week, while the current secretary visited with her family at her brother’s wedding on the beach. But first… On the way to the house… “Are you going to have a good

August 23

Monday, August 23, 2010 All quiet on the Western front… Mom, Francis, and Linnea were back to their first day of the school year at Classical Conversations. Carrie-Bri was at an appointment, obliged to use Collette’s car, as transportation availability was limited that day… And Joe was at his

August 22

Sunday, August 22, 2010 5:47. Wake-up call. This time, because Puck had thumped his head, in his sleep, on the post of his bed, or somewhere there… apparently… Before leaving that morning, OLeif snipped down, rather, razed, the tangle of ivy and scrub bush that was Collette’s post-Edenly

August 21

Saturday, August 21, 2010 Curly was back in town again. But first, errands, while catching up on the latest travel essay: Vietnam. Post office — ship back a pair of Converse that were too small for Puck. Honda — oil change, or lack thereof, given the two and a half hour wait…

August 20

Friday, August 20, 2010 Collette was woken that morning at 5:58 by a very intent Puckling. “I’m hungry, Mama. I would like some toast, and bread, and jelly toast,” he said seriously. “Does that sound good?” Then, while OLeif slept in a little while longer, Collette gathered things

August 19

Thursday, August 19, 2010 It had been a long week. Puck breakfasted on banana, watermelon, and peanut butter. And Collette picked up OLeif at eleven o’clock for attempt number three… “I’m not sure this it the right language on here…” said the notary/attendant at the desk. “But

Sixteen Stops

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 It was the day of sixteen stops. 1. Drop off. OLeif carpooled with Rose after succumbing to another massive migraine at 5:37 in the morning, Puck’s wake-up call. And a Resurrection Sunrise on the way in. 2. Shell Gasoline. Perhaps the only time in

August 17

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 Home for the day. Most of it. At nine o’clock, Collette let Puck have a pink cream cheese mint out of the little silver box in the fridge. Carrie had given it to him after they had made the mints together the previous afternoon. The

Common Life

Monday, August 16, 2010 Now that Joe was home again, the school year was just about ready to begin for him, but not before one last week of activity, friends, and driving cars. Rose had also taken off work that Monday, her first normal weekday at home since early March.

The Return of Joe!

Sunday, August 15, 2010 The day had finally arrived. Joe’s homecoming! But first, to church, where Puck was having a difficult morning, but finally settled down for Sunday School and greeted little Anneliese in her pretty blue dress, with a Noah’s Ark set. Anneliese began serving up the

August 14

Saturday, August 14, 2010 Recovering from the sudden demise of Assumpta Fitzgerald and the disappearance of Father Clifford… strange the pull of fiction on the spirit… Another one to add to Collette’s expanding list of books and scripts to rewrite… Meanwhile, Puck was second breakfasting at the Silverspoon’s

U.S. says Go

Friday, August 13, 2010 Over at the house, the whiteboard read: * picture frame * chapstick * bacon * eggs * buttermilk Meanwhile, Puck hurried back to snuggle with his aunts under cozy soft blankets. After three months living in the beauty of the New Mexican highlands, Joe was returning home in two days. The

August 12

Thursday, August 12, 2010 100 degrees. That was the predicted temperature of the day. As Puck called his daddy out of bed that morning for milk and oatmeal, he said enthusiastically, “Come on, Daddy! You’re going to miss all the fun!” Bible study had been canceled, so Puck was

August 11

Wednesday, August 11, 2010 OLeif reported that the electricity had returned at around one o’clock in the morning. So Collette and Puck were dropped off at home after some of Grandma’s chunky granola squares for Puck, as Grandma, Mom, Rose, and Francis headed off toward New Mexico, with

The Storm

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 Dreams: In the valley of a set of gray mountains. Mammoth mountains. Collette and her family, and many others. Friends, perhaps. Under gray sky, through gray caves, enormous caverns in which were abandoned, ancient Indian cities. Through the cave to the open air of the other

8-9-10

Monday, August 9, 2010 While in the car, leaving for the house, Puck struck up a song, which was the first time Collette had really heard him do so on his own, and with all the correct notes, She’ll be Comin’ Round the Mountain. “Nana sings that to me,

August 8

Sunday, August 8, 2010 Puck and OLeif were busy playing after breakfast of yogurt and blueberries. OLeif was laying motionless on his stomach on the bed, pretending to be comatose. “Mama,” said Puck seriously. “My old Daddy can’t speak words today.” Once Puck had revived his chuckling father, he

August 7

Saturday, August 7, 2010 The day began with sorting old baby clothes, piecing together photos as the last bits of the adoption dossier were coming together, and serving up breakfast to a little man who found it necessary to awaken at no later than 5:32 that morning. Puck was

August 6

Friday, August 6, 2010 On the way to the house that morning, Puck was getting the sun in his eyes. “Better pull down your shade, Daddy,” he said. “’Fore the sun blasts you to pieces!” Meanwhile, Mom was back from Iowa. Things were humming along again. At eight o’clock,

August 5

Thursday, August 5, 2010 In the night: 2:53: thunderstorms. And nothing very lengthy in duration. After three weeks of break, it was back to Bible study. On the way over to the Silverspoon’s, with further essays from Pico Iyer, Puck was busy commanding the stoplights when to change

August 4

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 Home. Experiments in radio from Oceania, Dutch pop, Brazil, Ireland, and Morocco that morning. iTunes offered it all. Before the day became too hot, Puck lugged out his sidewalk chalk to the front porch. Out they rolled. “Come back here, you sillies,” he said with a

August 3

Tuesday, August 3, 2010 The dentist. 10:00 in the morning. It was already six months later. Firstly, while OLeif had completed setting up an elaborate system of wires, speakers, and computers to the television in the basement, Puck was busy collecting DNA samples from his parents. He held Collette’

Games & Pizzas

Monday, August 2, 2010 Early-riser. 5:40. Puck had spent most of the night bundled up on the couch after he had experienced a temporarily uncomfortable stomachache from good, albeit greasy, grill food the previous evening, to which he was unaccustomed. But he was no worse for wear. And his

Last Day

Sunday, August 1, 2010 The morning of mist, gold, and green, same primordial garden through the back lawns at the kitchen glass. Puck was meanwhile having a typical conversation with his breakfast. “I can’t drink you, cereal, ’cause I’m drinkin’ real milk. See? I have to drink you

July 31

Saturday, July 31, 2010 The thunderstorm of the previous evening had never quite managed to hit their part of the metropolis. The morning was quiet enough. A rare 4:57 wake-up call from Puck, after which he stuffed himself with bananas. A completed reading of an essay on Australia. And

Blackberries

Friday, July 30, 2010 7:30, and Mom and Francis had arrived to pick them up for blackberries. Out to the farm under silver skies. Already, there were people lined up outside the rows of prickly bushes, and by 8:00, it was opened for picking. Puck immediately ran for

Peaches

Thursday, July 29, 2010 It was peach-picking time again. So out to New Melle to Wind Ridge Farm as they had so done the previous summer. This time, in attendance, were: Mom, Collette, Francis, Linnea-Irish, and Puck. And Puck was quite eager to participate. With the ringing of church bells

July 28

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 Back on the ranch, the usual anecdotes afoot… Linnea had bought a pineapple plant. The pineapple was only just a baby, sprouting from the top. Mom and Carrie-Bri had met with the Silverspoon’s nutritionists. Among a variety of suggestions given, bacon was offered as a

July 27

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 Another day at home. OLeif seemed to be feeling near the same as he departed for work shortly after seven o’clock. Puck was busy munching on one of his usual mid-morning snacks of peanuts, raisins, and apple juice while the workmen were busy getting the

The Broken Day

Monday, July 26, 2010 Collette and Puck started their morning with a few readings from Yeats, mixed in with the usual eclectic batch of Puck-books of course. Shortly later, Mom dropped off Francis and Linnea-Irish at nine o’clock for mowing and tutoring, under gray skies and quiet, warm, breezes.

July 25

Sunday, July 25, 2010 A final Sunday in July. Already. And Rose had lost her wallet over the weekend. With Dad’s credit card. Francis had worked the nursery for the early service and was handed over a crying Hesed who fell asleep shortly later in his arms. Meanwhile, Linnea-Irish

さようなら, Justus

Saturday, July 24, 2010 It was time to say goodbye to an old friend. Justus of Orange. He was leaving to teach English in Japan for two years. Collette always knew, as had everyone else who knew him, that he would do well with whatever he decided to do in

July 23

Friday, July 23, 2010 Friday held several quiet activities: 1. Emissions and inspection for the old red Civic, which, for the most part passed with flying colors… 2. Prepping the barn basement for movie night, which was thankfully pumping out the A/C as opposed to its cousin chambers upstairs…

July 22

Thursday, July 22, 2010 An essay on North Korea for the morning drive… Over at the house… Trooper had devoured the entire pumpkin pie the previous evening. In one sitting. Between projects of the day, Mom, Carrie-Bri, and Linnea-Irish rubbed on egg masks while Linnea hunted for a friend to

July 21

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 Travel essays on the way to the house that morning. When arrived, the whiteboard shopping list read: * hair brush * dry white wine * meat thermometer * oranges * peaches * pineapple * grapes * cinnamon bread * devonshire cream (not whipping cream) “It was pretty funny last night,” Carrie was s

July 20

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 Quiet at home… weeks in the summers were often like this. Stillness. Cicadas. Warm dull heat. And yet the morning began with the skies Collette liked best, leading to a shower and rumbling thunder by 8:40. Aside from that, nothing more than peanut butter, Spurgeon’

July 19

Monday, July 19, 2010 Back over to the house for tutoring, as Linnea had also returned with the bunch. And first on the list of to-dos was to check out the ‘horrific’ (as Carrie-Bri had described them) paisley pants that Rose had bought in Branson for ten dollars. Though Collette

Under the Sea

Sunday, July 18, 2010 As soon as they were settled in church that morning, the storm hit. A downpour that sounded initially something like applause. Collette could see it coming in from the west: a dark fold. Cracks of lightening. A nice change for a Sunday morning. The Pie family

July 17

Saturday, July 17, 2010 After a night dreaming of many tornadoes, it was, for no special reason, a morning for the music of Ben-Hur. Once OLeif finished more of his everlasting website work, they arrived at the Silverspoon’s just in time for the lunch hour, where Theodore and Gloria

July 16

Friday, July 16, 2010 Time for more stamping of documents. But first, a 5:15 awakening for Collette, as her baby came in to sleep the next forty-five minutes sandwiched snuggly into the comforter. Then to the house for the usual anecdotes. Upon arrival, Carrie saw that Puck’s chubby

July 15

Thursday, July 15, 2010 Over at the Silverspoon’s, Puck examined the basement stairs. He had only just taken a spill on the driveway and bloodied his knee a bit. “If I fell down the steps, I would cry and cry,” he said thoughtfully. He also found it necessary, while

July 14

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Grandma Snicketts had invited everyone to come over that morning so that she could treat them to the Rise & Dine. They were welcomed with stacks of giant pancakes, bacon, grits, scrambled eggs, and fruit bowls before the meal had been concluded. Then briefly back to

July 13

Tuesday, July 13, 2010 It was a quiet day at home. After FIFA, life was looking a little… ordinary. But only more was to come beginning August 28th with La Liga’s new season, which just so happened to be Collette’s and OLeif’s 6th anniversary. But back to

The Return of Izzy

Monday, July 12, 2010 Linnea had AHG camp Monday through Wednesday. Every morning. Mom and Carrie-Bri took Puck on errands while Collette tutored Francis. Linnea went to look after the neighbor’s garden and chickens upon return, bringing back with her an enormous zucchini, broccoli florets, baby tomatoes, and one

Game Day

Sunday, July 11, 2010 The previous afternoon, Theodore and OLeif had re-stacked the shelving in the basement and OLeif had cleaned up the corner under the stairs. Everything looked so much better. Meanwhile, after church and pans of chicken enchiladas… further dinner conversation… “Did you check out how full that

Fourth of the Tournament

Saturday, July 10, 2010 Puck woke Collette at 2:32 in the middle of the night from a dream that Garret Raven had ‘converted’ to Amish with his wife and, apparently now, three daughters. Puck had also had a dream that his miniature house was lost. And Collette assured him

July 9

Friday, July 9, 2010 At around nine o’clock, between adoption papers, Puck pulled out a small table in the living room. “Attention, everyone!” he called. “Have your seats. I’m makin’ a speech.” “Will you start with a prayer, Puck?” Carrie-Bri asked him with a grin. “Yes,” said Puck,

Donkey's Return

Thursday, July 8, 2010 It had rained in the night. It was still misting. Collette was woken by Puck at 5:47; she had slept so soundly, she still thought that it was the middle of the night. When she opened the front door, she imagined it smelled and felt

Static

Wednesday, July 7, 2010 It was over. Static. Collette would never turn on 99.1 FM again. It was no longer what she had known for 25 years. No longer those familiar voices she had known longer than even her own brothers’ and sisters’. All her life… It left a

Good Night, Sweet Prince

Tuesday, July 6, 2010 Today was that sad, sad day. It had come at last. Ten o’clock that night would mark the end. The good old radio announcer, Tom Sudholt, Collette’s favorite throughout all the years, complaining about the weather and traffic and everything else, claimed that he

July 5

Monday, July 5, 2010 Another mini-holiday. OLeif was home. Collette was woken by her Puck at 7:30. And as soon as she moved, she felt all of the soreness of her muscles. They were amazingly sore. Carrying around multiple children, twins, lifting them off the floor, simultaneously, throughout the

Fireworks

Sunday, July 4, 2010 Jewel-I Forth. Back at church: Judah, Evangeline, and Hesed were returned from vacation and General Assembly. OLeif on violin: 7:30 rehearsal. Collette in nursery: four screaming kids, including twins. Sunday School: seven ecumenical councils. OLeif play round 2. Make deviled eggs: after another trip to

Downfall

Saturday, July 3, 2010 Collette was holding her breath a little that morning. 9:00 spelled the start of Argentina-Germany. But she would let Carrie-Bri watch the game in her stead. Carrie was the one who had predicted that Argentina would make it to the quarterfinals with her favorite footballer,

Uruguay!

Friday, July 2, 2010 Poor old Classic 99 was in its very last days. 10:00pm on July 6th would record its final notes after 62 long and wonderful years… Everyone was saying goodbye on the air and thanking the station and its announcers. Even the music, suddenly… it was

July 1

Thursday, July 1, 2010 Back to Bible study. It was a cool morning. Very cool for July. Over at the Silverspoon’s, there was a traditional piece of bacon for each. And eggs and toast. And then to the Silverspoon’s church. Following the study, they returned for lunch. And

June 30

Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Last day of tutoring for the week. After twelve, Carrie-Bri and Francis returned from picking up Linnea-Irish from her camp — pillows, chucks, and all. Meanwhile, Carrie-Bri began work on painting all the doors and door frames in the hall, white, while Doctor Who played on, unless

The Symphony Police

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Over at the house, at breakfast… Ever-sunshine Mom said to Collette, “Oh, your hair is so pretty this morning. You look like a princess.” “A princess?” asked Puck. “Yes, a princess.” “She’s not a princess,” said Puck. “She has oatmeal.” “There’s logic for you,

June 28

Monday, June 28, 2010 Mom was off to her Classical Conversations Practicum that morning. All day. For three days. Almost as soon as Collette and Puck arrived, Francis begged breakfast. “Please!” he pleaded. “Bacon and hashed browns. I’ll watch Puck while you make it!” Meanwhile, Carrie-Bri had painted her

Football and Greek Food

Sunday, June 27, 2010 It was Puck’s first day at Sunday School. And he managed to come through it in a fine way. He even learned about manna. And, for the first time in a very long time, Collette sat in on an adult Sunday School class. Ancient and

Rose Day

Saturday, June 26, 2010 Rose was twenty. For the first time, in eleven years, Mom and Dad suddenly had only one teenager in the house. Until Rose turned thirteen in the fall. To start the day, OLeif and Puck amused themselves chasing the ‘it’ around the backyard. Then to the

Five

Friday, June 25, 2010 The end of the VBS week had arrived. And in interesting news of the day — Izzy was leaving for Budapest with the team from Grace Community Chapel. Two weeks of teaching English to Hungarian children. Water wars at VBS. Puck eagerly ran out with the other

Fourth

Thursday, June 24, 2010 Day four had been reserved for… the petting zoo… After buckets of goldfish crackers and M’nMs and other trail mix items, the zoo was open for business. Giant turtle, chickens, rabbits, baby donkey, baby wallaby, baby goat, baby camel, and, of course, the pony. Puck

Third

Wednesday, June 23, 2010 Day number three… Puck, at breakfast, was busy asking Francis questions… “Tell me about dah truf (truth), Francis. Tell me about dah truff…” A better successful day at Vacation Bible School. Puck even participated in the water games with great enthusiasm and was awarded another dum-dum,

Second

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 Back to Vacation Bible School for a second go-around. 8:45 arrival. And Puck seemed to manage things well enough for the story, snacks (less sugar-filled this time around), bubbles, singing, and then the closing assembly wherein a giant Chick Fil-A mascot cow came up front

First Day

Monday, June 21, 2010 Izzy was now 17. It was the first day of summer. And, it was the first day of Vacation Bible School. The mayhem of three and four year-olds. And Puck, suddenly Mr. Social Butterfly, eagerly gave his name when introduced at story time. When Anneliese was

Father's Day II

Sunday, June 20, 2010 It was the final day of the Shakespeare Festival. ‘One tear for me. One tear for Petronius’… A sad thing to see come to an end. Collette could only hope that next year would bring back a reappearance of Joseph Shepherd and possibly a viewing of

Father's Day I

Saturday, June 19, 2010 In Texas, it was Relevance’s 27th birthday. In St. Louis, it was time to celebrate Father’s Day for Theodore, and sort of Izzy’s 17th birthday (albeit two days early). Firstly, Collette had ended up staying the night at the house, because of the

One More Time

Friday, June 18, 2010 On the way to the house that morning, Puck, who had developed a bad cold and cough, was still peppy as usual. Collette handed him as apple jelly toast while he sat in his car seat. And OLeif started them off with a morning prayer. “Dear

June 17

Thursday, June 17, 2010 On Grandma Combs’ 74th birthday… The storms came in great that morning, which was unusual for that time of day. The glory of a storm in the dripping blue-green garden and rattle of white light. The familiar radio announcer gave the report as ‘dangerous lightening’, which

June 16

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 Back over to the house. Mom and Carrie-Bri were busy painting all of the trim, floorboards, windowpanes, window frames, etc., white. After two days, they had finished up the dining room. Meanwhile, Linnea had an 8:00 appointment to see about a chipped molar. She seemed

June 15

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 Home again. And, as opposed to Monday morning, the heavens broke before eight o’clock. But it did not last long, and the sun had soon returned. Only to be halved again by the rain at 1:30, which disrupted the half-dozen workmen busy with the

June 14

Monday, June 14, 2010 A day at home to recuperate from the weekend. Warm. Storms likely. Fan blades dusted. Bedroom cleaned. Laundry washed. Puck read to, played with, fed, and washed up. In the afternoon, Puck seemed determine to flood his ‘garden’ with the hose, while playing in a Tupperware

OLeif Turns 26

Sunday, June 13, 2010 OLeif was 26. To begin the celebration, there was breakfast picked up on the way to church. Puck participated with his own set of hashed browns, hurrying over to the picnic tables at church. “I’m coming, Mr. ‘Da(g)dee’!” he called out. “I’m

The Tragic Danes

Saturday, June 12, 2010 It was time to celebrate OLeif’s 26th birthday. One day early. So off to the Silverspoon’s for the day. Heat indices were predicted to reach 100. Gloria was busy preparing burgers with barbecue mixed in and grilled with pineapple and bacon. And another batch

The Medicals

Friday, June 11, 2010 Mom was home. Back on the ranch, things were up. Things were down. Things were all around. “I want some brownie,” Puck asked for the fourth time, eyeing the pile of Carrie-made chocolatey-caramel goodness under the glass bell. “No brownie, Puck,” Collette told him. “Yes, I

New Studies

Thursday, June 10, 2010 Collette and Puck were dropped off just before seven at the Silverspoon’s that morning. For bacon, library books, and a departure to Christ Presbyterian at 9:00 for a 9:30 Bible study following the book, Shepherding a Child’s Heart. It was an enjoyable

June 9

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 The day was still gray and nice. Cooled. Over at the house, Puck was busy talking about monsters and that he was off ‘to the Boy Scouts!’ Collette fried up two more egg sandwiches, at Francis’ request. Seven eggs in one week for the red-cheeked gentleman.

June 8

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 Home for the day. Carrie-Bri had returned from Ohio from the previous night, and was out for the day with Kitts and Eve to the Lemp Mansion and Blueberry Hill, and henna hair dying. Over at the house, Collette and Puck were playing his favorite game.

To Shakespeare!

Monday, June 7, 2010 It was another multiple day of birthdays and anniversaries, which included the big 3-0 for Mom and Dad. So Mom was going up to join Dad for the week in Iowa. Over at the house… Francis had just come up from the dungeon. “Oh, hi, Mom.

The Good Places

Sunday, June 6, 2010 Before church, as OLeif buckled Puck into his car seat, Puck sneezed in his face. “It’s ok, Daddy,” he said. “I blessed on your face.” Everyone was everywhere that morning. Dad was in Iowa through the following Sunday. Mom was teaching Sunday School after working

Nacchianti's Party

Saturday, June 5, 2010 It was over to the Silverspoon’s as usual that morning. Kitts was there as well. Puck pulled the cushions off the chairs in the living room to practice his somersaults. And OLeif showed them a short film of the private Walker Library from an inventor

June 4

Friday, June 4, 2010 Mom was off early that morning to the Branson area with Grandma Combs and Aunt Petunia to hunt out a good place for the family reunion that July. Preparing to leave that morning, Collette asked how OLeif had slept the previous night. “Like a petrified monster,

June 3

Thursday, June 3, 2010 The next day, Collette was still under the spell of Hamlet. She wanted to see it again. Meanwhile… That morning, apparently, Dad had been singing Don’t Cry for me, Argentina in the living room. Puck was sitting on the couch, listening with his grumpy eyes.

Hamlet

Wednesday, June 2, 2010 It was that time of year again. Shakespeare! On this year’s poetic plate: Hamlet. Meanwhile, Joe was in Colorado climbing Pike’s Peak. Over at the house that morning, a great storm threatened the dark green landscape. As rain and gray came and went, but

Library Day

Tuesday, June 1, 2010 Up for waffles. Linnea had put together the menu herself for their day together. And OLeif at work and then a night with the guys, minus one of their foursome who was in Disneyland and the Caribbean for a week with his wife. Meanwhile, Collette, Linnea,

Memorial Day

Monday, May 31, 2010 Holiday. Over at the Silverspoon’s, Kitts had arrived for the day shortly after OLeif, Collette, and Puck. “Want to help me make lemon squares, Puck?” she asked him. “Yes,” said Puck, with a determined face. “’Scuse me, Nana. We’re gonna make food.” So for

Celebrations

Sunday, May 30, 2010 It was time to celebrate Rose’s graduation. And an early Memorial Day with family. After church, Collette drove Puck over to the house to make three dozen deviled eggs. The family was all over for church that morning: OLeif, Collette and Puck at the early

Evening of Music

Saturday, May 29, 2010 News from Philmont arrived that Joe had seen his very first tornado. One of the greatest goals of his life had been accomplished at the age of 21. At breakfast, Puck was busy with his oatmeal. “Is it oatmeal,” he asked, “or stuff?” “What is ‘stuff’

May 28

Friday, May 28, 2010 The morning began with Bolero on the radio — still surviving — blueberries, apples, and cherry preserves on toast for Puck during which he requested his mama to speak in a sort of odd Irish accent which made him giggle. Meanwhile, OLeif was off work for the day.

Gone?

Thursday, May 27, 2010 Thursday morning started with a jolt. It was set to be a terrible day in St. Louis. Classic 99 was over. Dead. Gone. Static. Nothing. There seemed little hope that arts could last in the city after such a blow… But then, come evening… it was

May 26

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 Lucia and Relevance were back in town for two weeks. Over to the house… That morning, while Collette visited the post office, Puck found the need to run around the front lawn in his birthday suit yelling out grandly, ‘We’re goin’ to dah Milky Way!

May 25

Tuesday, May 25, 2010 In the morning, the family arrived. Mom brought over a jar of cherry preserves that she and Linnea-Irish had made at the Rum’s house the previous afternoon. Carrie reported her visit to the tennis courts and Eve’s new house the previous evening. Five years

May 24

Monday, May 24, 2010 Monday was not going so well. By 10:45, Puck’s hands were plastered in pink magic marker. He had dark red and yellow pollen stains on his face and shorts. He had swallowed a small rubber headphone piece. And spilled motor oil in a rather

The Boathouse

Sunday, May 23, 2010 It was already Cherry’s last day in St. Louis with Linnea-Irish. They had been everywhere from late-night gymnastics sessions, the Botanical Gardens, the Science Center, church functions, and now, for Sunday afternoon, to the Boathouse. First of all, Dad was leaving for Iowa for the

Fire

Saturday, May 22, 2010 In the aftermath of a day of splurges, it was good to see the chubby Puckling again. The skies were clear over blue from horizon to horizon that middle-spring morning. Badminton, mancala, and Izzy preparing for the spring formal that evening before taking off with Gloria

Commencement

Friday, May 21, 2010 Friday morning began early by dropping off Puck at the Silverspoon’s near 7:30, for the day. After a bite of bacon, off to the E Free church in Manchester for an 8:00 rehearsal with the miniature orchestra that would be playing for Covenant

May 20

Thursday, May 20, 2010 The rain was back. On the way to the house, Puck was still intent on visiting the Milky Way, so OLeif sling-shot them around the round-abouts, upon pretense of orbiting Jupiter and Neptune. “We’re gonna catch on to a star stream!” OLeif announced, as they

Cherry Arrives

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 Wednesday morning began with word that Joe had reached Colorado the previous night, completing the first day of two on the road. And Strawberry was on television, demonstrating aerials at her Bumbershoot studio for the local Fox station. The rest of the morning was for the

Concert Night

Tuesday, May 18, 2010 Joe had left for Philmont, New Mexico, at six o’clock that morning, with Yaotl and Summer West. It was a sort of monumental occasion for the Snicketts family: the first time any member of their household had been away for that long from St. Louis.

Joe for Philmont

Monday, May 17, 2010 Over at the house, Collette showed Puck the blooming pale yellow roses through the window, big as bowls. “This looks like Heaven,” Puck said. Then, while Mom and the three boys ran errands (including picking up a package of lightbulbs and a tub of butter for

May 16

Sunday, May 16, 2010 Sunday morning, namely: 1. OLeif dropped off Collette and Puck at church at 7:30 before leaving for Memorial to arrive by 8:00, to practice his ‘Celtic fiddle’ for their 10:45 service and randomly visit a six-week Sunday School preparatory class for those interested

CLUE

Saturday, May 15, 2010 5:51: Puck awake. Blueberry oatmeal. TED Talks: electric cars. The rain still fell. The shrubbery on the fence was already heavily weighed with bunches of honeysuckle, and the rain only added to it. When Collette asked Puck if he wanted a pear to wrap up

May 14

Friday, May 14, 2010 Collette was up at about three o’clock in the morning with pain in her right leg. Likely a combination of the previous afternoon’s jog paired with the rain that occasionally made her knee act up after her injury, horseback riding in Iceland… Over at

May 13

Thursday, May 13, 2010 Thursday morning started with a wash-out of green and silver and blues. Puck crawled into bed with Collette after OLeif took an early six o’clock departure. He pulled back the curtains and watched the downpour. “It’s blowin’ all the shade away, Mama,” he said

May 12

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 Over at the house… When Puck arrived wearing his sunnies with the shades punched out and a box of glowsticks, Carrie-Bri was eating sauerkraut for breakfast and chatting with Mom at the kitchen table. “Well, hello there,” Mom greeted them as usual. “Did Puck wake up

May 11

Tuesday, May 11, 2010 Puck was presented peanut butter toast for breakfast that morning. Collette moved Donkey onto the counter to watch Puck. “Donkey’s a peanut butter man!” said Puck happily. Later in the morning… “What are you doing, Puck?” Collette asked him, as he loudly sucked in his

May 10

Monday, May 10, 2010 It was cold. May was hot one minute, cold the next. Carrie-Bri had promised Puck a pair of flip-flops. So Monday morning, as the skies were gray over green hills and valleys, Collette, Carrie, Linnea-Irish, and Puck, drove out to the old Chesterfield Mall. Old Navy

Mother's Day

Sunday, May 9, 2010 Collette woke up that morning from a most peculiar, if not horrifying dream, real enough to have convinced her that she was going to have quadruplets… all girls. With a sigh of relief, she saw the time of five or so in the morning, noted the

Henri's Ordination

Saturday, May 8, 2010 Up early Saturday morning. Over to the Silverspoon’s with a bundle of gold roses tipped in crimson for Gloria in early Mother’s Day appreciation, after which OLeif immediately took off for a photo shoot from nine till two, Theodore departed for a client meeting,

The Faulty Batch

Friday, May 7, 2010 The day pulled in a trove of wind and steel skies. Though no rain. Collette was at the office once again. But first, to drop off OLeif for a carpool with Rose, eggs-in-a-nest and bacon for breakfast with the gang, including Dad, and then to bring

May 6

Thursday, May 6, 2010 In the afternoon, they took their weekly walk to the library. Puck wore Collette’s Cardinal’s baseball cap. And when they returned, there was another jog and Puck’s bath, after which he requested to be wrapped up in his dalek robe and he put

Cinco de Mayo

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 On Cinco de Mayo, Ben-Hur was turning twenty-one in Columbia. Another one of the old kiddos to cross the threshold into adulthood. It was pretty crazy. Meanwhile, Collette sat with Francis on a drive up to Walgreen’s for an emergency batch of eggs for breakfast.

Office Work

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Collette was in the office all day for Forget-me-Not. And she remembered to pack her bento for lunch. First, over at the house… Puck was busy making his initial rounds. This included trying on a pair of Carrie’s flip-flops and Linnea’s flip-flops. “The sun

May 3

Monday, May 3, 2010 The day opened with OLeif pulling his work badge out of the trash about ten minutes before the garbage truck thundered down the road. And about two minutes before the first, and only, rain of the day. At nine o’clock, Mom, Francis, and Linnea arrived

May 2

Sunday, May 2, 2010 After the first service, Puck presented a special gift for Baby Hesed to ‘Mr. Judah’. Judah opened it to find a used copy of Rain (as the book was no longer in print). And they looked through the pictures together. At the house, Joe was talking

May 1

Saturday, May 1, 2010 After bringing Puck over to the Silverspoon’s, who were just back from travel in Texas, OLeif and Collette left for CHI for their first parent education seminar. The skies were still overtly gray. And two and a half hours of informative sessions regarding developmental issues

The Storms

Friday, April 30, 2010 The winds were still up. The skies alternated between sun and stretches of storms. It was all so beautiful. The day was spent in mostly doing nothing of any significance. Because instead of getting any sort of mathematics work in whatsoever, it happened that Francis’ entire

Zoo Visitations

Thursday, April 29, 2010 Collette woke, eyes still watering from the cold Puck had given her. Over at the house, between his honey wheat bagel and banana, Puck watched the trash man at work. He was just like Francis when Francis was that age, the age when becoming a garbage

April 28

Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Back to the house. Linnea was beginning round number one of SAT tests 2010. There would be a total of three days of testing. And she would be proctored at church. Mom had volunteered the first day of watching the little kiddos in the nursery, so

April 27

Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Home. In the exceptional chill of a St. Louis April morning. Always unpredictable in the weather. Collette sort of liked it that way. OLeif did not have to leave until quarter till eight, which was nice. Collette was able to sleep in a little later and

April 26

Monday, April 26, 2010 More gray. More rain. And more cold. A typical day at the house: Kumon, pre-algebra, and Portuguese. Then at ten o’clock, Collette arrived at the church office for a tutorial in taking attendance, etc., which she would be doing the following week while Forget-me-Not was

April 25

Sunday, April 25, 2010 Sunday morning began with that primitive eden outside the window, rolls of green stuffs and little winds under skies of sea gray. It was beautiful enough to never lose its deserve to be mentioned. It was a cold wind blew them to church that day. Gray.

Square Dance

Saturday, April 24, 2010 Theodore and Gloria were in Texas that weekend. So OLeif, Collette, and Puck, under still-rain-filled skies, headed over to the Silverspoon’s anyway to see after the animals. Izzy had already left for play practice when they arrived, having pulled an all-nighter with Charlie and German,

April 23

Friday, April 23, 2010 On St. George’s Day… it was a gorgeous morning, the wind through the ruffle of dark green trees under skies fresh with last night’s rain… a gray sea. Over at the house, Carrie was busy making fresh apple juice, which Puck liked very much.

April 22

Thursday, April 22, 2010 Somewhere in Africa, on Earth Day, it was Mollie McCrae’s 19th birthday. It was time for another walk to the library. When they arrived, the kind gentleman who drove the van from branch to branch showed Puck the button that opened the doors on their

April 21

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 Cool days. It was feeling more like spring instead of summer, as it ought. Over at the house… 1. After class, Joe was scheduled to meet a buddy from work at the driving range. 2. Francis was finishing his last paper of the year, written on

April 20

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Somewhere in the middle of the night, Collette dreamt about running from an abnormally enormous amount of tornadoes near the English’s old house. In the morning, the sun was shining, and it was time to take Puck to his three year-old check-up. Linnea came along

April 19

Monday, April 19, 2010 It was another double birthday: this time for Evangeline and Eleda. And in celebration of Eleda’s 13th, she, Linnea, and Mandarin were getting their ears pierced together that very afternoon at the mall. Meanwhile, Puck had been cuddling with Donkey. Seeing baby Hesed at the

Puck Turns Three

Sunday, April 18, 2010 Puck started his birthday morning at 5:45, wondering over the marvel of having awoken in a brand new bed. Before leaving for church, he opened his birthday cards from both great-grandmas and another card from Grandpa Snicketts. Then his gift from OLeif and Collette: the

April 17

Saturday, April 17, 2010 After the library and bank, third stop: the Silverspoon’s. Gloria already had an early cake cooling on the stove for the birthday boy, who was happy running around in the bright, cool, sunshine and a lawn so green, it could be Irish. While Puck pretensed

Baby Rye

Friday, April 16, 2010 Back at the house for the day, and news had come in that Baby Rye had been born earlier that morning, weighing in at 8 pounds, 9 ounces. It was a collectively proud day for the congregation of Grace Presbyterian Church. Another April 16th birthday. Curly

April 15

Thursday, April 15, 2010 That morning, Collette and Puck took a walk to the library together. The winds were warm. After arrival, Puck enjoyed several copies of The Magic School Bus and Peter Spier’s works, before breaking for a snack of clementines and raisins outside. Under falling blossoms and

What's Happening

Wednesday, April 14, 2010 A brief, yet long, eight days later… new things were happening. Included in the actual events and circumstances of life, there were the usual collective amusements of every day living: 1. Puck, when asked how old he was, replied, ‘I’m 24!’ 2. When Dad’s

Temporarily...

Temporary hiatus.

April 6

Tuesday, April 6, 2010 Puck’s swelling had reduced again overnight. Although the bruising was worse. All a part of being a rough-and-tumble little boy. Meanwhile, Collette and Puck were home on another warm day. They were outside together in the wind with his orange bouncy-ball. And while Puck pushed

April 5

Monday, April 5, 2010 Another gorgeous morning. Fields of white mist under a rising gold sun cloaked in the remains of the night’s storm. And as little as Collette could smell of anything decent, even she could smell the new blossoms and buds of the flowering trees. Puck’s

Easter Sunday

Sunday, April 4, 2010 Easter morning — also Kitts’ 24th birthday — began with a slam to the head for Puck. While the choir was rehearsing, he had hurried down the middle aisle, tripped, and gone flying head-long into the hymnal grate beneath the chair. Almost immediately, a purple-lined welt rose up

Easter Saturday

Saturday, April 3, 2010 Puck started his morning at 6:30 with the Bee Gees. “Is it dark, Mama?” he asked her, looking out the glass kitchen doors, as he had asked every morning that week. “For a little while,” she told him. Shortly later, the view out back was

April 2

Friday, April, 2, 2010 Coming out of the service Thursday night, the peepers were squeaking out in the fields, from whence came a tugging cool-warm wind. Collette heard it wrapping around the corners of the house that night and through the wind chimes. On Good Friday, the fifth consecutive early

Tenebrae

Thursday, April 1, 2010 Maundy Thursday coinciding with April Fool’s… uncommon occurrence, yes. The moon was still up shining white at their 6:30 departure. A few minutes till seven, they met Gloria at the Drury Inn where Collette and Puck transferred items to the Audi to spend the

Goodbye, March

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 Another early morning. Seven o’clock drop-off. And to Collette’s dismay, Mom had refilled the chocolate basket. The day was fantastic, just before the sun had risen. Violet-fire in the sky, cool-warm breezes in the newly green budded trees. It was a gorgeous, just spring/

March 30

Tuesday, March 30, 2010 A day back at home. Sun and cool breezes. Earlier in the morning, Puck had been entertaining himself with conversations betwixt himself and his toys. “Where’s donkey?” “He’s not here, ’cause he’s in donkey heaven.” “Oh! Mama find him?” “No. ‘Cause Mama’s

March 29

Monday, March 29, 2010 It was OLeif’s first day on the new job. So he had already dropped off Collette and Puck at the house by seven in the morning. As Puck walked out into the fresh, cold morning air, his eyes grew wide. “There’s an owl out

Music and Palms

Sunday, March 28, 2010 Collette was awaken to the St. Olaf’s College Choir singing “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” that particular Palm Sunday. This hymn was repeated at church two and a half hours later under rain fall and an ornery critter who wouldn’t sit still during the

Evangeline's Party

Saturday, March 27, 2010 Evangeline’s baby shower. At the Popples’ house, the same place and the same month Collette had her own baby shower already three years ago. Evengeline was looking well and happy as always. She said that already their chubby baby boy was over eight pounds. He

March 26

Friday, March 26, 2010 It was time for another day at the church office. Before OLeif dropped her off, however, back home, Puck was having fun running into their room, hiding behind the door, waiting until ‘Mama’ or ‘Daddy’ would come in to find him, then slamming the door shut

March 25

Thursday, March 25, 2010 The world woke up to rain that morning. In Puckland… 1. Collette had discovered that the illusive ‘arbria’ was his way of saying ‘root beer’. 2. The previous evening, when Collette had handed him his plate with a hot dog, Puck waited awhile until getting around

March 24

Wednesday, March 24, 2010 “It’s a little bit dark out there, honey Mama,” Puck said when he came into their room at 5:57 that morning. He was put back in his room until the sun had begun to rise, behind the gray. Then OLeif went to get him.

March 23

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 During the morning,: 1. Carrie and Lucia departed for the Botanical Gardens. 2. Linnea and Puck chased a cat around the yard while Collette worked with Francis on his algebra. 3. Francis off to choir. 4. Linnea to choir. 5. Mom and Collette purchased Evangeline’s

The Permit

Monday, March 22, 2010 Sunday evening, OLeif had shared some of the Sunday School lesson on world religions at Memorial. This included modern Chinese symbols, originating before the time of Christ. Words such as: 1. Righteousness: which was comprised of symbols meaning ‘lamb’ and the personal pronoun ‘me’. 2. Gift:

Afternoon of Rain

Sunday, March 21, 2010 At church, Ichabod Coca-Cola gave Collette a copy of the Sports Illustrated Olympics edition. A definite plus to a morning that included a worship service that went half an hour longer than planned, and a wiggly, apple-cheeked baby who couldn’t manage a full hour and

Memorial

Saturday, March 20, 2010 Snow had, fortunately for people like Carrie, been removed from the forecast for the day. And so, plans commenced as originally intended. Collette had OLeif up by 6:45 to get ready for the Men’s Missions Conference breakfast at church, starting at 8:00. Then

Missions Conference

Friday, March 19, 2010 Puck was decked out in his red Krispy Kreme truck sweatshirt that morning, and ready to head outside for a tumble in the great outdoors. Lila went with him. The ornery critter was back to his former matutinal habits, and had been up again at 5:

March 18

Thursday, March 18, 2010 Puck spent his breakfast watching the tree-cutters high up in the treetops on another cold gray morning. After watching the tree-chopper outside the front window, Puck took Collette’s Spanish Bible. “I’m goin’ to read The Lord and God,” he said importantly. He opened the

The Hun

Tuesday, March 16, 2010 OLeif was gone by 6:30 in the morning to a meeting with his dad. When the meeting turned out to be, in fact, on another day, he enjoyed breakfast with his parents and business discussion with his dad at his office. And Gloria dropped in

Viking Kin

Monday, March 15, 2010 The Ides of March. Over at the house that day… Mom and Linnea took Joe to his doctor’s appointment. Collette and Carrie researched Mrs. Field’s gift baskets for the arrival of little Whisper. Carrie taught Joe how to make Turkish coffee. Rose began her

March 14

Sunday, March 14, 2010 Another cool, gray day. After church, Puck had a little surprise waiting for him at the house. Because he so loved rearranging his grandma’s spice cabinet in the pantry, he had been given a little spice cabinet of his own, using old empty medicine bottles

March 13

Saturday, March 13, 2010 It was Lucia’s 23rd birthday. A cool, gray morning. By eleven: arrived at the Silverspoon’s where their two house-guests departed shortly later on their way to visit family in Iowa… Wii bowling for the boys, spaghetti for lunch… In the afternoon, Puck snuggled with

March 12

Friday, March 12, 2010 Puck was so completely enchanted with his new dishes from his aunt, that he woke up at 5:23 in the morning and hurried into OLeif’s and Collette’s room to ask for them. Over at the house: 1. Carrie-Bri had made a large plate

March 11

Thursday, March 11, 2010 Collette was vaguely aware of thunderstorms in the middle of the night. The next morning was cool again. But she left the windows open for the third day in a row. And there was a walk around the neighborhood for herself and Puck, who was scared

March 10

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Puck came padding into OLeif’s and Collette’s room at 6:08 that morning. However, after snuggling with them in bed for about thirty seconds, he decided he wanted to roam. So OLeif deposited him back into his crib until it was time for breakfast.

March 9

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 It had rained in the night. Temperatures were rising. It was predicted to reach 70 on Wednesday. The previous evening, Rose and Puck had played outside and worked on the yard. Puck had also found a tiny green and brown plant that Rose put in a

The Finn Inn

Monday, March 8, 2010 The family tree research was becoming maddeningly addicting. Research took the bloodlines back to Herod, and, via step-mother, Doris of Jerusalem, to Adam. And Sunday evening, Collette discovered that they were also related to Robert the Bruce. Over at the house, the washing machine had gone

March 7

Sunday, March 7, 2010 At lunch, following church, there were tender pork wedges, a variety of vegetables, and Hawaiian sweet rolls, followed by a white cake frosted chocolate. The conversation seemed to center on no particular topic, as was customary. One piece did include how the church had been built

Family Tree Craziness

Saturday, March 6, 2010 Collette swamped herself with the addiction of genealogy research that morning. Because she knew that Alexander Hamilton was either her 4th great or 5th great-grandfather, she could trace the following: Alexander, born in Nevis (British West Indies), had a mother of part-French Huguenot descent. Alexander’s

The Family Tree

Friday, March 5, 2010 The morning was for errands: the bank, library, and Costco. Mom, Collette, Francis, and Puck. Francis was given the embarrassing task of retrieving The Secret Garden from the library, by Mom. In payment for this embarrassing fealty, Francis was thrilled to be given permission for having

March Forth

Thursday, March 4, 2010 Collette woke up that morning next to a cuddly chubby bundle, who had hurried in to ‘cuddle’ with her while OLeif was in the shower. He fiddled with OLeif’s mP3 player. “This is my phone, Mama,” he said. Then OLeif walked in. “I have two

March 3

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Over at the house… Big news of the week: the U.S. Postal service was considering cutting off Saturday delivery service. A bit of a shocker… Carrie and Rose were busy with chamomile facials before starting off their day of solving solar neutrino variance problems and

Road Trip

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 That morning, Collette and Puck were picked up by the crew: Grandma Combs, Mom, Carrie-Bri, Francis, and Linnea, to hear Francis sing at the capital. An hour and a half later, on a cool, gray morning, they arrived. The last time they had visited that city

Back to Normal

Monday, March 1, 2010 Back to the week. And, naturally, the news from the weekend had been the 8.8 earthquake in Chile, sending further tremors and tsunami warnings into the South Pacific. Fortunately, the devastation did not seem, yet, as horrific as it had been in Haiti. And the

One Last Game

Sunday, February 28, 2010 A last day, already, of February. And a last day of the Games. In other news… Dad left for Cedar Falls after church after having turned around forty-five minutes later to pick up his forgotten dry-cleaning. Carrie-Bri met with Lucia at Forest Park for the afternoon.

February 27

Saturday, February 27, 2010 The last full day of Games. This included Linnea’s last basketball game. It was a good one. A large crowd. Enthusiastic. And their team led most of the game by a few points. Linnea made two baskets, intercepted the ball numerous times… They fell back

The Disqualification

Friday, February 26, 2010 That morning: Carrie received a package of eleven brightly colored hip scarves rattling with coins from Hong Kong for the beginning of Gala Nights. She was also whipping up further maté samples with bags of herbs and roots. Francis received a haircut from Carrie. Men’s

Feathers on Ice

Thursday, February 25, 2010 During sitting practice that morning, Puck pointed to Collette’s face. “What’s that, Mama?” he whispered. “Those are eyebrows. You have them too.” Puck touched his eyebrows. “I don’t want to wear eyebrows, Mama.” Later in the morning, while Puck was busy with his

February 24

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 It was a sort of irritating day for the mini population of Snicketts and Silverspoon in various endeavors and such. But there was always good company and many, many more Olympics to make up for it. Meanwhile… Mom was shipping off a load of no longer

Fried Chicken at Grandma's

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Puck started his morning by snuggling in with OLeif and Collette. “Hello, little bug,” Collette said to him. “I not a bed bug, Mama,” he said seriously. Then Collette made him a yogurt parfait for breakfast, as OLeif brought him into the kitchen in a piggy-back

February 22

Monday, February 22, 2010 Over in the gray… Puck was busy chopping into a shiny new apple, which made him feel very grown-up and important, and amusing himself with ‘Playgos’ (Legos). It was a quiet day. Mom and Dad had breakfast at First Watch. Collette pulled out the usual assistance

The Games Continued

Sunday, February 21, 2010 Collette stayed up late enough on Saturday night to watch Apolo Ohno take his bronze in the 1000 meters and make history by becoming the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian. Everyone was there to see it, including Bonnie Blair and Michael Phelps. It was a

February 20

Saturday, February 20, 2010 Another sunny day. Another trip to the Silverspoon’s. And another basketball game, with the usual rigamarole, and rather egregious behavior by the opposing team from time to time… but in a much more spacious facility. And another loss, but Linnea made a basket, and received

February 19

Friday, February 19, 2010 Rose had been busy teaching Puck new forms of ‘hello’. This included: Greetings! Salutations! And: Greetings and salutations! Meanwhile: Dad working from home for the day… Carrie prepared the last bits of her costume next to a glue gun in the living room with piles of

Lysacek and Plushenko

Thursday, February 18, 2010 Wednesday night brought gold medals for Shani Davis in short track, Lindsey Vonn in downhill skiing, and the Flying Tomato, Shaun White, in the Half-Pipe, which was pretty amazing. At breakfast Thursday morning, Collette asked Puck if he had dreamed. “I did,” he replied. “What did

Ash Wednesday

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 Puck was still in the throes of learning the English language in a proper manner. When told by OLeif or Collette: “I love you.” …he responded with an, “I do.” Or when asked in the morning, “Do you want oatmeal for breakfast?” …he would answer with,

Further Celebratants

Tuesday, February 16, 2010 It had been a long, yet very full and somehow fast, four days. Everything had started with: Friday Collette pieced together the morning by gathering together everything necessary for the next several days when she would hardly find herself at home. 1. OLeif picked up three

More Parties

Thursday, February 11, 2010 The first day where all three of them would be home during the work week. It started with a jog. The sun was out again, clear blue skies, snow still piled in most places, and more on the way… During sitting practice that morning, Puck cuddled

February 10

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 Puck had specific things on the mind that morning while Collette made him waffles: “I’m gonna go on a date,” he said matter-of-factly. “Who are you going on a date with?” Collette asked him. “I’m gonna go on a date around da road wiff

February 9

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 The roads were a bit slippy that morning, despite the sun. Because the temperatures were at twelve degrees and the wind chills below zero by ten o’clock in the morning. This, however, did not prevent Linnea from sledding for half an hour with Gretyl, who

February 8

Monday, February 8, 2010 Another light snow by early morning. OLeif began his first day at home by arranging a home office in the library, as opposed to the cold of, and less-than-compatible-wiring of, the basement. Free-lance was the name of the game until further notice, although resumes would be

February 7

Sunday, February 7, 2010 It was time to celebrate Dad’s birthday. After everyone had returned from the three collective services, Grandma Snicketts and Grandma Combs were also present in time for roast, potato casserole, and roasted squashes. And a cookie dough Dairy Queen ice cream cake. Grandma Combs greeted

Megan Salthouse

Saturday, February 6 The wedding of Megan Salthouse began at 12:34 in the afternoon, as so specifically arranged by herself. To start, Puck was dropped off at the Silverspoon’s in his oversized Krispy Kreme sweatshirt, track pants, and Scandinavia knit hat, where he began his play hours with

Dad's Birthday

Friday, February 5, 2010 Dad’s 52nd birthday. And the snow was falling in sweeps over black woods and rolls of gold hills. Collette and Puck arrived at the house that morning. “I got snoaking out dere!” Puck cried, upon entering the school room, which could only be imagined as

February 4

Thursday, February 4, 2010 That morning, Rose told Collette about her mishap over the phone. Later, Collette shared the news with Puck. “Onion fell down the stairs last night,” she said. “I will fix her, Mama,” Puck replied seriously. “I will fix her wiff plastic. That will make her feel

February 2

Tuesday, February 2, 2010 It was time to see the dentist again. So while Carrie hung out with the little man, Collette hurried back out into the gelid air of another snow-spritzer day and the everlasting crescent of tepid cloud. No cavities. Healthy teeth. That was what Collette liked to

February 1

Monday, February 1, 2010 “Let go to this!” Puck giggled that morning. This was basically his version of ‘Let go’, and was applied to many situations such as Trooper eating a forbidden toy, an inanimate object being stuck for some unexplainable reason, etc. Over at the house, Puck helped Carrie

January 31

Sunday, January 31, 2010 On the last day of January, Puck was busy at breakfast with his stuffed donkey and a slice of buttered toast. “He’s like a bouncing ball wiff himself!” he declared, delightedly, tossing him up and down. Before the meal, Carrie received a random text message.

January 30

Saturday, January 30, 2010 Another Saturday, another basketball game. While OLeif was at his continued weekend seminar that sunny morning, Collette and Puck lit out for Linnea’s fourth game of the season. The first half was near enough close to have a hope of catching the tie. And Grandma

January 29

Friday, January 29, 2010 At the house, Puck was busy ‘fishing’, sitting on the loveseat, where he installed Trooper’s dog leash as his fishing line over the other side of it, to where Francis anchored ‘surprises’ onto the other end. They then shared fortune cookies together. For lunch, Puck

January 28

Thursday, January 28, 2010 That morning, OLeif introduced Puck to the unusual world of mixing fruit juice with grape-nuts. “Thank you, Daddy!” Puck squealed in delight. Puck read his books, snuggled up in his dalek robe that morning, after Collette had opened the windows for fresh, cold, wintry air. The

January 27

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 Over at the house, while Collette worked with Francis and Linnea on mathematics and Portuguese, Mom and Puck made clay snakes: purple, green, red, orange, yellow with blue squiggles mixed in, etc. “Here’s the grandpa snake,” Mom told him, helping him roll out a long

January 26

Tuesday, January 26. 2010 The next morning, the ground was dusted white. Large snow pieces still fell to the ground in random waves of it, like little white bugs. The essentials of the day: 1. Writings. 2. Reading. 3. Dancing with Puck, who was happy to add ‘I’m Blue’

Catalina

Monday, January 25, 2010 It was a typical Monday morning. Gray in the skies, chiseled ice bits falling from it… Over at the house, there were the usual studies and projects… and nothing very out of the normal. In the afternoon, Carrie roasted teas for her first test batches. Come

January 24

Sunday, January 24, 2010 A Sunday morning service where OLeif and Collette appeared before the church with other adoptive families for Sanctity of Life Sunday… After soup and bread, the girls returned from church with Grandma Snicketts in time to join Mom, Collette, and Linnea in a travel to New

Diana's Parties

Saturday, January 23, 2010 It was a long day… OLeif dropped off Collette at the house before picking up stamps and joining the Silverspoon’s where Puck was already lodged. After Collette graded another of Francis’ math exams, she quickly joined Dad, Francis, and Linnea for Linnea’s third basketball

January 22

Friday, January 22, 2010 It was back to the office for a reprise. Printing and stuffing the old bulletin. The skies were still gray. And Puck spent his morning and afternoon with Gloria; this started off with a plate of nice crispy bacon for the little rolly-poly monster. Sinai was

January 21

Thursday, January 21, 2010 Rain had come, bringing away the mist with it. Inside, Puck was busy washing his tray with frozen blueberries. “It’s a crazy dalek, Mama!” he exclaimed. “It’s a crazy dalek!” Collette spent her afternoon preparing important matters and reading, while Puck professed to nap,

January 20

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 Puck started his morning with compliments. “You smell good, Daddy. You smell good, Mama. You smell like blue…” The mist still hung heavy. Sometimes, when there were such mists, Collette imagined that alternate terrains grew behind it, than from what was really there: mountains, valleys, the

January 19

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 The fog was still thick that morning. Like soup. It was Joe’s first day back to class: nine to seven. Rose had a last semester of archaeology to complete in the hopes of applying to grad school. And Carrie was out for a walk with

January 17

Sunday, January 17, 2010 A blue morning, but the mist seemed to have receded a great deal in the night. At church, Collette and Puck helped play with the few other children in the nursery during the first worship service. Puck enjoyed rummaging through the plastic shopping cart. He would

January 16

Saturday, January 16, 2010 The morning began with a fine silver mist and The Essential Yo Yo Ma and Silk Road — always a good way to start a day. And OLeif left for the second day of his mandatory work-paid motivational seminar by 9:00 after madly grinding up a

January 15

Friday, January 15, 2010 The day was a soup outside — a gray mist. OLeif started his day with an hour of work, followed by a brunch meeting, and an all-day seminar, which would continue all day Saturday, and half of Sunday. Over at the house, Joe and Rose were just

January 14

Thursday, January 14, 2010 The day opened to gray, then subtly turned to Sisteen Chapel clouds buttled against the western horizon over a bolt of blue. And they opened the windows for the morning. OLeif was home for most of the day, completing the Biblical literacy exam. Then, he delivered

January 13

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 Puck woke up to find his Lilya had spent the night. This was a happy surprise for him, and they spent awhile reading books together on the couch while Collette readied everything to go for the morning. When they returned to the house, Puck announced his

Movie Night

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 At 11:30 on Monday night, OLeif was at it again… “I think I had some bad coffee he said,” after it had all ended. And he crashed back into bed. The next morning, OLeif was still feeling about the same. “I don’t understand your

January 11

Monday, January 11, 2010 Temperatures were up around 30 degrees that day, with highs above 30. Mom and all the girls spent their morning shopping for wedding and shower gifts for the back-to-back weddings in February, which always took longer than originally expected. While they were away, Francis watched Puck.

January 10

Sunday, January 10, 2010 Cold day — but the sun still made the snow sparkle. At church, Puck sat through church and the congregational meeting, passing out pretzel sticks to his mom and grandma while he waited for the ending of the financial announcements. Then back to the house for eggnog

Coffee House

Saturday, January 9, 2010 It was basketball season again. This time, only Linnea was still young enough to participate, and with Eleda, for the third year in a row. It was a fast game, a loss about 30 to 10 or so. And, without intention, Linnea’s green chucks matched

January 8

Friday, January 8, 2010 Windchills were in the double digits below zero with a grand temperature of eight degrees that wintry morning. Over at the house, Carrie-Bri was busy in the dining room scrubbing the now wallpaper-liberated walls, with sandpaper. Joe had accidentally left a hot mitt on the stove

Snow Day

Thursday, January 7, 2010 A day snowed in — bright and filled with sun for half of it, and gray the other. Collette and Puck spent their morning looking out over the expanse of white, and listened to a new mix of music that Collette had put together for Puck’s

January 6

Wednesday, January 6, 2010 The cold, cold morning started with Francis setting up Rose’s ringtones on her cellphone. “There,” he said proudly. “Now you have a different ringtone for every day of the week.” These tunes included the theme songs from Brazil and The Magnificent Seven. Meanwhile, Collette was

January 5

Tuesday, January 5, 2010 A day at home. Freezing cold, sun… books, books, music, jogging, and that was all. That evening, OLeif met the youth to say goodbye to one of the boys, who was from Britain and was moving to New Zealand.

January 4

Monday, January 4, 2010 After the excess of holidays, Monday morning did not, at first, feel quite like a Monday. And despite the deceptive green of much of the grass, the temperatures hardly rose above fifteen degrees. Before leaving for the morning, Puck got a huge grin on his face.

January 3

Sunday, January 3, 2010 The aftermath of the late Doctor Who… sometimes Collette couldn’t quite treat fiction as fiction, and not as important as reality. Sometimes it was just a little too hard to leave it alone, to remember that her favorite non-realities were not actually a part of

The End of Time

Saturday, January 2, 2010 The morning began at the Silverspoon’s house for the annual belated Christmas family photo. OLeif and Izzy set up the studio in the living room while Gloria made coq au vin for lunch. Relevance and Kitts arrived at eleven o’clock for the more serious

The New Year

Friday, January 1, 2010 Collette fell asleep at three o’clock in the morning. Four hours later… “Mama? Mama? I come Mama and Da-ee’s bed? In my footies?” So OLeif brought him in wrapped up in his blanket with his stuffed bluebird and he cuddled between them until it

Blue Moon

Thursday, December 31, 2009 It was a sour end to the year. In the aftermath, Collette was angry. Angry at the media and at the general ignorance of the public. But it didn’t matter. Rose would find something else to do — but at the loss of working with good

December 30

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 Summary: it was a bad day.

December 29

Tuesday, December 29, 2009 Linnea had requested a visit to Target for the day to stock up on some essentials for her trip to Iowa. So Collette took her and Puck out in the sunny cold morning of a late December day. After they had collected batteries, toothpaste, and Smackers

December 28

Monday, December 28, 2009 It was back to the normal that cold, sunny Monday morning. Mom was leaving to spend the night at Grandma Combs’ place that evening. And something was mentioned about Fast Eddie’s for dinner. Carrie set out for an early morning hike with Grewe, and returned

With Grandpa

Sunday, December 27, 2009 The roads were iced that morning. There was some slippage on the drive to church. And as they arrived, OLeif realized that he had left his violin at home, so he dropped off Collette and Puck and returned home for it, and back to church just

Dad's Side of the Family

Saturday, December 26, 2009 It was time, once again, for the Snicketts-Black Christmas gathering for Christmas number six. This time, it was to be in New Town at Uncle Balthasar’s and Aunt Tuuli’s house. Everyone was planned to be there except, sadly, once again, for Uncle Clarence and

Christmas Day

Thursday, December 25, 2009 Puck’s third Christmas… As soon as OLeif walked into his room that morning, Puck’s eyes snapped open and he called out, “I want bacuum in my crib?!” Then they led him into the living room to the little Christmas tree where his present was

Christmas Eve

Thursday, December 24, 2009 Puck’s latest obsession was measuring cups. It was the first thing he asked for when he woke up Christmas Eve. “Thank you, Mama,” he said politely. “Thank you for da meas-ring cups. Tomowoh’s Cwistmas Eve, Mama! We get set up my twain!” Collette had,

Back Again

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 It was time to go back to the office to print the bulletins. It would be like the old days, back in the years when Collette would come in on Fridays, and, usually, almost everything was quiet. So Puck was dropped off at the house for

December 22

Tuesday, December 22, 2009 Another day at home with just the Puck. OLeif woke up with a splitting headache. Puck showed his concern by polishing off his oatmeal, banana, and milk, and marching into OLeif’s room. “I will fix you headache wiff da scwoodriver,” he said. “Maybe so.” Shortly

December 21

Monday, December 21, 2009 Puck was still having fun saying, “Happy birfday, dear Mama!” by the next day. And before they left for the house, he ran through the living room calling out (at OLeif’s suggestion), “Wet’s hurry ‘fore da germs come!” If there was one thing that

Christmas Lights

Sunday, December 20, 2009 Sunday was more crisp cold. At breakfast, Puck stirred up his oatmeal, saying, “I need go shopping for some sugars.” At church, Puck was able to meet Ivy again, after which he called her ‘Miss Sparkling’. After services, it was time for taco salad and a

25

Saturday, December 19, 2009 So Collette had hit the quarter-century mark. And in the night had come the snow, just enough to cover the ground, and stay. They began their day at the Silverspoon’s, where the tree was sparkling in lights and ornaments. “Well, it’s your day,” said

December 18

Friday, December 18, 2009 Over at the house for a few more shots at math with Francis before the Christmas week. Dad was working in the basement. Mom took Francis to his orthodontist appointment before returning for Christmas shopping with Carrie-Bri. OLeif was working from home for the day. Joe

December 17

Thursday, December 17, 2009 Puck started his morning at the house with one, and only one, peppermint Joe-Joe’s chocolate cookie, and a round of games on the old foosball table which Joe had brought up from the basement. Meanwhile, Carrie had hung a pair of Linnea’s underwear from

Catalina

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 Puck began his morning by reading his ‘lost coin book’ in his crib. “Spit it out, shark!” he commanded. “Let it go, shark. Go away, shark. Goodbye, coin. I see you ‘morrow. He will get scratched. He will get scratched, Mama. I put him away so

December 15

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 A day at home for writing, fixing lasagna, and listening to Christmas music. And by the evening, OLeif left for the kids’ Christmas choir concert, being conducted, for the first time since its beginning, not by Bluebell South, but by the new director.

Winter Tea at Grandma's

Monday, December 14, 2009 Puck began his morning over at the house with wooden blocks intended for domino races. Carrie-Bri helped him get started. “These are very dock-o-whet (delicate)!” he said. “Don’t touch dem yet. These are gonna be very dock-o-whet. These are gonna be very dock-o-whet. I’m

December 13

Sunday, December 13, 2009 Puck sat through the service with a pair of Linnea’s old plastic headphones on his ears. Back at the house, Dad put together a pile of burgers for lunch. And Mom made macaroni with cheese. Once everyone had gathered around the table, it was time

December 12

Saturday, December 12, 2009 The morning started in the bitter cold. Water everywhere had frozen to slabs of ice. At church, while OLeif practiced with Judah, Reuben, Nacchianti, Mercy, etc., with the children for their Christmas program, Puck read books, played for an extensive period with Collette’s laptop power

Soulard Day

Friday, December 11, 2009 It was Soulard Day. Puck woke that morning, greeting OLeif with the following conversation: “I need get some new headphones, Daddy. They’re in the store, the shop.” And when OLeif explained that they were all going to Soulard to get candy, Puck replied with a

December 10

Thursday, December 20, 2009 There was ice on the windows that morning. Frigid. In the late afternoon, OLeif knocked off work a little early to join Judah and the other requested musicians at the Christy Banquet Center for a rehearsal and two-hour dinner with For His Glory Ministries. And Joe

December 9

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 The wind was wild that morning. Collette heard it before she opened the curtains. And shortly after breakfast, the snow arrived, like a whipped snowglobe. As OLeif prepared to leave for work that morning, Puck was relieved, as usual, that OLeif would be taking his scooter,

December 8

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 Home for the day. More gray and cold. So Collette and Puck had sitting practice, read books, went jogging, made enchiladas for dinner, and Puck got his bubble bath.

A Hike

Monday, December 7, 2009 Puck started his morning with a continued snack of cheese popcorn in a bowl. He then began distributing pieces to his mom and aunts, one piece at a time. “It’s good for you,” he said. “Put it in your mouth. It’s good for you.

Food Day

Sunday, December 6, 2009 Coldness again. Puck cuddled with his new little stuffed dog during church. OLeif had bought it for him at Walgreen’s the previous evening on the ride home. Puck had been so happy. “Thanks, Daddy!” he exclaimed. “Thanks for the dog, Daddy! Thanks, Daddy! He’s

December 4

Saturday, December 5, 2009 Dad had sent out an email that morning to let everyone know that Mom had been a part of the Andy Williams show the previous evening. Branson’s ‘fastest violinist’ had brought Mom up to the stage so that she could help play the violin. Afterward,

December 5

Friday, December 4, 2009 It was an exciting day for the English family. Mr. and Mrs. English would be returning that night at the airport with their new brother from China. Meanwhile that morning… Mom, Collette, Linnea, and Puck ran errands to the post office, the cleaners, the bank (where

December 3

Thursday, December 3, 2009 It was OLeif’s final day in class for the semester. After completing a presentation and paper, three hours of sleep, and a full day at seminary, he crashed back home where Joe and Rose were waiting for comedy night, raspberry hot cocoa, and a cinnamon

December 2

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 That morning, gray and cool, Francis got to the math books early. He tried to concentrate, but the distraction of twirling Mom’s little glass Christmas bulb ornaments like tops on the dining table, (which spun for an amazing amount of time), was too much, until

December 1

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 Puck had been learning many new things in the last months, as his conversations expanded, phrases such as: “Pillow’s here!” — which he used to greet his Aunt Carrie (‘Sun’), because she used his tummy as a pillow… “I could crash you!” — when he was trying

November 30

Monday, November 30, 2009 Over at the house, Collette and Carrie-Bri left for a hike in Castlewood. Collette had never been there before, and they followed the three-mile trail by the train tracks next to the river, then up a number of flights of stairs to the bluffs. It was

Mom's Celebration

Sunday, November 29, 2009 It was time to officially celebrate Mom’s birthday. So on that cool, gray, rainy morning, after church, Collette picked up a Tippin’s key lime pie and a Dierberg’s cookies and cream cake, and a bunch of pale pink-gold roses. Then Mom opened her

November 28

Saturday, November 28, 2009 Diana and Eve were both back in town for the first time together since Eve’s wedding. So Carrie-Bri made chicken salad on croissants and salad, and they met at Bush Wildlife for awhile in the afternoon. Then they briefly toured Diana’s chosen reception hall

November 27

Friday, November 27, 2009 It was a quiet day. At the house, Collette busied herself filing and shredding old documents while the boys set up the little Christmas tree. Puck helped to hang the ornaments on the branches, claiming that he was ‘very busy’. And while Puck napped, OLeif and

Mom's Big Day

Thursday, November 26, 2009 Mom’s 50th, and on Thanksgiving day. It started with more cold and gray over at the Silverspoon’s house for a breakfast of OLeif-made scrambled eggs, and bacon, sausage, cinnamon rolls, broiled toast, and pineapple juice. Then to the Silverspoon’s church to hear Reverend

November 25

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 The morning began with Renaissance music on the radio alarm, with the usual announcer… “I like to play this sort of music when it’s a cold, gray November. And you’re holed up in your castle by a roaring fire. Eating an enormous turkey drumstick.

November 24

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 Another gray one. Francis was out mulching the leaves before choir. Mom was leaving with Grandma in the afternoon for Powell Hall to listen to guest speaker, Mrs. Laura Bush. Puck was practicing being Carrie’s ‘pillow’. He was also fascinated with smelling things: Francis’ shoes

November 23

Monday, November 23, 2009 Puck started his morning by bobbing his head to several songs sung by his Aunt Kitty, which she had emailed to him. “Play again?” he asked over and over, with a big grin. Then it was to the house where Francis was busy cleaning out his

Grandma's Birthday

Sunday, November 22, 2009 Monday was Grandma Snicketts’ 81st birthday, so in advance celebration that afternoon, the family took her out for dinner at Outback Steakhouse. After their friendly Asian waiter (who was a little bummed out because his Fantasy Football wasn’t working out to his liking), had served

November 21

Saturday, November 21, 2009 Puck woke up with his now-usual greeting: “I done, Mama!” When Collette went in to see him, they talked for a little while. Then came up the subject of Jesus. Puck was very adamant about his following request: “I want Jesus, Mama. I wanna see him!

November 20

Friday, November 20, 2009 It was a big day for Emerald Drinker. Her little baby boy was born mid-morning down in old Louisiana, and on the same day as his aunt’s and uncle’s fifth wedding anniversary. Collette spent most of the day resting around at the house, trying

November 19

Thursday, November 19, 2009 It was the day that Mr. and Mrs. English finally left for China to bring home their new six year-old son. They would be gone for over two weeks. Collette was feeling somewhat poorly, similar to the cold she had caught in September, when it had

November 18

Wednesday, November 18, 2009 The rain continued, and it was starting to give Collette a bit of a sore throat, which she had inherited from either OLeif or Linnea. Eating two of Carrie’s delicious scones with clotted cream did not seem to help, although Collette couldn’t help herself

November 17

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 The rain continued. Collette and Puck spent their morning reading many books. Puck was now able to point out the word ‘God’ in his Bible story book, and some minor words, in addition. Then they danced in the living room to Amr Diab and Tarkan for

November 16

Monday, November 16, 2009 Rain. Throughout the night. And into the next day. Over at the house: Mom drove Frances to his orthodontist appointment. Carrie was laying out plans to build a giant telescope in the backyard, learning shorthand, and looking into a Russian operatic/pop man-singer who reached the

10 Years

Sunday, November 15, 2009 It was a big day at Grace. The ten year anniversary. It was hard to believe that it had already been so long. Nine years at Kirk. Then ten at Grace. And still somehow it seemed as if they had been longer at Kirk than at

Celebrations

Saturday, November 14, 2009 The now-triple birthday: Gloria Diana And Violet Gentle’s one year-old baby boy. These were happy days for Diana. Her 25th birthday. And engaged only just a week. Meanwhile, after the library for Othello, the grocery store for Peruvian lilies in white and pink for Gloria

November 13

Friday, November 13, 2009 Another Friday the 13th. Over at the house, Linnea was wondering if she had fractured her toe. “Oooo hoo hoo. My toe.” said Puck in imitation. “My toe broke. Your toe break, Lila? I will fix it. I will fix it. I will fix it for

November 12

Thursday, November 12, 2009 That morning, while OLeif was putting on Puck’s snow boots (which he liked to wear as often as possible), Puck said, “I’m a little space ranger!” Then, when OLeif turned on some Caribbean-Dutch-Gospel, Puck hopped around happily, crying out, “Let’s dance!” He was

November 11

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 The sun was back. Puck was in his knight-sitting-on-an-ostrich shirt and watched Up for the very first time over lunch. Francis and Creole worked, inevitably, on the go-carts before leaving for the neighbor’s yard and then returning to continue working on the shed with Carrie.

November 10

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 It was time for the home visit for the adoption. Their consultant arrived at 9:30 in the morning. And after she had been introduced to Puck, Puck went off to spend the day with his grandma and aunts and uncles, while OLeif and Collette continued

November 9

Monday, November 9, 2009 For Monday’s specialty, everyone got into the minivan to head over to the Cottleville park. On the way, they dropped off Dad’s shirts at the dry cleaners and picked up a bag of sausage muffins, which Francis and Puck immediately started chomping down, with

November 8

Sunday, November 8, 2009 Another Sunday morning. Puck sat in church looking through some of the smaller books of his collection. And for some reason, his hair was smelling like French crullers. Back at the house, Collette made Mom’s Honeybun Cake while Mom fried up bacon, scrambled eggs, and

November 7

Saturday, November 7, 2009 The first three hours of the morning were spent cleaning and organizing boxes of things. Mostly computer cords and books. And Mom brought Francis over to mow the lawn for the last time of the year. Then OLeif and Puck drove over to the Silverspoon’s

November 6

Friday, November 6, 2009 Puck got right down to business on Friday morning over at the house. Francis had gifted him his old RC car, and Puck was enthralled. “I need Mama’s keys to lock the door,” he said importantly. “I need baby keys.” Meanwhile, Mom and Linnea were

November 5

Thursday, November 5, 2009 That morning, Puck had found a bag of plastic tokens used for mah-jongg, with square holes cut in their centers. “Look at all of dem play, Mama,” he said happily, wriggling his fingers in them. Collette and Puck took another walk around the neighborhood in the

November 4

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 Puck started his day with two happy things: driving by the smashed mailbox in the subdivision (having met an untimely end due to an illy chain-sawed tree), and a tiny box of Dots from Linnea’s Halloween stash. And on the way to the house, Collette

November 3

Tuesday, November 3, 2009 Collette and Puck took a walk around the neighborhood that morning. The air was cool. There were still pumpkins on the porches, which Puck enjoyed pointing out. And the sky was all blue. In the afternoon, Puck was busy outside working on his stroller with a

November 2

Monday, November 2, 2009 Third day of sun. Saint Louis seemed to be on a roll now. The morning was started off with another visit to the notary at the bank and a pick up of reserved books for OLeif at the library. “It’s my Mr. Rogers day,” said

November 1

Sunday, November 1, 2009 The sun was still out that morning. Through all of church and then back at home where Collette let Puck watch Ratatouille. And there were boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. And in the afternoon, OLeif had returned from the youth retreat, just in time for the

Halloween

Saturday, October 31, 2009 Halloween. And the sun had resumed its place, casting glow on all the brilliant yellow and dark red of the trees. OLeif was gone with the kiddos, of course, so Collette and Puck spent their morning at the Silverspoon’s out in the sunshine and the

Trick-or-Treat Rotation #2

Friday, October 30, 2009 The rain just continued. On and on. For the morning, Puck dressed up once again in his Buzz Lightyear costume and walked around OLeif’s work to receive bountiful gifts of candy. “Hey, buddy!” Rose called to him. She held out a giant bowl of candy.

October 29

Thursday, October 29, 2009 Another day at home. Cool, wet, grey. By the mid-morning, the rain was falling again. And it was cozy and warm and golden inside the house. In the afternoon, Collette and Puck read books together. Puck would tell Collette about the pictures. One of them was

Space Characters

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 Another wet, cool day. But not cold enough for all the mosquitoes and spiders to have died off yet. Collette and Carrie-Bri ran errands for the adoption, the grocery store (for spice cake, canned pumpkin, chocolate chips, peanut butter cup cookie dough, cinnamon apple spice tea)

Back from Wind and Sun

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Back to October. And a sick baby. Puck had come down with a nasty little cough and fever since Sunday night. But he was a trooper, and he laughed and danced his way through Monday and Tuesday, despite his ailment. The trip had been stellar. All

Travel Journal

Caribbean Travel Journal coming to side-bar ‘Links’ soon…

October 17

Saturday, October 17, 2009 OLeif and Collette were headed for the Caribbean early Sunday morning, with Rose and Linnea. The Itinerary: Puerto Rico — Sunday St. Thomas — Monday Dominica — Tuesday Barbados — Wednesday St. Lucia — Thursday Antigua — Friday St. Kitts — Saturday Puerto Rico — Sunday It would be Linnea’s first airplane flight

Interviews

Friday, October 16, 2009 Collette and OLeif spent their morning at the adoption agency, working on the first home study visit. After dropping off Puck at the house, Collette shared some of OLeif’s breakfast potato squares before heading into the office where the international flags hung, faded, above the

October 15

Thursday, October 15, 2009 Collette and Puck spent part of their morning listening to music on Grooveshark, and Puck escorted his high chair around the house on wheels, as a sort of personal vacuum machine. Then a pan of carrots and potatoes went into the oven with rosemary in preparation

October 14

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 Puck had a present waiting for him when he arrived at the house that day: a Buzz Lightyear suit for Halloween. He put it on right away and stormed through the house like the space ranger that he now was. “He looks extra squishable in it,

October 13

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 Another cold, gray day. Collette and Puck were at home. And Collette was already beginning to pack, as she was not entirely sure how much time she would have later in the week. They read many books and word cards in the morning. And when Puck

October 12

Monday, October 12, 2009 Monday was a bank holiday, so Dad was home to get up the shed in preparation for the building of the airplane. Carrie and Francis were there to help, Carrie in a sort of whipped-up Scottish Colonial garb with plaid pajama pants tucked into Boy Scout

Linnea Day

Sunday, October 11, 2009 It was Theodore’s 61st birthday. And to celebrate, OLeif brought him to the Rams game after church. So while OLeif was abroad downtown, everyone else gathered for KFC fried chicken and grilled chicken, at Linnea’s request, to celebrate her twelfth birthday. Linnea had been

A Birthday Celebration

Saturday, October 10, 2009 Saturday was for celebrating Theodore’s birthday, one day early. But first, OLeif spent most of his day playing music at a prison for ministry outreach with Judah and several others from church. In the afternoon, Gloria, Collette, and Puck picked up OLeif and headed over

October 9

Friday, October 9, 2009 That morning, waiting for the kids to return from Francis’ orthodontist appointment, Collette and Carrie-Bri reminisced with old Kevin Max music videos. The rain still fell, and the air was cold. At lunch, Collette cut up Puck’s ham into boxes and moons and vacuums while

October 8

Thursday, October 8, 2009 Collette heard the rain coming in during the early morning. And during Puck’s breakfast, it fell in droves, drowning out the hollies. OLeif left for class after running to the store for dry yeast to start a batch of bread in the bread maker. By

Linnea's 12th!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 On the morning of Linnea’s 12th birthday, Puck eagerly bounced around the house, waiting to leave so that he could give his beloved Lila her birthday present. When OLeif emerged from the bedroom a little disheveled (having not gone to bed until four in the

October 6

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 Tuesday started with thunder and rain. By the afternoon, the rain had left and the winds were high up. There wasn’t much to the day, really. Tutoring, the kids had choir, Carrie was into her first papers of the quarter and more Arabic, Joe painted

Fingerprints

Monday, October 5, 2009 Monday morning was partially spent at the police department getting background checks and fingerprint cards filled out for the FBI. More adoption process. “I do this all the time,” said the police officer, guiding Collette’s fingers onto the card. “But it’s much more pleasant

October 4

Sunday, October 4, 2009 For breakfast Puck was given a piece of toast with butter and grape jelly. “Spoon?” Puck asked. “Spoon, Mama?” “Why do you need a spoon?” Collette asked him. She handed him a baby spoon from the drawer. “Danks,” said Puck, carefully digging the spoon into the

The Piano

Saturday, October 3, 2009 It was the day that OLeif got his piano. After meeting at the Silverspoon’s for Gloria’s omelets and blueberry pastries, OLeif left at around three in the afternoon with Theodore, Joe, Izzy, and Francis to pick up the rather large and extremely heavy old

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken

Friday, October 2, 2009 On Thursday, October 1st, Idelwild Redcoat had her second little girl, Opal. It was cold again, and the wind was up. Over at the house, Puck was given gifts from the trip — a giant flying cloth frisbee and a Buzz Lightyear umbrella. His dimples became even

October 1

Thursday, October 1, 2009 Beautiful rain. Beautiful storms. And on October 1st, the daisies and the honeysuckle were still in bloom, confused, perhaps. As the rain poured in, Collette let Puck lean out his window to see the activity. He found a pile of dried ‘helicopters’ wedged into the sill

September 30

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 Puck was ready to go Wednesday morning. He pulled Collette’s red sweater out of the fresh laundry and asked to put it on. “Zip my up, Mama,” he instructed. “Zip my up.” Over at the house, the vacuum was out for use, so Puck picked

September 29

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 Late Tuesday morning, Carrie was donned in apron rolling out handmade noodles with basil in the kitchen. Puck sat in his high chair and watched Carrie hang the sliced noodles from clothes hangers. “Noodles breaking!” Puck exclaimed. “They’re breaking. Noodles bein’ naughty.” And after lunch,

September 28

Monday, September 28, 2009 Over at the house, Carrie had ‘presents’ for Puck. She had bought him a Pixar Cars bike helmet and knee pads. Puck was thrilled to put all three of these pieces on himself, and walked around for almost the entire morning wearing the knee pads. “That

Recovery Process

Sunday, September 27, 2009 Collette was still feeling somewhat under the weather by Sunday morning, so she and Puck dropped OLeif off at church to teach Sunday School and play both services, while they spent their morning at the house. After services, OLeif, Joe, and Rose returned, Rose with ingredients

Quiet Rain

Saturday, September 26, 2009 Come Saturday morning, Collette wasn’t up to par. She had contracted the ‘whatever-it-was-that-Dad-had-actually-got’, and what Carrie was also battling. And Mom and the kids. Although everyone had seemed to get varying mild symptoms. So Collette was obliged to stay at home and work on various

To the Doctor

Friday, September 25, 2009 Friday morning, Collette headed out to her doctor to obtain a medical letter for the adoption. About an hour later, after the usual adrenaline pulse, even blood pressure, medical history questions, blood drawn, trying not to faint, water, an orange juice… Carrie drove her past the

September 24

Thursday, September 24, 2009 Puck was busy with his ‘computer’ (green cash register) that morning on the red couch. He cleared his books off the cushions to make room for Collette to join him on her laptop. “Sit here, Mama. Sit here,” he said very seriously. “I gotta work.” It

A Dust Storm

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 News from the underworld that morning was that Sydney, Australia, had been blanketed in a dust storm of Outback red dirt. When Carrie asked Elazar Moss about it, he told her that it truly had been apocalyptic in nature. He kept expecting a loud voice from

September 22

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 Collette and Puck were over at the house again to get in an extra day of tutoring with the kids, as Mom, Dad, Francis, and Linnea were leaving for Atlanta on Friday morning. Collette, Carrie-Bri, and Linnea dropped off Francis at choir before running some necessary

September 21

Monday, September 21, 2009 Puck was busy looking through OLeif’s seminary textbooks that morning. “Angle!” he exclaimed happily, pointing to a triangular-shaped diagram on one of the pages. He had learned this shape from his Nana on Saturday. Then, Collette heard him triumphantly calling out from the other room,

Funder

Sunday, September 20, 2009 Sunday commenced with beautiful torrential downpours, shocking levels of high-powered lightening and thunder, and three power outages in the space of two minutes. Once they were finally on the road to church, the rain kicked up one more level and swamped out the city. But Collette

The County Fair

Saturday, September 19, 2009 That morning, Gloria had fried eggs on toast waiting at the house for OLeif and Collette, when they arrived to pick up Puck and bring him to the little festival down the road from the Snicketts house. The festival promised to host an entire trove of

The Un-Balloon Glow

Friday, September 18, 2009 Collette was up earlier than usual to prepare scrambled eggs with cheese and baguette-sliced toast for Rose before she split shortly after seven for her literature exam. And OLeif read the poetry of Langston Hughes over breakfast while Joe prepared to leave for class. Puck was

September 17th

Thursday, September 17, 2009 Puck walked through the kitchen in his Spongebob slippers from his grandpa that morning. “I wearing Spongebob flips!” he called out. Collette and Puck took a morning walk around the neighborhood, with Puck fastened in his stroller looking out for flags and pumpkins. The air smelt

September 16th

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 That morning, Puck asked if he might do the usual: “Wake up Daddy? Wake up Daddy?” he asked cheerfully from his crib. Collette consented, and went out to the kitchen to prepare his usual breakfast bowl of oatmeal. Puck followed her out several minutes later, wearing

September 15th

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 Quiet day. Gray. A little rain. Collette spent a bulk of the morning writing up adoption documents and reading about fingerprints and forms and autobiographies, letters of all kinds, medical appointments, photo copies, certified documents, notarizations, etc., and, of course, reading to Puck. Carrie stopped in

September 14th

Monday, September 14, 2009 A couple of events were in the working that day: 1. Carrie was starting her first day of training as branch manager. 2. MUSE was officially releasing its next album. 3. And no-longer-little Adam English was turning 16. And Carrie had left for her first day

Linnea's Return

Sunday, September 13, 2009 Sunday, Collette and Puck joined the girls at Memorial to see Rose become an official member of the church. On the ride over, Puck helped himself to a snack of soy beans from Carrie’s portable Tupperware, and looked out the window for helicopters. Rose looked

September 12th

Saturday, September 12, 2009 Saturday it was over to the Silverspoon’s for root beers and grilled paninis made by OLeif. Meanwhile, Izzy was busy at the ACT, a senior photo shoot (which involved the use of Collette’s great-grandmother’s antique chair), and a party later in the day.

September 11th

Friday, September 11, 2009 On the eight year anniversary of that solemn day… it seemed, in many ways, as if it had been much longer since September 11, 2001. Everything had been so quiet. The sky had been so clear. Over at the house, Puck ran up to the front

September 10th

Thursday, September 10, 2009 Everyone was going in multiple directions that day, and Carrie needed use of a car for the afternoon, so Collette and Puck drove over to spend a day at the very quiet house. So while Carrie organized her room, she introduced Puck to his first marionette,

09-09-09-09-09

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 It was 9 – 9 – 9. And by 9:09am, it was 99999. An uneventful time, in general. Target, groceries, FedEx… the usual things. In the afternoon, Creole arrived once again for yard work at the neighbor’s house with Francis before heading back to the Coca-Cola’

September 8th

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 OLeif started his day with a sinus headache. Fortunately, by the time they visited the bank that morning to have their first adoption paper notarized, his head was beginning to clear. Over at the house, Mom and Carrie-Bri took Puck on a long walk while Collette

Labor Day

Monday, September 7, 2009 Monday was a slow day. Dad studied. OLeif studied. Francis studied. Linnea was still in South Carolina. Carrie-Bri was out all day with Lucia. Joe was out all day with the Souths at the Zoo. Rose bought an American Indian-print Billabong sweater. And that was that.

September 6th

Sunday, September 6, 2009 A sort of warm-cool Sunday morning — gray, much mist… a quieter service that morning, many people being away for the Labor Day weekend. Following naps for Mom, Dad, and Puck, studies for OLeif, drawings for Joe, etc., everyone divided up for the afternoon: Joe to various

Joe's Party

Saturday, September 5, 2009 A damp, gray, rainy morning started with a memorial service at church for one of the elderly gentlemen there, who had once been a pastor in the PCA. It was there that Collette discovered that his granddaughter had been a fellow Sunday School classmate for nearly

The Beginning

Friday, September 4, 2009 Friday, Puck was back into naming his matchbox cars. Carrie was in the process of teaching him the names of the various makes and models. “What’re you looking for, Puck?” she asked him as he rummaged through his car box. “Bugati!” he exclaimed. He also

Andy's 21st

Thursday, September 3, 2009 Andy was 21. So Collette and Puck came over in the hopes of helping him celebrate, even though everyone but Carrie was away for the day. And Joe, himself, had class from nine till noon. After OLeif had dropped them off at the house, OLeif told

September 2nd

Wednesday, September 2, 2009 As it happened, Rose stayed over till 11:30 to watch the BBC version of Mansfield Park after OLeif had made peanut butter cookies. The next morning Carrie-Bri gave Puck a haircut. He looked quite smashing. And then while Collette got Francis and Linnea into their

Mary Black

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 Tuesday was the big day for the Black family. Little Mary Black was introduced to the world that morning, weighing 7 pounds and 3 ounces, a tiny new sister for Liselotte. Meanwhile, Collette and Puck spent their afternoon out of doors. Puck went around trying to

August 31st

Monday, August 31, 2009 Monday was still gray and somewhat cool. Collette and Puck took Linnea grocery shopping with them and purchased ingredients to make peanut punch, a recipe from Barbados, which seemed to be a hit. They did, however, leave out the raw egg beaten with citrus peel. Then

Early Birthday

Sunday, August 30, 2009 The family was celebrating Joe’s birthday a few days early. After everyone had returned from their services, they gathered around the table for chicken parmesan, Mom’s special homemade macaroni and cheese, and a glass pan of quadruple chocolate brownies. Then presents were opened around

August 29th

Saturday, August 29, 2009 OLeif and Collette arrived at the Silverspoon’s that morning, joined shortly later by Gloria and Puck, just returned from running errands. “Mama!” Puck squealed happily. “Where’s Daduu?” In the afternoon, OLeif and Collette ran some errands around town while Puck napped comfortably. The family

Five Years

Friday, August 28, 2009 On the way to the house that morning, Puck listened to his custom CD of tunes, selected by Carrie. While listening to one particular Spanish song, he called out: “God’s singing!” When arrived, OLeif helped bring in Puck and his car seat (as he had

Movie Night

Thursday, August 27, 2009 Puck talked quietly to his donkey during sitting practice. “Listen to the sky. Donkey, listen to the clouds.” And then he talked about dipping sauces to his mama, which were one of his new favorite things for meals. Ranch, mayonnaise, sour cream, chili sauce, etc. Whatever

A Week's Time

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Since Wednesday of August 19th, the days had progressed quickly… Wednesday The Colorado crew returned in the evening after a few wonderful days of biking, horseback riding, hiking, Chinese food prepared by Mom’s cousin, Clancey, etc., etc. A thunderstorm in the night. Thursday Puck had

Hiatus

Writer’s hiatus of 1 week+ due to laptop in repair shop.

The Carousel

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 It was a day to visit Faust Park again. Collette, Carrie-Bri, Linnea, and Puck arrived at the Butterfly House under gray skies and humid breezes. As soon as Puck walked into the jungle greenhouse, he took off for the little waterfall, nearly colliding with several ‘winged

Thunderstorms

Monday, August 17, 2009 Linnea was dropped off early that morning in the rain and thunderstorm. Best way to start the day. Then it was to the post office for stamps. Target for various elements and highlighters for Linnea (for school), and a jumbo box of Puck’s first Crayola

August 16th

Sunday, August 16, 2009 Mom and the boys were still in Colorado. It was a warm, gray day. Henri Eight preached his first sermon at church, as a sort of introduction to his new role as Director of Youth Ministries. Rose and OLeif joined Ben-Hur and the Popples sisters for

Coffee House

Saturday, August 15, 2009 The morning of Bing’s 23rd birthday, there was toast with butter and jelly, and fresh peaches, which made Puck very happy. “Cut the peach-aws, Mama,” he instructed. Another day over at the Silverspoon’s. OLeif was playing with Curly and Izzy at the coffee house

Peach Picking

Friday, August 14, 2009 Friday morning, Puck felt it necessary to instruct his aunts on what the ‘bad bugs’ were doing outside. “Bugs eat food and peanuts,” he said. “Aah!” Rose cried from the bathroom. “You ok, Onion?” Puck called, running in from the living room. “The candle was smoking

August 13th

Thursday, August 13, 2009 Mercy was 25 that day. Mom and the boys met up with Uncle Mo, Aunt Petunia, Grandma, and Linus at seven o’clock in the morning to begin their first day of eleven hours across Missouri and Kansas, in two cars. “Look at me! Look at

August 12th

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 Before leaving for the morning, Puck climbed into his car seat. “Mom, go check the roses,” he instructed. He was used to Collette looking over the vines before they left in the mornings, to make sure they were climbing properly. Thus the request. Upon arrival at

August 11th

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 Francis and Linnea spent another morning over with Collette and Puck. Francis chopped up piles of branches in the backyard and burned the little ones in the fire grate. And Mom returned from Bible study to bring them back home, trying to get everything ready before

The Trimmings

Monday, August 10, 2009 Over at the house, Carrie-Bri was giving Linnea a hair cut. Then she fluffed it up and made it look bigger. “Wow,” said Carrie. “She’s starting to look like Rose.” Shortly later, while Collette worked with Francis on algebra, Linnea took Puck outside to draw

August 9th

Sunday, August 9, 2009 In important news of the weekend, Rose had purchased her first car: a gunmetal gray 2009 Honda Civic EX. She was very pleased, and the car would be ready for pick-up by Tuesday. In addition, Joe had been promoted at work. It was a successful weekend

August 8th

Saturday, August 8, 2009 The temperatures were predicted to skyrocket that hot Saturday morning. Heat advisories were set from noon to eight o’clock that night. So, to keep cool, everyone stayed indoors at the Silverspoon’s (except for Izzy mowing a lawn early in the afternoon.) And the boys

Canoe Race

Friday, August 7, 2009 Puck was busy helping Linnea sort through her jewelry box. “I gotta call Dah-ee (Daddy),” Puck informed Linnea, when Linnea informed him that it was time to clean up. He picked up his plastic phone set and began to dial. “Come here, sir, and pick up

August 6th

Thursday, August 6, 2009 That morning, Collette, Linnea, and Puck took a trip over to the park for some fun around the jungle gym. Puck was distracted for part of the hour watching another ‘baby’ who had come to join in the fun. But Puck was determined not to follow

August 5th

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 Wednesday was covered in mist, from one visible horizon to the next. “It’s smoking!” Puck called out when he opened the front door. Over at the house, Puck watched Linnea turn cartwheels, somersaults, and handstands in the yard. After returning inside, Puck tried some of

August 4th

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 A day at home. And a little rain. Francis and Linnea were dropped off in the morning, for Francis to chop up a large pile of branches in the backyard, while Mom went to Bible study. “Read Little Bear, Lila,” Puck instructed. “Read Little Bear.” He

The Big Old Green Thing Bites the Dust

Monday, August 3, 2009 Another one of those double birthdays. The longer Collette lived, the more double birthdays she was discovering. This time it was Uncle Balthasar and Judah Rye. To begin things, everyone was getting the house ready for an appraisal later in the week. This was additional incentive

Sunday Conversations

Sunday, August 2, 2009 For Sunday morning, Puck successfully sat, for the most part of the service, completely on his own, sandwiched between OLeif and Collette on his chair. Until about the time of communion, anyway, when he insisted on talking very loudly about the shiny blue marble he carried

August 1st

Saturday, August 1, 2009 It was a gray day out. Followed with a little rain. A portion of OLeif’s Saturday was spent discussing Curly’s latest endeavor: an album of eclectic works, stemming from the collected inspirations of himself, Magnus, Joe, and a variety of other friends. They were

July 31st

Friday, July 31, 2009 On the last day of July, Linnea applied for her passport. Mom and Dad were both required to accompany her to the post office for the event of the application. And though she was none too pleased with her photograph for the inside cover, she was

July 30th

Thursday, July 30, 2009 Puck began his Thursday morning with a scheduled photo shoot, arranged by Carrie-Bri, for the great-grandparents. Puck obligingly cooperated, donning a tie and Dad’s slippers for the occasion. He followed this shoot with a jam session on the harmonica. Which Trooper did not like. In

Movie Night

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 Wednesday, nearing the end of July, Francis was back at the books, hammering out multitudes of algebraic expressions, after two days of hard work with the mission trip kids. Around 12:30, Creole and Puff ‘o Lump arrived to join Francis for biking around the area.

July 28th

Tuesday, July 28, 2009 It was time, once again, to visit the dentist. And this time, for no pains. Merely a regular appointment. And it was successful. For the morning, Puck learned how to take a ride on ‘Bullseye’, a hand-me-down rocking horse, gifted to him from Bud Cross, via

July 27th

Monday, July 27, 2009 Monday was for tutoring Linnea, (and not Francis, who was spending all of Monday and Tuesday working with the kids on the mission trip downtown). So Mom, Collette, and Carrie-Bri spent a brief part of the morning at Trader Joe’s, leaving with balloons for both

Art

Sunday, July 26, 2009 After everyone had gathered together for Sunday lunch, Carrie shared information about her visit to the museum of contemporary art on Saturday. “Maybe I just don’t get art,” she said. “But. Well. Someone had dumped a pile of confetti on the floor, and people were

July 25th

Saturday, July 25, 2009 It was kind of a lazy day. Collette was pretty sure she had heard a thunderstorm come in during the night, maybe early in the morning. She and OLeif had walked up to the old World’s Fair Pavilion in Forest Park the night before (after

The Fictional Doubles

Friday, July 24, 2009 On Friday, Puck slipped into Linnea’s trainers and marched around the house for a good part of the morning, carrying the peach box, which Mom had given to him to carry around Donkey and Pingo. He also tried a Dixie cup of pink lemonade from

July 23rd

Thursday, July 23, 2009 Puck started his morning with peanut-cornmeal cookies and 3-D sidewalk chalk on the back patio, all courtesy of Carrie-Bri. He had also caught Linnea’s cold. But this didn’t stop him. He had soon taken a dip in the dog bowl. Poured Carrie’s tea

July 22nd

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 Collette and Puck spent another morning with books, cardboard block towers, and watching the cool breezes of the gray hours. And Puck incessantly carried around his stuffed donkey and ‘Pingo’ (stuffed puffin), chewing on Donkey’s snout, as usual, and passing out occasional kisses to his

July 21st

Tuesday, July 21, 2009 Tuesday, in the shadow of impending rain, Puck ate blueberry muffin and read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to himself, repeating over and over: “He’s still hungry. He’s still hungry. He’s still hungry.” Shortly later, Mom dropped off Carrie-Bri and Francis for the morning.

Goin' to the Zoo

Monday, July 20, 2009 By the time Collette and Puck had arrived at the house that morning, Francis was still not quite prepared to roll out the math books and merit badge booklets. “Breakfast,” he said. Mom soon had a hot plate of eggs and toast sitting on the counter

July 19th

Sunday, July 19, 2009 Sunday was another beautiful day. Sometimes July could be gorgeous. And this year, it was. At least for a part of it. After church, Collette and Puck returned to the house where all the windows were open to cool breezes. And there was a pile of

July 18th

Saturday, July 18, 2009 Saturday morning they arrived at the Silverspoon’s again, where Izzy played with Puck building trains and towers out of green plastic dominoes. And Puck learned words from Izzy such as, ‘structural integrity’. After lunch of chicken sandwiches, while the boys discussed operating systems, and Puck’

July 17th

Friday, July 17, 2009 The house was in a little bit of a shake-down when Collette and Puck arrived that morning. Linnea’s birth certificate was missing. It was nowhere to be found. So there was a delay on her passport. So instead, Mom, Collette, and Carrie-Bri ran errands. Collette

July 16th

Thursday, July 16, 2009 On Lilli’s birthday, Collette and Puck were at home for the day. Reading books, towers of blocks, fish tacos with limes and tomatoes, sunshine and scattered clouds… the usual. Rose arrived for math tutorage that evening, after a piping hot lasagna had been pulled from

July 13th

Monday, July 13, 2009 For the morning, Collette drove Mom, Carrie-Bri, and Puck to Trader Joe’s. It was a purple day. Puck got a purple balloon from Trader Joe’s. They ate purple potato chips. Puck watched his ‘purple baby DVD’. In the afternoon, Carrie received a post card

July 12th

Sunday, July 12, 2009 Another hazy gray one. Despite the heat, the first of Collette’s orange roses had decided to bloom in full that morning, having first opened two or three days ago. Bluebell’s party had seemed to be a success. She was presented with her memory book,

July 11th

Saturday, July 11, 2009 Saturday was muggy and overcast. Over at the house, Collette finished up the details for Christiana’s memory book while Relevance and Izzy discussed the minutia of strategy games. Then there was lunch of breakfast casserole and little circle toasts with goat cheese and bruschetta, while

July 10th

Friday, July 10, 2009 Puck began his day looking through picture books. “God made house,” he said, pointing to a picture of a house. “God made water.” And so on. The rain began to fall before they left that morning. A slow gray drizzle. Over at the house, Puck was

July 9th

Thursday, July 9, 2009 Summer days were slow. Collette and Puck washed dishes, vacuumed, made grilled cheese and tomato soup, read books, played out in the front lawn, watered the roses… But they were nice days.

Wish List

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 Collette and Puck were back over to the house for various projects and tutoring of the day. The most exciting news of the day was watching Carrie blend a batch of dough for Italian bread bowls with the old mixer. Well, the old mixer just didn’

July 7th

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 At 9:30 that morning, Mom dropped off Francis (to mow the lawn) and Linnea (to work on math with Collette) before leaving for her Bible study. This was followed with grilled cheese and organic tomato soup for lunch. And Little Bear. By the afternoon, the

July 6th

Monday, July 6, 2009 While Collette ran errands with Mom, Francis, and Linnea that morning, Kitts arrived at the house to give Puck a cowboy hat that she and Carrie-Bri had put together. They had punched little metal brads in the foam material to read out his name on the

July 5th

Sunday, July 5, 2009 It was cold and rainy. Another thunderstorm had come through at about nine o’clock the night before, just as the exploding fireworks lit up the night air around the neighborhood. At the table, everyone finished leftovers from Saturday and discussed who was related to each

The Fourth of July

Saturday, July 4, 2009 The first Independence Day with rain that Collette had remembered in a long time. It began with a drenching downpour and thunderstorm at around five o’clock in the morning. Over at the house, Mom had invited the Combs and Grandma Combs, Aunt Day and her

July 3rd

Friday, July 3, 2009 It was almost time for fireworks. Collette heard them go off every night now in rocking booms from various parts of the neighborhood. Francis had been the 2009 fireworks injury so far — something about a third degree burn from a Roman candle… So for the morning,

The Dentist

Thursday, July 2, 2009 It was off to the dentist for Collette. Again. She blamed it on the braces. Also again. Very fortunately, no fillings were necessary. No root canals. No crowns. Just a light filing and instructions to rinse with warm salt water and floss and brush the tooth

Fire Crackers & Wasps

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Back at the house. Sometime in the afternoon, Collette chauffeured Francis, Creole, and Linnea to the fireworks stand for a fresh restock. As Linnea purchased a bottle rocket for a dollar and seventy-five cents, the friendly man behind the counter slipped a quarter back to her.

June 30th

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 Puck was busy asking Collette to read him one of his favorite books, Goodnight Moon, at least ten times over. He also kept an eye out for the garbage truck. He waved to OLeif as he left for work on his ruckus. “I miss him. Daddy,

June 29th

Monday, June 29, 2009 Francis arrived at just before eight in the morning to mow the lawn. In between mowing the front and the back, he showed Puck — Muppets in Space — on Collette’s laptop. Puck thought it was a very ingenious thing that he could press the space bar

Father's Day Part III

Sunday, June 28, 2009 It was time to finally, officially, celebrate Father’s Day. After church, while Collette, Joe, and Puck waited for everyone else to return from their respected services and classes, Puck dumped a box of Cheerios onto the living room floor for Trooper to eat. After lunch,

June 27th

Saturday, June 27, 2009 Saturday began with Puck trying to tickle himself during breakfast, subsequently plastering his pajamas in blueberry juice, after his request for: “Oatmao? Oatmao, Daddy?” (oatmeal) he cried out, as he ran from his room to jump up into bed where OLeif was still half-asleep. “Ducths, Daddy.

Rose's 19th

Friday, June 26, 2009 Rose, good old Rose, was 19 that day. To celebrate, she went to work. Meanwhile, everyone had returned from Florida. They had brought back two books about weather for Puck, which he enjoyed. Especially the picture of the fire truck driving through a flooded street. “Fire

The Capybara

Thursday, June 25, 2009 Puck began his day with jousting vacuums, an initiative begun by his daddy, who showed him how to ram one vacuum into another. This was followed with ‘slip vacuums!’, where Puck laughed happily, zooming a vacuum across the kitchen floor toward Collette, and then she sent

June 24th

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Another hot day. And another day of work for Joe and Rose, and VBS for Francis. More chauffeuring for Collette and Puck. It was a very, very quiet week. After Puck vacuumed the house with the dust sweeper for an extended amount of time, he and

June 23rd

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 Puck was back to chasing the cats. “Hah bah bah! Hah bah bah!” he cried out at poor Snuggles. “Tickle! Tickle! Tickle!” Oddly, Snuggles didn’t seem to mind the game, and let Puck follow him around the house. And when Snuggles had had enough, Puck

June 22nd

Monday, June 22, 2009 On that stifling day in June, Francis worked the games at Vacation Bible School, while Collette and Puck waited at the house to be his connecting chauffeur. Puck passed his morning barreling his bike through the house, munching Applejacks, running his matchbox cars on the piano,

Father's Day

Sunday, June 21, 2009 Collette and Puck spent their Sunday morning in the nursery together. Puck talked loudly to the other babies, handing out toys to them, and sliding down the plastic slide for the full hour and a half. This was after he made up his mind to reconcile

Izzy's Birthday

Saturday, June 20, 2009 It was time to celebrate both Father’s Day and Izzy’s 16th birthday, one day early. So OLeif, Collette, and Puck headed over to the Silverspoon’s for pizza casserole, root beer floats, and presents — which included a pile of books from OLeif and Collette

June 19th

Friday, June 19, 2009 Puck heard another train from the north as he was getting dressed that morning. And, as always, his eyes lit up. “Twain! Twain!” On Relevance’s 26th birthday, Collette and Puck reviewed some reading material together. Collette looked over Dad’s project management text, while Puck

The Catch-Up

Thursday, June 18, 2009 Thursday began with ill news. Mom’s purse had been snatched. The irritation. So while Mom made her rounds to the license bureau, the bank, the social security office, etc. (having already made other numerous phone calls and a visit to the police department), Carrie wrapped

Continued...

Hiatus Part II.

June 9th

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 Collette helped Puck read his Highlights magazine that morning. In one of the sketches, Puck carefully examined a couple of snails. “Slinkies!” he exclaimed. Collette sneaked in some green apple Runts that morning in between meals — leftover from her and OLeif’s trip to the movies

June 8th

Monday, June 8, 2009 Monday opened with a thunderstorm, by 6:45 in the morning, and a moderate rain. By the time Collette and Puck had arrived at the house, Mom was already gone with Mrs. English for the day to attend a classical education conference. Carrie had just returned

Hiatus

Author currently on temporary typing hiatus, up to one week, due to overexertion of ‘typing’ muscles.

June 3rd

Wednesday, June 3, 2009 Puck was busy helping clean Carrie’s room. “Eeew!” he cried. “Eeew, Mama, eeew! Trash! Trash!” He came out running, which was always more of a jump/run, carrying a pile of Pumpkin’s black hair. Earlier, Puck was in sitting practice, pretending that his head

June 2nd

Tuesday, June 2, 2009 Tuesday, the roses came. Climbing dark orange roses that would grow very quickly up the iron pillars of the front porch. Collette soaked the roots in the tub while Puck watched carefully and munched on banana chips and dried cranberries. Then Collette cleaned out the cube

Toy Store

Monday, June 1, 2009 Another Monday. Another week. Linnea and Puck drew pictures on the patio with charcoal sticks from the fire pit until Carrie-Bri took them to the toy store while Collette visited Costco with Mom. They returned with goodies. When Collette walked in the door, Puck was sitting

What Animal

Sunday, May 31, 2009 Before church, Puck gorged himself on a full tray of sliced cantaloupe, honey dew melon, and purple grapes from the fuel station. Then he threw a fit when it had to be taken away before entering the building. It wasn’t his best of displays. At

Eve's Day

Saturday, May 30, 2009 It was Eve’s wedding day, to be held at one o’clock in the afternoon. Everything began with a beautiful cool spring rain. And then it suddenly stopped at about a quarter past seven in the morning, bringing with it casted green shadows and fairy-tale-like

May 29th

Friday, May 29, 2009 Collette and Puck were home for the day. Francis swung by around ten to mow the lawn. While he did that, Linnea and Puck offered to wash the car, which they did very nicely. Puck took a seat on the driveway and patted the flowing streams

Eve's Party

Thursday, May 28, 2009 Over at the house, Collette and Carrie were preparing for Eve’s bachelorette party. Carrie came over to Puck wearing her white silica mud mask. “Kiss, baby?” she asked. Puck backed away quickly. “No kiss. Sorry, Sun. I sorry Sun.” Carrie laughed. Later, after she had

Squash the Bugs

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 Tuesday evening, Collette and Linnea took a walk through the neighborhood and over to the mall under towering mounds of pink-orange thunderheads over wet pavement. Then Linnea worked a bag of coffee grounds into the flower bed, coffee grounds which Rose had saved for Collette from

May 26th

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 Collette barely had time to squeeze in binomial long division with Francis before he left with Joe, Wally, Creole, and Puff ‘o Lump to meet up with more friends for air-softing in Moscow Mills. It was another gray day. In the afternoon, Linnea went rainbow hunting.

Who Gets Your Room?

Monday, May 25, 2009 Memorial Day. The hedge of honeysuckle was a green sea of white jellyfish, there were so many blossoms on it. Before departing for the later part of the morning, Puck dumped out the freshly laundered blankets on the living room floor and made himself comfortable in

Another Vacuum

Sunday, May 24, 2009 Sunday was gray with a hint of sun straining past the clouds. Puck went flying down the driveway to get into the car and landed face-forward, scraping the top layer of skin off a patch of his underarm. “I ok! I ok! I ok!” he called

The Ruckus

Saturday, May 23, 2009 OLeif and Puck spent their day at the Silverspoon’s with mosquito bites and ice cream popcicles, while Collette joined Carrie-Bri and Rose on the way downtown. After picking up three bottles of Pure orange juice, apple juice, and grace juice at Walgreen’s, Carrie and

May 22nd

Friday, May 22, 2009 Lately, Puck had been thinking that individually wrapped granola bars were “presents”. “Happy birfday!” he cried happily whenever he saw one. Carrie was telling Collette about how Linnea had a new molar come in. And she thought she had a cavity in it. “Great!” she said,

Watchin' Tunes

Thursday, May 21, 2009 Francis dropped over to the house after his orthodontist appointment to mow the lawn. One mow closer to owning OLeif’s PSP. Within an hour, including a break for a glass of water and some chicken, Francis had completed his task. He then returned, with Mom

The Sandwich

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 “Check this out,” said Francis. He pointed to a Subway sandwich that Linnea was pulling out of the fridge for a belated breakfast. “I put that in the trash last night, and then Grandma went hunting for it,” he said. “That came from a public trash

One Last Time

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 OLeif was feeling back to normal by Monday morning. And so Collette and Puck were home together listening to “Bare Necessities” and “Gladiator” while Puck asked his mom to draw him green and red moons with his crayons. And he busied himself with his cars and

May 18th

Monday, May 18, 2009 Monday, OLeif was feeling a little down in the head and the stomach, so he returned home after about an hour at work in collared shirt and tie… while Collette and Puck joined everyone at the house. Joe had just returned from a run with the

Photos & Gifts

Sunday, May 17, 2009 It was Uncle Mo’s birthday that very chill morning in May. OLeif and Joe returned from church, after finishing the second half of Mollie’s photo shoot in the youth building, for lunch: breakfast casserole, fruit salad, and cinnamon rolls. And at 2:30 that

Organization

Saturday, May 16, 2009 Saturday Collette spent alone, after waking up at 4:38 in the morning with a Puck who suddenly found himself no longer sleepy. So the little monster spent his day with his Nana, Papa, and his uncles, while OLeif went on a senior photo shoot for

Hair Cut

Friday, May 15, 2009 Collette and Puck spent most of their morning around town with Mom, Carrie, and Linnea: purchasing gifts and various items, including hair dye for the girls, a hanging tomato/pepper planter for Linnea, and a pack of jumbo Reeses peanut butter cups the size of small

May 14th

Thursday, May 14, 2009 Eight years. It had already been that long ago. OLeif was wrapping up a term project for his history class, as well as preparing for his Friday final, which meant quite a few nights of study till three in the morning. It was a quiet day

Lightening Cometh

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Wednesday, Puck solicited Linnea’s assistance in running through the house with him crying out, “Blum! Blum! Blum!” For breakfast he read his word cards, reciting which words did, or did not, eat peanuts. “Moon doesn’t eat peanuts,” he said, shaking his head. “Turtles eat

Outside

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Collette and Puck spent part of the morning out in the sunshine. Puck immediately ran to the back patio for the barbecue brush, which he slapped on the ground every few steps, most likely envisioning it as another vacuum. Then he spun around the lamppost, giggling

Fowl

Monday, May 11, 2009 Over at the house on a sunny green morning… Carrie returned sometime in the late morning from breakfast with an old friend, Paige Popp, and then a run uphill with Grewe. Around lunch time, Francis was busy rummaging through the leftover box of grilled KFC chicken.

Mother's Day 2

Sunday, May 10, 2009 That morning, there was a vase of flowers on the kitchen table, and a package of glazed donut holes from the boys in celebration of Mother’s Day. After church, back at the house, Puck was busy rolling around his large yellow dump truck calling out,

Mother's Day 1

Saturday, May 9, 2009 It was pre-Mother’s Day. So they piled themselves in the car for the Silverspoon’s that Saturday morning, after a few stops on the way. Border’s for several moleskins for Collette: a small red one, and then two tiny versions in lime and avocado.

Lightening Day

Friday, May 8, 2009 It was the perfect sort of day. It had stormed loudly the previous evening shortly after the kids had left from comedy night in the slightly muggy night air and June bugs. Then came Friday — quiet, dark blues, brilliant greens, and deep gray skies. Followed the

Before the Rain

Thursday, May 7, 2009 Collette and Puck were home for the day. Puck amused himself with his five miniature “fatties” on the kitchen floor, setting up houses of napkin rings (which he called “chairs”) for them on the linoleum. “Honey!” he cried at them, every time they fell out. Rose

Fingerpaints

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 Over at the house, the kitchen table was covered in photos, posters, and frames. Carrie-Bri’s meticulous collection of Doctor Who, Kevin Max, Craig Nichols, and MUSE photographs, ticket stubs, artwork, etc., was in the process of being framed. “Now I’m just missing Elvis,” said

Naughty Bacuums

Tuesday, May 5, 2009 Cinco de Mayo, and one of the three triple birthdays of the year — Aunt Tuuli, Lace Hobcoggin, and Ben-Hur. While Collette was working with Puck on his reading cards over breakfast, they came across the word “girl”. “Daduu, girl,” Puck said seriously, pointing to OLeif. “Daduu,

Jumping Lessons

Monday, May 4, 2009 Puck was in the kitchen cuddling with his dog. “Hi, Trooper. Hi!” he said happily. “When do babies learn how to jump?” Linnea was asking. “He tries to jump already,” Collette told her. “Well, good,” Linnea replied. “Because I’m going to teach him today.” Linnea

A Casualty

Sunday, May 3, 2009 Another long day. Church cycles. Dad left for Iowa. Francis had the boys over in the afternoon for bikes under further gray skies and green trees. Mom whipped up a lunch of ribs, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, biscuits, and fruit salad. Puck aided in this endeavor

May Day

Friday, May 1, 2009 First day in May. May day. Or mayday. It all depended on how people saw the world that day. More grayness. More rain. Billowing green and white blossoms in the woods. It was all so beautiful. Carrie was returning from Colorado that night, and had requested

Good Job, Bacuums!

Thursday, April 30, 2009 Another one — rustling green trees under morning storm clouds. The rain had fallen in the night, lulling Collette to sleep. And the front lawn had rapidly grown as a result of the past week of water shed. Collette and Puck spent their morning, listening to Asian,

The Ice Cream Truck

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Over at the house, Collette discussed the outrageous income taxes placed on the upper middle class with Francis and Linnea, while Puck giggled over his discovery of Francis’ scientific calculator. As usual, when Puck wanted to be picked up, he would run over to Collette and

Domino Races

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Another cool gray day in April. Carrie-Bri’s plane left for Denver at six that morning. Mom and Grandma Combs were off for a day in Cape Girardeau together. And Collette, who seemed to have caught Francis’ annoying cold, was responsible for overseeing the Francis and

It's a Rainy Day

Monday, April 27, 2009 It was a favorite sort of morning for Collette. Perfectly green leaves rustling under dark gray skies, just before the rain laced the lawns. And the drizzle continued throughout the day, pouring through the new green forests budded with white dogwoods and rosy redbuds. Collette should

Eve's Shower

Sunday, April 26, 2009 After church, the wind was up, rushing in dark clouds from the west and fluttering white blossoms and hope of rain. It was also the afternoon of Eve’s bridal shower. And Diana was back in town to host it, before moving to Virginia for her

Lectures

Saturday, April 25, 2009 The conference had gathered over 150 people from near and far, from places as far as (at least) Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin, according to the plates in the parking lot. Four lectures between Friday night and Saturday, and a live recording session for The White Horse

A Theology Conference

Friday, April 24, 2009 The St. Louis Theological Conference was being held that weekend at Carrie’s old place of employment. And aside from the Silverspoon’s, Mom, OLeif, Collette, Carrie-Bri, and Rose would be in attendance. And Boogey would be filming the lectures. As a result of this activity,

The Laundry

Thursday, April 23, 2009 Puck was a busy monster that morning. He worked his entire way through the fresh laundry basket, handing each piece to Collette. “Daddy’s pants,” he said. “Baby’s pants.” “Mama’s sock.” “Baby’s sock.” After he had helped shuttle away every piece of folded

Are you a Tuna Salad?

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 It was time for Puck’s two year-old check up. And he was not happy about it. He cried during the entire visit, for no apparent reason. But the tears ended almost as soon as he was allowed to leave the room. “Tank you!” Puck cried

The Fatty

Monday, April 20, 2009 Puck loved his Fatty. “Lighting, lighting!” he cried out when he stood in the dark hall and watched it glow. Over at the house, he almost immediately brushed the front of the fatty, unintentionally, in chocolate from one of Carrie’s “digestive biscuits”. Another something only

Presents

Sunday, April 19, 2009 Sunday was another present-fest for the Puck. After sitting calmly through church under another damp sky, Puck returned to the house and almost immediately found his pile of presents. “Presents!” he declared, bringing one of them out to the living room. He started to tear the

Second Birthday

Saturday, April 18, 2009 The Puck was two years old that rainy morning in April. OLeif and Collette greeted him with a chorus of “Happy Birthday” after Puck called his usual morning “Mama!” Being sung to was a novelty and he bounced happily up and down in his crib, giggling.

Bacuums and Bumbles

Friday, April 17, 2009 “Lilleea! Lilleea!! Lilleea!!” Puck crooned from his crib that morning. He and Linnea spent a few moments having a dancing vacuum party before breakfast to some fast Irish fiddling tunes in the living room. “Dance bacuum, Lila,” Puck said happily. “Dance bacuum.” He did the Puck

No Diamonds

Thursday, April 16, 2009 Thursday was at home again. Collette was busy reading City of God, of Augustine’s opinions on twins and the order of the stars. Rose joined them for lunch and chatted with OLeif, while she was busy playing a game on her iPhone about keeping the

Mixing Salad

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Puck spent a good portion of his Wednesday morning helping his Tante Carrie make broccoli salad. He helped watch the broccoli and red onion being chopped, he crushed the bacon, and sprinkled in the raisins and the peas while Carrie talked about her geologist friend from

New Chair

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Puck was enjoying his new high chair that OLeif had picked up for him on Easter Sunday evening. The painted version with the bees and the butterflies had finally become too small. “Kind of feel sorry for the old fella,” said OLeif, as he stowed it

Shopping with Francis

Monday, April 13, 2009 On Monday morning, Puck watched prides of lions on a library DVD and learned how to blow bubbles before leaving for Trader Joe’s. And for the very first time, he joined in the shopping by pushing his own mini cart around the store. He zoomed

Baptized

Sunday, April 12, 2009 An Easter morning under gray skies, cut sometimes by sunshine. And a baptism for Linnea. The family and Grandma Combs arrived for the 8:30 service with some time to spare before the prelude. Linnea looked very sweet that morning, and was joined by Mom and

Goodbye, Old Green Thing

Saturday, April 11, 2009 OLeif was getting Puck dressed in overalls for the morning and teaching him how to count his little vacuums. “One vacuum,” said OLeif. “One,” Puck repeated. “Two.” “Two.” “What comes next?” “Pants!” It was finally time to give up the “old green thing”, as OLeif called

Egg Dyes

Friday, April 10, 2009 Friday morning was all cold and rain, just as it had been the previous night. Puck wore his new knit hat sporting the Icelandic flag and listened to “Adventures in Odyssey” on the ride over to the house. Once there, Puck pounded out some tunes on

Rocks

Thursday, April 9, 2009 Mom had set a basket of purple hyacinth in full bloom on the kitchen counter that morning. It made the whole house smell like a garden. Puck had found a tiny plastic pinball machine in the toy drawer. He now had a new vacuum. A “Doctor

Myers-Briggs

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 Passover at sundown and Ash Wednesday. Puck spent a good deal of his morning mesmerized, watching Collette doodle moons, suns, and vacuums, upon request, in reds, yellows, greens, oranges, purples, and blues in his notebook. He followed this with a self-entertainment of spinning himself in circles

Cantaloupe & Pictures

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 Linnea was finally feeling well again, and so Collette and Puck returned to the house where Puck immediately made himself at home with a plate piled high with cantaloupe and festooned himself with a mound of multi-colored Mardi Gras beads. Mom had set up the Easter

April Snow

Monday, April 6, 2009 Snow in April. Collette had been waiting for that to happen again in St. Louis. It was rare, but it still happened. Snow mixed with tulips in full-bloom. Puck was very intent on vacuuming the entire house with his corn popper and rolling music box toys.

More Vacuums

Sunday, April 5, 2009 Collette and Puck stayed home from church that morning. Collette needed to rest her knee, which she had placed in a wrap. And watching her baby run around church for four and a half hours, was not ideal for her healing process. Because there would be

Kitty's Birthday

Saturday, April 4, 2009 Because it was Kitts’ 23rd birthday, OLeif had plans to send her a picture card via email. “Too bad we can’t have Puck writing a big note on the wall in crayon that says ‘Happy birthday, Aunt Kitty!’” OLeif thought about this a little while

Arrival of the Daleks

Friday, April 3, 2009 Dad, beginning a new contract with RABO, was working from home on Fridays, which was something the family had not experienced in a number of years. He and Carrie were having a conversation regarding Carrie’s hopes for varied job applications in the tightening field of

The Injury

Thursday, April 2, 2009 Another early spring day spent at the house to begin again the algebra studies with the semi-reluctant Francis who was far less interested in distance problems than Collette would have wished. Meanwhile, Puck was handing out the high fives, making his vacuum cleaner (old computer mouse)

Home Again

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 Back in the U.S.A. It was great to be home to their chubby. The trip had been wonderful, of course. Nearly everything Collette had hoped it to be for her first trip to Iceland. Complete with mountains, geysers, glaciers, waterfalls, volcanoes, and even a

To Reykjavik

Sunday, March 22, 2009 On the day before intended departure, five o’clock in the morning, OLeif found it necessary to relieve his stomach of its contents. It wasn’t a good sign. “Daddy eew,” said Puck seriously, hanging out in his crib with his ukulele. “Daddy eew.” Later, he

A Madrigal Dinner

Saturday, March 21, 2009 Puck started his morning with another rousing, “MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!” When Collette opened up his window for the day, Puck found his stuffed donkey. “Where’s donkey? Where’s donkey? There he is!” he cried happily. Saturday was spent mostly with laundry, packing, cleaning, and wrapping

Colors

Friday, March 20, 2009 Over at the house, Mom was leaving to help set up the madrigal dinner decorations, Joe was headed out to work, Carrie was practicing her Tae Kwon Do forms in preparation to wrap up her black belt, and Francs was in the process of making an

Roar!

Thursday, March 19, 2009 It was cleaning day. As soon as Puck saw the duster, he took off with it, scrubbing down everything from tables to carpets. He sat in his high chair for a snack at ten o’clock that morning. He bit off several bites of his tiny

Near-Spring Storms

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Wednesday, Puck was given his first official dum-dum, flavored cream soda. “It kind of looks like it would glow in the dark,” said Linnea as she carefully unwrapped it for him. He giggled as he took a first taste. Then Linnea plopped his chubby person on

St. Patty

Tuesday, March 17, 2009 The day of St. Patrick. Carrie spent almost her entire holiday becoming re-certified in radiological emergency management. Joe wore his green, albeit uniform, at work for six hours. And Mom had two moderately-sized crock-pots of corned beef cooking slowly all day in time for supper. Meanwhile,

Fun with Cousins

Monday, March 16, 2009 Puck began his morning with the broom, as usual. “Cwean, cwean!” he sang out, marching through the kitchen toward the living room. “Move! Move!” he called in advance, before he might run over his mom in the process. Then Collette scooched his Cardinal’s knit hat

The Giant Bear

Sunday, March 15, 2009 It was missions Sunday at church, which meant a sermon delivered by a missionary to Bulgaria, from the old Kirk of the Hills. Ben-Hur was also given a short clip before the sermon to speak of his involvement with RUF. Collette returned to the house in

Reunion

Saturday, March 14, 2009 OLeif’s half-sister, Scarlett Snapple, and her two boys, were in town for the first time in nearly seven years. It was the first time for OLeif to see his youngest nephew, Michael, who was five. And Gabriel was nine. Collette was happy to finally meet

Lucia's Birthday

Friday, March 13, 2009 It was Lucia’s 22nd birthday, that Friday the 13th. And she had plans for the night. Plans that included Carrie-Bri, a dozen or so pals from work, and the Drunken Fish. And that evening, Rose came over with Ben-Hur, Augustus, and Erasmus for “Howl’s

The Lightbulb

Thursday, March 12, 2009 Puck sat in his little rocking chair that morning, watching his baby reading DVD, or the “green baby DVD”, because its cover was green. Just as his baby reading cards were the “green cards”. He wasn’t as fond of the the “red cards” and orange,

The Old Insult Wars

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 Collette woke to a 6:00 alarm, as the Classical radio announcer began discussing the freezing impacts of magnolias in Tower Grove Park. “They always get nipped,” he said. “It’s rather frustrating. I wish they could hold their horses a little bit.” Meanwhile, OLeif was

Windday

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 Puck was busy brushing his stuffed donkey’s teeth that morning after he climbed up on the chair at the window to wave goodbye to his Dadduu. He had also learned, on Monday, how to read “Jesus”, and was very happy with himself over this feat,

03/09

Monday, March 9, 2009 At the house, Carrie was studying Arabic over a glass of red tea. Joe was at class, Rose at work, and Mom was attending the funeral of the Tecumseh’s grandfather, a well-respected man, who had seen his time in the Korean and Vietnam wars, a

Storm Season

Sunday, March 8, 2009 A patch of storms raced through that morning after church. Puck watched the rain splash down in awe while Joe and the girls kept an eye on the weather news filled with very excited weathermen, trying to dampen their enthusiasm for the rotation of the storms

Last of the Games

Saturday, March 7, 2009 Puck began his morning in his highchair, giving his “mow” (pacifier) to his stuffed donkey, and then playing peek-a-boo with it while his hot cereal was being prepared. “Where’d donkey go?” he’d ask himself. “There he is!” And then he talked to the neighbor

Rosy Puck

Friday, March 6, 2009 Mom took Puck to the park that bright, warm morning, to join the Englishs and Linnea, who had spent the night with Eleda the previous night. He stuffed himself full of green grapes, ran around with the other kids, and came home to crash in a

Outside Again

Thursday, March 5, 2009 Thursday was beautiful enough to open all the windows in the house. When Mom returned from Europe five years ago, she had introduced the Dutch tradition of opening windows even on the coldest of days for ten to fifteen minutes every morning to freshen the house,

"Quishies"

Wednesday, March 4, 2009 Over at the house, Puck was very pleased to find a pile of “quishies”, as he called them, purple foam ear plugs, which Carrie had given to him for his morning toys. He splashed them in a small tub of water in the kitchen, sitting on

Attending to Things

Tuesday, March 3, 2009 “Ma-ma! Ma-ma!” That was how Puck usually woke Collette those days, calling from his crib like a little Italian Stromboli. He spent the day as usual, stacking water bottles and shoes on tables, building cardboard block towers, pushing around a laundry basket with his stuffed donkey

First Day

Monday, March 2, 2009 Back at the house that morning, Rose had already left for her first day on the job at NAWS, bringing in a pile of donuts for her new coworkers at eight o’clock, just on time. Meanwhile, Collette was preparing for Iceland. Ice caves, mammoth storms,

Cuivre River

Sunday, March 1, 2009 After church, Puck was busy chasing after Trooper with his leash like a lion tamer. He then watched clips of vacuum cleaners on YouTube with Carrie. At the lunch table, there was a minimum of theatrics, limited mostly to Francis tossing a package of muffins across

Powell Hall

Saturday, February 28, 2009 Saturday was full. Puck had spent the night with the Silverspoon’s. After spending an hour with her chubby, Collette joined the rest of the family and Grandma for another round of the basketball. Diana was also present, with half the English family, and had brought

Diana Returns

Friday, February 27, 2009 That morning, while Collette was zipping up Puck’s jacket, Puck was being thoughtful. “God,” he said carefully. “God. God. Where’s God?” “God is everywhere,” Collette told him. “God’s everywhere,” Puck repeated. “God’s everywhere.” He continued to think about this for a moment.

Iceland

Thursday, February 26, 2009 Mom and Dad were back safely from Atlanta. Puck immediately greeted his grandma and soon grabbed the kitchen mop. “Clean! Clean!” he sang, as he mopped up the floors. Later in the morning, Puck was busy making an arrangement of magic markers in Mom’s crystal

Math & Cupcakes

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 Early Wednesday morning, Linnea, her hair pulled back in disheveled pigtails, and Puck, were sitting together cozily on the leather couch, working on math problems. Puck madly punched at buttons on Linnea’s drill calculator, while Linnea read him word problems. Finally, Puck thought he had

Fwowers

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 On Tuesday, Puck continued to clod-hop through the house in Linnea’s chucks, as he built “blue towersh” from his crate of cardboard building blocks, telling the blocks to “be careful”, as he precariously stacked them towards the ceiling. “Ta da!” he cried as he finished

Busy Bees

Monday, February 23, 2009 Puck began his day with “The Brave Little Toaster”, asking about where the “vacoom” (vacuum cleaner) was, and watching Lila wrap Collette’s old Felicity doll’s battered red hair into dreadlocks. At about 8:30 that morning, the water was shut off, due to construction

Talent Show

Sunday, February 22, 2009 After church everyone gathered around the living room with munchies. “You guys should stop eating junk,” said Carrie, chomping into a Dilly bar. The discussion somehow managed to gather around a rather semi-amusing topic of which English kid had kissed which Snicketts kid, and vise versa,

The Gasoline

Saturday, February 21, 2009 Puck began his day by piling all of his known shoes onto the red couch, trying to decide what to wear for the day. Then he giggled to his Daduu, thinking he was being very silly for starting to decorate the flat surfaces of the living

Lila's Shoes

Friday, February 20, 2009 Carrie had met with an old friend, Thursday night. Back from Croatia to finish his Masters, it was Thor. He even remembered to ask after the family, including OLeif and Puck. He hadn’t seem to change at all. Meanwhile, Joe was juggling water balloons in

A New Pet

Thursday, February 19, 2009 Rose had her young novice in training that morning. “Ok, Puck,” she said, “you get a cracker. But you have to do something first. Jump up and down! Jump!” Puck grinned, and stomped his feet. “Yay! Now, spin around!” Puck gladly obliged. “Good! Now clap your

Rose's Job

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 Puck was exactly 22 months old that day. His second birthday was fast approaching. For breakfast, he trundled his half-eaten waffle around his highchair, pretending that it was an elephant. Between studies that morning, Linnea made a bowl of cornstarch goo, a sort of liquid/solid,

Crab Rangoon

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 Carrie-Bri came over to spend the day that gray Tuesday morning, where Puck was already busy sitting in his “rocking car” (rocking chair), building armies of water bottles, and spilling his tub of bouncy balls all over the living room. So while Carrie studied physics and

Post Birthday

Monday, February 16, 2009 Over at the house, there was the usual pre-class gathering for everyone (except Dad, who was on a run down at the Katy Trail for the holiday, and Mom, who was cleaning things) in the living room while Puck had sitting practice. “Hey, Collette,” said Francis.

Francis Turns 14

Sunday, February 15, 2009 Francis was 14 years old. The lengthening fellow was looking pretty sharp at church that morning in his new khakis and bright blue collared shirt. He had requested a lunch of barbecued pork steaks, biscuits with jelly, homemade mashed potatoes and carrots, and chocolate pudding cups

V-Day

Saturday, February 14, 2009 The big heart day… and it was a busy one. On the way to the house that morning, a sleepy Puck (who had once again risen shortly after five), presented his Nana with a dark pink rose and a handmade note reading, “Be my Valentine”. OLeif

Reunion

Friday, February 13, 2009 Another day at home. Puck decided to crack open the hour early and sing for rescue from his crib at 5:15am. Collette was not charmed by his whining pleas. So she allowed him to watch the last half-hour of an old black and white Civil

Waiting

Thursday, February 12, 2009 By late Wednesday night, Dad, Theodore, and Izzy had also become sick. That made it official — the super virus had wiped out the whole camp. “They could use babies as weapons of mass destruction!” said Carrie over the phone. “All they’d have to do is

Down Days

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 It had happened again late Sunday night. OLeif was hit like a bold of lightening through early the following morning. Collette, who still hadn’t experienced the horrible episode of “loosing her groceries” for over sixteen years, kept to that record, but was feeling too weak

Sickness & Recovery

Sunday, February 8, 2009 Saturday had been one of, if not the, worst day of Collette’s life. Puck had come down with a bug, completely out of the blue. And it slammed him hard. After five and a half hours of continuous “loosing his breakfast”, and then some, Puck’

Return of Spring

Friday, February 6, 2009 Puck’s little second cousin, Liselotte, was two years old that day. It was a good day to turn two. Temperatures were almost balmy. Collette didn’t even need to wear her sweater after coming out of Target that morning, despite the few mounds of snow

Dad's 51st

Thursday, February 5, 2009 In celebration of Dad’s 51st birthday, which was that day, Collette and Carrie-Bri took it upon themselves to clean out his entire office in the basement. It took about three hours, not quite. Telescopes, crystal radios, recording equipment, two trumpet cases, the old white-topped kitchen

On They March

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 The girls had spent the night with Linnea once again, and Carrie had pulled out the baking goods to prepare giant blueberry muffins with a cinnamon/sugar crunch top. The girls were looking a little tired after two nights of fun and games. Then while they

To the Mall

Tuesday, February 3, 2009 By the time Collette and Puck had arrived at the house that morning, Carrie had cooked up a large breakfast of bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and sliced kiwis for the three buddies — Cherry, Eleda, and Linnea. Puck seemed rather overwhelmed with the bubbly trio, and watched

Cowboy Puck

Monday, February 2, 2009 That morning, the house still smelled of oil, from the deep-fried samosas, potatoes, and beef. Collette, Sunday night, could hardly keep her eyes open from the excessive oil in the air. It was worse than when slicing onions. Monday, Puck marched around the house in his

Boycott Pittsburgh Day

Sunday, February 1, 2009 Sunday was a long and rather unsuccessful day. From a 6:20 wake-up call to the Cardinal’s losing the Super Bowl… it ranged from very so-so, to irritating. After four hours in the kitchen preparing Indian food with Rose, Collette’s back ached. And there

Game Season

Saturday, January 31, 2009 Basketball continued that day. It began with a loss for the girls, but another valiant effort, this time at playing on a full court. Linnea was awarded a red star for her exemplary defense. Between takes, Linnea’s and Eleda’s friend, Mandarin O., massaged Linnea’

The Great Give-Away

Friday, January 30, 2009 Over at the house, Carrie was giving away her treasures. “It’s a sad day,” she said. “I’m getting rid of memories. I’m going minimalist now.” Rose and Linnea were soon haggling over the plethora of items deposited on the coffee table and living

Snow Forts & Sushi

Thursday, January 29, 2009 By Thursday, Mom had the Valentine’s Day decorations out around the house. Hearts of every shape and material. It was that time of year again. “Dad already ate just about the entire bag of conversation hearts,” said Mom. “And, of course, he had to read

Snow Day

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 That morning, Collette and Puck, who had more or less been snowed in for the day, spent that bright and sunny morning inside the house. Puck had plenty of occupations for the next several hours. First, he watched his Daduu shovel the driveway and sweep the

Iceland Falls

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Collette was sad to learn that her favorite little country, Iceland, had seen the “collapse” of its government only the previous day. Read the news article: “Though largely peaceful, the protests have seen Reykjavik’s tiny parliament building doused in paint and eggs hurled at Haarde’

Snow World

Monday, January 26, 2009 Collette and Puck were home for the day to organize things inside a warm house watching the white world from behind the big window in the living room. After they had reshelved about 200 books, washed the blankets, scrubbed up the kitchen, vacuumed, swept, mopped, read

A Stranger

Sunday, January 25, 2009 Sunday opened with snow. A January snowglobe. And after the service, a baptism, communion, Sunday School, another service, a congregational meeting for OLeif, and the girls’ return from Memorial, everyone gathered back together again for lunch, which included a chocolate chip banana bundt cake for dessert.

More Basketball

Saturday, January 24, 2009 For the past several weeks, Puck had been waking in the morning with a fanfare of, “Daduu! Daduu!” And usually, Collette would walk sleepily into his room where he would already be grinning a chubby grin, and she would give him his “bunny book” to read

Harvey

Friday, January 23, 2009 Mom took Grandma to visit the doctor that morning, which left everyone else at home to go about their business. Between reviewing algebra and squishing Rose, Carrie baked blueberry cheese muffins. Joe was home for most of the day after class. He and Francis spent part

Daily Activity

Thursday, January 22, 2009 A day at home. Most days were filled, from dawn to night, caring for Puck’s needs, working on papers, books, records, teaching Puck how to read, preparing meals, fixing things, looking over finances, cleaning the house or tutoring Francis, etc. Collette was in her fifth

End of the Scarf

Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Puck had learned how to be mischievous. A certain grin on his chubby face quickly told Collette if he was planning on being a tease. He was learning how to mimic faces pretty well. Collette knew that the mischief was derived from OLeif. A fanfare arrived

Passing of the Torch

Tuesday, January 20, 2009 Puck began his morning talking to the snowflakes as they fluttered to the ground outside his kitchen window. This was intermingled with the very serious conversation he was having with his cup of frozen blueberries. “You are all mine, blueberries,” he said to them in his

In January

Monday, January 19, 2009 The holiday began with a fancy pancake breakfast because Dad was home, seeing as it was a bank holiday. Puck was very happy with this idea, and continuously asked for “More, more!” as soon as the last pancake had been finished. Then while Francis second-breakfasted on

The Engagement

Sunday, January 18, 2009 The big news of the week came from Eve. Saturday night, she had become officially engaged to Othniel Avonlea. And she had a sparkling diamond ring on her finger. Carrie-Bri joined the English family that same evening to congratulate Eve and Othniel, and to see the

Basketball

Saturday, January 17, 2009 It was basketball season again. So after arriving at the Silverspoon’s, Collette left the boys to eat their lunch, and headed off toward the school. Linnea’s game came first. She had greatly improved, and received a gray star for best offense, and Eleda received

Frozen Lands

Friday, January 16, 2009 Friday was another arctic day. Two degrees at the time that Collette woke from a long winter’s nap. And the day didn’t promise to rise about seventeen degrees. The whole country seemed to be plunged in the coldness. Carrie-Bri, who was preparing to film

The Cold

Thursday, January 15, 2009 Another day of tutoring. The weather was dynamically frigid. Collette pulled on the brilliant cherry red Australian coat that Carrie had given her after her visit to New Zealand. It helped cut the cold. Puck enjoyed his morning, as always, and eagerly called out for “high

The Dentist

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 It had been awhile. Three years since Collette had been to the dentist. And finally, she was going there again, a little worried that cavities would be found, despite the good care she took of her teeth. And this time, OLeif would be accompanying her. By

Hair Cut

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 Puck read four words from his flash cards over a bowl of oatmeal and blueberries that morning. He thought through all his baby thoughts, and remembered what each word said. And the days were bitterly cold. The weatherman predicted that by Thursday, the high would be

Exports

Monday, January 12, 2009 Monday was over at the house again, on a cold, cold morning to work with Francis on algebra and merit badges while Carrie cooked a gourmet super-healthy lunch for Mom, and chocolate chip cookies for Joe to bring to his buddies at The Green Lantern. Working

A Sunday

Sunday, January 11, 2009 Sunday brought a visit to Memorial, as OLeif had a 9:30 rehearsal with a quartet for the following Sunday’s Pro-Life Service. While he practiced in the church basement (i.e. fellowship hall), Carrie-Bri and Rose sat at one of the tables with Arabic and

Bubbles!

Saturday, January 10, 2009 Out to the Silverspoon’s again where Gloria was already preparing lunch. It was cold again, after the mild temperatures of the previous afternoon. Snow began to fall around twelve that day. By mid-afternoon, OLeif and Collette left for Nicodemus Salthouse’s surprise 50th birthday party

A Friday

Friday, January 9, 2009 Friday began with Carrie-Bri purging her room of no longer wanted items, including a mixing bowl full of jewelry. Puck was excited about another opportunity to rummage, and joined his Aunt Rose in examining the products up for grabs. Mom had left a plate of waffles,

Cow!

Thursday, January 8, 2009 A cold Thursday, but clearly full of sun and blue skies again. Puck didn’t care about the weather as long as he had one of his many fluffy stuffed creatures to cuddle with. Thursday’s choice was the longhorn from Texas which his grandma and

Eat Great Bread

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Another day of teaching. And another cold gray day. “Oooh,” said Carrie, sorting through the mail that afternoon. “Wonder who sent this to Joe?” She pulled a purple envelope out of the stack. Neither she or Collette recognized the name on the return address. “Where’s

Epiphany

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 Epiphany. A year ago, Collette would have found herself knee-deep in three thousand year-old dust. As it happened, Collette was escorting her baby to the house for more fun and games with the cats, dog, and his aunts and uncles. Kitts arrived later in the morning

Personality Profiles

Monday, January 5, 2009 It was back to the books that morning for Francis and Linnea, despite the fact that Mom was still recovering from laryngitis and a terrible cold. When Collette and Puck arrived that morning, Carrie-Bri was already knitting on the couch again, watching Calculus tapes on the

Mad Knitting Machine

Sunday, January 4, 2009 Another Sunday. Another week over. Time was picking up speed. Carrie-Bri had built a tepee for Puck in the living room after church, which he liked very much. He tromped around the living room, very importantly, making funny faces, while Carrie continued to madly knit her

Marathon Day

Saturday, January 3, 2009 At the Silverspoon’s once again for the day. Time for family pictures. This included a group portrait, individual shots, and several wardrobe changes. That was a brief period of time spent, however, in comparison to the Dr. Who marathon that took up the rest of

Knitting & Aliens

Tuesday, January 2, 2009 OLeif had taken the day off work to run errands, after leaving Collette and Puck at the house for another day of vacation. When they arrived, Carrie’s roots were being dyed red. “Do I look like Donna?” Carrie asked with a grin. In the afternoon

A New Year

Thursday, January 1, 2009 The very first day of another year. And Collette was feeling sick. So was OLeif. And Puck. The late morning found them gathered at the Silverspoon’s for the first celebration of the year and the last Christmas gathering of the 2008 season. This meant more

Another End

Wednesday, December 31, 2008 The last day of another year. After a snack from his Tante Carrie that morning, Puck began running in circles around the Christmas tree and through the dining room. “What did you give him to eat?” Collette asked Carrie. “A little brownie…” Puck was wired, and

Before the New Year

Monday, December 29, 2008 It was a day for being at home to clean. Puck was still busy with his Christmas toys. And everyone else had plans for the day. Sometimes the very last days of the year seemed to be the most quiet, despite the anticipation of festivities. Also

New Years Eve Eve

Tuesday, December 30, 2008 Relevance and Kitts were back in town for the remainder of the holidays. So Carrie-Bri had arranged a movie night at the Snicketts’. Earlier in the day… Collette was feeling somewhat poorly, having inherited Jacob’s sore throat from the previous day. But things still had

River Drive

Sunday, December 28, 2008 Another trip to Memorial for church that morning — this time, for OLeif (who was not required to play in church, or teach Sunday School that week), Collette, Carrie-Bri, Rose, and Puck. For Puck’s first experience in the old Gothic church, he looked around at the

Winter Lightening

Saturday, December 27, 2008 The last Saturday of the year found OLeif, Collette, and Puck over at the Silverspoon’s again for the day. Similar to Friday, the morning was amazingly spring-like. During the night, Collette heard the wind whipping around the house, and in the morning the wind still

Christmas at Grandpa's

Friday, December 26, 2008 The last Christmas celebration of the season. At Grandpa’s. Before the evening arrived, however, Puck was having some quiet moments on the couch with his Christmas toys. He loved to have a warm blanket wrapped around his feet while he stayed there, looking through his

Christmas Day

Thursday, December 25, 2008 The day of four Christmases. The first was hardly mentionable — their little family gathering where OLeif and Collette would present Puck with his presents. In fact, it was non-existent, only melded into the third, which took place at the Silverspoon’s by eight o’clock that

Christmas at the Combs'

Wednesday, December 24, 2008 Puck was busy scooshing his Christmas Eve breakfast blueberry muffin cake around his high chair tray like a matchbox car. “Vroom, vroom,” he said quietly, listening to Christmas carols from Collette’s Mac. By the time the middle afternoon had rolled around, they joined the rest

Christmas Eve Eve

Tuesday, December 23, 2008 While the weather man was predicting possibilities of freezing rain, Collette and Puck still had Christmas groceries to hunt down in the cold afternoon. Puck, however, was more willing to take a warm, cozy nap in Rose’s room while his mom braved the biting winds.

Wrapping up the Year

Monday, December 22, 2008 Hanukkah. Linnea was busy making sugar cookies via instructions from Cherry over the phone from her own recipe. Once the dough had been mixed together, Puck was placed in his high chair next to his Lila, to begin constructing his own cookies. He very happily smashed

Christmas Lights

Sunday, December 21, 2008 After two services that morning, everyone gathered together at the house for a drive out to Our Lady of the Snows Christmas Light Drive. Mom and Carrie had packed a box full of brown paper bag sandwich dinners for everyone, and bottles of Pure apple juice

Out for a Birthday

Saturday, December 20, 2008 Saturday was at the Silverspoon’s. And while Puck napped soundly in Curly’s room for the afternoon, OLeif took Collette down to The Loop for Fitz’s six-cheese pizza and root beer to celebrate Collette’s birthday. This was followed with a drive around the

24

Friday, December 19, 2008 Collette was 24. And to celebrate, she and Puck would be joining almost everyone and Grandma Combs on a trip to Crown Candy and Soulard Market. The day began perfectly. She could already hear the wind. Opening the shades in the living room, she saw a

A Week Before the Gatherings

Thursday, December 18, 2008 Collette dreamt of strange things that night. Of a young woman in a white gown being lowered into the heart of a planet of ice and rose quartz, by a villain, for no good reason. It was cold. Puck played part of the day over at

Shocktarts

Wednesday, December 17, 2008 Puck had been finding little gold stars lying around the house. “Star!” he cried, every time he found a tiny twinkling thing on the ground. “Those are from my room,” Carrie-Bri told him. “I put them all over my room so they would glitter for me.

The Slick

Tuesday, December 16, 2008 Tuesday began just as bitter as Monday, except that there was no new ice on the ground. Snow, instead. Francis was getting anxious for lunch, by the time it was time to begin algebra. “How many minutes before I can put that mountain of potatoes into

Movie Night

Monday, December 15, 2005 Monday opened with ice. Drivers on the highway didn’t often exceed 40 miles per hour on the way to the house. Temperatures were in the 10’s. Before leaving that morning, Puck had his bucket of customary blueberries for breakfast. Predictably, his fingers turned blue

Blueberry Hill

Saturday, December 13, 2008 It was time for a morning at home to catch up on things. As the wind blasted through the gray trees, OLeif was studying for his last final. Collette was scrubbing up the house. And Puck was busy rearranging cushions on the red couch. At around

Christmas Happenings

Friday, December 12, 2008 Grandma Combs arrived mid-morning for a day of fun. This included gifts for Collette. Not only was she given a card with a generous check, but a bag with an embroidered journal and note cards, a box of fruit marzipans, two tiny silver antique teaspoons from

Another Trip to Olga's

Thursday, December 11, 2008 On another morning of frost, everyone piled into the mini van to pick up Grandma Snicketts for lunch at Olga’s, where Rose had just arrived to serve. On the way through the mall, Puck took a ride sitting on Grandma’s walker. He was very

From One Thing to Another

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 It was another busy day. Collette and Carrie spent their morning putting together a packet of recommendation letters for Carrie’s potential continued education. This was followed with a trip to Walgreens for Mom, Collette, and Carrie for hair dye for Collette, 45 copies of the

Tales of Waitresshood

Tuesday, December 9, 2008 “Something funny happened at work yesterday,” said Rose. “This family came in and ordered about sixty dollars worth of food. Well, that wasn’t funny. But then this guy started eating his food and blood squirted out of his mouth. Well, it wasn’t real blood.

Before Christmas Comes

Monday, December 8, 2008 It felt like spring that morning. Puck was running around the house with a bag of orange-infused dried cranberries and a pair of blue insoles. He had habits of collecting random objects in his chubby arms and carrying them around the house as a part of

A Christmas Program

Sunday, December 7, 2008 On that bitter day, Mom headed out into the biting wind after church for a house tour in Webster Groves with Joy Tecumseh, Aunt Petunia, and Aunt Corliss. Back at the house, Collette arrived with Puck to find the usual armada of Dad-selected cereal boxes on

Baths & Music

Saturday, December 6, 2008 Collette woke from a dream about OLeif’s place of work going under through the terrorist schemes of Osama bin Laden’s younger brother. It was an unusual experience in the realms of the non-real. Linnea had also had dreams. “Dad woke me up from my

Dr. Who Marathon

Friday, December 5, 2008 Experts were predicting that fuel would fall to a dollar. Further experts suggested that the rise of unemployment signaled the end of the worst. It was a strange world. And in that cold afternoon, Collette, Carrie, and Puck took another trip to the grocery store. It

Freezing Days

Thursday, December 4, 2008 Another dusting of snow arrived in the night. And even though the sun had risen bright over the world, it was near freezing for most of the day. Over at the house, Carrie was busy conducting further research regarding possible academic programs. And Rose had successfully

The Fit

Wednesday, December 3, 2008 Collette began her morning with a breakfast of peppermint pie. It was too irresistible to resist, sitting there, white and fluffy, and full of peppermint. Before she knew what had happened, the plate was polished clean. But it was the Christmas season, she reasoned. She would

Visit to Seminary

Tuesday, December 2, 2008 Collette and Puck waited around the seminary campus that morning while OLeif played for the communion service, with a whole trove of other musicians. When Puck became too loud in the service (seeing all the other babies eat crackers), Collette removed him outdoors, as he called

Beginning of Merriness

Monday, December 1, 2008 Into the month of Christmas. It had come up so fast on Collette that year. Snow still lay on the ground under gray winds and wisps of frozen rain. Lucia was in a festive mood from the Christmas atmosphere. She had been heard singing the other

The Return of Snow

Sunday, November 30, 2008 Snow — on the final day of the month. Collette drew all the shades when she woke up to show Puck the generously dusted white world that cold blue morning. And then Collette once again accompanied Carrie-Bri and Rose to Memorial in the city, after sitting with

Christmas Lights

Saturday, November 29, 2008 Before they lifted the Puck out of his crib that morning, Collette set up the two small Christmas trees in the living room. One was their first tiny tree, purchased four years ago. The other had just been given to them from Grandma Combs, filled with

Black Friday

Friday, November 28, 2008 Mom and Dad left for Branson that morning while Puck sat in a pile of wrapping paper with Francis, and played peek-a-boo behind a sheet of Happy Birthday paper. And on that Black Friday, Lucia arrived to participate in a little non-Christmas shopping after Collette and

Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 27, 2008 Feast day. Two times over. The day before, Mom had everything prepared in advance, down to changing the kitchen hand towel above the sink to the “Thursday” towel of the week. She had also decided to use Rose’s collection of contemporary early American ceramic bowels

Mom's Birthday

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 Mom was 49 on that cold morning in November. Puck hurried into the house with a bouquet of flowers for his grandma, thrusting it toward her in glee. “Oh, thank you, precious!” Mom said, giving the chubby boy a hug. Silky red roses, orange, yellow, and

Puck's New Game

Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 It was time to rest up at home for a day before the holidays began. Collette was bordering on laryngitis. And Puck, who was always a ball of energy, happily ran his usual activities of the day — watching his dad leave for the day from his

Violet's Baby

Monday, November 24, 2008 It was time to stock up on groceries before the mad rush. While Puck spent the morning with his Nana, Uncle Joe, Uncle Izzy, and Uncle Curly (who was back for the week), Collette and Mom hit Costco and Schnucks. Already, the stores were packed with

Grandma Turns 80

Sunday, November 23, 2008 OLeif woke up with the same sickness, the next morning. But he had prepared himself: bottles of Vitamin C, vinegar water, honey cough drops, etc. He was armed. After sleeping in an hour late, missing the first service, he was still ready to teach Sunday School

Bing's Recital

Saturday, November 22, 2008 Collette was feeling worse the next morning. Aches, the same sore throat, and congestion. OLeif let her rest on the couch in the basement after serving her a breakfast of French toast sticks, turkey ham, scrambled eggs, and orange juice. Collette heard the happy bounce of

Sick

Friday, November 21, 2008 Collette woke up sick that morning. Most of the day she tried to keep Puck happy while resting, and also tried to avoid getting too close to the chubby, who was always willing to dish out a cuddle to his mama. By evening, Collette no longer

Projects

Thursday, November 20, 2008 Linnea was busy illustrating Advent covers for the church bulletin contest. After sketching an entry of Jesus holding the sun in one hand, and the Earth in the other, she resumed math. Rose had completed another exam, successfully, bringing her tally to 104 credits. Her finish

Social Schedule

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 Grandma Combs was over at the house by 10:30 that morning, in order to accompany everyone (except for Francis, who was expecting Creole over for work) to Olga’s Kitchen, for her first experience there. The restaurant was pretty packed. And Rose was not excited

Free Thai Food

Tuesday, November 18, 2008 On the eighteenth of November, OLeif, Collette, and Carrie departed from the Snicketts residence to attend a lecture and lunch at the seminary. The food was Thai. The lecturer was Dr. Wintershine. While there, they ran into newlywed, Joseph Pi, who was also attending seminary. So

Goodnights

Monday, November 17, 2008 Puck began his day with a plate of banana slices and cinnamon toast. The cinnamon toast he used as a phone. “Phone?” he said. “Phone?” Once he had crusted his ears with sugar and cinnamon, he was finished with breakfast. Once arriving at the house, Carrie

Double Services

Sunday, November 16, 2008 It was another busy Sunday. Late they were – for both services – Grace and Memorial. At Memorial, Joe, as last time, parked them in a jumbo pile of autumn leaves, leaving OLeif and Collette to wade through the crunchy mass. Inside, a corner was still covered in

Sick Day

Saturday, November 15, 2008 It was another sick day for OLeif. Not only was he sick. The basement was tossing up all water from every facet of the house. So OLeif went back to bed and called Roto Rooter. Meanwhile, Collette shipped Puck off to his grandma’s house. Mom,

Day with OLeif

Friday, November 14, 2008 Denae’s and Diana’s simultaneous birthday resulted in an unexpected date day for OLeif and Collette. It began with gray skies and cold rain – always a good starter. After dropping off Puck to be supervised by Carrie for the day, they headed toward downtown. OLeif’

Broken Things

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Wednesday brought another broken thing. This time, it was a ceramic coaster. Another thing to add to the boxful of shards, courtesy of Puck. He did seem sorry, however, and didn’t touch the coasters for the rest of the day. Puck had also learned to

Hersheys Hour

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 After the frost of the previous morning, rain had returned to St. Louis on the dark day of continued world market falls. But back on the ranch, things went on as usual. Dad was off work for the day. Puck played “kitty” with his Tante Carrie,

Blood Relatives

Monday, November 10, 2008 It was a gray day of drear. “Can you convince Mom to start the fire?” Linnea asked, hopping out to the car that morning to carry in the bundled Puck. “Just go in there and say, ‘Wow – it doesn’t feel any different in here than

Out to Dinner

Sunday, November 9, 2008 Puck was a restless one that day. Graham crackers did not easily distract him from the desire to slip outdoors during church. “Down? Down?” he asked repeatedly. By the afternoon, everyone had regathered together again to drive out to Ladue. And although Grandpa was not home

Nana's

Saturday, November 8, 2008 Over at Nana’s for the day. Puck’s Papa was in Denver, and his Uncle Izzy was at work. So once he woke from his nap, Collette tucked his knit cap over his head, pulled down next to his chubby cheeks. A pair of striped

Early Gifts

Friday, November 7, 2008 When Collette and Puck arrived at the house that morning, signs were plastered to the doorways. “NO FOOD OR DRINK BEYOND THIS POINT” “Dad was pretty livid last night,” said Mom. “Hot chocolate was spilled all over his important papers on his nightstand yesterday. So, that’

Persimmons

Thursday, November 6, 2008 The morning was wet and cool, the skies nearly as diverse as the slowly falling foliage, whisked into oblivion by the late autumnal winds. Carrie had Puck out in the backyard wrapped in her green and yellow Wallaby scarf, which for some reason, Puck did not

The Experiment

Wednesday, November 5, 2008 After dreaming twice during the night that Obama had won, Collette woke both times, so certain that he had really won. The dreams had been so real, that she, for some unknown reason, had felt sorry for the man. Why she would have felt sorry for

To the Voting Booth

Tuesday, November 4, 2008 Election Day again. It had already been four years. After Puck’s 18-month appointment, OLeif treated them to a box of hot French toast sticks before hitting the library for the voting booths. Puck sat in his dad’s arms, running his little red matchbox car

Movie Night

Monday, November 3, 2008 Carrie was well into her next obsession – a British television series entitled – Dr. Who. “Stop me!” Carrie cried. “Must… work!” Puck was busy sorting the enormous Target bag of Laffy Taffy, Skittles, Runts, and Sweetarts in the kitchen. This was followed with a swing with his

Sundays Together

Sunday, November 2, 2008 Sunday was full. After OLeif’s usual morning rehearsal at church, Collette helped Lady Plum supervise the seven active children in the nursery, not including Puck, who still had a cold. One baby, in particular, needed cuddling, and sat on Collette’s lap for most of

Another Plate

Saturday, November 1, 2008 It was going to be warm for the first days of November, apparently straight through Election Day. Collette wasn’t sure she knew what to do about temperatures in the 70’s. Carrie was happy; this meant more afternoons up on the roof with a thermos

All Hallow's Eve

Friday, October 31, 2008 The celebration of All Hollow’s Eve was a strange one, obviously tainted with the sadness of Mr. March’s funeral. Father of nine children, the youngest only two. And, as they had done seven years before at Edred’s funeral, the choir sang the benediction.

Pumpkin Atrocities

Thursday, October 30, 2008 Thursday morning, Puck played with a painted wood box, filled with play things – Linnea’s candies, bottles of Halloween sprinkles, a tube of black frosting, bottle of vanilla, and a ring encased in a bubble gum machine box. It was time for Halloween things, and that

Pirate Night

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 The morning was freshly cold. It was time to drive out to Augusta again. Grandma Combs arrived shortly after Collette and Puck drove onto the premises. Grandma had brought gifts to distribute, as usual, including a clown bean bag and a book entitled Monster Night at

Puck's Samples

Tuesday, October 28, 2008 Puck was busy sampling foods at Costco. He was in Heaven. Pigs in a blanket, waffles with syrup, fried cheese sticks. Never was there a happier place for Puck to visit. Collette and Puck had joined Mom and Carrie that frozen cold day to pick up

Mr. March

Monday, October 27, 2008 There were many sad hearts that morning around the city. Mr. March had passed away in the mid hours of the night. He now joined Edred and Judy in the presence of God. That afternoon, as Collette and Puck drove home, the gray-blue of the heavens

Reformation Sunday

Sunday, October 26, 2008 Sunday was brimful – top to end. This began with Puck being particularly loud for the service, including all the pomp of a brass quintet and regal banners of the “solas”, two of which were carried into the sanctuary by Francis and Linnea. After the service, Collette

Surprise Party

Saturday, October 25, 2008 OLeif dropped off Collette and Puck on his way downtown to Memorial Pres., that chill Saturday morning. Collette had already sliced a tray of vegetables for Mrs. English’s surprise 50th birthday party, which would take place that afternoon at Klondike Park. Collette was reminded of

Send her South

Friday, October 24, 2008 Puck was already having more fun with the broom at the house that morning. Francis, curled up in a blanket on the kitchen floor, giggled whenever Puck poked him with the broom. Puck giggled in return. “Are you hunting a Francis?” Collette asked him. It was

Mummies & Cookies

Thursday, October 23, 2008 Puck was busy wiping away the tears from his misadventure in the play-pen (i.e. being unhappy that he was put there in the first place), after his Tante Carrie-Bri rescued him to help her make cookies. He carried around a jumbo bag of chocolate chips

Little OLeif

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 It was cold again. Pure gray skies, and spritely winds. Still-green lawns shimmered under frozen dew of morning. And Puck watched it all from the open living room window, running his matchbox cars along the sill. Collette and Puck ran their usual errands that morning in

Simple Times

Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Another quiet Tuesday on the Western front. Collette and Puck spent their morning listening to the Classical station while Collette swept the floors, made pumpkin muffins, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, and Puck amused himself with the usual things – the Swiffer duster, his empty diaper box, colored

Breakfast Out

Monday, October 20, 2008 Dad was home for the day, and had invited everyone to breakfast at Cracker Barrel, aside from OLeif, Joe, and Rose (who were either at work or school all day). Puck was happy to be visiting another restaurant for the second time in four days, and

Muscle Strikes

Sunday, October 19, 2008 Puck strutted around church in his overalls that morning, and a bright fuzzy patch of hair trailing in the wake of his march on the top of his bed-head. When he saw Linnea and Francis enter the room, delight lit his chubby face. “Lila!” he cried.

Midterms & Eagle Projects

Saturday, October 18, 2008 It seemed like autumn had come to stay by the time Saturday morning had arrived. Collette woke up to prepare red quinoa, wash the dishes, replace the bag in the vacuum cleaner, and plant new Rembrandt tulips around the holly bushes before they left for the

Visit with Grandma Combs

Friday, October 17, 2008 It was the end of another work week already. The evening before, while they ate their way through two bags of Reeses peanut butter cups, Joe sat google-eyed in front of the television, taking in the impacting documentary on tornadoes. “Amazing!” he cried. “Can I just

Lunch with Grandma Snicketts

Thursday, October 16, 2008 The morning was cold and bright. By 10:40, Collette, Carrie-Bri, Francis, and Puck were sitting outside of Grandma Snicketts’ place after dropping off Joe at class with his backpack, enormous portfolio, equally gigantic clipboard, and coffee thermos. Rose was at work. Grandma was taking them

Francis' Not-so-Good Day

Wednesday, October 15, 2008 A tumble of yellow leaves greeted them as they rounded the bend over to the house that morning. Another day of perfection – loaming rain clouds over the already gray-brushed skies. And the trees – crowded foliage of herbal, earthy colors, brushing together in wind-swept corners of the

The Dishes

Tuesday, October 14, 2008 Stocks dipped again by 9:45, but by nothing too terrible. By that time in the morning, Puck had already managed to scribble all over the inside cover of a book about a fox, with a green marker. Carrie-Bri had made breakfast – homemade applesauce, sweet cornbread,

October Days

Monday, October 13, 2008 The day the Dow rose higher in points than any other one day in history, Collette and Puck were busy with slightly less history-shattering things. When they arrived at the house, Mom and Linnea were finishing the packing to leave for Iowa with Dad, who had

Dirt Explosions

Sunday, October 12, 2008 The fields were once against full of mists, cut perfectly across their tops, fanning slowly over the early morning. After church, Puck was having a thrilling time playing with Linnea under the persimmon tree. They had found a mole hill, and once Linnea had loosened the

Theodore Turns 60

Saturday, October 11, 2008 Theodore’s 60th birthday – at the Silverspoon’s. Most of them were gone, of course. But OLeif, Collette, and Puck arrived later in the morning, and Izzy was at home until working at five o’clock. Lunch was soon served – salad, steak or chicken, mashed potatoes,

Mrs. Pumpkin

Friday, October 10, 2008 Collette and Puck ran their usual errands that slightly-cool October morning. Pulling up to the grocery store, Collette saw a familiar face. Mrs. Pumpkin, the lady who had for so long single-handedly run the Kirk church pantry. Driving all over the city picking up food donations

Irritants

Thursday, October 9, 2008 Thursday was a day of irritations, and not for Collette alone. True, she had singed her arm on the clothes iron at the house, when reaching up to the cabinet for a plate for her hard-boiled egg, and hadn’t realized the iron was on. Puck

More Gifts

Wednesday, October 8, 2008 Puck was busy with pen caps. His latest interest involved removing the caps from the pen, and then carefully replacing them on the pens. It was a pastime capable of occupying him for long periods of the day. It was a slow morning. Sunshine spilled over

Linnea Turns 11

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 Linnea’s day did, indeed, bring rain. Collette and Puck hurried under cool misty skies to the store to finish putting together a birthday bag for Linnea, from Puck – purple silly string, red apple lip gloss, a pomegranate, a bunch of mini bananas (to fry), and

Curly Back

Monday, October 6, 2008 Puck was busy scolding Trooper for stealing his cinnamon puffins that morning. Fortunately, Troops wasn’t as interested in Puck’s cantaloupe, and it went unscathed. “Dad stepped on Buddha last night,” said Rose grumpily. “There’s a big blood spot on the sidewalk. So we’

Double Birthday

Sunday, October 5, 2008 Linnea had news for Collette at church that morning. “I became a Christian yesterday,” she said happily, with a shy smile. Collette gave her a hug. “It’s like a double birthday for you,” OLeif said. It was close enough, and made Linnea’s 11th a

Sick Day

Saturday, October 4, 2008 OLeif began his day feeling sick. A throbbing headache lead to nausea, which led to him staying in bed all morning. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence for him to wake up in the morning with a headache. Collette was just glad that it wasn’t

The Usual

Friday, October 3, 2008 The presidential year was running just as usual, as they always went. Nothing new, nothing interesting, the same messages, the same promises and accusations. Collette was bored with it. The President of the United States would never have enough power to single-handedly change anything of significance.

Brilliant Sea

Thursday, October 2, 2008 It was time for the bathroom to be painted – Brilliant Sea. The only color now missing from the house of yellow, orange, red, green, and blue walls, would be purple. And maybe silver and gold for the basement. Collette had commissioned Francis to paint the bathroom.

Bouncy Balls & Bubble Wrap

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 It was finally Collette’s favorite month again. Another year gone by. Everyone another year older. Plus the beautiful tiny additions of Starlight and Sunlight. There were now 36 persons in the ever-growing and changing Snicketts/Black family. Collette and Puck had the day at home

Last of September

Tuesday, September 30, 2008 Tuesday was cold. Mom and Linnea were busy doing lessons in the travel trailer again while Collette and Francis worked at the kitchen counter. Puck was busy eating crackers in his port-a-crib next to them. While the kids were in choir that afternoon, Mom, Collette, and

Starlight and Sunlight

Monday, September 29, 2008 Dad was in Iowa again for the week. It was gift day for Puck. Francis had won him a stuffed tiger shark at the church’s fall festival. And Linnea had won him a stuffed puffin, a yellow punching balloon with a smiley face on the

Family News

Sunday, September 28, 2008 Sunday was for Eriic’s and Amanda’s wedding brunch, which began at eleven. It was also for catching up on more family news around a buffet of fruit, vegetables, little chicken salad, ham, and turkey sandwiches, breakfast casserole, and bottles of root beer. Puck and

Eriic & Amanda

Saturday, September 27, 2008 It was time for Amanda’s wedding. Six o’clock on a Saturday evening at the St. Louis History Museum. It was an elegant affair. Denae watched Puck for the evening. And OLeif and Collette arrived at around 5:30, following Brit and Lilli in the

Activity

Friday, September 26, 2008 It was a busy day for almost everyone. After the new tire on Dad’s car popped, Mom dropped him off at work. After Joe returned from class, he and Mom got the car in for a new tire. After Joe left for work, and Carrie

More Errands

Thursday, September 25, 2008 Thursdays were becoming errand day for Collette and Puck. He was a good chubby, sitting in his car seat, watching the world go by. Sometimes while they were out, he’d call to the birds on the power lines. That day, Collette and Puck were busy

The Buddha

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Their day began with a trip to the community college Fine Arts building. Mom, Collette, Francis, Linnea, and Puck were to meet Joe at the entrance where his first piece of art for Drawing I was displayed on the wall. He had already shown them a

Chapel

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 Collette and OLeif spent their entire morning from eight o’clock till noon at the seminary. Fulfilling a requirement for class meant attending three chapels that semester for OLeif. He took the opportunity to visit two in one day that too hot morning in September. Collette

Puck's Hair Cut

Monday, September 22, 2008 It was time for Puck to get a hair cut. The fluff of blond waves at the back of his scalp had become too poofy. They had to come off. Mom held him while Carrie did the job. Puck watched in amazement as the sheared patches

Waitress Blues

Sunday, September 21, 2008 The last day of summer. That afternoon, Rose was still recovering from her first day of waitressing. Apparently, she had been dished a table of excessively unsatisfied customers. “They were so grumpy!” she said. “They wanted, like, ten different vegetables taken off of their sandwiches and

End of Summer

Saturday, September 20, 2008 The little Silverspoon family spent their day over at Papa and Nana Silverspoon’s. Denae had finished her kitchen cabinets and was making plans to finish the trim around the ceiling and find colorful prints for the walls. Izzy was busy looking for a fedora, which

The Way Things Change

Friday, September 19, 2008 Puck’s day began with a bit of an incident. Collette was in the kitchen, Puck was in the living room alone for maybe 30 seconds, and then she heard the crash. Puck was sitting triumphantly on his grandma’s coffee table, staring at the catastrophe

Go-Carts

Thursday, September 18, 2008 Over at the house, Puck was busy carrying around a bottle of mustard from the fridge. He felt very important doing this. And Rose was busy doing laundry. She lumbered through the kitchen with an enormous pile of laundry tucked under her arms. “You look like

Woolly Bugs

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Collette and Puck were together for the day. This meant two walks around the neighborhood in the morning and afternoon, and a trip to the grocery store. As usual, Puck called out to the fruits and the vegetables, especially to his old friends, the bananas. And

World Market

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 It was another day over at the house. Carrie-Bri was tunneling through the trigonometry books. Rose registered for the GRE in November. Joe was gone all day at class, work, and biking. While Francis was on break, he filtered through his laundry, then set Puck in

Rose Gets a Job

Monday, September 15, 2008 Monday was still cold and gray, a good sort of day for Collette, but not as good for Joe, who rarely needed to work on drizzly days. Mom, Frances, and Linnea were already gone by seven that morning. They had joined Grandma Combs in Cape Girardeau

Flooded

Sunday, September 14, 2008 Church began that morning under heavy winds and wild rains. Before the service began, already, the fields surrounding the church were flooded. While Colette and Puck waited in the atrium, she could see the 10 foot plumes of water flying into the air from a passing

Burgers and Projects

Saturday, September 13, 2008 It was another Saturday for work. By 8:30 in the morning, OLeif and Puck were off to see Nana at home. Colette spent the rest of her day preparing quinoa and lentil stew, cleaning, and finishing the long-awaited project of writing Linnea’s birthday book.

Mr. March

Friday, September 12, 2008 It was over to the house that Friday morning. The air was cool and gray. But there were disheartening things. Part of the morning was spent finding out what had happened with Mr. March. The resulting information was not hopeful. Collette was brought back four years

Run Around

Thursday, September 11, 2008 Seven years had passed. They were working on their way up to a decade since that eerie Tuesday morning of 2001 when all the world seemed to stop. Collette and Puck spent the later part of their morning on the road, running errands around town. Puck

Coins and Slushies

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Collette and Puck took a walk down the road in the cool of the morning. Puck shouted out to every orange basketball lying in various neighbors’ yards. He found a green leaf and picked it up, blowing on it to watch it flutter. Life was good

Quiet Times

Tuesday, September 9, 2008 Puck and Collette were busy at home. There was a fuzzy dark purple blanket that Collette had bought to put on the couch several months ago. It was one of Puck’s favorite things. Every time they read books together, which was about a dozen times

Back to School

Monday, September 8, 2008 It was the first day back to a full school course for Francis and Linnea. Everyone else had already been busy. In fact, Carrie had never stopped during the summer. She spent all day studying on the couch, mingled with cups of tea, and begging Mom

Feasts and Games

Sunday, September 7, 2008 Sunday was busy. After a semi-successful sit-through church for Puck, who was busy eating through his second box of Alamo crackers (shortbread cookies) since his grandma’s return from Texas, it was time to join the girls back at the house. Mom was suffering from a

Home for the Day

Saturday, September 6 Puck continued his celebration of art that morning. Leaving the kitchen for a minute or two, Collette returned to find Puck happily covering the walls in giant scribbles with a charcoal pencil. He smiled widely with chubby dimples and went back for another round as Collette rushed

Gray Friday

Friday, September 5, 2008 As of Thursday morning, Puck had accomplished his first feat of art – drawing pink magic marker on his grandma’s kitchen walls. Carrie took a picture of him next to his masterpiece. Fortunately for Puck, the paint was a satin finish and the marker was washable.

The Creatures

Thursday, September 4, 2008 The rain came down in sheets, thick silver curtains, from morning until evening. Mom, as usual, had the windows open to the cool blue-gray winds. “It feels like a beach-front house here,” said Carrie. “The winds are so high.” Despite the wash-out, Mom, Collette, Carrie-Bri, and

Joe Turns 20

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 Joe was 20. On a gray, misty, cool September morning. Joe’s celebration included American Government at 9:00, McDonald’s for everyone at lunch, and a bike ride with Carrie at four. A subtle way to usher out the years of teenage-hood for good. He

The Cheese

Tuesday, September 2, 2008 Life was busy. If Collette wasn’t seeing to Puck’s needs, running a household and the finances, or tutoring, she was researching adoption from Thailand, preparing a trip to Iceland the following autumn, and wrapping up another book, this time in honor of Linnea entitled:

Labor Day

Monday, September 1, 2008 Labor Day – Dad was packing to leave that afternoon for another business trip to Cedar Falls, Iowa, Mom was madly cleaning the house, OLeif was designing a church logo, Carrie – studying one of Dad’s old physics books, Joe – working all day at The Green Lantern,

Joe's Mistake

Sunday, August 31, 2008 Linnea was losing a best friend that morning. Cherry was moving to Iowa City with the rest of her family, minus Scott (who would join them later that season). After church, Puck was busy with a thin Swedish cookie given to him by his Aunt Carrie.

An Anniversary

Saturday, August 30, 2008 Saturday was for celebrating OLeif’s and Collette’s anniversary. After Puck had been shuttled off to Nana’s and Papa’s, his white blonde head peeking above the top of his car seat as he and OLeif thundered out of the neighborhood, there was just

A Friday

Friday, August 29, 2008 Mom and Grandma were coming back early from their Texas-Louisiana road trip before the hurricane arrived. They would return Saturday morning. Puck was busy getting into everything, as usual. Linnea distracted him with playtime outdoors, Cheerios, and knick-knacks from Carrie’s room while Collette tutored Francis.

Four Years

Thursday, August 28, 2008 It had been four years. Four years since Collette walked down the aisle. She was having more difficulty over the years deciding whether it felt as though August 28th, 2004, felt more like only yesterday, or perhaps decades in the past. And as a sort of

Rice Pudding

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 There was trouble over at the house. Carrie had made rice pudding for dessert the night before, and no one had eaten it. “Ok, since no one ate it last night,” said Carrie, “you’re going to eat it for breakfast, just like the Englishmen.” Francis

Puck Learns

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 A quiet day at home for Collette and Puck. Mid-morning they left to run errands after Puck had finished one of his favorite activities – sorting through the zippered bag of old pens, markers, and pencils. As Puck waited for Collette to finish her morning chores, he

Puck Visits Kitts

Monday, August 24, 2008 Early that morning, while Collette worked with the students, Carri-Bri drove Puck over to the Silverspoon’s to see his Aunt Kitts before she left on the 2:00 plane back to Austin. “Dad tried to throw away my cactus plant last night!” Rose screeched from

The End at Beijing

Sunday, August 24, 2008 During church, Puck was being snugly. He nestled his head on Collette’s shoulder, patted her face with his pudgy hands, and smiled sleepily at her behind his wow. Out came the fruit puffies. Puck held out his paw for a banana. He happily took it

Park & Custard

Saturday, August 23, 2008 In the morning, Collette and Puck joined OLeif at work. While he sat at his computer, Collette bounced a large blue rubber ball to Puck, who laughed and carried it in front of him, unable to see where he was going. After Puck had a long

Life Goes On

Friday, August 22, 2008 Puck began his day with a broom in one hand. He loved to sweep the house. He could entertain himself for long periods of time with this novelty. At the house, he continued his quest with a golfing club. Joe was already finishing his first week

Computer Trouble

Thursday, August 21, 2008 Mom had left early that morning for Texas with Grandma Combs. When Collette arrived at the house, there was a baby lawn sprinkler in the shape of a chubby yellow duck sitting on the counter for Puck, from Grandma. “Duck! Duck!” he cried, when he saw

Glitters & Photographs

Wednesday, August 20, 2008 The United States had proved their abilities over and over through the games, this time with a gold for Shawn Johnson and a silver for Nastia Luikin on the balance beam, another silver for Jonathan Horton, and a handful of gleaming medals in track and field.

Fresh From Dublin

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Carrie and Lucia were returning on the 4:33 plane from Dublin, via Toronto. For a return home treat, while shopping, Linnea found two cans of Steak ‘n Shake chili at the grocery store for Carrie. Collette was busy listening to the soundtrack from Crouching Tiger,

Kisses & Bites

Monday, August 18, 2008 Puck was always learning new things. He had figured out how to give kisses since the previous afternoon. Mom practiced with him. “Kiss the baby, Puck,” she said, holding out a little rubber cupid baby doll. “Kiss the baby, Puck.” Puck took the baby, thought about

Errors?

Sunday, August 17, 2008 It was time for Dad to take another business excursion to Cedar Falls, this time for nine days. Mom was leaving on Thursday with Grandma Combs for Texas. And Carrie and Lucia were returning Tuesday late afternoon from Ireland. Mom had a pork shoulder roast ready

The Coronation

Saturday, August 16, 2008 Day eight of the games. Late in the morning, they headed over to the Silverspoon’s to watch water polo, volleyball, diving, and trampoline. “Since when was that a sport?” Theodore asked, regarding the latter. After one o’clock, OLeif left to meet with Judah at

By a Breath

Friday, August 15, 2008 It had been the most dramatic Olympics women’s gymnastics, perhaps of all time. Americans Nastia Luikin and Shawn Johnson had gone one, two, in the all-around, bringing glory once again to the United States of America. Collette couldn’t leave the television set until one

Counting Gold

Thursday, August 14, 2008 Puck was busy chasing the cats that morning. “Oooh!” he exclaimed. “Kitty coo!” While Joe drove the gaggle down to Elephant Rocks that morning, everyone else left to visit Grandpa. He was reading the newspaper, keeping an eye on the women’s 800m free on the

The not so Secret Ingredient

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 After the Chinese girls’ team allegedly slipped around some numbers in favor of the ages of their youngest gymnasts, which ultimately landed them a gold medal late Tuesday night, Collette consoled herself with the fact that at least it was better to have freedom than gold

Around the Rings

Monday, August 11, 2008 “The French said they were going to smash us in the swimming race,” Linnea said. “And we smashed them!” And creamed the world record by almost four seconds for the men’s relay. Michael Phelps had his second gold, onward to hopefully tie with Mark Spitz

Sunday of Games

Sunday, August 10, 2008 Collette just couldn’t help herself. It was an all-day dose of Olympics once they arrived at the Silverspoon’s after church. Most other things went out the window when the Games were on for Collette. It had become an odd habit of hers over the

A Parish in the City

Saturday, August 9, 2008 It was Puck’s favorite time of the day. Collette brought out the vacuum cleaner to the living room. Puck plopped down his chubby self to get a front row seat. As soon as Collette plugged in the vacuum, a grin lit up his face. For

Let the Games Begin

Friday, August 8, 2008 It was the opening of another Olympic games. The last time the world had come to play together was right before OLeif’s and Collette’s wedding. It had already been that long. To celebrate, Collette bought a box of fudge brownies for a dollar when

At Home

Thursday, August 7, 2008 Collette and Puck were home for the day. Under the cool fan in the living room they read books together. Puck propped himself on the pillow in front of Collette, who was lying on her stomach on the rug. He put his soft baby arm around

Puck's Dinosaurs

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 Under the rain of a fresh Wednesday morning, Puck had cut an eleventh tooth. He amused himself listening to Riverdance stuffing in and dumping out Collette’s colored pens from the Coca-Cola thermos from OLeif’s and Collette’s cruise ship in the Caribbean. Across the

To London, to London

Tuesday, August 5, 2008 “Whoa!” Carrie cried. She was sitting on the kitchen counter talking to Mom on the phone. “Check out the ant super highway!” She pointed to the back patio. Collette hurried over to look. There it was – stretched from one end of the patio to the other.

100

Monday, August 4, 2008 The house was a level more quiet that day with half of the family gone. Joe was preparing to clean out the garage and work on his bike. The temperatures were about to soar to 100. And Carrie was doing last-minute shopping for the trip. The

Judah Turns 30

Sunday, August 3, 2008 It was Judah’s 30th birthday. So on the way to church that morning, OLeif and Collette thought about picking up a small box of donuts in his honor. Collette knew that Judah would hesitate to eat them. “All that trans fat!” he’d exclaim. In

Puck's Hair Trim

Saturday, August 2, 2008 Puck was the victim of a bad haircut. “Sit still, buddy,” Collette warned him, as he sat in his high chair on the patio in the middle of the muggy afternoon. But Puck was too interested in pointing to random things in the heat, and saying:

Joe's Change

Thursday, July 31, 2008 Over at the house, Joe was making a barter with Mom, who wanted the fancy little table in his room for the living room. “Well, Mom,” said Joe, “I’ll trade you the table for two cigars.” “Joe!” “You wouldn’t smoke cigars,” said Rose. “No,

Puck's Grooves & Charms

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 Puck began his day by sneaking behind the love seat into “Linnea’s World”. “Linnea’s World” was her own private haven where all her little things were kept, including a Playmobile city. Collette had not caught Puck in time. There was a crash. “Oh no!

The Crab

Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Collette went out for her Monday evening walk. As she rounded the block, she saw a young boy (maybe two or three years old) in blue plaid shorts and a mohawk. He was watching his mom weed the landscaping. As Collette walked past, he waved to

Back From Welch

Monday, July 28, 2008 It was good to have OLeif, Joe, and Rose back in town. Rose spent part of her morning sifting through photos from the trip. OLeif and Collette were on their way to Puck’s doctor’s appointment, and were in the waiting room, when OLeif was

Watermelon

Sunday, July 27, 2008 After church, Collette brought Francis and Puck back to the house where Francis brought up a cardboard box of treasure from the basement. “Do you think he can play with these, Collette?” he asked. He lifted the corner of the lid to reveal carefully stacked rows

Francis' New Clothes

Saturday, July 26, 2008 Puck and Collette joined Mom and Francis on the road that morning to assist Francis in picking out a new wardrobe. Francis had grown so much, that the length of his pants could never keep up with him. To his relief, the shopping was kept brief,

Violet's Verdict

Friday, July 25, 2008 More rain. Collette splashed the car tires through the lamb-shaped puddle in the road on the way to the house. Inside, Carrie was preparing breakfast: tater tots, pancakes, fried ham, and fresh fruit. She was leaving the next morning at 7:00 with Shepherd and Malaya

Pizza & Flour Bombs

Thursday, July 24, 2008 A day for rain. Puck sat to observe Trooper eating a badminton birdie. He stared with interest as the dog carefully munched around the striped ball, gnawing the plastic weave to bits. Puck picked up the remains and brought it over to show his mom. As

Grandpa's Home

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 It was time to visit Grandpa. He was doing well living in an assisted care facility in Ladue. So Mom, Collette, Carrie-Bri, Francis, Linnea, and Puck left in the minivan mid-morning to see what he thought of his new home. “Well, hello!” he said as they

Beginning Portuguese

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Puck woke up that morning in a good mood. After breakfast, he helped Mom sort the laundry. The world was green and deep gray that morning. There were still more errands to be run, especially as Carrie was preparing to leave on her trips, and as

Treats in the Heat

Monday, July 21, 2008 Monday was sizzling. “Let’s go to the park before it gets hot,” said Mom. So they (Mom, Collette, Francis, Linnea, and Puck) piled into the mini van and landed in Faust Park. It was a nice place, preferably not in 96 degree weather. Francis zoomed

Departings

Sunday, July 20, 2008 OLeif, Joe, and Rose were gone for the week to Welch, West Virginia on the church youth mission trip. OLeif and Joe as leaders. Rose as a student. They left after the second church service. Dad was headed back up to Iowa for work that week.

On Top of Mount Baldy

Friday, July 18, 2008 Friday night was the last family dinner where everyone, (including OLeif, Collette, and Puck), would be together until September. The crowd was splitting up for various events across the country (and the world, in Carrie’s case) for the next six weeks. Puck had learned another

Beetles & Cobblers

Thursday, July 17, 2008 The morning began with Puck turning himself happily in circles on the kitchen floor. This was while he took a break from fixing his tricycle which he had turned on its backside. Over at the house, Francis was still out of it lying flat on his

Return from Philmont

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 It was time for Dad and Francis to return after two weeks of hiking in the mountains of New Mexico. They would arrive early in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Collette, Linnea, and Puck returned to the house in the morning just in time to accompany Mom and

Linnea Spends the Night

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 Collette and Linnea spent Monday night snuggled on the couch in blankets in the basement with peanut butter cookies watching Jon & Kate Plus Eight. The next morning, Puck was a little grumpy from waking up early at six o’clock, so to distract him from

Ice Cream

Sunday, July 13, 2008 Mom was working the early service nursery shift that morning, so Puck spent the hour playing with Anneliese Redcoat. After awhile, Puck began swiping her Cheerios. There were no hard feelings, however. And they enjoyed playing together for the first time. Nearly three hours after the

Nerissa's Shower

Saturday, July 12, 2008 Nerissa’s and Bristol’s twins were arriving in about 10 weeks. So before Nerissa no longer felt like socializing, a baby shower was hosted for her by Aunt Tuuli in New Town. There were the usual games: guess how many chocolate kisses are in the

Greek Lunch

Friday, July 11, 2008 “That’s disgusting!” Joe exclaimed. He was eating a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table. Rose peeked over the top of the bowl. “An ant,” she laughed. “Several ants,” said Joe, irritated. “That’s stupid. I live in a house, not a jungle.” He ditched

July 10

Thursday, July 10, 2008 It was a busy day. Puck was going to his favorite place: the grocery store. This time, to Costco. He crooned at the carrots, pleaded for the plums, begged for the bananas. In the end, he had to wait for lunch, but whined to hold the

July 9

Wednesday, July 9, 2008 The electricity went out at 3:45 in the morning. “Only 300 people out in the entire state, and we’re one of them,” said OLeif. Every time the electricity went out, he had to drive up to work (usually in the middle of the night

July 8

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 “I’m back on KP,” Carrie told Collette earlier that week. “Helps pay for Ireland.” By the time Collette and Puck had arrived at the house that Tuesday morning, there were two fresh loaves of pumpkin bread waiting for Mom and Grandma for their afternoon tea.

July 7

Monday, July 7, 2008 It was hot. Humid. Oppressively so. There were errands to run that morning for Mom, Collette, Carrie-Bri, Linnea, and Puck. Nerissa’s baby shower was that Saturday, so they were at the store to purchase baby carriers for the twins. Carrie was grumpy with the shopping

July 6

Sunday, July 6, 2008 After church, Carrie reviewed the singing Arabic alphabet with Puck. Also after church, Collette learned that Nacchianti had been punched in the face in a mosh pit and knocked out cold. He was still sporting a subtle black eye to the early morning service. After lunch,

July 5

Saturday, July 5, 2008 Day three of OLeif’s four-day weekend. Good thing for Collette and Puck, too, because he would be gone for eight days at the end of July with the youth in West Virginia. Izzy had just left for Colorado, and OLeif, Collette, and Puck spent the

On This Day of Independence

Friday, July 4, 2008 By the fourth of July, Collette felt about just as bad. The nastiness had wormed its way into her right ear, which made things all the worse. She hadn’t showered in three days. The house looked much as though it had been dumped upside-down. Puck

July 3

Thursday, July 3, 2008 OLeif was off work, which was a fortunate thing for Collette, who felt more like resting on the couch under the shadow of her summer cold. Puck, who was also recovering, but loads more spry, was amusing himself by chewing on a large purple oval-shaped eraser

July 2

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 Puck had given Collette his cold and his sore throat. Collette woke up with it Tuesday morning, and it continued rudely into Wednesday. She brought over the Puck to the house to say goodbye to Dad and Frances before their departure. Mom had picked up Paul’

July 1

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 On the first of July – the first fireworks accident of the holidays. Linnea stepped hard on a uncooled match and burnt the top layer of the sole of her foot. After a brief recovery on the couch, she was ready to once again play with neighbor

June 30

Monday, June 30, 2008 A day of cooler sun. Rose was cramming the last remaining hours with photo selections and bio revisions before the deadline for her yearbook pages had arrived. By the afternoon, Collette was wrapping the roots of Carrie’s dreads with gold thread on the back patio.

June 29

Sunday, June 29, 2008 Mollie was recovering from surgery, the same kind Linnea had five years before. Hopefully by the time Independence Day rolled around, she would be feeling back to normal. Rose didn’t wake up till 11:30 that morning. “Yeah, it got a little crazy last night,

June 28

Saturday, June 28, 2008 The day began with a ball game, for everyone but Joe and Rose. Despite the fact that the game would have been forfeited on account of Frances’ team having only seven players, the other team sent over two of their boys in orange and they had

June 27

Friday, June 27, 2008 Rose was busy rearranging Mom’s ferns and plants, pulling out dead leaves, and watering them. Carrie gave Rose’s hair a trim and tried to convince her to go blonde. Mom and Linnea met with the Englishs for the day. Linnea was ready to go

Rose Turns 18

Thursday, June 26, 2008 The Rose was now 18. She awoke to balloons on her bed and “Happy Birthday” sung from the family. Meanwhile, Collette noticed that Rose’s latest interest was glueing googly eyes to all the plants in the house. “The cattails are cyclopses,” she said. And, indeed,

June 25

Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Puck seemed to be feeling better that morning. Still hungry as always. He began his day by shuffling through OLeif’s pile of frisbees left out the night before when Joe, Tennessee, and Ben-Hur played for awhile at the park. Over at the house, Puck disappeared

June 24

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Another of Frances’ ball games had been rained out. The storm crept in around noon and dredged the land again. OLeif had a vacation day from work and finished mowing the back lawn just before the rain had landed. Poor Puck was not feeling well by

June 23

Monday, June 23, 2008 Dad was in Iowa for another week, leaving shortly after cake on Sunday afternoon. And it was a week of Vacation Bible School for Frances and Linnea. Linnea was in her final year. Frances and Creole were assisting with games for all grade-levels. After running errands

June 22

Sunday, June 22, 2008 During 7:45 nursing duty that morning, Collette was happy to see the dark clouds in the west finally break forth in rain over the church. At the house, it was a usual Sunday lunch. After brisket and small potatoes in cream sauce, Mom brought out

Izzy Turns 15

Saturday, June 21, 2008 It being Izzy’s 15th birthday, it was also the first day of summer. The three spent most of the day at the Silverspoon’s, to arrive just in time for a breakfast of waffles, Cool Whip, and strawberries – a Silverspoon birthday breakfast tradition. Puck also

June 20

Friday, June 20, 2008 Back at the house that morning, Mom and Dad had returned from flood-ridden Iowa. “Had a wonderful time,” said Mom. All good moms deserved some days off. And Carrie was between projects of the day. “What time is it, Rose?” she asked loudly from the kitchen.

June 19

Thursday, June 19, 2008 Relevance was 25 down in Austin. Joe was driving Frances to S – F for the Order of the Arrow ceremony. It would be the first year that Frances could be eligible for OA. Unfortunately, much of the decision for who would be tapped out, came down

June 18

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Carrie was making vanilla ice cream blueberry smoothies and pancakes for breakfast. Frances wasn’t happy about the blueberries. “Come on, Frances!” Carrie commanded. “Full of antioxidants.” “Antitaste-idants,” he muttered under his breath. Puck was busy reorganizing his grandma’s spice cabinets. Then Carrie caught him

June 17

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 Frances’ game began well. They even kept it 2-0 in their favor for the first evening. But after the third, they were getting tired. There were no replacements – only nine boys. So in the bottom of the fourth, they gave up thirteen runs to the Sharks

June 16

Monday, June 16, 2008 “Look at my mass killing,” said Carrie. The kitchen sink and counters were coated in tiny toxified ant bodies. Carrie was busy spraying anything that moved with an aerosol can. Carrie was also waiting for response from her job application. “I sent it out Saturday,” she

Father's Day

Sunday, June 15, 2008 It was OLeif’s second Father’s Day, and Dad’s 23rd. There wasn’t much time to celebrate, however. Dad and Mom had to leave by noon in order to tack on the extra three hours needed to skirt the flood up north. Joe picked

June 14

Saturday, June 14, 2008 Collette had missed the squishy all day Friday. And when he finally woke up at 8:00 the next morning, he was just as chubby-smiling, apple-cheeked as ever. For most of the day, their little family spent the warm hours over at the Silverspoon house. Theodore

OLeif Turns 24

Friday, June 13 Once again, ladies and gentleman, the triple birthday: OLeif: 24, officially considered in his “mid-twenties” Eve: 20, never to see the years of teen-hood again Wally: 19, two years to go till adulthood OLeif had taken off the day from work, so after dropping off the little

June 12

Thursday, June 12, 2008 Puck was chasing Linnea around in circles. She was sitting on the miniature skateboard holding a soda bottle and Puck plodded quickly behind her with his tongue sticking out. “He wants the Coke,” Linnea explained. Then Collette won the fastest game of War in history against

June 10

Tuesday, June 10, 2008 Tuesday morning, Collette heard not only OLeif’s shower coming from the bathroom, but also the whining tunes of Rose’s old clarinet. “Your daddy’s silly,” she told the chubby Puck drinking from his sippy cup in his high chair. “He’s playing tunes in

June 9

Monday, June 9, 2008 Monday morning began with Mom relating the events of the weekend. This included spending Saturday evening with her cousins and their kids. One of them, Leo’s sister, Zoysia, was marrying a guy in August who worked on a cruise ship, and stood a little shorter

June 8

Sunday, June 8, 2008 Before the service started, Puck was busy learning how to use a pen for the first time, scribbling on a bulletin. But Collette didn’t hear much of the sermon on Amos that morning. Puck was a little too interested in watching his light-up shoes walk

June 7

Saturday, June 7, 2008 It was Mom’s and Dad’s 28th wedding anniversary, and to celebrate, they were leaving early in the morning with Frances and Linnea to meet up with Grandma Combs, Uncle Mo, and Aunt Petunia in a small town somewhere further west for Collette’s second

June 6

Friday, June 6, 2008 Hansel and Gretyl were over at the house all day while Lady was painting an eyeball for a client. When Collette pulled up to the house, Hansel was on top of the trailer while Gretyl pulled on the tree branches above his head, scratching him on

June 5

Thursday, June 5, 2008 Predictions estimated 93 degrees for the first scorcher of the year. Collette and Puck stayed indoors while the winds ruffled the trees outside. Puck had begun making his “o” face again and made it a regular thing to ask: “Whahthis?” He spent a good part of

June 4

Wednesday, June 4, 2008 Tuesday night, OLeif got busy in the kitchen making a butterscotch pie. “Oh, how sweet,” Collette told him. “You’re becoming domestic. Would you like to make dinner tomorrow night?” OLeif frowned. Carrie had another funny teaser that morning. “So I was telling Lucia about these

June 3

Tuesday, June 3, 2008 Carrie had a funny story to tell Collette when she arrived at the house that morning. It pretty much went down like this: Frances took the dog outside Monday night when he came running back inside after accidentally stepping on a slug. “Rose, I just stepped

June 2

Monday, June 2, 2008 Joe and Rose were back from their trip. Rose shared pictures of the Souths’ house, their cousins, and the various highlights of their trip which included creek swimming and luau. The collection of photographs also included a mosquito on Rose’s hand. “I tasted so good,

May 31

Saturday, May 31, 2008 Slow day. OLeif brought Collette and Puck to work with him for two hours in the morning while he designed a website. Collette and Puck took advantage of the long halls and offices to walk a mile (with Puck in his stroller), before the morning came

Joseph & Minnie

Friday, May 30, 2008 Joseph the Blue-Eyed, at 22, was getting married that night at The City Museum. But Friday also didn’t start off the best. Puck wouldn’t eat his rice cereal for breakfast and OLeif had destroyed Collette’s lilac bush. She thought he had been outside

May 29

Thursday, May 29, 2008 Carrie had a placement interview on Friday morning. So at Dad’s recommendation, she hit the store Thursday morning to look for a new outfit. Carrie hated shopping for more than three minutes at a time. So when her limit was doubled by five, she had

May 28

Wednesday, May 28, 2008 The honeysuckle had finally bloomed in the backyard. Collette and Puck spent a part of their morning weeding in the front yard and walking around the neighborhood. At three points in their trip, they walked past an older gentleman also on his morning constitutional. “I walk

May 27

Tuesday, May 27, 2008 Puck was happier that morning, though by the evening he was once again feverishly bothered by his incoming teeth. Everyone was missing eyeware. OLeif’s glasses had been lost for over a week. Mom couldn’t find her Oakleys from Joe. Word from Texas was that

Memorial Day

Monday, May 26, 2008 Sunday had also featured hail, The Phoenix landing on Mars, and OLeif attending Susie’s evening graduation party. Collette stayed home with Puck who was snoozing through the amazingly loud thunder cracks and lightening bolts. When OLeif returned from the party with a bag of chicken

May 25

Sunday, May 25, 2008 It was an unconventional Memorial Sunday. No Sunday School, as usual, but Dad and Frances were on their second of three-in-a-row weekend scout camp-outs. Joe, Wally, Curly, Rose, and Starr were in Texas with the Souths and Mom and Linnea were going to a shrimp boil

Graduation 2008

Saturday, May 24, 2008 The morning of graduation had hardly begun and Puck had made a disaster out of OLeif’s wallet. “Buddy,” OLeif laughed at him. He scooped up the cards and put them back inside. Puck was very reluctant to return the spare car key, however. He chewed

May 23

Friday, May 23, 2008 “Stop it!” Frances commanded. “You’ve eaten all my chicken nuggets. You’re not getting anymore.” Trooper cowered in obedience after a last woof for more scraps. He was becoming a little jealous that Puck had taken his place and received all the premium scraps pinched

May 22

Thursday, May 22, 2008 “I’m going to cut one bush into a triangle,” said Rose. She was getting ready to prune the bushes in the front after waking up late that morning following a midnight showing of “Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull”. Joe had spent the night at

May 21

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Another voice recital. 25 pieces. Chocolate peanut butter bars and lemonade at the reception. And it was Curly’s last performance as a high school student. Mrs. English, Collette, and Carrie talked for a little while afterward and watched the activity of the younger crowd giggle

May 20

Tuesday, May 20, 2008 Collette and Puck spent their morning listening to Mediterranean techno, which Joe had introduced to them during Frances’ Monday morning math session. Puck swayed to the music while he marched around the house with a small broom. He had the groove. Occasionally Puck found things that

May 19

Monday, May 19, 2008 Kitts and Carrie had been making plans of things to do for the week while playing with a very active Puck in the backyard of the house. They also danced to Carrie’s hound dogs. Frances was sitting at the counter with his math book and

May 18

Sunday, May 18, 2008 Dad and Frances had been on the Katy Trail all weekend with the Boy Scouts. Sunday afternoon when they returned, Dad was red from the sun and Frances had stories. “A couple of guys flipped over their handle bars,” he said, laughing. No one had broken

May 17

Saturday, May 17, 2008 It was Uncle Mo’s birthday. 51. And with the way things in the world were progressing, Collette wondered if 50 was becoming the new 30. It was a little strange attending Curly’s recital that afternoon. It was good, short, entertaining. But almost like watching

May 16

Friday, May 16, 2008 The day began with the news that Violet Gentles was expecting a baby in early December. Carrie told Collette about it as she re-dyed Mom’s hair, and then washed it in the kitchen sink. “Oh, Carrie!” Mom exclaimed. “That’s cold!” “Get used to it,

May 15

Thursday, May 15, 2008 “Mom!” Rose screeched, “There’s a bird in my room!” “I’ll eat it!” Carrie yelled back, heading for Rose’s bedroom. “No, don’t! It’s a wren… Oh no!” The bird had done the inevitable on Rose’s bed. Once Carrie had released it

May 14

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 It had been seven years since Edred had passed away. Another day of half-cloud, half-sun. Puck was still dancing to music. Carrie didn’t seem to be having any side-effects from the lightening. It was a good day.

May 13

Tuesday, May 13, 2008 The morning began in the best way: thunder and lightening. It was followed by cool rain as OLeif fed Puck his breakfast next to the open patio door. For that cool wet morning, Collette and Puck stayed indoors and listened to Burl Ives; (Rose had brought

May 12

Monday, May 12, 2008 Frances had decided to have a soda for his morning snack during math. “Wow!” he said, after taking a gulp. “It’s like a million tiny little bees going down my throat. It feels awesome!” Puck was dancing to big band music in the his port-a-crib

May 11

Sunday, May 11, 2008 Sunday brought the frustration of hearing that Oyck would not be coming to St. Louis after all. Instead, he would be traveling to Atlanta. It was a pretty big disappointment. But the winds were up, wild, whacky winds which shook the church roof. Collette liked that.

May 10

Saturday, May 10, 2008 Aggravating start to the day. Puck was temperamental that morning. They locked themselves out of the car at Covenant Seminary until a Clayton police officer came to open the door. Rose failed to pass an upper level exam by two percent. Argh. On the way to

May 9

Friday, May 9, 2008 It was still cool outside. Green. Rain. In another part of the world at Myrtle Beach, Garret Raven was getting married. Puck was in the kitchen over at the house, slinging old pennies off the table while Rose held him back from Linnea’s coin collection.

May 8

Thursday, May 8, 2008 It was still raining. It had paused long enough on Wednesday morning for Carrie-Bri and Linnea to plant Mom’s flower bulbs while Puck amused himself in his play pen in the great green yard. On Thursday, Puck asked to read “Goodnight, Gorilla”, as usual, by

May 7

Wednesday, May 7, 2008 Carrie-Bri’s latest infatuation: “Man vs. Wild”. When Collette had spoken with Linnea on the phone the previous afternoon, Linnea had things to report. “Joe squashed this huge spider that was crawling in the front door. And then Carrie tried to eat it!” “I have to

May 6

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 When OLeif came home for his lunch break, he put on his black ball cap with curled black pipe-cleaner ant antennae sticking out of the top (from playing in the kids’ church choir musical that Sunday) and sat down on the couch to read his magic

May 5

Monday, May 5, 2008 Double birthday – Lace Hobcoggin and Ben-Hur Pepper. Also, as usual, Cinco de Mayo. Meanwhile, the crew had returned from Wisconsin, each with their own riveted airplane wing (the miniature type). “It took a day and a half to make that thing,” said Carrie. “Riveting isn’t

May 4

Sunday, March 4, 2008 Puck loved to clack his tongue and joined in happily when anyone else started their own tongue clacking. He knew four words very well: “Daduu” (Daddy) “Juice” “Duck” “Woof-woofing” (the little dog next door) Meanwhile, Rose had spent the night at the Tecumseh’s. “Carrie made

May 3

Saturday, May 3, 2008 Lonnie was nine that day already. The banquet was nice. Punch and jazz band at 6:30. Dinner at 7:00: chicken cordon bleu and dessert: cheesecake. Performances (two piano duets and a vocal solo) at 8:00. The real entertainment of the evening, however, came

May 2

Friday, May 2, 2008 OLeif dropped off Collette and Puck at the house that morning. Collette and Rose were going to the enormous book fair in West County while Mom kept an eye on the Puck. Carrie was already dressed comfortably for the trip. An armada of snacks was sentineled

May 1

Thursday, May 1, 2008 Collette woke from dreams where enormous end-of-the-world lighted blue thunderbirds flapped in stormy night skies. She woke, half-thinking it was real, assuming that someone had projected images of thunderbirds against the black clouds. Then she really woke up and realized that there had been no giant

April 30

Wednesday, April 30, 2008 Things were becoming warmer again. Most of the day was spent at the house working with Joe on his mathematics, and watching another “Midsomer Murders” with Carrie. Mom had taken Frances and Linnea to SAT testing at church. They returned later with Creole just in time

April 29

Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Over at the house, everyone was discussing Joe winning the dance contest. “Yeah, Joe’s probably winning over all the girls with his eyebrows,” said Carrie. “Hey, Carrie,” said Frances, “for Halloween we should glue googly eyes on Joe’s eyebrows and make them look like

Dance-Off

Monday, April 28, 2008 The lawns were that perfect shade of electric green as Collette and Puck drove up to the house that morning in the cold rain. Later, Puck was in his port-a-crib in the living room. He giggled from time to time at passerby. “You’re so happy,

April 26

Saturday, April 26, 2008 Collette started her morning of chores with Iranian radio. While she folded the laundry, she found a brass key and a packet of Chinese hot sauce mixed in with the clothes. OLeif was considering learning Krav Maga. Puck tried to eat “The Velveteen Rabbit” and would

April 27

Sunday, April 27, 2008 After OLeif, Collette, and Puck arrived late at church (due to the fact that they had to turn around for home as soon as they initially pulled into the parking lot because Collette had left Puck’s bag on the kitchen counter)… they went to the

April 25

Friday, April 25, 2008 Before Collette and Puck had left for the morning, OLeif was bald again. He was starting to look like a gladiator. “What are you doing?” Collette asked him. He was outside on the patio with the electric shaver, trimming heaps of hair off the top of

April 24

Thursday, April 24, 2008 Another day begun with rain. Puck participated in one of his favorite pastimes: stealing socks, while Collette vacuumed the rug, floor, and couches. She emptied the dish washer while he was securely tucked away with OLeif in the bedroom (who was sleeping in, due to writing

April 23

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 According to the ever-pessimistic Classical radio station announcer that morning, Shakespeare had been born and had died on April 23rd. “He did things very neatly,” he said. “Some people will do anything to avoid a birthday.” “So,” Carrie was saying later that morning, “Lucia swears that

Mollie's 17th

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 Mollie’s 17th birthday – and it began with thunderstorms – an unconventional way to start a morning, but a good morning, nonetheless. Collette and Puck were home for the today to watch the yellow and red tulips take a bath by the front porch. Later in the

April 21

Monday, April 21, 2008 The morning began with another aftershock, early. Another 4.5. Once again, Collette had not felt it arrive. After Puck’s one year-old check-up, (which was not a pleasant experience due to his bout of stranger anxiety), OLeif dropped off Collette and Puck at the house

April 20

Sunday, April 20, 2008 Passover. Why Easter had been so much earlier already, Collette was unsure. Puck had his third birthday celebration at the Silverspoon’s that afternoon after church, which included a bag of dried banana and strawberry bits and a large squishy kick ball labeled with flags from

April 19

Saturday, April 19, 2008 Puck began his day by chewing on a used matchstick after it had come off the counter with OLeif’s keys, which Puck had pulled down to the kitchen floor. By noon, OLeif, Collette, and Puck had arrived at the house for Midsomer Murders, Rose’s

Puck's 1st

Friday, April 18, 2008 Puck’s first birthday began with a boom – a pretty large boom originating in Illinois at 4:37am. 5.2 on the richter scale. It woke up Dad and Carrie, Carrie who almost unconsciously put on a hoodie and a pair of shoes and woke everyone

April 17

Thursday, April 17, 2008 Linnea, Collette, and Puck sat on the front porch talking about colors and near death experiences while Frances mowed the lawn. Carrie’s gold shoes had just arrived in the mail. “I can’t believe they’re here already,” she said. “I just ordered them last

Curly's 18th

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Curly was 18. Voting and drafting. The two perks for a male turning the big one, eight. And Pocahontas was 20, finishing up her studies in Malibu for the year after having returned from the British Isles, Rome, Greece, Turkey, etc. It was finally feeling like

April 15

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 A day at home again. Puck was making busy with everything, as usual. Scrounging, snooping, scooping things out of places Collette didn’t know existed, even after a thorough run-over and dust-up on Saturday. He kept taking more steps, learning the art of the walk, and

April 14

Monday, April 14, 2008 Carrie and Collette visited the community college book sale early that morning. Unfortunately, someone nabbed the Portuguese dictionary and the Swedish dictionary before Collette could take them. Instead, she picked up an old Mohawk Indian stage play for Rose. Before math began, Francis brought in his

April 13

Sunday, April 13, 2008 It was at two o’clock that morning that OLeif got it bad. Due to what seemed to have been an unintentional overdose of headache medication, the poor fellow lost his groceries four times before six o’clock in the morning. It was topped with a

April 12

Saturday, April 12, 2008 Collette spent the whole day cleaning and organizing while OLeif shipped off with Puck early in the morning to the Silverspoon’s. It started with reggae and dishes, was split with a quesadilla for lunch, and ended with laundry and The Office. Around midday, it began

April 11

Friday, April 11, 2008 Puck was going spelunking with his Aunt Linnea under the kitchen benches. Then he smashed his nose into the screen door and licked it. This was followed with playing concertos on the piano with Linnea. Mom was at the Expo leading a high school graduate panel

April 10

Thursday, April 10, 2008 Collette had been cranking out the math problems with the boys. Carrie was in the kitchen frying bacon wrapped hamburgers. Puck, who was peering at her over the edge of his port-a-crib, tried to snatch an onion off the counter. “You don’t want that,” Carrie

April 9

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 “I know how to get myself really awake,” Francis was saying. “All you do is stick a Q-tip up your nose, tickle it, then sneeze. And you’re awake.” Linnea was tying up her stuffed kangaroo with Carrie’s make-up wipes for bandages. Around eleven o’

April 8

Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Puck bravely took a few more steps. He slid his foot carefully across the rug as he held bent arms out to his sides, and his body rocked back and forth trying to steady himself. In the morning, he and Collette were busy making soup in

April 7

Monday, April 7, 2008 Puck was on his second cold of the year. But, as usual, he was still happy. His big smiles displayed five white baby teeth. When they arrived at the house, Francis brought Collette downstairs to show her his prize find hanging on his storage cabinet. “I’

April 6

Sunday, April 6, 2008 By Sunday morning, Collette really was feeling poorly. Bad cold and a sore eye. Puck seemed to have the same cold, but was faring better than Collette. “Babies bounce,” said OLeif. “They recover faster.” It was a long day. Collette and Puck stayed home from church.

April 5

Saturday, April 5, 2008 It had been one of those not-too-great days. To make up for it, OLeif drove Collette and Puck to the fuel station for a strawberry-kiwi juice while Puck smacked on his cinnamon hearts. It was nice outside, cool. Somewhat quiet. The honey bees were starting to

Kitts Turns 22

Friday, April 4, 2008 Kitts had just turned 22. “Oh, that’s so old,” Carrie-Bri would often say. Sometimes 22 did feel very old. Even more so 23. “Trooper, if you bite that, I’m gonna bite you. And you know it too.” Carrie was in the living room monitoring

April 3

Thursday, April 3, 2008 Trader Joe’s. Mom pushed the big cart, Linnea pushed the little cart, and Collette pushed Puck in the stroller. At the check-out, they had the same checker who remembered them every time. “Haven’t seen you guys in awhile,” he said. “Been shopping somewhere else?

April 2

Wednesday, April 2, 2008 “This year I’m going to grow a watermelon and it’s going to work,” said Linnea. “I tried to grow one last year. I could even see the ball of it forming. But… then it was Rose’s turn to water the garden.” “And she

April Fools

Tuesday, April 1, 2008 Rose had just returned from class. “Someone stole my pottery AGAIN!” “Are you sure, Rose?” “Yes, I’m sure. I saw it go into the kiln.” “Maybe it got sent to another classroom.” “No. I checked everyone else’s shelves. Someone took it.” “Well, I guess

March 31

Monday, March 31, 2008 Stormy weather. Carrie brought up Joe’s big rubber ball from the basement. It was made out of a light (almost styrofoam-like) rubber. For almost the whole day, she tried to balance on it, by sitting on the top. She wasn’t having much success. “WHOA!

Eagles

Sunday, March 30, 2008 The cold, rainy day had finally come when, after ten years of Scouting, Joe would be conducted into the world of the Eagle Scouts, accompanied by Wally and Curly. After all that time, and it had finally happened. After the fact, Collette almost felt like they

March 28

Friday, March 28, 2008 It was cold again. Collette cut Puck’s morning walk short. He was already wrapped in a blanket, jacket, gloves, hood, and knit cap, so there wasn’t much left she could put on him before he could no longer see, which was already a little

March 27

Thursday, March 27, 2008 When Collette opened the curtains that morning, the world looked brown. The rain was still falling. Things were pretty quiet at home and over at the house. After Collette worked with Frances on his algebra, Mom took him to his orthodontist appointment and on a list

March 26

Wednesday, March 26, 2008 OLeif couldn’t always be trusted on his visits to the store. Whenever Collette sent him to get the usual necessities (meaning mostly baby goods), he returned with extra items, not on the official list. Tuesday night he had come back with a gallon of Archer

Nacchianti Turns 16

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 It was a cold morning. Nacchianti had just turned 16. Collette and Puck were home for the day. During their first walk, Collette wrapped him in a blanket in his stroller and took him around the neighborhood. In their travels, they found a quarter and three

Easter Monday

Monday, March 24, 2008 Monday morning was full of frost and sun, still very cold. At the house, Joe was back to college, and Puck was eating stray Cheerios on the floor. “Manna,” said Carrie. “Manna from Heaven,” said Collette. “Oh, look at the pretty flowers,” Carrie said, hoisting Puck

Easter Sunday

Sunday, March 23, 2008 It snowed Easter morning, all through the service. By the time Sinai began to preach, it was almost pouring snow. Collette was surprised to see that the choir was also singing for the early morning service, including the traditional presentation of the “Hallelujah Chorus” at the

Easter Saturday

Saturday, March 22, 2008 Collette had been surprised at the number of TFC people at the funeral that morning, people she hadn’t seen in a long time: Marigold Avonlea and her mom, the Sages, the Friendlys, Northcutts, Samantha Bee, even Eutychus Ski and his wife, Eugenia. Collette had also

Return of the Stinker

Friday, March 21, 2008 “So,” Carrie was saying to Linnea Thursday night, “guess who’s coming home tomorrow?” “I already know,” Linnea said. “The stinker.” Yes, Rose had returned from Florida early Friday morning. Mom, Collette, Carrie-Bri, and Puck went to pick her up from the Tecumseh’s. As she

The Escapades

Thursday, March 20, 2008 Puck was sitting on the rug in the living room casting magic spells with his breakfast bottle. And on the first day of spring, Collette and Puck were over at the house. Frances was in the middle of sharing stories about his latest escapades with Creole

Red Carpet

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 Over at the house, Carrie-Bri had unearthed something: “We found Rose’s secret stash. She bought a bag of cheesy Doritoes and hid them before she left for Florida.” Mom pulled the bag out of their hiding place in the laundry room. Thankfully still unopened, they

Days of Rain

Tuesday, March 18, 2008 Puck had learned a trick. How to clack his tongue. He could be heard doing it at random moments of the day. He had also been introduced, by accident, to the world of echoes, after rummaging in Mom’s pots and pans cupboard the previous day.

Passed

Monday, March 17, 2008 A gray day… the perfect sort of gray morning where the wind was up, and rain was coming for St. Patrick’s Day. At the house, Mom had made a traditional pan of green scrambled eggs. There were jokes by Joe, of course. And pancakes. Puck

Foods of the Irish

Sunday, March 16, 2008 Saturday night, Augustus, Erasmus, and Mollie had crashed OLeif’s and Collette’s with a Bob Evans cherry cobbler. And though not officially St. Patrick’s Day, that sunny Sunday morning, there was corned beef, potatoes, and hot cross buns at the Snicketts house for lunch.

Cool Runnings

Saturday, March 15, 2008 While Denae watched Puck at the Silverspoon’s that somewhat chilly morning, Collette accompanied OLeif to his dental appointment. While she wrote in the waiting room, OLeif’s doctor chatted with him while tweaking wires in his mouth and taping little metal balls on his ears.

Off to South Lands

Friday, March 14, 2008 “Trooper’s just about dead,” Rose was telling Collette. “What?” Collette asked, a little surprised. “Yup, the vet says, you know how his leg is all sore? Well, it’s gangrenous.” “Really?” “Ha ha. Just kidding. I can’t believe you fell for that,” Rose laughed

Spring Cometh

Thursday, March 13, 2008 It was Lucia’s 21st on that chilly gray day in March. Another cousin, Esther Black, was on business in Cape Town. It was a quiet day. Collette and Puck spent most of their morning hanging black and white photographs on the wall. On Collette’s

New Stomping Grounds

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 The cats were afraid of Puck. But they were amazingly patient with him. Every time Collette and Puck arrived at the house, the cats would usually scatter when they saw the familiar chubby face come through the door. However, they would usually stand their ground once

Crunch

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 It had been a long time since Collette had met Ivy for lunch, so while Mom kept an eye on the bouncing Puck at the house, Collette drove over to Chevy’s for grilled fish tacos and fried bread drizzled with honey and cinnamon to visit

Trivia Mom

Monday, March 10, 2008 Monday, Collette heard about Mr. and Mrs. Owen inviting Mom and Dad over with some other couples to play the no longer in print National Geographic Trivia game. “Well, girls, maybe I need to work on my trivia skills,” Mom told them. Collette and Carrie-Bri obliged

Knives

Sunday, March 9, 2008 Collette woke at 6:00 with reminisces of visions of milky white galaxies in her mind. She had seen them from earth in the heavens in a remote country near the water. Forests. There was something particularly special about that place, but she couldn’t remember

Final Game

Saturday, March 8, 2008 It was not the girls’ best basketball game for the last one of the season. Collette, admittedly, went overboard on the yelling, mostly toward the end of the game. She was ticked particularly afterward when they returned to the house. “Look what that girl did to

From India

Friday, March 7, 2008 With induction into the wonderful world of owning a checking account, Rose decided to support a sponsor child that morning. “Aw!” …could be heard from time to time whenever she stumbled across a picture of an especially cute-looking child. She circled the globe. “I can’t

More of the Same

Thursday, March 6, 2008 Puck was beginning to enjoy the novelty of playing in his own room with his books and stuffed animals. He would also occasionally lift the corners of his rug, looking for treasures underneath. Occasionally he found a crumb. “Don’t eat nasty crumbs!” Carrie would command

Puck's Orange

Wednesday, March 5, 2008 Puck began his day with a big juicy orange, which his Aunt Rose had sliced in half and given to him. He spent many a happy minute chewing and juicing both halves to pulpy bits. Tiny teeth marks were left all over the rind as he

Games

Tuesday, March 4, 2008 “It’s a wintry wonderland out there,” said OLeif, early that morning. It was actually not a wintry wonderland. “I was kidding,” he guffawed at Puck. It wasn’t until 8:30 that morning, that the snow really came, quickly piling the lawns and roads high

Life

Monday, March 3, 1008 It was much colder by Monday morning. The skies were gray from start to finish. Over at the house, Puck was busy eating banana while everyone else had a hot breakfast prepared by Mom: ham, fried eggs, and buttered toast. Later, Linnea sat in the kitchen

With Distinction

Sunday, March 2, 2008 Sundays were now unusual. It was that morning for the first time that the church held its 8:00 service, which was attended by 82 persons. Collette and Puck left by 9:15 back to the house while OLeif taught Sunday School and played for the

Double Baskets

Saturday, March 1, 2008 Puck’s day began with a ride in his hovercraft (aka walker), which OLeif floated through the house in slow dips and dives. “Ready? Ready?” he said. “Ram Mommy! Aaaaaah!” Puck giggled delightedly as they charged for Collette. After enough surprise attacks had been made, as

Tacks & Paint

Friday, February 29, 2008 On the day that only came once every four years, Collette was introduced to “closed time circles” by Carrie-Bri. Mom and Mrs. English had an old friend in town – Mrs. Raven – who was leading a team at the robotics convention which also included her two youngest

The Wound

Thursday, February 28, 2008 Home for the day. Puck made himself busy with blocks and stuffed animals that morning. At some point, Collette brought out the laundry basket and put him in it. He had his very own boat. She put his blocks in with him. “Mix up the block

Scribbles & Raisins

Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Collette woke up that morning to find that the front door was open. Sometimes it popped open, even with the handle locked. How long, she couldn’t tell. But the living room was a little chilly. It was not the first time it had happened. Collette

Rose and Her Things

Tuesday, February 26, 2008 The day began over at the house with Carrie-Bri reading tales to Frances and Linnea of strange chains of death in relation to the opening of King Tutankhamen’s tomb. “Check out what Dad brought back from work,” Carrie pointed to the pantry. Girl Scout cookies.

A Moustache

Monday, February 25, 2008 When Collette and Puck arrived that morning, Frances came up the stairs with his his t-shirt tucked into his shorts, which were pulled up high over his stomach, black dress shoes, black socks pulled half-way up his legs, his hair slicked over, and a Lord of

Shows of Talent

Sunday, February 24, 2008 It was a double golden birthday. Monday and Blessing were both 24. It was the not-so-great Sunday. Somehow, they almost always managed to stick Collette in the nursery on a communion Sunday. Despite the fact that she was a mom, there was something incredibly boring about

Defense

Saturday, February 23, 2008 Sunny and cool. Puck was ready for the sunbeams in his sweet shades. For the first time, he was enjoying the experience of sunglasses. He didn’t even paw them off his face when entering the Silverspoon’s. Instead, he grinned chubby dimples at his Nana.

Missing Blooms

Friday, February 22, 3008 Another day of snows. This time, however, Mom had brought Frances out for his math session, as well as Joe and Linnea. Carrie-Bri was at home catching up on the third season of LOST, having earned some down-time. Rose was at home doing who-knew-what. Maybe squeezing

Puck Antics

Thursday, February 21, 2008 They woke up to falling ice that morning, a little too slick for travel. Collette and Puck stayed at home and played with blocks. They shared strawberries for breakfast. OLeif returned for lunch after a Bible study with two charismatic guys at work and brought a

Farewell, Moon

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 Rose had made another necklace at jewelry class. This time, she gave it to Collette: a Uruguayan coin and two Civil War beads (whatever that meant) strung on twine. Collette turned it into a bracelet. It would be a night for a total lunar eclipse. Puck

Crawl, Baby, Crawl

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 Things were easy in Silverspoon Town. For breakfast, Collette and Puck ate a large orange. And while Puck practiced his: “Nah nah nah nah!”s, Collette read about Bethsaida to him. Although he wasn’t completely interested, he did talk loudly to his Runaway Bunny book,

Never Crazy

Monday, February 18, 2008 Carrie-Bri’s last day of her masters, meaning, that after a three-month wait, she was finally able to take her comprehensive final, results pending. Carrie was relieved that the exam was all essay, involving no orbital mechanics, which meant no calculus. “They tried to psyche me

Grandpa's 80th

Sunday, February 17, 2008 Saturday night, the electricity had gone out. Thankfully, Puck slept straight through the outage, and while OLeif fooled with things at work, Collette lit candles by which to read. When her eyes finally grew tired of the dim light, she called it a night. When she

Double Game

Saturday, February 16, 2008 Linnea had a giant knot in her hair, the type that could only turn into a dreadlock. “I hope you learned your lesson about brushing your hair,” Collette told her mercilessly, fully believing that Linnea hoped for dreadlocks to be just like Carrie-Bri. In the end,

Fifth Teenager

Friday, February 15, 2008 Frances was 13. Another teenager in the house. It had been a long time coming for Frances. It had seemed like he had been more like fourteen instead of twelve for the last year. And another February birthday. It was a popular month. Valentine’s Day

Valentines

Thursday, February 14, 2008 Valentine’s Day provided much comic relief that year, including Joe’s profile picture: “sugar lips”. A Joe original, inspired by Rose. Curly’s away message read: “Valentines + no girlfriend = CHOCOLATE FOR ME!!” Magnus’ away message read: “Home alone for the rest of the day.” Or

Cancel Everything

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Annamaria had turned the big eighteen. As it turned out, Carrie-Bri had opted not to visit Detroit that week. When she explained to Rochester on the phone that it wasn’t going to work out, she could hear Awesome in the background: “It’s over! It’

Who is Favorite

Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Puck had cut his third tooth on Monday. Collette spent her day dusting in the morning, labeling her artifacts from Israel while Puck napped, playing blocks with him when he woke up, and making burritos for lunch. By the afternoon, Carrie was bored of the day,

Mail or Lunch

Monday, February 11, 2008 Magnus had turned 19. When would the “little kids” of yesteryear slow down? Apparently no time soon. “Frances, go out and get the mail,” Carrie commanded. Frances looked out the window. “It’s too cold.” “Get it, or no lunch today.” “How about you make me

Cheeks, Skulls, & Bones

Sunday, February 10, 2008 OLeif, Collette, and Puck visited Journey with Carrie-Bri that bitterly cold sunny Sunday morning. Bing decided to also come. After a cramped ride to Missouri Baptist, they entered the auditorium and sat for the worship service from 10:00 till 11:30. OLeif and Collette took

The Clarinet

Saturday began with OLeif forgetting about his eight o’clock dental appointment in Chesterfield. He returned with an unusual wire retainer behind his teeth. It made him talk funny. He also had miniature golden balls taped to the insides of his ear. Collette didn’t ask much about that one,

The Party

Friday, February 8, 2008 Puck spent his morning walking along the couches with chubby legs. He watched part of “Koyaanisqatsi” with Carrie-Bri chanting: “Dah dah dah dah dah!” Then he played “catch” with his Aunt Linnea, with a plastic donut. “When somebody loved me,” Rose began crooning from the laundry

Curse of the Country

Thursday, February 7, 2008 OLeif began his day resting in bed, a week after Collette had done the same. Puck, who was also feeling his cold, spent his day mischievously scattering toys around the kitchen at the house. He was also given a sample of his first half-raisin, which he

Around the Bloomin' Onion

It was Liselotte’s first birthday, and Collette and Puck were over at the house for the usual tutoring session. “Turn your little bum around, Puck, I’m going to pin this to your pants,” said Frances. He clipped the string to the little man’s britches. “Now we’ll

Half a Century

Tuesday, February 5, 2008 Dad was fifty, or “half a century”, as he put it. Somehow “fifty” seemed much younger. But then again, Dad hadn’t seemed to age much over the past twenty years anyway. Tuesday was reserved for painting. And as fascinating a project as this was, it

Puck's New Trick

Monday, February 4, 2008 Puck had officially learned how to wave. Throughout his entire breakfast, he shook his arm up and down grinning his happiest of all grins, very proud with his efforts. His interest in his cereal and applesauce came second only to his excitement of his new trick.

The Piano vs. The Thunderstorm

Sunday, February 3, 2008 As usual, Collette had forgotten that it was Super Bowl Sunday, mostly, this time, because they were celebrating Dad’s 50th birthday two days early, and because they were attending Annamaria’s senior piano recital that afternoon. Around the lunch table, they brought out the ice

The Unfortunate Spot

Saturday, February 2, 2008 Back to back basketball. Grandma Combs was over for the day at the house. Joe was at Grenada from nine to five. Rose was also at work. Puck began the first part of his day singing out random exclamations from his crib – for a solid forty-five

Old Tunes

Friday, February 1, 2008 The world was pure white that Friday morning. Collette’s cold was somewhat better, though she had developed a little bit of a cough. The drive over to the house was decent, until they exited the highway. There, the roads had become one lane between the

Cheese & Crackers

Thursday, January 31, 2008 Collette had caught Linnea’s irritating sore throat cold. “Mommy’s in quarantine,” OLeif told the bouncing Puck as they waved hello from the bedroom door early that morning. Collette wondered how it was that OLeif never got sick (except, of course, after eating a tub

Negotiations

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 “Rose,” Carrie-Bri was saying, “why don’t you just go stick your head in a wormhole.” “Why don’t you go stick your head in a dung beetle camp,” Rose retorted. “Rose, don’t even try to be as witty as I am,” Carrie said, flouncing

Puck's Pretzel

Tuesday, January 29, 2008 The weather was amazingly spring-like that morning in late January. The winds were still beautiful. Mom had opened the windows. But the bitter cold was on its way, and shortly. Jumbo cinnamon rolls for breakfast. After Mom and Collette returned from the grocery store late that

Home Again, Home Again

Monday, January 28, 2008 Puck’s nine-month appointment. The kid was as healthy as a horse, as Mom would say. And, as usual, he had a big head. “All those brains in there,” Dr. Box laughed. Then it was off to the airport to pick up Carrie-Bri who was coming

Busy Bees

Sunday, January 27, 2008 Sundays could sometimes be odd. On that particular Sunday it pretty much went: OLeif dropped off Collette and Puck at the house, went back home because he forgot his violin, arrived at church for the tail-end of practice, played music for the children’s Sunday School,

More Basketball

Saturday, January 26, 2008 OLeif began his morning with leftover pizza for breakfast. Collette couldn’t say she hadn’t done it before, and she would have been tempted, except that the leftovers were only the disgustingness of supreme. “I think you always order half the pizza as supreme just

Rose's Artistic Attempts

Friday, January 25, 2008 Back on the ranch… “I had jewelry making class last night,” said Rose. “And I drilled a hole through my desk.” “Why?” Collette asked. “Well, I didn’t try to. But they were new desks, so I hid the hole from my teacher.” “With what?” “My

Memories of the Dentist

Thursday, January 24, 2008 Another day of sun. And a day at home. OLeif worked from the couch for awhile at his trusty old laptop. It was also a day, or evening, for Collette to visit the dentist. Visiting the dentist wasn’t like the good old days when she

Rose's Infamous Library Fines

Wednesday, January 23, 2008 Puck had a poem written in his honor that morning, by his Aunt Linnea. And Carrie-Bri was off to the airport again for another week of travel, this time to Austin. “Ciao,” she said, in her usual farewell and/or greeting, before marching off with Dad’

Carrie's Cookies

Tuesday, January 22, 2008 They woke up to a surprise that morning. A light dusting of snow on the back patio. It was cold, and although Carrie-Bri was hoping to escape to a little warmth further south, the temperatures would still not be her ideal. Although most anything beat the

Monday's Entertainment

Monday, January 21, 2008 Over at the house on a cold wintry gray day. Rose was in ecstatics over her new MacBook, which had just arrived in the mail. “Yes!” She cried with enthusiasm, as she attacked the cardboard package with a steak knife. “Careful, careful,” Dad warned, as the

Sausages

Sunday, January 20, 2008 Back to church after a month of absence. Collette didn’t recognize half of the congregation. Things could change quickly in only four weeks. Moving to two services in March would shake things up again. Back on the ranch, Mom had brunch ready. As usual, it

Pancakes & Basketball

Saturday, January 19, 2008 One of the things about the trip to Israel that Collette had unconsciously hoped would happen, and did – she finally had a picture in her mind of where the Biblical accounts had taken place. No longer was she merely imagining where Christ had been crucified, where

The Slow Days

Friday, January 18, 2008 The Grandmas were over at the house for the day to hear tales of Israel. Both were pleased with their salt balls from the Dead Sea. Grandma Combs had brought the Puck a tiger hand puppet, which Puck immediately took and chewed happily. Carrie-Bri made plans

Masada

Thursday, January 17, 2008 It was back to the normal living, but with the new perspective that always came from having once again been out of the country with new people. Puck had grown so big, now able to pull himself up to stand next to the couch. His appetite

Finds

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 The trip had included 36 people, complete: Dr. Potts (professor at Austin Graduate School of Theology) and his 19 year-old daughter, Pocahontas Dr. Iron Man (professor at Rochester College) Indiana Cecil & Polley Daniel & Jina, and Jina’s mom, Eunice James Earl & Suzan and

Home

Tuesday, January 15, 2008 It was such an unusual mix of feelings to be back in the States after 17 days abroad. The whole experience, as can often be expected with tours of foreign countries, had left Collette a little overwhelmed. When she and Carrie-Bri had arrived at Lambert Monday

Farewells

Friday, December 28, 2007 Puck was enjoying his new harmonica from Grandma Combs. He watched Collette blow on it. He smiled, took it, chewed on it, and handed it back Collette. Collette blew on it again. Puck’s deep chubby dimples grew. He took it, chewed on it, and handed

One More Day

Thursday, December 27, 2007 By Thursday, Collette was finally able to think about Israel. The whole day was spent stocking up for the boys. Collette wondered how the two of them would spend their down time. Carrie had said it well: “I can just picture the two of them sitting

Christmas End

Wednesday, December 26, 2007 The evening of December 25th saw the arrival of Relevance and Kitts from Texas. Denae had already prepared the red table cloth and large red candle and sconce for the centerpiece. And, the traditional Silverspoon Christmas meal: seafood. Primarily shrimp – coconut and raw. Denae knew that

Christmas Morning

Tuesday, December 25, 2007 Puck’s first Christmas. He was already enjoying the new holiday. When unwrapping his toy at the Combs’ the night before, he promptly pulled the bow off the package and stuck it straight into his mouth. Christmas morning found them at the house around a table

A Florissant Christmas

Monday, December 24, 2007 Christmas at the Combs’. Another prime opportunity to secretly record conversations. It was a large crowd. The entire Snicketts family, including OLeif, Collette, and Puck, the whole Combs family, Grandma, Uncle Bobs, Aunt Day, Lokni and Bion, Lucia’s friend from work, and Uncle Larry. And

The Return of Samwise

Sunday, December 23, 2007 Christmas with the Snicketts and Blacks. One of the best days of the year. As usual, Collette regretted the fact that she had not brought a hidden camera to record all of the conversations between the 31 gathered there. Samwise had grown another foot. Would the

Last Day of Quiet

Saturday, December 22, 2007 The only mildly interesting thing of the morning happened when OLeif returned from work with a tin of Scottish butterscotch. Puck spent his time crawling through, underneath, and around everything. For the rest of the morning and afternoon, OLeif and Collette made cookies and peppermint cupcakes

Radiation

Friday, December 21, 2007 “She’s not going bald. See?” “What?” Collette asked, as she walked through the front door of the house loaded down with the Puck in a puffy coat, and several bags. “Nice greeting, Mom,” Carrie said. “I’m sure that’s what Collette wants to hear

Preparations

Thursday, December 20, 2007 “Uh oh.” Rose was sitting on the love seat with a plate of four waffles slathered in butter and dripping in maple syrup. Some of the syrup had dribbled a line across Mom’s pillow, on which Rose had balanced her plate. “Oh well.” She sponged

23

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 Collette was 23. Despite the fact that she was feeling rather old, it was still nice to celebrate, once again, the yearly event. The day began with a number of “incidents”. This included hearing that Joe had, the night before, not only had his thumb jambed,

For the Laughter

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 Puck’s eight-month birthday. He spent the first part of his morning chasing giant plastic candy canes around the floor and gurgling indecipherables to them. In the meanwhile, Collette suddenly realized that, not only was she leaving for New York in eleven days, but she also

Snow Angels

Monday, December 17, 2007 Joe had become inspired by the snow. With about six inches deep of fluff all over the yard, Collette and Puck arrived just in time for his original photo shoot. “I’m going to take a picture of myself doing snow angels with my shirt off,

Laffy Taffy

Sunday, December 16, 2007 It was time for another Senior High Christmas party. It was a small gathering, unlike the rowdy celebration two years before at the Snicketts, where Augustus had just joined the crazy crew. In addition, Joe, Magnus, Wally, Curly, and Bob Buckle were present. This completed the

Snow Snow

Saturday, December 15, 2007 Puck’s first snow. A beautiful white blanket of it. In celebration of the wintry wonderland, OLeif, Collette, and Puck met Denae at the park-n-ride to visit the Galleria. There were Christmas presents to consider. Once they had arrived, the crowds were buzzing as usual. Denae

Transformations

Friday, December 14, 2007 It was a mostly typical day at the Snicketts house. Frances was still recovering. He had pulled a muscle in his leg Tuesday night and couldn’t move around too well. But everything else was the same. While Carrie pulled out the hair dye for her

To Soulard

Thursday, December 13, 2007 Things were looking up by Thursday morning. It was off with Grandma for their annual visit to Soulard and Crown Candy. OLeif accompanied. Frances, who was still recovering, and Rose, (who was still buried in her bunk bed at 8:15 that morning), stayed behind. “I

Home

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 The concert passed, this time, without Frances finding it necessary to run down the aisle, just as he was walking to the stage, and lose his groceries over Wilbur Hobcoggin. This year, Wilbur had come prepared with a handmade cardboard labeled “barf shield”. He caught Frances’

Once More

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 Yes, Rose had done it. She had brought back once again for an encore performance – the nasty and most wickedly acclaimed Strep Throat. Collette sighed. They were in for another round of it. “Yeah, Mom took me to Walgreens this morning,” Rose told Collette over the

Round Two Impending

Monday, December 10, 2007 Rose was on the couch, lounging. “I don’t feel well,” she croaked. Carrie decided to make her feel better by smashing her into the cushions. “Help!” Rose called. “Help! She’s squashing me again!” “Ahhhhh,” Carrie sighed. “Comfy.” “This is like the dream I had

Ice Forests

Sunday, December 8, 2007 During the night, Collette heard the rain begin to fall. Thunder cracked through the skies. A change in the weather had come. The next morning, the trees were once again covered in dresses of ice. They would have sparkled had the sun been given its chance.

Night Before the Ice

Saturday, December 8, 2007 Ah, another Saturday. Somehow Collette managed to get her hands on York peppermint patties and Reese peanut butter cups. It was a bad idea, but it was a day for sweets, and entirely unavoidable. While OLeif, Frances, and Linnea rehearsed for the children’s Christmas program

Dinner at The Met

Friday, December 7, 2007 Friday – OLeif was off to a special doctor to see about his hopeless under bite. The car was still being mended at the dealership. Collette was tutoring math to the antsy Frances who was more interested in packing ice balls from the yard into the freezer

Little Old Honda

Thursday, December 6, 2007 Rose had found a catalog in the mail displaying the usual Christmas gift baskets of cheeses, sausages, chocolates, etc. A picture of cheesecakes came across the page. “Eeew.” “What, you don’t like cheesecake?” Collette asked her. “Well, not really. Though I had a cheesecake at

Another One

Wednesday, December 5, 2007 Puck began his day by pulling himself up to his knees with aid from the printer in the office. Carrie was having problems with her hair again. Not only was it a nest for spiders, but it had taken on a life of it’s own.

The Usual

Tuesday, December 4, 2007 The morning was cool, but not like December. Quiet, full of sun. Collette spent her afternoon on hands and knees washing up the floor with a rag. Dust city. Puck crawled behind her drying the floor with his shirt. For the rest of his day, Puck

More From the Creepy Crawlies

Monday, December 3, 2007 Frances had Christmas on the mind: “A Wii is the best gift a man can give to another man,” he sighed. Mom was unmoved by his request, however. Besides, there was more confusion in the living room. Another spider had been sighted, this time on the

Where Do They Go

Sunday, December 2, 2007 Sunday School had only Susie, Augustus, Rose, and Nacchianti. OLeif had just begun the introduction to his 34-week study on the Westminster Confession. As he was saying: “The Catholic Church tends to look at the Canon as not necessarily being inspired. However, the collecting of the

Game Day

Saturday, December 1, 2007 It was a big day for Puck. His first tooth had appeared on the horizon. Collette didn’t even know it until she heard the tell-tale clink, clink on his drinking glass. Collette imagined him singing “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth”

Creeps on Eight Legs

Friday, November 30, 2007 The mission of Friday was to find new and improved hiking shoes for Israel. After Joe had returned from class, he accompanied Collette and Carrie-Bri in their quest. There was something very unappealing about shopping. Collette had never enjoyed it. Sometimes she blamed it on the

Scare Tactics

Thursday, November 29, 2007 Collette and Puck arrived on the scene that morning and were greeted by Frances with the following: “We got in trouble with the police yesterday,” Frances grinned all silly. “What?” “Well, we didn’t really get in trouble. We were shooting off my compression gun at

The Condition

Wednesday, November 28, 2007 The girls were at work. Joe had still not fully recovered from his “whatever”. Maybe it was a cold. Maybe it was something else. And Frances was in a rut. “I can’t do anything with Creole today until I get all my school done, math

The Day of Nothing

Tuesday, November 27, 2007 As far as Collette was concerned, nothing interesting had ever happened on November 27th. And for 2007, it appeared to be a repeat. “What should I bring back for you from Israel?” Collette asked OLeif that morning. “A donkey,” OLeif’s eyes grew wide, like a

Mom's Birthday

Monday, November 26, 2007 November 26th was Mom’s birthday. To add to the celebration, Collette and Puck brought her a bunch of small red roses in the rainy mist of the mid-morning. Before this happened, however, OLeif had been feeding Puck his breakfast. “Achoo! Ow!” “What happened?” “I sneezed.

Jilted

Saturday, November 24, 2007 The 24th of November brought another tradition held at Cracker Barrel. Collette and Carrie-Bri found themselves waiting by the window watching for Diana and Eve who were due at 8:30 for breakfast. A standard ten minutes late, they heard Eve behind them: “Hey, guys, were

Sundays, Sundays

Sunday, November 25, 2007 Ah, Sundays… Breakfast the Puck until he’s full enough to pop. Shower. Wash Puck’s armada of bottles used in the past 16 hours. Pack all necessary bags for the day. Make sure that OLeif and Puck are at least decently dressed for church, despite

Christmas Begins

Friday, November 23, 2007 The day after Thanksgiving was traditionally put to good use in the Snicketts’ household by resurrecting the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree and boxfuls of many other decorations. Collette and Puck arrived on the scene that morning to find no less than seventeen boxes of loot

Day of Turkey Death

Thursday, November 22, 2007 Puck’s first Thanksgiving. It began with jumbo cinnamon rolls at the Silverspoon’s before a ride in the red van to Christ Presbyterian for a morning service. Puck was cozily bundled in his car seat with his coat covering him. He looked back and forth

Thanksgiving Preparations

Wednesday, November 21, 2007 OLeif was feeding Puck breakfast. There was a new item on the menu that morning: apple banana strawberry, mixed with the usual cereal. OLeif was apparently not getting the desired results from Puck’s feed. “Does he ever sneeze on you too?” He asked. “He only

Cold Continued

Tuesday, November 20, 2007 Puck was still working on his cold by Tuesday morning. He found comfort in his wind-up penguin from Grandma, and did his best to be happy. In another part of the world it was Apple’s 23rd birthday down in Sydney. And with her birthday, the

Cold on a Monday

Monday, November 19, 2007 It was mild. Most of the leaves had fallen. The reds and golds had officially faded. Puck had his first cold. But one couldn’t tell for most of the time. He laughed and scooted his way through the day as usual. Puck was going places.

Carrie's Last Paper

Sunday, November 18, 2007 It was a Sunday morning at senior high Sunday School. Ben-Hur was back for the fall break. “So…” OLeif was saying, “what would you say if a Jewish person said to you, ‘Christians believe in three gods. Jews believe in one.'” Augustus yelled quickly, “We

Puck Meets Babies

Saturday, November 17, 2007 As usually happened on Saturdays, Collette began the day with good intentions of organizing the piles of clothing in the bedroom. Too many seasons’ worth of sweaters and jeans. And as most of them were OLeif’s, most of them also had holes and were no

Out for the Hike

Friday, November 16, 2007 Frances had found his potassium nitrate. It had come in the form of a large carton of stump remover at a gardening shop in Kirkwood. He had jumped for joy. Upon arriving at the house that morning, however, Collette was told by him, disappointedly, that he

Kirkwood

Thursday, November 15, 2007 It was the birthday week. Collette knew someone born on every day between November 13thth. Today was Shepherd’s 26th. and November 20 Kirkwood. Where all the houses had quirky balconies (the real kind without the fake doors behind them), doors at hobbit-like angles, and fishing

The Hunt for Potassium Nitrate

Wednesday, November 14, 2007 It was another double birthday for Denae (who was visiting Arkansas) and Diana – a good mysterious gray November day. OLeif brought the Puck into the study that morning, carrying him by his feet. Placing him in the center of his round floor mat, OLeif asked Collette:

Puck's Days

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 Puck rolled around his cushion that morning, from one side to the other, off onto the floor, and around in circles. Collette set out a cooking pot full of his stuffed “baby bugs”. And Puck, who was usually captivated with his bugs, decided instead to yell

Veteran's Day

Monday, November 12, 2007 The trees were really becoming dark red that week, dark orange, dark yellow, all mixed together. And though they were brilliantly rich in color, it was a sign that they were coming to the end. December was already on its way. Collette and Puck arrived at

Sunday Snippets

Sunday, November 11, 2007 Sunday’s service was minus Mr. Puck who spent his first (and likely only) time in the church nursery with his Grandma. It was missions Sunday. This included a baptism of a little girl with an unusual name (for a girl), whose father appeared to be

Gravitea

Saturday, November 10, 2007 Saturday was for another trip to the Galleria. Carrie had enjoyed her un-birthday-return-from-South-America present – a Teavana maker. And Mom decided to get one as an early birthday present for Collette. So Mom, Collette, Carrie-Bri, Joe, and Puck took a trip. This time, Mom and Carrie ordered

Ghosties

Friday, November 9, 2007 Puck was busy with important things that morning. Mom had carted out his colored rings, on which he chomped with gusto. He had a role model – Trooper, the golden retriever who found himself in a never-ending stream of dog in the doghouse trouble. Trooper usually had

Return from Paradise

Thursday, November 8, 2007 After breaking several hearts, (according to the broken English of many a dark-haired Uruguayan male), Carrie-Bri and Elizabeth were back in the States. And as always, Carrie had returned with hilarious tales and fascinating gifts. Dad got the handmade black sheepskin gloves. Mom, a shawl of

Deals Between Ten Year-Olds

Wednesday, November 7, 2007 It was the day for the return of Carrie-Bri and Elizabeth from South America. It had already been fifteen days since their departure and it was time for tales of travels and adventures under the equator. Rose sat under her bedroom window polishing her new library

Puck's Rollings

Tuesday, November 6, 2007 Puck was cooing happily to himself by 6:13 that morning, a few minutes earlier than usual. He was rehearsing his list of things to do before breakfast. This included practicing to sit. “Bah bah bah bah.” “You ready?” Collette asked the snoring OLeif. “Oh,” moaned

What About the Milk

Monday, November 5, 2007 Puck began his Monday morning with a boom. Enjoying the new accomplishment of sitting up on his own, he had been chewing on his ring of plastic keys in the living room. Then much to his amazement, he fell over backwards, hitting his head on the

Pizza & The Big Screen

Sunday, November 4, 2007 Collette’s thoughts zoned to Islamic visions during the sermon Sunday morning. She snapped to, when Sinai bellowed: “So then it’s: your mom is ugly and she wears army boots.” She somehow missed the parallel. After the service, OLeif, Collette, and Puck waited in line

Ordination

Saturday, November 3, 2007 Everyone was sifted into different activities that day. Dad and Frances at Beaumont for the weekend with the Scouts, Mom running Rose out to Brentwood for her next exam after which Rose would head to work, Carrie-Bri still in Uruguay, Joe out and about with buddies,

Brushophobia

Friday, November 2, 2007 Rose was at work all day serving at an American Eagle fashion show. And while she had hopes of bringing back pieces from the runway, Collette felt that the likelihood of Rose confiscating toss-aways at this particular event, was remote. The list of loot from Columns

Laundry Baskets, Spatula Tops

Thursday, November 1, 2007 The first of a rather dreary month, in most cases. But Collette found that she liked dreary. Puck was having a show-down with the hiccups that morning. And, as usual, he was overwhelmed with joy to see his friend, the laundry basket, come out to play.

Day of Jack 'o Lanterns

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 Puck’s first Halloween. The morning began with early rosy blue skies, baby breezes in the crunchy yellow leaves, and fat squirrels running the telephone poles from end to end. Rose had spent the evening before trying to forget the woes of her sore throat by

Quiet Tuesday

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 Puck opened his show that morning with a crowd-pleaser: lifting himself out of his car seat by pulling up on the handle above his head. There was no fancy name for such a stunt, but he seemed well-pleased with his efforts and stuck out his tongue

Beginnings of the Loot

Monday, October 29, 2007 In Snicketts Land, it was once again time for lessons. Linnea was temptingly distracted by her pillowcase of candy from Sunday evening. “Look at all I got,” she grinned. The contents of the pillowcase spilled onto the counter. Linnea began dividing the little packages into categories.

Too Close for Comfort

Sunday, October 28, 2007 After church, Dad, Mom, and OLeif stayed behind for a conference. Collette returned Frances, Linnea, and Puck to the house. Joe was at a football game. And Rose had slept through church after her exhausting day. “Collette,” she said, trying not to laugh, “stop writing things

Saturday

Saturday, October 27, 2007 In another part of the world, Carrie-Bri and Elizabeth were enjoying Montevideo. They had been asked out to dinner by some Uruguayans. And declined. Purchases were easy, as one of their emails stated: “It is really cheap here because their economy just crashed… SWEET!” Meanwhile, back

Rose's Future

Friday, October 26, 2007 At Puck’s 6-month check-up, Dr. Box stood him up on the table where Puck started moving his feet and giggling. “Oh, now you’re dancing,” Dr. Box laughed. “Got some moves there. Hmmm mmm.” After good healthy results and a leap up to the 90th

The Invasion

Thursday, October 25, 2007 The windows had fogged over that morning. It was cold outside. Fruit fly city. OLeif and Collette spent the first part of their morning smashing fruit flies in the bathroom. The lure of warm water from the shower had drawn them in. Their carcasses soon lined

A Part of B.A. - Buenos Aires - Big Apple

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 The day was cool and golden. While they waited for the sun to warm up the morning and the flower beds, Mom worked with Linnea on the couch while Collette escorted Frances to the kitchen. “Frances, didn’t you bring your math book?” Mom had asked

To South America

Tuesday, October 23, 2007 Though it was late October, Mom and Collette set out to plant the tulip bulbs. It was a cold enough morning for Collette to pull on the bright red winter coat which Carrie had given her from Australia. Puck fussed while OLeif snuggled Puck’s little

Tilling Fiends

Monday, October 22, 2007 By the time the morning had expired, October had finally come. Cold and colder. Mom, Rose, Frances, and Linnea had arrived shortly after eight to rent a tiller to plant the flower bulbs before the rain came. Once the fuel had been switched on, as had

Briefly

Sunday, October 21, 2007 After being let off the old nursery duty hook at church (thanks to the fact that only one parent decided to drop off a kid that morning), lunch followed at the Silverspoon’s before they left early for a gathering at their own church. This was

Deutsch Days

Saturday, October 20, 2007 Saturday was for German days in Marthasville. The air was almost warm – a good day for Mom, OLeif, Collette, Linnea, and Puck to spend in the woods of an old farm where the annual Deutsch Days was held. It began with homemade root beer and kettle

Unearthed

Friday, October 19, 2007 Friday – they were going to try and plant the flower bulbs from Holland in the front yard before the first frost. Mom, Collette, Rose, Frances, Linnea, and Puck. It soon became a job too big for hands and trowels. Even the shovels didn’t quite cut

The Niña

Thursday, October 18, 2007 Field trip. 7:30 in the morning, Mom, Frances, and Linnea pulled into the driveway in the minivan and helped Collette and Puck move into the vehicle. Off to see the Niña. The Niña – of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. An exact replica

Transformations

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Back on the ranch, Carrie had been dishing out the usual: hair trims and colors. Mom and Frances got the trims. Joe got the dye. And Rose got the bangs. Linnea was left out of the picture, much to her relief. And Dad had been thankful

Puck Learns a Trick

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 Puck giggled all morning, especially when OLeif tossed him up and down and all around. Thankfully, he didn’t lose his breakfast. “Look at our son, the daredevil,” said OLeif. He balanced Puck, standing up on his Dad’s knee. OLeif let go, and Puck, holding

It Ends

Monday, October 15, 2007 After greeting Monday morning feeling pretty much the same that she had over the weekend, Collette and Puck were dropped off at the house by OLeif, and Collette scheduled an appointment with the doctor for the afternoon. The rest of the day passed much as had

Upswing

Sunday, Collette woke feeling a little worse in concentrated parts of her body. But the good news was that, overall, the rest of her organs had decided to cooperate, and she felt vastly better as a whole. Come 8:00 or so, Mom had arrived before OLeif left for church.

Nastiness Arrives

Saturday, October 13, 2007 It hit Saturday – the big bad day. The very bad day. Collette had had bad days before. She had been sick before. And it certainly wasn’t the worst day she had ever had. But… it was pretty bad. She woke up at two in the

The Usual Clutter

Friday, October 12, 2007 Friday – it was the calm before the storm. A good calm anyway. Candy pumpkins. Grandma Combs was coming over to the house (where she would spend the night and attend the autism walk early the next morning as a volunteer with Carrie), where Collette and Puck

Sneezes & Blasts

Thursday, October 11, 2007 Theodore’s 59th birthday. That fine October morning, Collette and Puck went shopping for hiking boots. The air was cold and the clouds were amazing, shuffled in lines of equal puffiness across the horizons. As they headed onto the exit ramp, sunlight splashed into the backseat

Thumbtacks

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 Over at the house that morning, Rose (who had just returned from work with Carrie after leaving at 5:30 in the morning), had a surprise for the beaming Puck. “Close your eyes and hold out your hands,” she told Collette, who was accepting his gift.

Wind, Bugs, and Broken Buttons

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 That morning, the sun lit up the trees like topaz. OLeif and Puck were in the living room. “You know what he did?” OLeif told her later. “I ran my clean sock in front of his face back and forth, and he stuck out his tongue

What Will Rose Eat?

Monday, October 8, 2007 Monday morning, back on the ranch, Puck was busy bouncing it his bouncy with a celery stick. He took his job of celery gnawing, very seriously. After twenty minutes or so of this pastime, he became tired of his celery and dropped it into Collette’s

Linnea Turns Ten

Sunday, October 7, 2007 Sunday morning woke Collette with a bag of chocolate mini donuts – OLeif’s way of sneaking around the grocery budget while tacking on miscellaneous snacks to the fuel bill at the gas station. Smart cookie. (Although Collette admittedly sometimes encouraged him in this quest.) Sunday School

Mercy & Cal

Saturday, October 6, 2007 Mercy and Cal were married at 11:00 Saturday morning under the rafters of Grace Community Chapel. As little as Collette usually enjoyed weddings, she was happy for an old friend. Photographs of Judy and Cal’s Mom had been placed on separate tables opposite the

The Old Silliness

Friday, October 5, 2007 Friday morning, OLeif burnt his coffee. He spilled Puck’s peaches all over his shirt. Then he spilled the coffee over the edge of his cup onto the wood floor. It was not his morning. He then began to sing for Puck, who was eating his

Continuing

Thursday, October 4, 2007 It was warm – too warm for October. Puck was enjoying his days. While Collette mixed up pumpkin bread in the kitchen, Puck watched the back yard through the glass door and talked to his feet: “Come to me toes, or I will pound you repetitively into

The Fate of the Apple Cider

Wednesday, October 3, 2007 Over at the house that morning bright yellow post-its had been stuck to everything in the house. On them was a picture of the object to which it had been stuck (or something similar to that object) with the Spanish word above it. Some post-its had

Dances & Tornadoes

Tuesday, October 2, 2007 Tuesday. Cleaning. Dishes. The usual. Mercy was getting married in four days. No longer would she be Mercy Pretzel. She would be Mrs. Caligula Cuarters. Then the circle of the Pretzel family would finally be complete. Puck was better understanding the art of slurping his toes.

Autumn Cometh

Monday, October 1, 2007 Collette’s favorite month. Cool autumn had arrived. Puck was happy about it. He spent most of his time every day dancing. Up, down, around, down went his arms and legs, flailing, as he rocked in his bouncy and smiled at his feet. Over at the

Ladybugs & Flower Pants

Sunday, September 30, 2007 Sunday, Dad left for Denver after teaching Sunday School. During Senior High Sunday School, OLeif introduced Buddhism which commenced with the usual nonsense afterward: “So who takes pictures here?” OLeif asked. “I need photos to put on the church website. Rose?” “What do you need pictures

Sweet Potatoes

Saturday, September 29, 2007 Collette had promised OLeif not to decide about Israel until Monday. According to Kitts, the site to be excavated was “the only site with evidence of the existence of King Solomon” and the professor leading the tour would “be bringing two people along to begin filming

Back on the Ranch

Friday, September 28, 2007 Collette and Puck arrived at the house Friday morning to the usual hubbub when Mom was out of town. Frances was already out with his potato guns, shooting rubber ducks into the treetops. “I think you must be giving it a heart attack,” Collette said, as

Puck's Quiet

Thursday, September 27, 2007 Early Thursday morning, OLeif gave Puck a brief photo shoot with his little green apple from Carrie. Collette and Puck were enjoying their walks around the neighborhood, one to two times every day. Puck would chew on his seatbelt strap and concentrate on the sunshine and

Tel Aviv

Wednesday, September 26, 2007 Tuesday, OLeif became CPR-certified for a year. He pulled out a signed card from his wallet. Collette was relieved to know that if she were ever to find herself choking to death, she knew someone who could save her life. Wednesday morning, Carrie had news: “So

Puckleberries

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 Earlier, (Friday night), OLeif, Collette, Joe, Augustus, and Rose had road-tripped to Columbia. The sun set pink and mischief prepared itself. By the time they met Ben-Hur in the parking lot of Shakespeare’s Pizza shortly after eight o’clock, the hour and a half on

Giggles, Apples, & Dreams

Monday, September 24, 2007 Saturday was a girls’ world for Puck. He suddenly found himself whisked into the screaming giggles, apples crisps, and the piles of packages of Mercy’s bridal shower. He was not set down until the two hours had passed, during most of which he smiled widely.

Visitations

Friday, September 21, 2007 Puck’s great-great aunt and uncle were in town from Albuquerque. Around three o’clock, Dad, Mom, Collette, Joe, Frances, and Linnea arrived at Libby’s where they were staying. Joe, Frances, and Linnea were having contests to see who could hold their breath the longest

Play Ball

Thursday, September 20, 2007 Front row seats – close enough to toss a peanut and hit David Eckstein – which someone apparently tried to do. The peanut landed for shie of its target, however. During the entire game, a row of white-haired clip-on-earrings grannies watched the game in great excitement. Every time

Begin Launch Sequence

Wednesday, September 19, 2007 Eight years ago to the day that the church had first met in the old middle school. Eight years ago to the afternoon that Collette had entered her audition for the Young People’s Concert Orchestra at the St. Louis Symphony Music School. Over at the

Chips for Dinner

Chips for Dinner Tuesday, September 18, 2007 Monday evening, OLeif, Collette, and Puck drove over to Maryland Heights, where OLeif’s old friend and boss was having email trouble. Mr. Stallone was jolly and talked with OLeif long after he had greeted the happy bouncing Puck, the email had been

Tiny Tim, Dreadlocks, & Rosaries

Monday, September 17, 2007 It was over at the house that Frances was already up to mischief: “This is Rose’s mouth,” he said, opening and closing the spout of the tea kettle. Rose, oblivious to this comment, did not feel the need to chase him around the house, and

Expansion

Sunday – longest day of the week. The sky was a blanket that morning, rolls of gray velvet laid out toward the rising sun. Lunch was tortilla soup, mesquite chicken, sweet tea or guava mango juice, and The Office marathon at the Silverspoon’s. Puck squealed and gurgled for everyone, jealously

Two Strikes

Saturday, September 15, 2007 Cahokia lived under blue skies that morning. Unfortunately, Monks Mound looked like someone had taken a blow-torch to it. OLeif, Collette, and Puck were out for a drive just over the river to Illinois. It would have been a good day for a hike to the

Guns for Potatoes

Friday, September 14, 2007 Adam’s golden birthday. The first thing that Collette and Puck noticed as they pulled into the driveway that Friday morning, was a PVC pipe sticking up toward the sky from a duct-taped contraption. Frances was soon out the front door into the chilly early air.

Puck and His Wow

Thursday, September 13, 2007 Puck woke up with plans to roll. Something about viewing the world from the stomach was more exciting than lying on one’s back. The day was the perfect mixture of warmth and coolness. Before the sun had fully risen, the back corner of the lawn

Pirate Photo Shoots & Budget Horror Films

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 Collette and Puck hit the road that day for another algebra session with Frances. Puck was greeted with another photo shoot, this time with Carrie in the late summer grass of the old volleyball field on the side of the house. He received several more squeezes

First Fall

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 It was cold that morning – September cold. Puck was making mischief with his eyes, chomping on his fist and sticking out his tongue in baby glee. During the afternoon, he and Collette sat on the front porch and watched the cool weather clad in his bluejeans

The Usual Banter

Monday, September 10, 2007 Sunday – another bout of squash and the all-new peas for Puck during the worship service in the youth building. Puck seemed to appreciate the new green vegetable, and had also learned to adapt his ravenous tastes toward the green beans. Afterward, driving from church, O-Zone on

Lezione Prima

Saturday, September 8, 2007 Friday – the day Frances was to begin his first session of algebra with Collette – had he not been feeling “under the weather”, as were Carrie-Bri, Joe, Rose, and Linnea also. Collette reluctantly agreed to begin Monday instead. Kids and their claim to colds… Meanwhile, Linnea was

Yoda, Pigs, & Aloes

Thursday, September 6, 2007 Puck spent part of his morning watching the world next to his snoozing dad. Blinking little ball peeking from behind the bed covers. “Here comes the gravy train,” OLeif said as he took the tiny bowl of rice cereal from Collette. Puck opened his mouth like

Mud Caves & Fried Cheesecake

Wednesday, September 5, 2007 Collette and Puck took a walk around half the neighborhood that afternoon. Rain was in the air but hadn’t yet arrived. The retired gardener was watering his flowers in the front lawn. “Want some tomatoes?” He called to them. Collette carted Puck and stroller into

19 Joe

Tuesday, September 4, 2007 Joe’s birthday had been hot and blue. Not a cloud crossed the horizon from Collette’s point of view. After a walk around half of the neighborhood late that morning, Collette and Puck returned in time to join OLeif on a drive to the Silverspoon’

Party at One, Party at Three

Monday, September 3, 2007 Joe was 19 on Labor Day. His party had been predictably entertaining. Earlier in the afternoon, however, Grandma Combs, Mom, Collette, and Carrie-Bri hosted a pool party at Grandpa’s for an early 10th birthday for Linnea. Seven sun-browned little girls splashed away their afternoon over

Patsy

Friday, August 31, 2007 OLeif was telling stories about funny things Wednesday morning: “There was starlight and pixie dust, and the antelope was singing us a song. Dandelions dancing in the dirt and playing marbles with the daisies. Beavers are playing the bagpipes. And antelopes and penguins are making homemade

Third Year Around

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 OLeif’s and Collette’s third anniversary. During Puck’s afternoon nap, Collette watched The Great Gatsby – decadence, immorality, drunkenness, lust, murder – one of the classics. But it was to be expected. Collette had always found it interesting that during such a time in history her

Summer Moon

Monday, August 27, 2007 Another warm week. Plans were in the making for Joe’s and Linnea’s birthday parties over at the house. Collette helped. Rose, however, was more interested in reading The Diary of Anne Frank and getting rehauled by Carrie-Bri: “She got me up to work out

Sunday's Script

Sunday, August 26, 2007 Saturday was the usual – dishes, laundry, OLeif working on various projects involving his laptop. Come afternoon, they drove over to the church for OLeif to take a picture for the fall festival pamphlet, where Puck also received a sailor’s hat from Loraine who was cleaning

Home's Heaven

Friday, August 24, 2007 Puck was off to his fourth doctor’s appointment for his four-month check-up that morning. Sheets of rain fell before the light of the morning sky as OLeif drove them. The cascades came from the north and south and met in the middle of the eastern

Summer Hours

Thursday, August 23, 2007 Collette was not pleased to be greeted by a huge wolf spider in the shower that morning. OLeif washed him down the drain with a tub-full of bleach water, but Collette still decided to skip the shower. Spiders were perhaps her worst enemy. It was a

Ropes & Collars

Wednesday, August 22, 2007 Grandma Combs came over to the house that afternoon to watch autism films with Carrie. While out to the library to pick up the films, Carrie also brought back fried chicken, Italian cheese bread, Caesar salad, and vanilla ice cream with chocolate Magic Shell for lunch.

Face Paint & Okra

Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Back on the ranch, Collette and Rose continued their study in Dad’s office. The distractions were plentiful: Joe in the other room riding madly on the old exercise bike with one leg raised perpendicular to the rest of his body, Rose trying to sneak in

Quiet

Monday, August 20, 2007 Puck was trying to stealthily slip out of his bouncy seat to get his pacifier which had fallen to the floor. “Puck, get back in your seat!” Collette put him back. Puck grinned. At about 3:30 in the afternoon, Puck decided to go on a

The Unusual

Sunday, August 19, 2007 Another storm came rumbling through that Saturday evening as OLeif left for work and Mollie arrived to spend the night while her parents were bringing Jo-Jo to college in Tennessee. The next morning brought an overload of waffles before the ride to church. “We’re traveling

Another Engagement

Saturday, August 18, 2007 Ashley-Sue and Miguel Dominguez were now also engaged. Jo-Jo and Mollie would be getting their first brother-in-law. That could be interesting. Collette had three and a half herself. The half-brother-in-law she had never met. She didn’t even know his name. It was kind of fun

Statistics, Keys, & Omelettes

Friday, August 17, 2007 At the house, tutoring was again in order. This time, Rose was in the process of cleaning and organizing Dad’s office. The wooden table with the white top and the six wooden swivel chairs with dark turquoise plastic cushions sat in the middle of the

Look to the Skies

Thursday, August 16, 2007 It was over to the house that morning to work with Carrie on papers. The weather was fantastically amazing. Carrie climbed up to the roof and stood on the ridge, her arms outstretched in the winds. Green leaves whirled up in the heavens as thunder cracked

Record Breaker

Wednesday, August 15, 2007 Mrs. Pretzel had been gone, now, for two years, to the day. But it was also Bing’s 21st birthday. Collette remembered the time when Carrie had written Bing a poem and gave him a bag of Reeses peanut butter cups for his birthday. Maybe it

Back to Old Rose

Tuesday, August 14, 2007 Another 21st-er that day: Marigold Avonlea. And Joseph the Blue-Eyed was engaged. Carrie and Rose had been out for a hike on Monday night. They had brought Louis and Juliet Tecumseh with them. “First, Louis and I sprinted up the big rock hill,” Carrie said. “Rose

Daisy, Daisy

Monday, August 13, 2007 Saturday continued with a bag of Popsicles. “I think it’s persimmon,” OLeif ate an orange one. “Persimmon?” “They’re budget Popsicles. They could be anything.” Saturday afternoon was a party at Ben-Hur’s house. A handful of the junior high (including Francis and Creole) were

Back to the Books

Saturday, August 11, 2007 “Let’s dance on mommy’s shoulder! Doodly-doodly-doodly-doodly!” Puck squealed happily. OLeif was already busy winding up Puck for the day at 8:00 in the morning. Puck continued his morning, breakfasting on his shirt collar. Meanwhile, OLeif was engrossed in his newly installed “Commander Keen”

Webkins' Worlds

Friday, August 10, 2007 Dad, after another year to complete his masters, was going for the big one – the PhD. Everyone decided, however, that if he was going to become a professor, (especially at Washington University), he absolutely had to grow a goatee. It would be mandatory. Dad still, three

Night Ballgame

Thursday, August 9, 2007 Another scorcher. Carrie-Bri was making banana crunch yogurts for breakfast, topped with two slices of banana and cinnamon on each. For not liking hardly any food that was actually good for her, Collette enjoyed it. After Carrie dipped Puck’s wow into the yogurt and placed

Vinegar & Swedes

Wednesday, August 8, 2007 OLeif had made the mistake of tainting the laundry the day before. He had learned somewhere that if a load of clothes was left too long in the wash and became musty, if vinegar was added and the clothes were washed again, the musty smell would

Stuffed Animals

Tuesday, August 7, 2007 Mercy was wasting no time. Her wedding date was set for October 6th. Although she was probably going to have a difficult time on deciding who the bridesmaids would be – she knew so many people. Collette could think of seven girls off the top of her

Sweltering

Monday, August 6, 2007 Over at the house for more archiving… On the way over, Collette absently wondered to herself why the window had been broken in the church sanctuary. It was too high for a rock to have hit it from a lawn mower. Puck was in a feisty

Oh, Susannah

Sunday, August 5, 2007 Sunday afternoon, nine year-old Linnea and her neighbor friend were in the kitchen discussing credit cards and computer programs: “We have the old Windows 1998.” “Wow.” “Webkins requires Windows 2000.” “Do you have 2000?” “No. It’s like 2004-ish. So it’s much better.” “I think

The Pirate Don Durk of Dowdee

Saturday, August 4, 2007 Saturday, the boys returned to Libby’s to clean out the pool from the havoc of the evening before. And Mom checked out plants at the TLC Nursery. At home, Collette scrubbed things down and dusted things off and pulled out old pictures for the walls.

Luau Without the Pineapple

Friday, August 3, 2007 That morning, OLeif’s cellphone alarm rang at 5:02am (according to Collette’s alarm clock, which was two minutes fast). However, he decided that he wasn’t interested in waking up that early on that particular morning. He turned it off again and went back

The Old Haunt

Thursday, August 2, 2007 For the first time in four months, Collette was returning to the church office. But only for four hours. Sadly, Forget-me-Not’s grandmother had passed away and she was out of town. So Collette was filling in for her with the creating of the bulletin. It

Moons, Clouds, & Blankets

Wednesday, August 1, 2007 Over at the house… While Collette fed Puck his bottle in the living room, Mom was teaching science to Francis and Linnea: “The scientists in the late 1800’s thought that they had already discovered everything. Can you imagine all the things that hadn’t been

Rose's Accident

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 The morning began with OLeif up again at 5:00am to prepare for his day. After Puck had been fed and put back down for his morning nap, Collette caught OLeif rinsing out the coffeepot. He wasn’t trying to hide it either. “OLeif. Shame, shame.

The Snowball

Monday, July 30, 2007 Perhaps the biggest news of the weekend involved two engagements: Mercy Pretzel and Amanda Snicketts, Dad’s little stepsister. Mercy, after talking about it for the last seven years… That was as long as she had been Collette’s friend. She had likely been talking about

Emerald's Day

Saturday, July 28, 2007 Emerald Blots was marrying Corfu Drinker that night, down in steamy Shreveport, Louisiana. Inside the house, OLeif worked on setting up a photo of himself taken through the sliding glass door in the kitchen with his face pressed up against the glass. Puck rolled himself over

Quiet Friday

Friday, July 27, 2007 Friday began with yellow-green treetops and overcast skies. St. Louis was due for a little rain. However, as the morning went on, the sun came out again. Collette could almost hear the dry grass give a little sigh. Despite the dryness, it had been an amazingly

Puck's Doings

Thursday, July 26, 2007 Collette had more dreams that night about fields and wind, green groves and paths, great thunderstorms at night before the kids went singing at a choir concert… other things. And as usual, they left her with the same feeling. It was rare now that she had

The Cave, Part 3

Wednesday, July 25, 2007 That night, Collette experienced strange dreams of an expedition to the Antarctic. A blizzard was coming and the little lodge where the party was staying, would be lost in the blizzard if they didn’t leave immediately. One man, however, stayed behind. Collette never heard what

The Cave, Part 2

Tuesday, July 24, 2007 Tuesday morning, Mom, Collette, and Carrie-Bri entered the cave again. The night before, both Mom and Carrie had finished most of the painting. The walls looked stop light green. “I think we’re going to try to make it look African,” Mom told her. Carrie was

The Cave, Part 1

Monday, July 23, 2007 Things had been busy. Sunday, Puck was feeling fussy with himself. So after his bottle at 10:20a in the youth building, Collette cuddled him up next to her on the worn-out dark red couch and let him nap until the service ended some time later.

Old Blue & Cashmere

Saturday, July 21, 2007 After a three-year wait, Old Blue and Cashmere were tying the knot at 12:30 at the South’s church that afternoon. That morning, OLeif was out running around Scott Hamilton’s friend to another hotel and to his work. And Puck sat mostly undressed in

Talk of Travel

Friday, July 20, 2007 Kits came into town that day to join Relevance in preparation for the wedding. The rehearsal dinner was that night. Back on the ranch, it was another morning for Greek food. Upon arrival at the house, Rose was gone. She had been up since four o’

Return from Paradise

Thursday, July 19, 2007 Thursday, Collette and Puck made travels for more stories. Although Joe was asleep for a long time after their arrival. Mom had made pancakes. Joe slept right through them and was awake sometime around eleven o’clock after Puck had gone down for his nap. While

The Culmination

Wednesday, July 18, 2007 It had been a full four days of everything. Saturday’s picnic included Collette holding a happy, bouncing Puck at a table with Mom, Mr. and Mrs. Coca-Cola, Mr. and Mrs. Owen, and occasionally Ivy, Mrs. Romans, Judah, OLeif, Ben-Hur, and Addicus. OLeif spent most of

More Details

Saturday, July 14, 2007 Annamaria was returning home from Budapest that day. Denae was down at S-F picking up Izzy from a week of leadership training. On the other side of the world, it was Sunday, and Carrie-Bri left for the airport at about 3:30a Christchurch time to catch

Night Out

Friday, July 13, 2007 More word arrived from beyond the Pacific that day: “…I just arrived here at my hostel in Christchurch…They gave me a free DVD of my jump today; it was so sweet! I found out that the only higher place to jump is located in Denver…

Visitation to the Penguins

Thursday, July 12, 2007 Puck was going to have his first trip to the Zoo that day with his grandma, nana, Uncle Francis, and Aunt Linnea. (Rose was at work.) Collette wanted Puck to see the penguins. Sometimes Puck looked like a penguin himself. The day was warm, but nicely

Coconut Milk & Peanut Butter

Wednesday, July 11, 2007 Puck was twelve weeks old already. He was really becoming a little person. In various parts of the neighborhood, Linnea was swimming at a friend’s luau party, Francis was water-tubing in the Ozarks with the junior youth, Joe was surfing in Hawaii, and Carrie was

Word from the Pacific

Tuesday, July 10, 2007 Puck sat in his bouncy seat while Collette worked in the kitchen that morning, washing dishes, sterilizing his armada of bottles, scrubbing the counters, and slicing cantaloupe. “Want a taste of this, Puck?” Puck threw his arms up in the air in affirmation. Collette brushed her

Toad Returns

Monday, July 9, 2007 “This is what the guy said on the radio this morning,” OLeif told Collette. “’Not one, not two, but three German dances. Here at Classic 99, we always give you more.’” Over at the house that morning, Puck was greeted with a handful of shiny beaded

Welcome, Omaha

Sunday, July 8, 2007 It was Elizabeth’s 22nd birthday. It was also Sierra Lincoln’s 22nd birthday. And it was Spurgeon’s and Rebecca’s first anniversary. On the other side of the world, Carrie-Bri and Eve were preparing to return to Sydney. After church and meatball subs, OLeif

A Slow Summer Day

Saturday, July 7, 2007 Seven-seven-seven. That morning, Puck listened to opera on a Swiss Internet radio station while his dad prepared brunch. During the afternoon, OLeif and Collette played their first Scrabble game while Puck was bundled snuggly in Collette’s fluffy red robe in his bouncy seat. It was

Travel Notes

Friday, July 6, 2007 That morning, Puck laughed in his sleep. He was probably dreaming about his ever-illusive dum-dums. Denae forwarded an email to Collette that day from another girl, Brunhilda Cuppett, who also was on the mission team to Hungary: “…I do stand out to some extent. Whenever people

After a Holiday

Thursday, July 5, 2007 Sometimes it was nice to have a holiday on Wednesday to cut a break into the middle of the week. According to the itinerary, Carrie-Bri and Eve were still in Cairns. Perhaps they were either scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef or bungee-jumping in the

No “Earth-Shakers” This Year

Wednesday, July 4, 2007 Puck’s eleven week-old baby-ness would likely not be capable of handling any “earth-shakers” that year. The mammoth fireworks would be put on hold till at least the following July. His ears would not yet be able to stand the pops or the booms. Meanwhile, over

A Day Away From the World

Tuesday, July 3, 2007 Bristol’s 24th birthday. Collette had fallen ill to a bad summer cold. By the time it really hit her Sunday night, she was ready to spend all day Monday on the living room couch while Mom and Puck’s Aunt Linnea watched over the little

The Clouds Here

Saturday, June 30, 2007 Saturday was a relaxing affair involving rain, “I Love Lucy”, and Puck taking a two hour nap on his mom’s tummy. The only real noise of the day came from the sizzle and pop of fireworks on the “bad side” of the neighborhood (at least

Jó Napot to the Magyars

Friday, June 29, 2007 Brit’s 31st birthday. At ten o’clock that morning, Annamaria’s plane took off toward Chicago and then over the Atlantic. It was the first time the English family had two of their children overseas at the same time: one backpacking up the east coast

Summer Trends

Thursday, June 28, 2007 Thursday morning broke with storms in the west. According to the girls’ itinerary, which Carrie had emailed to Collette in a hurry Monday morning before departing, they had plans to possibly continue their tour with the Moss’ to Blue Mountain National Park to hike to the

Waltzing Matilda

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 Late on Wednesday morning, Puck’s Great-Great Aunt Rebecca and his Great-Grandma Snicketts came over with Mom to see him and the brightly painted house. They sat and talked over many things and held Puck, having sandwiches and fruit for lunch. There was the usual news

Rose Day

Tuesday, June 26, 2007 The Rose was seventeen that warm June morning. Her birthday had already been officially celebrated, but more than likely there were still awaiting treats for her during the day. Meanwhile, Carrie-Bri and Eve were jetting over the Pacific. Their three separate flights would span a total

From Mountain Home to Sydney

Monday, June 25, 2007 It had been busy. After a total of five and a half hours on the road, a cooler of cheese, crackers, salami, and Reeses peanut butter cups, and a stop in a tiny dust-blown town to feed Puck his bottle, they arrived in Mountain Home, Arkansas,

Departure

Friday, June 22, 2007 It was time for a short trip down south. After OLeif’s amazing new camera arrived via FedEx at 8:32am and OLeif had returned from two hours at work, they were off with no less than six pieces of baggage, four of which were Puck’

Aígina

Thursday, June 21, 2007 Izzy’s 14th birthday, and, as usual, he was away at summer camp for it. Collette tried to pull together preparations for Arkansas during the day while OLeif worked overtime. And while Collette packed, Puck sat in his bouncy seat making bashful smiles. Tomorrow would be

Color & Games

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 Wednesday was a quiet day spent mostly over at the house. The first matter of business was for Carrie-Bri to dye Collette’s hair. It had been awhile since she had dyed it – about nine months. And this time, it ended up a dark brown and

Cookie Monster

Tuesday, June 19, 2007 Relevance’s 24th birthday. It would have been Edred’s 21st. It had been hot lately. As the morning grew more bold, Collette and Puck stayed in the shade of the indoors. Collette washed dishes, scrubbed the counters, saw to papers and laundry, and Puck cooed,

Busywork

Monday, June 18, 2007 Monday was for thunderstorms. They tumbled in at about 3:30 in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Carrie finished a 32-page research paper on EMPs, Joe began his new full-time job, Rose remapped her college schedule again and day-dreamed about iPods, and Linnea attended her first day of

Reunion

Sunday, June 17, 2007 A first Father’s Day for OLeif. He was presented a picture of a teddy bear, reading “#1 Dad”, from Puck (with a little help from his Grandma). And Dad and Francis left for summer camp that morning. It was also Grandma Combs’ 71st birthday. She

Party for Ben-Hur

Saturday, June 16, 2007 Collette brushed the little wisps of hair on top of Puck’s head. It tickled him. Giggle. Collette thought Puck looked a lot like Dad when he was a kid when he laughed, according to Dad’s pictures. Puck seemed to mirror most of his family

Greek

Friday, June 15, 2007 Thursday night Collette had dreams of wild winds in tall old trees in even older neighborhoods of long straight streets and houses of brown stone, rain, and other things. To the Greek lunch. Mom, OLeif (who had the day off of work), Collette, Rose, Linnea, and

Sunglasses, Turtles, Vegetarians

Thursday, June 14, 2007 Thursday morning, Puck was pulling off the dude-look, complete with striped green pants from his Aunt Rose, the also-green top from the Peppers reading: “If I’m not Happy, Nobody’s Happy”, white high-tops, sunglasses (from Mrs. Lord-Welches), and a brown ball cap (also from his

Scrabble Day

Wednesday, June 13, 2007 Once again it was OLeif’s birthday, now 23, Eve’s (nineteen), and Wally’s (eighteen). OLeif was out hiking the Appalachian trail at the senior high youth retreat before departing for Nashville. Also on their schedule had been whitewater rafting. The restaurant located at their

Dum-Dum

Tuesday, June 12, 2007 Puck was given another crack at the dum-dums that morning. He would have continued inhaling the flavor had not Collette told Linnea to remove the candy after a few licks. After Linnea had rewrapped the sucker, Rose entered the room. “Oh, let Rose see him lick

New and Wonderful Things

Monday, June 11, 2007 It was already Relevance and Kitts’ second anniversary. And word from Idlewild was that little Anneliese was doing well except for a case of jaundice which was frustrating for Idlewild and Jordan because they couldn’t hold her except when she was being fed. The little

The River Road

Sunday, June 10, 2007 Sunday was for rain. Collette, Linnea, and Puck (dressed sharply in his new orange collared shirt from his Aunt Rose) arrived early for church and afterward met the rest of the family (minus Carrie who was at work) at the house. An excursion was planned. Sometime

South Bound

Saturday, June 9, 2007 OLeif was leaving for North Carolina that afternoon, not to return until Thursday night. Before he left, he mowed the lawn in his new bald head with iPod headphones, packed his bag, and was strongly urged to write two thank you notes to his aunt and

She Came on June 7th

Friday, June 8, 2007 “Ay, love bug,” Collette woke up the little sleeping Puck. He squirmed and waited awhile before opening his blue eyes. He loved his sleeptime. Collette had actually caught him snoring on rare occasion. In official good news of the day, Idlewild had, indeed, had her baby

Summer Mondays

Thursday, June 7, 2007 It was Mom’s and Dad’s 27th anniversary. It seemed that the customary gift for someone’s 27th wedding anniversary was statuary. But Collette had a different idea. Meanwhile, on that memorable day (also being Colorado Lord-Welches’ 22nd birthday up in Iowa), Mom was taking

Baldy

Wednesday, June 6, 2007 OLeif and Puck came to Collette’s appointment that morning so that Puck could meet the nurses and Dr. Brazil. “Hey, baldy,” Dr. Brazil rubbed his little fuzzy head. He was a hit with the nurse too. “Oh, do you think mom and dad would let

Nothing, Really

Tuesday, June 5, 2007 In the end of June 4th, it was decided that Idelwild had been only in false labor, and she was disappointedly sent home until further notice. The day was sleepy and sunny. Morning sunshine shadowed what appeared to be rustling bamboo leaves on the yellow wall

Idlewild's Day?

Monday, June 4, 2007 Saturday evening, coming home from Union Station, a great rainbow stretched across the river, beginning on one muddy end and ending on the other. Collette had never before actually seen the end of a rainbow. And there it was, coloring the woods along the Katy. And

Fieldtrips for Puck

Sunday, June 3, 2007 The rain fell that Saturday morning. In the afternoon, OLeif, Collette, and Puck took a drive downtown to Union Station. On the west wing was still the old Flag Shop and the grand banquet hall upstairs with the whispering archway. They visited the toy store where

Of Pirates

Friday, June 1, 2007 The first of June, and Collette and Puck were home for the day. During his morning time being awake, Puck sat in his swing for awhile, running his little legs as fast as they would take him nowhere, trying to eat the tail of his stuffed

Ohio-Land

Thursday, May 31, 2007 Back on the ranch, the camping crew drifted back in somewhere after noon. And new plans were already in the works for the weekend. Dad, Mom, Joe, Francis, and Linnea were driving the seven and a half hours up to Dayton, Ohio, to visit the Air

To Elven Woods

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 Wednesday morning, Collette and Puck headed out to the enchanted forests of Cuivre River – there was something mystical about the greenery and the sun shifting through the trees. Although on the way there, the rain misted along the paths, which was equally as beautiful. The undergrowth

Interludes

Tuesday, May 29, 2007 In the end, the boys had not taken the trip up to Mark Twain Lake on Monday, due to rain having been in the forecast. Instead, they walked through a grocery store (according to Rose) and Joe bought subwoofers for Aristotle’s car (which didn’t

Gumballs?

Monday, May 28, 2007 That morning, Puck began actually smiling at his bookshelf. He was only a hair shy of giggling at it when Collette turned around and caught him in the act. He then immediately dropped the smile and instead raised his eyebrow. His hands when clenched, were beginning

Moving On

Sunday, May 27, 2007 It was an Irish day. And there were storms afoot. Walking into church that morning, the still somewhat unseeded patch of ground appeared to be a miniature Mediterranean forest – little green weeds that looked like palm trees or great desert trees, tiny white flowers… it was

Pomp & Circumstance #5

Saturday, May 26, 2007 It was the big day for Joe and Wallace. And word was going around that it was the best graduation out of the five years total. Collette agreed. Forty-five graduates marched on stage in black gowns and gold stoles. Although why the whole “Pomp and Circumstance”

Day Before

Friday, May 25, 2007 The day began with rain. Puck was having a rough time of it that morning. Maybe it was growing pains. He often wore a look of great concentration and concern. And he rarely ceased to wiggle. But he had looked Colette right in the eye and

Drought & Crickets

Thursday, May 24, 2007 It was Strawberry’s and Iwo’s third anniversary. The day seemed to be somewhat similar in the matter of heat as it had been on their Renaissance wedding day under a hot sun, no shade, and no breeze. Only the wedding party had been shaded

Past Times

Wednesday, May 23, 2007 In other news, Dad had registered to complete his MBA through Lindenwood University. And OLeif had spoken with the oldest Yuletide about his upcoming missions trip to Johannesburg, South Africa. Everyone was going to new and interesting places, doing things, working on big goals. Meanwhile, things

The Little Old Lady from Pasadena

Tuesday, May 22, 2007 It was over to the house for the day to get through another round of English and mathematics with Rose. News on the home-front included Joe having received an offer on Sunday from Jonas Swiss to work forty hours a week on the dikes. Joe liked

A Day at Home

Monday, May 21, 2007 Monday was a day at home after a fast and busy weekend. Denae, Mom, Kitts, and Carrie went out to lunch before Carrie left for work. And most of the kids in the high school group went out to Six Flags for the day. Then it

Busy Times, Busy Days

Sunday, May 20, 2007 There was usually a let-down after a packed-full weekend. Sunday involved the usual, although the Elders were back in town for the morning service. “Congratulations!” Joe the Elder had told OLeif. “Well, my little girl is three months old now. So I guess it’s about

Double Wedding

Saturday, May 19, 2007 After Peter’s and Julia’s dress rehearsal, OLeif had accompanied the wedding party to the Pretzel’s house for dinner and then to a round of Demolition Ball, despite the fact that OLeif though Peter was about beat. Maybe hyped up on caffeine a bit

Back When

Friday, May 18, 2007 Friday had been extremely uneventful, for Collette and Puck, at least. OLeif was kept busy running errands around work. He managed to find the time to pick up his tux on his lunch break. Although the haircut would have to wait until the following morning. The

The Girl Who Shouldn't Operate Heavy Machinery

Thursday, May 17, 2007 Uncle Mo’s 50th birthday – he was probably trying to forget the fact that he was now 50 years old, despite the other fact that 50 just wasn’t considered to be that old any longer. Meanwhile, over at the house, Collette had Rose pull out

What's Coming

Wednesday, May 16, 2007 Kitts had just come into town for a week from Austin, Texas. Puck spent part of his afternoon staring out of the living room window and licking his fist like an ice cream cone after his mid-afternoon snack. It seemed as though he was hungrily eying

The Annual Final Concert

Tuesday, May 15, 2007 Puck went in for his one month appointment that morning. “I’m guessing he weighs eleven pounds,” Collette told OLeif before they were called back to the room. OLeif was glad that he had not bet against her. Puck weighed in at eleven pounds and half

Remember me When

Monday, May 14, 2007 Six years since Edred had passed. The honeysuckle was blooming almost violently on the back fence that morning. The day passed quickly in retrospect. More teaching Rose during the day, who felt that it was necessary to bring out her toad to keep herself company in

Mother's Day One

Sunday, May 13, 2007 It was Collette’s first Mother’s Day. Mrs. Turtle was greeted after the worship service by a giant fuzzy bunny (at least Collette thought it was a bunny). It was her son who often dressed up as a mascot for the River City Rascals. Down

Off to Coffee

Saturday, May 12, 2007 Collette found herself sleeping in to nearly ten o’clock that morning. She could count on two hands the number of times in her life that she had done so. Shortly after waking, she saw off OLeif to another photo shoot, this time for his dad.

Return of the Croat

Friday, May 11, 2007 That morning the honeysuckle had burst fully into bloom. The yellow jackets were in their hay day. Fridays were suddenly uneventful. They were now reserved for dishes and laundry. It had already been one month since Collette’s final day at the church office. And in

The Church of Thin

Thursday, May 10, 2007 Puck decided that on Wednesday night he was going to fuss off and on for two hours before finally falling asleep. He apparently thought his fist was a Popsicle the way he sucked on it while whining to himself as the June bugs batted against his

Heart Stop

Wednesday, May 9, 2007 Anne Whippoorwill Pi’s birthday. Collette could not remember if she was 23 or 24 that day. She remembered Anne from the older choir days. From Collette’s recollection, she had always been very quiet, often wore large earrings (perhaps they had been in the shape

Libby Visits

Tuesday, May 8, 2007 Collette noticed that in the new spring, honeysuckle was growing on the fence in the back yard. There were all sorts of flowering surprises around the house. Come late in the morning, Libby dropped by with a plate of Collette’s favorite – her most famous quesadillas

Attempt to Resume

Monday, May 7, 2007 It was time to get back to tutoring the Rose. Needless to say, she was not thrilled upon hearing that Collette would be over sometime that Monday morning to start her in mathematics and writing. But it was about time to continue the studies again after

Eve's News

Sunday, May 6, 2007 In random news of the morning, OLeif and Collette had received an invitation to a wedding taking place in Odessa, Texas, June 1st. Oddly, though, the invitation had been mailed in a black envelope. Collette had never before received a wedding invitation in a black envelope.

Festive Day

Saturday, May 5, 2007 It was a day for many events: Cinco de Mayo, Lace Hobcoggin’s birthday, Ben-Hur’s 18th birthday, Aunt Tuuli’s birthday, Idlewild Redcoat’s baby shower, and Polly Black’s wedding shower. And once again, because of the Cinco de Mayo, there would likely be

Loraine Brings Dinner

Friday, May 4, 2007 Apparently, Puck thought it was a funny thing to head-butt his mom that morning. He had been lying on Collette’s stomach, chewing on his fists as usual, kicking his feet, and pushing himself toward Collette’s chin – thus the head-butting. “Dude!” Collette called to him.

The Older Times

Thursday, May 3, 2007 Lonnie’s eighth birthday, already. Collette was reminded that day of the English’s old house, before it had been torn down to make way for a new subdivision. They had owned an amazing back lawn – several acres of rolling green grass and trees – the old

Puck at Two Weeks

Wednesday, May 2, 2007 Puck was found giggling to himself in his sleep again, scrunching his toes together in dreamy baby bliss over whatever had made him laugh. Collette couldn’t be happier about the weather line-up for the following five days: storms, storms, and more storms. There was something

The Charm of Spring Storms

Tuesday, May 1, 2007 Collette had just realized that Joe only had three choir days left in his career. So did Magnus and Wallace. It was another “end of the road”, another milestone, another “end of an era”. It had already been four years since Collette had been in the

Monday's Visitors

Monday, April 30, 2007 Puck was found giggling a little to himself that morning and spent part of his waking hours staring intently at the contrasting orange walls and white trim in the study while sucking madly on his pacifier, pretty much as if his life depended on it. And

Bar Fights, Spoils, Toad Weddings

Sunday, April 29, 2007 Church was typical that morning. OLeif and a number of the youth crowded together before the service to talk over things. “I was in a bar fight last night,” Augustus said, blue eyes wide. “He was,” Molly sighed. “I was there.” “This guy called me a

Warm April

Saturday, April 28, 2007 It was shaping up to be a hot week, beginning that very day. Even Saturday morning the sun was already shining in full on the blue jays and cardinals and squirrels frolicking through the neighborhood. They flocked from seeds to berries and branches, hunting out a

A New Way to Spend Fridays

Friday, April 27, 2007 Puck seemed to have been born with a triple chin. And he ate enough to keep it at a triple-level. Collette wondered if it might quadruple at one point. OLeif had stayed home for the morning to aid in working on getting Puck on a routine

Puck

Thursday, April 26, 2007 Another not half-bad night of sleep. Puck seemed to enjoy stretches of four and a half hours between late night snack, midnight snack, and first breakfast. Collette had absolutely no problem with this. And there was something almost nice about sitting up late in the quiet

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

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Tuesday, April 24, 2007 “He looks like Yoda,” Judah had said Sunday morning. “All babies do.” Only Judah would come up with a comment like that. He knew that Collette would not take offense. She laughed. But in some respects, most babies did have a Yoda-ish appearance in their first

Those Changes

Monday, April 23, 2007, continued Sometimes it took awhile to process life-changing events. The arrival of baby Octavian was similar to the day OLeif and Collette had been married. Collette had not been able to fully take in everything that had actually occurred. She thought that sometimes it still hadn’

The Fun has Arrived

Monday, April 23, 2007 Six hours total, and OLeif and Collette had their little son. To Collette at that time the whole experience still seemed dream-like, and as she was wheeled into the recovery room, she couldn’t quite believe that the whole thing was over. Baby Octavian had finally

A Nine-Pounder

Sunday, April 22, 2007 Soon, Dr. Petrarch arrived. Collette discovered later that Dr. Brazil had been out of town. The gray-haired gentleman told her that he would be back soon. And he was; Collette found herself quite ready to have baby arrive. “What’s his name?” Dr. Petrarch asked, methodically

In all Haste

Saturday, April 21, 2007 Sometime shortly after passing the Daniel Boone Bridge, Collette was quite convinced that the contractions were real. “Looks like they’re coming every six minutes,” OLeif said almost a little nervously, trying to drive while watching the stopwatch on his cellphone. They were coming fast, very

About Time

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 Tuesday night, Collette swallowed a concoction of castor oil, orange juice, and baking soda – an old recipe suggested from some of the mothers in Collette’s life, including Mrs. English, Mrs. Ernie, Mrs. Nickels, and even Mrs. Owen (back in the day) to bring about labor.

Down to Zero

Monday, April 16, 2007 Curly’s actual 17th birthday. Collette’s only remembered dream from the night before included losing the middle ruby of her ring in the snow before sliding down a ski slope. And Rose was officially on “spring break” due to Dad making a final decision on

Loot for the 17 Year-Old

Sunday, April 15, 2007 Another Sunday. Collette ended up sleeping on the couch the night before; it seemed, at least, to be easier on her back. “Dream of potatoes… and giraffes,” OLeif had called to her from the other room. “Of giraffes eating potatoes… in neckties.” Later, Collette wondered if

The Mother of all Exams

Saturday, April 14, 2007 It rained throughout the night. Collette could still hear it falling at two o’clock in the morning. A pleasantly dreary day for exam-taking. Collette had never enjoyed taking exams on sunny days. Although Joe and Rose might not have shared the same opinion. Joe was

Final

Friday, April 13, 2007 Another fine cold day, that Friday the thirteenth. And it was, officially, Collette’s final day at the office. Four years, five months, one week, and six days later, she was turning in her keys. They rattled into the envelope that she left with a note

Last Thursday

Thursday, April 12, 2007 Collette was reminded that morning of a hot day in late spring six years ago. She had to sneak out of the house with Rose and a book bag over to the Office Depot. Why she had brought Rose with her, she couldn’t exactly recall.

Those Ridiculous Things

Wednesday, April 11, 2007 Storms were coming in that cool spring week. It was the sort of day that reminded Collette of the older times when Mom would take all of them to Sam’s every other week or so. Sometimes in the evenings, Dad would come as well. It

That's what it Takes to be a College Kid

Monday, April 10, 2007 In other news of the week, Bing had taken first place in a large concerto-writing competition. His piece, written in 7/8 was to be performed later in the spring after he had been interviewed on the radio. And Sumpter March had taken second place. At

More Animal Issues

Monday, April 9, 2007 The day after a holiday – usually a little more quiet. And Collette found herself at the doctor’s office yet again. There was talk of inducing and centimeters and such. Dr. Brazil seemed to be a little on the more tired side that afternoon. And during

Large Gatherings

Sunday, April 8, 2007 Collette woke up that morning to the sound of hip-hopping tunes from the 80’s and 90’s. OLeif had changed the alarm clock from the Classical station the night before. What a way to be roused on Easter morning. It even woke up OLeif, which

Preparations

Saturday, April 7, 2007 Uncle Clarence’s 53rd birthday. And there was somehow a chance of snow that Wednesday. Back on the ranch, OLeif was out all day on two photo shoots in the bitingly cold winds. Wallace’s pictures were taken first before he left for an early Easter

Casual Farewells

Friday, April 6, 2007 A Good Friday came in on a very cold morning with a freeze warning included. Collette spent another seven hours training Forget-me-Not, who seemed to catch on quickly to everything as Collette had suspected. She was going to work well with the rest of the staff

Tenebrae

Thursday, April 5, 2007 Collette trained Forget-me-Not in the ways of the office that day. By the end of the morning, she was already getting a sore throat. She had never had the need to talk so much during a day, especially a Thursday, where most of her time was

The Daily Distractions

Wednesday, April 4, 2007 Kitts’ 21st birthday, down in Texas. And it was a usual Wednesday. Although this particular day, Rose did manage to find a nutritious snack during their nine-hour study session – an orange, despite the fact that she only sucked out the juice and left the rest of

Storms Cometh

Tuesday, April 3, 2007 Monday night, Collette was served the best cheddar Ranch burgers she had ever tasted, due to OLeif’s handiwork in the kitchen. This was followed with several batches of his chocolate chunk peanut butter cookies. Collette did not eagerly anticipate standing on the doctor’s scale

Word Pictures

Monday, April 2, 2007 The day began quite cool. Back at the house, Collette and Rose worked on stimulating Rose’s memory with word pictures in the last two weeks of preparation for her big exam. As they started out the first study session, Carrie spoke darkly of work while

Jokes & Toads

Sunday, April 1, 2007 Another Palm Sunday. Another April Fools’. How often did they coincide? Collette couldn’t recall any particular jokes having been played on anyone she knew on that day for a long time. In fact, she couldn’t recall any pranks ever being played on anyone on

Boredom of the Day

Saturday, March 31, 2007 There were heavily severe storms forecast for that afternoon. The chilling types of storms. And outside the house the bush had burst into bloom as a lilac, just as Mrs. Lord-Welches had predicted. This was also accompanied by a fresh crop of dandelions, although none of

The Friday Line-Up

Friday, March 30, 2007 The sky glowed into a rosy lamp that morning, behind the new green buds. And then suddenly, it became robin’s egg blue, fading to gray. There were storms on the way that day. They piled in dark from the west by seven-thirty that morning. Then

Things that Kill Lovebirds

Thursday, March 29, 2007 Blessing’s 23rd birthday out in Columbia. Collette wondered if she would have a lonely little celebration as a school teacher living on her own. Or maybe Jashub would think to take her out for dinner like a good big brother. Meanwhile, work was a little

Cats & Cows

Wednesday, March 28, 2007 Over at the house that morning, the grass was a brighter shade of green than Collette had ever seen – vivid from one side of the lawn to the next, against the dark clouds of the morning sky. This did not, however, allow her to ignore the

The Elephant Ear Plant

Tuesday, March 27, 2007 It was another warm one, though not quite as toasty. It started off with a magnificent sunrise – great puffs of blue and gray over a startling orange burst in the east. And little purple flowers were growing in the front yard; the crocuses had finished blooming.

The Senses of the Day

Monday, March 26, 2007 Doctor’s appointment number twelve or so to take place that afternoon… and a cloudy day, hopefully not with highs predicted at 82, similar to Sunday. Collette wasn’t ready for summer weather; spring had only just begun. But it was good to know that showers

Lanyards & Spring Blossoms

Sunday, March 25, 2007 Somewhere around midnight, Joe had returned from more movies with friends. And at one o’clock, Collette heard Carrie return from work. At seven-thirty the next morning, she was leaving for The Columns once again. At church, little Juliet Pie marched up to where Collette was

Neck Trouble

Saturday, March 24, 2007 Upon leaving the office Friday evening, Collette drove Linnea and Mom (who had dropped off the van for the youth) back to the house after running several errands. Poor Linnea was not feeling well. She sat in the back, barefoot, with a towel wrapped around her

The Days of Swimming Lessons

Friday, March 23, 2007 Fridays… usually rather uninteresting days. Collette had plenty of work at the office to keep her busy, however. So it would pass quickly enough. OLeif, who had been up until one o’clock in the morning the night before, slept, perchanced to dream, later than herself.

Impending Replacement

Thursday, March 22, 2007 Collette woke up to far dark gray skies and a tornado watch that Thursday. It was a beautiful morning. To the east, the sunrise had been pushed back to only a whisper of yellow light. Down the street in the blue winds, several girls jumped rope

Winds & Crickets

Wednesday, March 21, 2007 Tuesday night, OLeif and Collette ran around for various reasons. One reason included picking up a bundle of cloth to re-cushion the gliding chair in baby’s room. Collette decided to let OLeif pick out the fabric himself. They came away several minutes later with a

Spring has Sprung

Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Spring had nearly arrived, and it was chilly. Over at the house, Rose’s hair was very dark from her Sunday dye, which she hid under her rainbow knit cap all morning while doing her studies. With “Last of the Mohicans” and “Gladiator” blasting over iTunes,

Crab Legs & Baby Stuff

Monday, March 19, 2007 Yet another doctor’s appointment that day. And there were storms in the sky. It was a quiet day. Rose had one last day to work at Subway after her Spanish class, which meant that there would be no time for tutoring that day. So Collette

Those Lazy Afternoons

Sunday, March 18, 2007 It was another cold one. Spring would arrive at 7:07pm, late Tuesday evening. The squirrels continuously frolicked from one of the telephone wires to the another, making their rounds before sunrise. What could they possibly do all day, those squirrels? Ornery critters. In good news,

The Green

Saturday, March 17, 2007 Saint Patty’s Day – gray and cold, a high of 43 for the day. It seemed to work just about right that way; there was still that whisper of spring in the cold. Collette awoke that day from odd dreams of Yul Brynner and almost being

Spring Brings Mice & Frogs

Friday, March 16, 2007 It was almost time to set out the shamrocks. Mom would be having the corned beef and the cabbage on the table the next evening. Upon arriving at work that morning, Collette saw a stack of packages wrapped in brown paper and tied in brightly colored

A Thursday

Thursday, March 15, 2007 It really had been a good night at the madrigal dinner. It was amazing just how many novel and fun things the present high school group was able to do with each other all of the time. There was always something new and interesting coming up

The Madrigal Dinner

Wednesday, March 14, 2007 It was a day for the madrigal dinner. The fourth bi-annual dinner. Collette remembered the very first dinner, six years ago. No one had put quite as much thought into the performance the first time. There was no intricate plot or boars head, no singing of

Not the Best Birthday

Tuesday, March 13, 2007 Lucia’s 20th birthday. And Carrie was bringing a Sponge Bob party hat for her to wear in celebration, which she would have done… However, poor Lucia arrived at work, lost her groceries, and returned home for a sick day. So it was just Carrie who

Skunks & Spiders

Monday, March 12, 2007 Time for thank you notes. A lot of thank you notes – about 34. Everyone was being very generous to baby. It was a fast-paced day. Two o’clock came quickly after Collette had picked up OLeif from work for lunch. And Carrie-Bri and Lucia had also

Last Preparations

Sunday, March 11, 2007 Daylight’s Saving. Even after all of the notes Collette had left herself to remind them to switch their clocks forward by one hour, she forgot. And so she was up by 6:45 instead of 5:45. And yet it still gave her time to

A Mountain of Gifts

Saturday, March 10, 2007 Shower day. The squirrels were numerous in their new neighborhood. Collette never recalled seeing more squirrels, except when visiting Florissant. Rose had decided that working at Subway was not sufficiently paying off her debt to Dad for the trip to Egypt and her digital camera. So

China Tightens Laws

Friday, March 9, 2007 It was just about time for OLeif to get another hair cut; Collette couldn’t recall ever before having seen it so long. In fact, she could gather it into a little ponytail in the back. Meanwhile, it was just about that time again for a

Teeth Troubles

Thursday, March 8, 2007 Francis had tooth surgery that day. He had a stubborn little pearly white that had inevitably refused to break through his top gums. And so, the culprit was taken care of that morning. According to Joe, Francis returned with lips the size of grapefruits. And apparently

Another Day Like That

Wednesday, March 6, 2007 Collette started her day with a full can of mandarin oranges. Either baby really liked oranges or really didn’t like oranges, due to his persistent rolling for the early part of the morning. Come 10:10, Collette picked up Rose from college and headed back

Oh, the Silliness

Tuesday, March 6, 2007 OLeif had managed to keep himself up until three o’clock the previous night. By 5:44 the next morning, when Collette got up, he was still dead to the world. Meanwhile, Lucia was beginning her first day at NAWS. Being somewhat apprehensive about starting a

Crocuses, Olives, & Mongolia

Monday, March 5, 2007 Collette left home late that morning to pick up OLeif from work; from there, he dropped her off at the house before heading out to purchase computer supplies for work. Before Collette pulled out of the driveway, however, she noticed that the front yard was speckled

Moorish Royalty and Pizza Buffet

Sunday, March 4, 2007 A bright cold blue morning. The service went over by about half an hour that morning. Why, Collette couldn’t exactly tell. However, it seemed much longer because of her back which caused her legs to feel very restless. She often experienced this sensation when sitting

Tools of the Trade

Saturday, March 3, 2007 Jashub Black’s 29th birthday. Collette figured the dude was probably starting to feel a little old, despite his youth. The early morning had brought a sugar-dusting outside, and bitter chills. The ride into the hospital actually saw a dozen or more cars spun out on

Another Friday

Friday, March 2, 2007 Friday morning was crystal. Early spring chirping birds and cold sunshine. Work saw more Danish butter cookies and the usual line-up. Sinai, Jimmy, Judah, and Barney all came and went as necessary. The wind was devilish that day. It howled and whistled around the office, right

The Storm and the Wind

Thursday, March 1, 2007 Patches of white glowed behind shadowy tree silhouettes in an eerie rose-gray sky. Storms were coming, as predicted. “March is coming like a lion,” the Classical radio host had been saying, “…and a very dangerous one. We have a very very strong line of thunderstorms coming…

Ventotto

Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Collette awoke to the crash of thunder – it might be a perfect day. It seemed as though for the world, according to the radio, that all eyes were fixed on Wall Street that morning. Collette called over to Rose before she left for Spanish, to give

Maybe Cats do Like to Paint After All

Tuesday, February 27, 2007 Collette spent her Tuesday morning over at the house. Things were in a bit of a rush upon her arrival (at least on Mom’s and Dad’s part). Their job that morning, it seemed, was to roll each child out of bed, stand them up

That's Life

Monday, February 26, 2007 It was time for yet another doctor’s appointment – Collette would be visiting the city every two weeks now. Driving to the hospital that frequently did not top her list of most-favorite things to do. She only hoped that when the time did come that the

The Ridiculous-ness

Sunday, February 25, 2007 It was an all-dayer for the youth and leaders at church. OLeif would likely be there from eight in the morning until eight at night, or later. Collette would attend the dinner and talent show later in the evening. She wondered if Joe had successfully removed

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Saturday, February 24, 2007 Monday was 23 that day – a year shy of her golden birthday. And it was Esther’s 25th, already. Still working away in Atlanta. It was a windy day, rainy, gray, and windy. Even a little thunder crept in after three. OLeif had been up till

Quirks

Friday, February 23, 2007 Collette watched the shadows of squirrels running up and down the telephone poles that morning, shaking the wires against the lightening sky. She hadn’t ever before recalled seeing so many squirrels. A tall woman came to the office door that morning, after ringing the doorbell

Automobile Woes

Thursday, February 22, 2007 Yes, it was another day for CLEP exams for Rose. This time, she would be wracking her brain for three hours over human growth and development and western civilization, down at the good old UMSL campus. The fire inspector came through the buildings that day at

Spring

Wednesday, February 21, 2007 Ash Wednesday. It was a beautiful day. Inside, Mom worked with Francis and Linnea on their studies, Linnea figuring all problems and writing all papers with her eternal pirate pencil. She had a whole cup of pirate pencils waiting to be used behind the love seat

Trifles of the Day

Tuesday, February 20, 2007 Monday night, on the way to the store, OLeif and Collette managed to lock themselves out of the house. After waiting for about half an hour in the car in the driveway, thankfully in much less frigid weather, Theodore and Denae pulled up with their spare

Kitchen Surfing & Appliance Woes

Monday, February 19, 2007 It was back to tutor Rose that Monday morning. And sometime during Francis’ and Linnea’s hot chocolate break, Linnea came pounding into the kitchen with a piece of bright green felt wrapped around her shoulders with pockets on each end, in which she had slipped

In Celebration

Sunday, February 18, 2007 “Let’s go to Donut Tyme before church tomorrow,” OLeif had said, Saturday afternoon – yes, sometimes even OLeif was tempted with sweets. Yet another stumbling sugary delight planted in Collette’s wake. Meanwhile, Linnea had been making plans over the last months. It was only the

Getting Things Done

Saturday, February 17, 2007 The wind was up that morning. Giant icicles hung from the roof. Frances’ team did better that time around – a loss, 23 to 32 – quite an improvement. Francis was awarded a gray star for offense, for getting himself in the best positions to make baskets, and

Things Here, Things There

Friday, February 16, 2007 It was another six-degree morning – more frost on the windows. It was off to Cracker Barrel at 12:30 for Rosemary’s birthday lunch – she was a breakfast sort of person and already had plans on ordering the French toast. Collette had similar plans. And Judah

Francis-Boy's 12th Birthday

Thursday, February 15, 2007 Frances’ 12th birthday that bitterly cold morning. The big guy was growing fast enough that Collette knew he would probably be taller than her by the end of the summer and then perhaps would have caught up with Joe by the year after or so. The

V-Day Under Blue Skies and 7 Degrees

Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Another bitterly cold morning – that Valentine’s Day of 2007. The windows in the back of the house were patterned in frost. Collette began the day unsure of her proceedings. OLeif had scheduled both the plumber and the Charter man to come out during the morning

Snow Storm

Tuesday, February 13, 2007 Annamaria’s 17th birthday – Collette couldn’t quite believe it. Little Annamaria English, who only a short time ago had played with Rose every Friday morning, sniffing her parts (bits of torn blanket or ribbons), which most of the English children seemed to have done at

Gray February

Monday, February 12, 2007 Monday morning was back in the house for Collette. Seeing as Rose had Spanish in the morning, followed by three hours of slapping together sandwiches at Subway, and then a haircut, and Collette had a doctor’s appointment at 4:30 in the city… Collette opted

The Big Move

Sunday, February 11, 2007 Grandpa Snicketts’ 79th birthday, and Magnus’ 18th birthday. And on Saturday, the move had come. Collette found herself that night in a new home with brightly painted walls and unpacked boxes scattered in every corner of the house. They would be unpacked as opportunity was provided.

What to do with Old Travel Brochures & Dried Roses?

Thursday, February 8, 2007 Another Thursday. Moving was in two days. The moms were painting as quickly as possible – yellow, red, and green. Collette was packing as quickly as possible, everything in sight. And OLeif continued to shuttle over boxes to the house during the day while he was at

Will it Never End?

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 Busy-ness. Tuesday evening, Linnea had been learning manners at American Heritage Girls for her etiquette merit badge. Rose was at class while Joe took off to Culver’s for dinner where part of all dinner proceeds were going to aid a youth mission trip (where Joe’

Always More to Do

Tuesday, February 6, 2007 Jury duty had been canceled for Collette’s group that morning, much to her relief. Jury duty at six plus months into one’s pregnancy in the striking cold of an unusually bitter February, was not ideal. Another time, perhaps. For a good part of the

Comes the 49th

Monday, February 5, 2007 Dad’s 49th birthday – Mom had already put together the makings of a roast and preparations for Dad’s favorite cake – spice cake with caramel frosting. Dad’s morning, however, was already spent at the hospital with Grandma Snicketts, who was having an MRI. She had

Busy Days

Sunday, February 4, 2007 The wind chill was predicted to settle below zero, the lows for Sunday could drop down to five accompanied by much wind, and Monday looked to be just as cold. Back at the house after church, Collette sadly gorged herself on Valentine’s chocolates, before she

A Time to Pack

Saturday, February 3, 2007 Collette woke up at one o’clock in the morning with a sore back, swollen fingers on her right hand, and the effects of other odd dreams. She stiffly moved herself out onto the couch in the living room and drifted off to sleep until seven

Mr. Groundhog

Friday, February 2, 2007 Yes, it was Groundhog Day again, Sinai’s favorite holiday. Rose, who had spent all of her in-between Subway and Ceramics time the previous afternoon, at the Silverspoon’s instead of studying… found herself in a time crunch Friday morning. “Please, Collette, can I skip Spanish

A Time to Buy

Thursday, February 1, 2007 Collette had fallen asleep off and on throughout the night until OLeif arrived home at one o’clock in the morning. Collette had been experiencing odd dreams of balls held far away and of snow-covered mountains. It had been bears and apples several nights before. It

A Time to Close

Wednesday, January 31, 2007 Wednesday, OLeif and Collette became home owners for the first time. It took an hour to sign all of the papers out in Lake St. Louis with their loan officer, the title company, and the seller. All went rather pleasantly. And the deed was accomplished. “You

A Time to Instruct

Tuesday, January 30, 2007 Diana sent word to Collette on Monday afternoon, that her old friend from Bible quizzing, Joan, had been engaged on Sunday night. This meant that Diana would be a bridesmaid three times that summer. One wedding would be in Pittsburgh and another in Washington. Joan’s

A Time to Organize

Monday, January 29, 2007 It was one of those days that Rose had Spanish from nine till ten and then worked from eleven till four. So Collette decided that it was high time she begin organizing all of the “things” she and OLeif had collected over the past two and

Youth & Their Happenings

Sunday, January 28, 2007 It was twelve degrees that morning, and would likely not get higher that 22 during the day. And Lilli was due that day, although there was no guarantee that little junior would oblige and actually bring himself (or herself) out into the world that same day.

Dinner Invitation

Saturday, January 27, 2007 It was off to Disney World for the crew that afternoon. First, Frances had his basketball game. They lost 30 to twelve, although Collette wondered how accurate the scoreboard really was. No one really paid attention to changing it after points had been scored. The other

Stubborn OLeif

Friday, January 26, 2007 Meanwhile on that Friday morning, Mom was likely washing off every flat surface at the house as well as the electronics, anything with which everyone had constant contact, where Carrie-Bri germs were likely wandering around in little herds, ready for the kill. This was Carrie’s

More Unexpected Events

Thursday, January 25, 2007 During the night, Collette (after falling asleep at 11:30), had woken up at 1:30, 3:30, and 5:30, all three times in a sweat from bad dreams. She was greatly surprised minutes later after getting out of bed at 5:30, that OLeif

Another Round of Good Fun

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 It was a fragmented day for Collette. Back at the house, the day was split up oddly in order that Rose could spend three hours in training at Subway. And Joe was washing cars. Carrie was trying to appeal her university to allow her to take

The Travel Bug

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 School began with Rose that morning, studying the Cold War. Rose had just read about the importance of the fall of Communism in various countries during 1990, the year she was born. Rose thought this was a special thing. “What happened when you were born, Mom?

Plans for the World

Monday, January 22, 2007 This time, OLeif was home by eleven-thirty Sunday night. He and the rest of his crew had ordered Bandanna’s barbecue for dinner. That boy had certainly been fed the tasty stuff over the weekend. Collette was pretty much certain that she would be sending him

Weddings & Igloos

Sunday, January 21, 2007 Collette found that she could not sleep after having only dozed two hours, Saturday night. OLeif was still gone at quarter till two in the morning, transplanting computers over at work. She looked out the window to see a Pappa John’s car drive by, wondering

Games & Good Fun

Saturday, January 19, 2007 There was already another winter weather advisory out from six o’clock that Saturday evening until noon on Sunday. Forecasters were predicting four to six inches of snow by that time. Meanwhile, Carrie had carted Rose all around town on Thursday afternoon to have her fill

Old Hermann Visits

Friday, January 19, 2007 It was cold enough that morning at 6:30, to make Collette choke. Deep blues and oranges glazed the skies as she hurried over to the mailbox to see if anything interesting had come. Nothing that day. For some reason that morning, Collette was reminded of

Penguins & Polar Bears

Thursday, January 18, 2007 Lucia came over to the house on Wednesday night all psyched about getting her hair dyed. “Darker?” Collette asked. “Lighter.” “Sounds like fun,” Collette told her. “Of course,” Lucia grinned. “It’s always fun when I’m here.” “That’s true.” “Of course it’s true

The Days of Man

Wednesday, January 17, 2007 Wednesday was another cold day which began with more flurries and a hazy gray-rose on the horizon. Collette, once again, did not see much fresh air that day; it seemed to escape her rather often, especially when the weather was too cold not to put on

Ideas & Plans & Ideas

Tuesday, January 16, 2007 During Rose’s study that morning, she managed to occasionally distract herself by drawing murals on her legs from her magic marker set. It was always at hand on the coffee table during teaching sessions, used as highlighters, but most of the time they were used

Shenanigans

Monday, January 15, 2007 Collette had awoken that morning from the effects of strange dreams, once again, mostly revolving around events from the evening before, but all very hazy. And she was not particularly looking forward to her doctor’s appointment that evening, most importantly because she had to drink

Gatherings

Sunday, January 14, 2007 When Collette woke up that morning, she was still recovering from dreams where odd things occurred in a great club-like building out among rolling hills in the late afternoon near sun-drenched forests. And Kitts and Carrie were practicing Kuk Sool Won on each other. At around

Ice Round Two

Saturday, January 13, 2007 Come morning, the trees were hung with ice, as they already had been by early the night before. Everything was glazed in it, just as it had been six weeks before. It almost seemed as though the sun had forgotten to rise that morning. But later

Ice to Visit

Friday, January 12, 2007 Another gray January day. The weekend was looking rather predictable: OLeif would go with the youth group to the City Museum that night. They would attend Frances’ second basketball game on Saturday morning and settle more paperwork and calls regarding the loan and the house. After

Preparing for Winter

Thursday, January 11, 2007 Collette went through another deep uninterrupted sleep during the night, accompanied by unusual dreams, the bulk of which she could rarely remember, though they mostly seemed to carry the same over-arching feeling that most of her green-forested storm-skied dreams often encompassed. Thursday morning, gray and cool,

January-ness

Wednesday, January 10, 2007 Collette received a phone call from Mom at six-thirty that morning to let her know that she should once again stay at home for the day. Linnea had been losing her groceries for an hour and a half the night before (although this was likely a

A Day for Illness and Discomfort

Tuesday, January 9, 2007 Emerald Blots’ 20th birthday, down in Shreveport, Louisiana. Tuesday brought flurries in the morning of another gray. By ten o’clock, Dad and Linnea both had sore throats and went up to Walgreens to be cultured. The tests confirmed that Dad had strep again and Linnea

Back to the Old Grind

Monday, January 8, 2007 It was back to what might be called a typical week. Over at the house that morning, the air was full of coffee candles and the outside air was bitterly cold. And Carrie-Bri was definitely in a global mood that day. Just having returned from Egypt

The End of Christmas

Sunday, January 7, 2007 And so they had made it home. And the stories began to flood in – everything from Carrie being given several camel offers (i.e. twelve camels in exchange for wife-hood), particularly because she was a pale blond, a rare sight in Egypt even among tourists, to

The Return of Eastern Travelers... Twelfth Day: Points of Doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

Saturday, January 6, 2007 Epiphany. And after the strangeness of the evening before, there were other things to see to that morning. By eleven o’clock in the morning, St. Louis time, the girls would have just begun their twelve hour journey back home. In bad news of the day,

Back to Frankfurt... Eleventh Day: Eleven Faithful Apostles

Friday, January 5, 2007 By eight o’clock in the morning, St. Louis time, the girls had already boarded their plane towards the somewhat touristy city of Frankfurt, Germany, where they would stay the night and have most of Saturday to explore the city. A roughly four and a half

Tenth Day: The Ten Commandments

Thursday, January 4, 2007 The girls hopped a flight from Aswan back to Cairo that morning. And for however many hours were designated on their itinerary, they were to explore the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. There, as the display most worthy of note, resided all of King Tutankhamen’s magnificent

Ninth Day: Fruit of the Holy Spirit

Wednesday, January 3, 2007 On Wednesday, Carrie and Rose were to transfer to their hotel in Aswan, now 426 miles south of Cairo. This was after they would be transported via a traditional Egyptian sailing vessel (the felucca) around Aswan’s Botanical Gardens. In the evening, they would be served

Eighth Day: The Beatitudes

Tuesday, January 2, 2007 For their only Tuesday in Egypt, Carrie-Bri and Rose were to cruise further south to arrive early in the morning at Aswan where they would be docked, it appeared, for the following three days or so. There, the ancient granite quarries awaited them where they would

New Years' on the Nile... Seventh Day: Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Monday, January 1, 2007 It was a cold gray way to begin a magnificent 2007. Compared to the dry warmth and sand of Egypt, Collette still found herself preferring the cold gray for the new year. 3.5 tons of confetti had been dumped on New York City alone, the

The Valley of the Kings... Sixth Day: Days of Creation

Sunday, December 31, 2006 The girls were able to witness that day, something Collette would have given her eye-teeth to see – The Valley of the Kings. Leading up to that grand climax of the day on New Years’ Eve, they were to first cross to the west bank of the

Cruising down the Nile... Fifth Day: The Torah

Saturday, December 30, 2006 Collette woke up at 7:30 that gray morning. It was 3:30 in the afternoon in Egypt, which meant that only hours before, Carrie and Rose had hopped a small plane south to Luxor, the former capitol of the New Kingdom. Following lunch on the

The Great Pyramids... Fourth Day: The Gospels

Friday, December 29, 2006 Thursday, Collette decided to join Mom for a bit of a house hunt, as OLeif was too busy to get to it around the craziness of work. First, back on the ranch, Linnea spent an hour in the morning putting together snap-beads while Dad took conference

6,396 Miles to Cairo... Third Day – Faith, Hope, & Love

Thursday, December 28, 2006 Departure was smooth sailing for Carrie-Bri and Rose. Mom, Collette, Frances, and Linnea drove them to the airport that chilly morning after the rose field of an early morning sunrise. Collette and Linnea opted to wait in the car while Mom and Frances walked them into

Bon Voyage!... The Second Day of Christmas: the Old and New Testaments

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 38th Former President Gerald Ford, dead – at 93. That was how the radio announced it that morning. He had still lived a long life for having once been in such an office, for having been in any office. In happier news, Carrie’s and Rose’s

One Day Till Lift-Off... On the First Day of Christmas: Jesus Christ

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 Another good gray day for the first official day of Christmas. And likely most of that day would be spent in everyone operating their new gifts. Linnea was the proud owner of a little red Swiss Army knife. Frances was very concerned about this, and watched

On December, Five and Twenty

Monday, December 25, 2006 Christmas had arrived, gray and cold and quickly. The day began with an early arrival for OLeif and Collette at the Silverspoon’s at seven-thirty in the morning, where everyone was still in their pajamas. Denae got the coffee going and the grand exchange of gifts

Happy Christmas Eve

Sunday, December 24, 2006 Christmas Eve awoke in cold rose and gold that morning. After the party was over the night before, Mom, Frances, and Linnea ran up the stairs at around seven to hand over two plates of Christmas foods and another plate of dessert from Uncle Balthasar’s

Two

Saturday, December 23, 2006 Christmas Eve, Eve. Unfortunately, Friday was when it all hit. After feeling fine for three days after being exposed to strep throat, Collette felt it come on by late Friday afternoon, just in time for Christmas. OLeif made her eat an orange that night, one of

Three

Friday, December 22, 2006 The first day of winter, and none too cold. Thursday had been a weird day, and Collette woke up with the same feelings about Friday. She also wondered if she had caught Ivy’s cold. Thursday night, OLeif and Collette had come over to the house

Four

Thursday, December 21, 2006 Aunt Petunia’s birthday. Junior High girls could be monsters… even unintentionally. That was Collette’s conclusion after the games for their party that Wednesday night, which she had pretty much known already. Ivy quickly backed out of the game circle (the ring of chaos) involving

Five

Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Collette was relieved to wake up that morning to find that, so far, she did not seem to have a sore throat. Whether that stayed the same way, remained to be seen. Wednesday brought good news for Carrie, that her application for graduation had been reviewed

Six Days

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 Collette’s 22nd birthday – somehow she felt old. Collette wished that people still celebrated the twelve days of Christmas as they did back in the old days, and kept Christmas going until the sixth of January. It made the climax of Christmas Day a lingering thing,

Seven Days

Monday, December 18, 2006 Collette had once again been met with strange dreams during the night, which she could not remember, but somehow affected her waking hours. The snow had officially been melted, except for small mounds here and there. The bulk of it had lasted about ten days or

Another Interesting Evening

Sunday, December 17, 2006 So the second holiday party had ended, and Collette was finally able to pull herself up late out of bed at 6:17 the next morning. It was the sort of wonderful gray day that stayed gray and cool all day long. At church, it was

Those Fancy Christmas Parties

Saturday, December 16, 2006 Saturday dawned a little better for Carrie-Bri and Rose, apparently. And according to Rose, the only way her throat would not “kill her”, was if she ate Popsicles on a consistent basis. Although then it was Mom’s and Joe’s turn to come down with

I Wonder as I Wander

Friday, December 15, 2006 Rose woke up quite sick that Friday morning, and was unable to attend her usual duties at the office. The cookie decorating party was also postponed till the following Thursday. Carrie was feeling so very poorly herself that she actually canceled work, which Collette was not

Cookies and Office Trifles

Thursday, December 14, 2006 The news that morning revealed that the British police had finally deducted that Princess Diana had not been murdered back on August 31 of 1994. It had been purely an accident, according to the research. Collette remembered hearing about it on the news at the time.

Sick Days

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 A quiet day for the young kids at home, trying to recover from their ailments. Frances spent all day in Mom’s and Dad’s room over Gatorade. Linnea rested on the little rose couch in the living room re-watching Rose’s Christmas film collection, including

An Incident at a Choir Concert

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 Collette was up at 4:30 that morning – OLeif had to be out in Foristell to set up a wireless network and a computer or two before work. A day for another choir concert. This was going past eleven years of choir-directing for Mrs. South. Collette

What a Girl Might Eat in a Day

What a Girl Might Eat in a Day Monday, December 11, 2006 Aunt Corliss’ 55th birthday – and she was going to be a first-time grandmother in January. Collette was still happy that she wasn’t the one who was going to make Grandpa and Grandma Snicketts, great-grandparents, or the aunts

What Does Sunday Hold?

Sunday, December 10, 2006 In Sunday School that morning, one kid defined a handmaid as being a servant who wrestles. And during the service the sun came out and melted the black ice which had formerly caused Collette to take a tumble earlier in the morning. Then OLeif scooted off

Unconventional Piper Night

Saturday, December 9, 2006 For the last two John Piper lectures of the season – Joe had a car detailing job, Magnus was working, Susie was at home celebrating Sasha’s eleventh birthday, Molly was babysitting, Bob B. said something about putting up his Christmas tree or eating pizza instead, and

Back in South Africa

Friday, December 8, 2006 Eleven degrees that morning at six o’clock. The Women’s Christmas Dinner was – weird. There really wasn’t another way to describe such a function. It wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, it was just an unusual experience. Chatter and Christmas sweaters and coffee, none of which

She Finally Ran Out of Excuses

Thursday, December 7, 2006 Pearl Harbor Day. The barometer was cracked so far to the right that morning, that Collette thought it might pop off the scale. Sixteen degrees. And it wasn’t predicted to top 22. The roads had reslicked themselves with fresh layers of ice. Collette surprised herself

Sometimes Youngsters are Surprising

Wednesday, December 6, 2006 Sometime around two in the morning, Collette woke up to absolute stillness. She couldn’t get back to sleep, and baby started dancing, so she switched on the television and watched former vice-president Al Gore talk about global warming (a presentation that could have been far

A Worm Story

Tuesday, December 5, 2006 Tuesday brought little thaw to the snow packs, although it was warmer. And yet another freeze was just around the corner. During the course of the day, Frances was taken to the orthodontist to have his wire replaced, which had snapped in half at basketball practice

Lazy Afternoons

Monday, December 4, 2006 Ah… another Monday. Collette found herself experiencing three distinct roles throughout the week – school teacher on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, church secretary on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and some sort of odd supervisor/assistant chauffeur (usually on Fridays and Saturdays when activities were planned). It was

Begin Another Christmas Season

Sunday, December 3, 2006 Another bitterly cold day, with the sun still out. Collette woke up to find that the hot water was not working again, but this time a flip of the switch would not remedy the situation. So there was no shower. Collette had difficulty concentrating on the

Tradition

Saturday, December 2, 2006 Sunrise, icicles, jingle bells – images of a Saturday morning in December before (what seemed to be becoming an annual tradition) of a drive down to the city for Christmas pre-festivities. This year the ride would once again include OLeif, Collette, Rose, and Molly. Last year’s

Walking in a Wonderland of Ice

Friday, December 1, 2006 Collette woke to a white world that morning on Laurel Peach’s 23rd birthday, looking out past the two giant candy canes OLeif had taped in the window. The trees had been hung in icicles. And as usual in Missouri, all schools were canceled for the

Winter at Last

Thursday, November 30, 2006 It was still raining boldly and steadily at 5:30 that morning. After the car windshield fogged up to render the road unrecognizable, OLeif opened the back window on the way to the Silverspoon’s to trade in the poor old Honda for Curly’s car.

Do I Hear Sleet Yet?

Wednesday, November 29, 2006 Oddly, Wednesday was predicted to reach 70. Thursday was thought to probably hit no higher than the 20’s. This, to Joe and Frances, meant tornado weather. Back at the house, before he left to take Rose to Junior Achievement, Joe was telling Collette about his

Winter's Coming

Tuesday, November 28, 2006 The morning was perfectly eerie. The neon lit up the gray at the donut shop and the laundromat across the street. A pocket in the gray-blue had split over in the east – out melted the sun – molten white gold, ray-less and cold. Back at the house

What Score?

Monday, November 27, 2006 During the day, the weather was still warm enough to keep the windows open and the Christmas tree standing. While Frances was busy decorating his choir folder with battery-powered Christmas lights, Mom was off to a lunch at First Watch with an old friend from Immanuel,

Another November Birthday

Sunday, November 26, 2006 Mom’s birthday that fair November day. Collette hoped that Rose remembered the balloons. “But I can’t blow them up,” Rose had said, after thinking about it. “My cheeks start to crack.” Collette suggested that she solicit the help of Frances and Linnea, who were

Thanksgiving Again

Saturday, November 25, 2006 Ivy’s birthday – it seemed that Nicodemus would be having eye surgery that same day, and so the likelihood of her needing to celebrate it another day, seemed high. Meanwhile, it was Thanksgiving Day for the Combs and the Snicketts. So Collette made yet another potato

Black Friday

Friday, November 24, 2006 Collette went off to Cracker Barrel for breakfast that morning – the traditional breakfast meeting-place for Diana, Collette, Carrie-Bri, and Eve – a newspaper reporter in Chicago, a wife and soon-to-be mom, a grad student, and a college student. Diverse, but still old pals. There was talk of

Gobble Gobble

Thursday, November 23, 2006 Thanksgiving – also Grandma Snicketts’ 78th birthday. The morning brought the Silverspoons and Snicketts to Christ Presbyterian for a Thanksgiving morning service, after Denae served breakfast to the clan at her place, including OLeif and Collette. This was all after Relevance, OLeif, Kitts, Curly, and Izzy worked

Before Turkey Day

Wednesday, November 22, 2006 Wednesday was another holiday at the office, because everyone would leave early that week and not begin to return until the following Monday. And so, Ivy brought in a spread of crackers and cheese, cashews and almonds, M ‘n Ms, and cheesecake, plus some battered bananas

Quesadillas and Smokeless Candles

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 A Tuesday at the office and a staff lunch to celebrate Ivy’s birthday. Collette felt the baby start to kick that morning for the first time, which was an odd sort of feeling – like bubbles. Meanwhile, Rose was off to yet another CLEP exam that

No Doubt About It

Monday, November 20, 2006 A cold day where the heater in the car was once again not working. It seemed to kick off and on in a temperamental manner during the cold months. That afternoon, OLeif and Collette found out that the little White baby was a boy. “No doubt

Thanksgiving One

Sunday, November 19, 2006 Saturday evening they set up the decorations for Carrie, and Linnea blew up the balloons with OLeif’s help and taped them all over the living room walls. Apparently, Carrie returned home late after another night at work. So Dad ordered Simple Simon’s pizza and

The Girl Who Refused to Have a Birthday

Saturday, November 18, 2006 20 – that was over the hill in Carrie-Bri’s book. And while she absolutely refused any hint of birthday celebration that cold November morning, Collette knew that there were a very few things the family would attempt to do without too much complaint from her end,

Busy Bodies

Friday, November 17, 2006 November 17th brought a great pink sunrise from the west. Everyone was busy that day. Judah had just brought back Evangeline from the surgeon where she had her wisdom teeth pulled. Ivy was carting around her two nephews and niece for the day, buying Thanksgiving supplies

No Snow...

Thursday, November 16, 2006 Mr. English’s birthday that day. There was no snow that morning, much to Collette’s disappointment. The day before, the rain fell almost constantly, with large drops in the afternoon hinting at frozen rain. Meanwhile, Joe woke up feeling poorly and achy in the joints.

The Curlers and the Turning 16

Wednesday, November 15, 2006 Shepherd’s 25th – he had promised to bring donuts to work that morning, according to OLeif. Collette was reminded that day, however, of Diana’s 16th birthday. It had been a pleasant morning, a Tuesday, also a choir day. For breakfast, Mrs. English had taken, Diana,

Double Birthday

Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Two birthdays that day – Denae and Diana, who had just climbed to 22. The night before had been a trip to the Manchester Outback Steakhouse – or as Grandma Snicketts had once said to Aunt Rebecca, “Let’s have dinner at the Outhouse.” This time, everyone came

To Pack Heavy or to Pack Light

Monday, November 13, 2006 Collette decided that one of the goals of that Monday should be to suggest to Rose that she go through a trial pack for her eleven days abroad. Rose hadn’t yet been quite convinced that she could pack everything that she needed over eleven days

Old Records and Train Sets

Sunday, November 12, 2006 The kids in Sunday School that morning were as busy as usual, though there were less of them that Sunday. There were the normal “ahs” and “oohs” as OLeif described to them the feast that Daniel and his three pals turned down in Babylon. The kids

Bears, Moose, Bunnies, and Beavers

Saturday, November 11, 2006 Veterans’ Day – quiet and gray. The heart of the big tree outside still held on to a fluttering of yellow leaves with a red or two poking through. Come one o’clock in the afternoon, OLeif was off to practice some violin with Goofy Nickels (who

Enchiladas and Singing Jews

Friday, November 10, 2006 The oak leaves flew in the cooler winds that morning. Rain seemed inevitable. At home that morning, the hot water was not working; there was no shower. While Collette tried to decide whether she wanted a cold shower or no shower, OLeif went off to Bible

14 Days 'Till Christmas Season

Thursday, November 9, 2006 An Indian summer day in November – Collette wondered if it would ultimately cancel the Thanksgiving snow, if such a thing were possible that year in the first place. The snow cycle in St. Louis over the past few years had provided scarce quantities. The last super

Canceled Parties

Wednesday, November 8, 2006 Wednesday brought news of Aunt Agnes’ successful recovery from heart surgery in Mt. Vernon, Texas. Although she would have to take things easy from there on. So there was some good news to counter the rather poor election results from the evening before. Although there was

Election Day

Tuesday, November 7, 2006 7:10am saw OLeif and Collette at the polls with good old-fashioned pen, paper, and bubble-in multiple choice. Collette almost enjoyed the fact that voting methods could still be so primitive. So not everything changed so drastically in two hundred years. At the house, Carrie took

vos m'aves mort!

Monday, November 6, 2006 At the house, Rose was getting her hair recolored. Linnea worked on her math at the dining room table with Pumpkin lazily stretched out like a great chocolate long john in front of her, warily watching her every pencil mark as though it might produce something

brunete sans ami,

Sunday, November 5, 2006 Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death that morning. Collette wondered if his heart was hardened past the point of no return. Murderers had been saved in the past before their execution dates. Specifically, he was set to be hung. Meanwhile, all eight Sunday School students were

vostre amor, vostre confort,

Saturday, November 4, 2006 A gray day in St. Louis. The previous day, Grandma had sent Collette a pair of earrings displaying little Cardinals on baseball bats. Collette had already worn them both days. Rose invited them over for pizza that Saturday night, and to watch Monster House which OLeif

mes se je n'ai vostre aie,

Friday, November 3, 2006 That morning the toast ended up being shaped as Australia, again, unintentionally. Rose came in as a whirlwind to the office at nine o’clock, scrubbing sinks, constructing paper shelves, reorganizing the supply closet, and drinking hot chocolate. “This place is such a mess,” she had

d'amors n'ai deport,

Thursday, November 2, 2006 At breakfast that morning, Collette unknowingly chewed through her piece of toast into the shape of a Roosevelt Scottie dog, while OLeif was at Bible study with the boys. The day was fresh full of sunshine. Collette was especially joyful that morning. And while she was

Qu'onques en ma vie

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 Tuesday began another gray November in St. Louis. While Carrie enjoyed the end of her final semester with AMU, she spent part of her day watching tapes on autism. Joe worked at the Green Lantern. Rose was typically Rose. Frances built a fire in the wood

qui m'ocirra.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006 Halloween. The night before Mom had prepared with the usual tradition of watching Meet me in St. Louis. There was a “pumpkin patch cake” and Carrie had also tried to decide what Rose should dress up to be. “You can’t be that corncob, Rose. You

don[t] vient li maus d'amer,

Monday, October 30, 2006 Monday was the perfect October day – high winds, blue skies covered in wispy whites, cascades of dried leaves. Back on the ranch, Carrie was preparing Linnea for Halloween. A costume test-run was quickly underway. Apparently the spider and the rapper ideas had been discarded. “Hey, baby,

qu'ele sache ja,

Sunday, October 29, 2006 Reformation Sunday. From dawn to dusk, the rain held back, and all was quietly warm until evening. Sunlight hit the windows during the service and shone off the Sola banners as they were escorted to the front of the sanctuary by the young junior high kids.

Victory

Saturday, October 28, 2006 Friday, October 27, brought the victorious win of the Cardinals in the World Series. St. Louis seemed to surge in shouts and fireworks that grand cold night. And the celebrating would continued for several days. Meanwhile, before the game had commenced, Rose had come to the

et si ne croi mie,

Friday, October 27, 2006 With another win by the grand old Cardinals the night before, there was promise of a potentially exciting game that very Friday night. It was a Bing Crosby, five and dime store, silver screen sort of day – cold, gray, and rainy – just right. Collette was reminded

C'est la fin, je vuoil amer;

Thursday, October 26, 2006 Collette arrived at work that morning to find the heater still out and a tube of yellow silk on her desk. She could never quite predict what would land on her desk during the week before her arrival. Back in the conference room, Rose’s message

joie demener.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006 With another Cardinal’s victory, the week continued with promise of much rain. Back at the house before the tutoring got underway, Mom set out several platters of buttered pancakes for breakfast, and the rain misted outside. The rest of the day went slowly. After Rose

moi covient par druerie

Tuesday, October 24, 2006 And it was Mrs. English’s birthday that fine autumn day. Another bitterly cold October morning, and another night for the World Series. The cars below were already covered in frost. No doubt Rose’s continuous montage of Bing Crosby and Burl Ives Christmas tunes would

que j'oi ces oisiaus chanter,

Monday, October 23, 2006 Collette returned from the cardiologist Monday morning to tutor Rose, to find Linnea dressed in a gangster costume put together by Carrie-Bri. Linnea had formerly decided to be a spider for Halloween, but Carrie decided that the contraption of chicken wire, socks, and wrapping paper tubes

En mai, quant rose est florie,

Sunday, October 22, 2006 It was back to the Kirk of the Hills for Dr. Trade-Winds last service at senior pastor. Unfortunately OLeif was unable to attend already being committed to playing for the service at Grace that morning. Collette had not been to a service at Kirk since she

pour Diu, qu'ele le deignast avoir de mi!

Saturday, October 21, 2006 A sunrise greeted October 21st in the early morning on floats of puffy pink candy. OLeif and Collette had decided to join the family on the trip to Kansas City that day for Aunt Rebecca’s 80th birthday party after all. The poor fellow seemed to

Et toz dis a jointes mains li cri merci,

Friday, October 20, 2006 Rose joined Collette in the office that morning to aid in paperwork and such. Seeing that the heat was still out, Rose started closing all the doors to the offices and the basement until a more acceptable warmth filled the office area. She also dragged out

et ainsi voeil estre ades a son acort.

Thursday, October 19, 2006 It was Tor’s fifteenth birthday, or at least Collette was mostly sure that it was his birthday. Every once in awhile she forgot the birthdays of one or two of the ten siblings in the English family. It wasn’t always easy remembering all the

Ains sui toz a son voloir, ne l'en desdi,

Wednesday, October 18, 2006 It was another perfect October day. The rain was misting and the yellow leaves were washed up along the pavement. Carrie had returned home the previous morning, having driven since five in the morning. She got back just in time to discover that she also worked

Er si l'ai toz jours mout bien servi,

Monday, October 16, 2006 Carrie was in Nashville from early Sunday morning through Tuesday. Part of her long-planned trip included revisiting the Old Opryland Hotel, filled with glass domes of Eden-like gardens below the terraces and patios of the hotel rooms themselves. It had been a grand place to see,

douner confort.

Sunday, October 15, 2006 Collette had been two, almost three, when Uncle Clarence and Aunt Galena had been married. And although she regretted not remembering the actual ceremony, she did remember the reception a little. It had been a darker room for the reception – perhaps there were low-lit chandeliers (she

ne me daigne des maus, qu'ai por li,

Saturday, October 14, 2006 Saturday, Grandma Combs and Mom were to take Frances and Linnea to the pirate-themed cornfield maze in Godfrey, Illinois. It was the same maze they had visited three or four years before after dropping by the haunted bookstore. And Carrie and Lucia were headed down to

car ma dame, qui m'a mort,

Friday, October 13, 2006 Friday morning, Collette turned on the heater for virtually the first time that autumn. It produced the same Christmasy smell it always did after having sat there unused for so long. A perfect way to welcome in the season. Collette was almost jealous of Buffalo, New

Amours mi font souffrir peine a tort,

Thursday, October 12, 2006 Bitter cold. That was the way Collette liked it. And it was bitter cold that morning. Blue clouds on a yellow sunrise. The office brought the usual laughs, now that Ivy was in full-gear back from vacation. She did manage to call a file folder “You

This bleak world alone?

Wednesday, October 11, 2006 It was Theodore’s birthday. 58 years old that morning. The perfect October day – gray skies, rain from time to time, autumn leaves blowing in gusts across the road, little lights coming from homes along the way. Back at the house, Mom had the windows cracked

Oh! Who would inhabit...

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 The day began with OLeif dropping off Collette at the house. On the way, he talked about crows in England. “They like to eat nuts, apparently, but can’t open them. So, they’ll fly over these high wires into pedestrian areas. And they would drop

And fond ones are flow'n...

Monday, October 9, 2006 North Korea was whining for attention again, Monday morning, whining with nuclear weapons thrown over its shoulder and a small earthquake tossed in for good measure. All was harshly responded to by the United States, Great Britain, the UE, Australia, India, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, Russia,

When true hearts lie wither'd...

Sunday, October 8, 2006 Sunday School that cool morning went as usual. When asked during the lesson, one girl defined treason as “a special holiday”. And Red Blunt told everyone that he was going to see “The Sound of the Music”. “Where’s that?” OLeif asked him. Red Blunt’s

When friendships decay...

Saturday, October 7, 2006 Linnea’s 9th – oh happy day. The afternoon was spent at the house, where Izzy was over playing with Frances. OLeif and Collette were greeted by Linnea, who stood there in the kitchen in a jean skort and a new shirt which read across the front:

So soon may I follow...

Friday, October 6, 2006 Collette heard briefly from Mom Friday morning about her trip up to Iowa – Italian dinner in Galena, shopping in Cologna where in the Amish shops on stormy days (seeing as electricity was outlawed), they would bring up oil lamps to keep the store lit. A spaghetti

Lie scentless and dead

Thursday, October 5, 2006 Six minutes after midnight, the fifth Hobcoggin baby came into the world, Thursday morning, October 5th – Ju Blackberry Hobcoggin. Lately, Collette had a habit of wearing sweaters on 80-degree days and light short-sleeved tops on 60-degree days. Thursday was a 60-degree weather day and with the

Where thy mates of the garden...

Wednesday, October 4, 2006 Another day with Mom gone, and Carrie was again on the warpath to keep the house cleaned. Fire split from her eyes several times during the day. After having made fresh blueberry-raspberry breakfast slushes for everyone to start the day, she took upon herself the feathers

Thy leaves o'er the bed...

Tuesday, October 3, 2006 Tuesday was predicted to become so hot during the afternoon, that Collette sent Frances and Linnea outside for the morning hours before it became too warm. This also gave Rose little excuse to blame her lack of concentration on the noise-level of the house. The sounds

Thus kindly I'll scatter...

Monday, October 2, 2006 Indian Summer was upon them. Collette noticed for the first time on Sunday that the leaves had started to change – many trees were already yellow. It would have been a perfect time to visit Michigan’s world of sugar maples. The brightest reds and oranges Collette

To pine on the stem

Sunday, October 1, 2006 Sunday brought warmer weather and things to talk about. Carrie had spent her evening after work the night before, out with Elizabeth and Lucia, on the Illinois side of the river in some naturally-lit hang-outs with little bonfires. Dad and Frances had seen a car fire

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one...

Saturday, September 30, 2006 It was Oktoberfest days in St. Charles, in September. So the beer and the pretzels would be passed around under the tents, accordions, folk dancers in suspenders and leiderhozen… down by the river. Meanwhile, OLeif and Collette were headed in the opposite direction that Saturday evening,

Or give sigh for sigh

Friday, September 29, 2006 Cold days. Collette wondered if Mom and Mrs. Lord-Welches would end up spending a rather frozen three days around the lake the following week. Perhaps Mom should have brought her ice skates, if she had had any. But no doubt they would spend half of each

To reflect back her blushes...

Thursday, September 28, 2006 Thursday brought rain clouds on the horizon, making the early morning hours much darker than usual, as OLeif stayed asleep longer and Collette made a big batch of cream of wheat for breakfast. It was a day like the times when Carrie-Bri had gone on a

No rosebud is nigh...

Wednesday, September 27, 2006 After work, Tuesday, Joe picked up Collette from work so that she could attend the home schooler’s meeting where she would sit on a discussion panel with Idlewild Redcoat, Louis Tecumseh, Carrie-Bri, and Cala Fregalistic to answer questions about college experiences. Meanwhile, while she waited

No flow'r of her kindred...

Tuesday, September 26, 2006 Collette was reminded of a day years ago – perhaps it was the late summer or the late spring. Days when she would go to the library and get books with pictures of gardens around the world. She would look at them for hours. And one Saturday

Are faded and gone

Monday, September 25, 2006 Sometime during Monday morning, a black salesman came by the door back at the house. Trooper, in his excitement, bounded towards him. Mom answered the door, trying to hold him back. “Ooooh…” the guy chuckled, looking at Troops, “I hope he doesn’t like dark meat.

All her lovely companions...

Sunday, September 24, 2006 Another Sunday of blue clouds under melting gold. There was something comforting about a gray day in the fall. Meanwhile, Rose had instead decided to try out an application for Walgreens. Collette saw her filling it out on the computer during the Lost marathon the day

Left blooming alone

Saturday, September 23, 2006 September 23rd – the day of cousin Bristol and Nerissa-Christianne’s wedding in Mexico. Collette wondered if it was stormy there too. Or would it be all white sands, blue waters, and sunshine? She would hear more at their St. Louis reception several weeks later. Saturday was

It's the last rose of summer...

Friday, September 22, 2006 It would be autumn at precisely 11:03 that night. Collette was reminded that morning of a cool autumn Saturday, similar to the day before, when Grandma and Mom had taken them all and Linus (who had brought his skateboard with him) over to a small

Come Autumn

Thursday, September 21, 2006 Thursday was cold. Collette had remembered the old man getting his mail from the mail house several evenings before. “We’re going to have an early fall,” he prophesied, pointing his stack of letters at her solemnly. And Collette was glad of it. Meanwhile, Wednesday night,

Sinners and Saints

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 Collette woke that morning to listen to the Anonymous Four. It reminded her of days when the Snicketts and English families studied the Dark Ages, the Medieval castles, ladies, knights, and feasts. In fact, both families had held separate Medieval feasts at their houses. The Snicketts

Pulled Teeth, Striped Hair, Busted Cars

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 Back on the ranch Monday afternoon, with all the doors and windows open to the cool of the September day, Carrie had left for another piano lesson and work at Old Hickory, Joe was off to the bike shop to get his tire repaired and to

Popeye & Penguin

Monday, September 18, 2006 And so it was back to the old grind at the apartment, now that Nicodemus and Ivy had returned to their cats from Colorado, including snow storms and moose (which Ivy briefly described over the phone Saturday morning). Earlier, Joe’s party played under the stars

Few Happenings

Friday, September 15, 2006 The day of Joe’s party, the cats heard the alarm clock switch on the radio at 5:45 from the other side of the bedroom door, and began mewing loudly for food. Eventually they decided that meowing would not open the door and they returned

Autumn Coming

Thursday, September 14, 2006 Tor’s 13th birthday – one year away from his golden. And the sun had returned upon the land. The air was cool and blue. Some of the leaves were already gold. It was a hot macaroni and cheese day. It was a day to look forward

Viking Warship

Wednesday, September 13, 2006 Rose came with Collette to work that day, to study and to clean and alphabetize the books on the shelves in the basement. During the process of reshelving the books, Rose stumbled across an old copy of Rev. Trublood’s Bible (the first pastor of Kirk

Life on a Tuesday

Tuesday, September 12, 2006 More rain for Tuesday, for which Collette was always grateful. The alarm rang at 5:30 in the morning for OLeif to get up and make pancakes for Ben-Hur and Augustus who arrived at 6:00 for breakfast and Hebrews. The kitties likely bounded off at

Cats in Bags and Mud Pies

Monday, September 11, 2006 Monday brought cracks of lightening and sheets of rain as Collette woke up to the mewing of Ivy’s cats. She and OLeif were to spend Sunday to Sunday at Ivy’s, watching the kitties and eating all of Ivy’s food, of which there was

Play Sweetly the Mandolin Over the Grave

Saturday, September 9, 2006 And so the bulletins were eventually folded Friday night with Linnea helping to staple and stuff. Following that, Frances and Linnea set up their pillows and blankets in the living room, as they did every Friday night, for a viewing of Young Indiana Jones and the

Complain, Complain

Friday, September 8, 2006 Friday was an especially irritating day. Just as Collette was about to print the bulletin, the printer fix-it guy came to tweak things and add parts. Collette wondered why no one had told him that Friday morning was the absolute worst time he could come to

Joinings and Partings

Thursday, September 7, 2006 The first news of Thursday was that Arthur Duncan from old Arkansas was engaged, to be married the following June. It had been awhile since he and his sister, America, had visited the Silverspoons. One visit took place while Denae stripped the kitchen of wallpaper. Another

Shnuggleburts for Short and Shnuggleburts for Snoring

Wednesday, September 6, 2006 Shnuggleburts for Short and Shnuggleburts for Snoring, Carrie’s old stuffed penguin. No one really ever found out why she gave him such a name. But it was his full name, and whenever anyone (especially Carrie) referred to him, they gave his whole name – not just

Inspired Creatures

Tuesday, September 5, 2006 It was the first day back to choir for Joe, Rose, and Frances. Joe had also run over to Grenada to put down another payment on his bike. And Carrie, beginning her second day of classes (seeing as her school did not recognize holidays), later took

Poor Mr. Irwin

Monday, September 4, 2006 Sad news of the day: The Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, had been killed by a stingray off the coast of Australia. In happier tales, it was Labor Day, and Joe would have his birthday celebration that day instead. He had already been greeted home Sunday night

Base-Jumping and Gus'

Sunday, September 3, 2006 Joe’s big eighteenth birthday, and the dude was still down at the lake with the other fellas. Meanwhile, Saturday had been a full day back on the ranch. Carrie was to work Saturday and Sunday as well, so while she got ready to leave Saturday,

French Toast and Lincoln Logs

Friday, September 1, 2006 It already smelled like fall. But there were still three weeks left, and they seemed cool. OLeif mended mostly over Thursday night, and found himself practically prepared to join the senior high boys on a retreat to the lake over Friday evening through Sunday night. Also

Let's Name the Magnetic Cat

Thursday, August 31, 2006 The last day of August brought more sickness for OLeif and a throbbing headache during the night for Collette, which she was finally able to mostly relieve with Tylenol the next morning. Meanwhile, at the office, Ivy was trying to think of a name for the

Sickness

Wednesday, August 30, 2006 Wednesday was a sick day for OLeif, who, after driving into work, decided that he needed to return home to rest. So after tutoring, Collette was dropped off by Joe, and she tried to take care of the poor dude on the couch. Earlier, it had

Gray Days and Hurricanes

Tuesday, August 29, 2006 A cold cold day for August. It began with Augustus and Magnus over with OLeif at 5:30 in the morning for cinnamon rolls and a study on Hebrews with John Piper. Back at the house, choir camp took away Joe on down for half the

The Second Year

Monday, August 28, 2006 The second anniversary of OLeif and Collette went rather well. OLeif presented her with a bunch of red roses at the end of the day, and joked: “I just thought maybe you’d like some, for no particular reason.” Carrie even scolded Rose earlier in the

Is the Rain to Stay?

Sunday, August 27, 2006 Sunday did bring the storms, early. And the rain continued to fall here and there during church. Back at the house, there was roast, a hot potato dish, and bread, while they discussed the things of the day. Dad and Mom were to take Frances and

Nothing to Tell

Saturday, August 26, 2006 Collette woke up that morning to find that OLeif had been to the grocery store and had returned to make homemade biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Collette had to admit once again, that she had managed to marry a good chef. Over the course

The Creepy Cat

Friday, August 25, 2006 At work, Judah noticed Ivy’s latest thought-bubble addition to her magnetic cat: “Judah, beware the stairs (of death)!” Judah looked war-ingly at it. “It was the cat,” he said, “The cat made me fall down the stairs.” The rain came in the late morning, thankfully.

Unfortunate Incidents

Thursday, August 24, 2006 A bright fateful day in Thursday morning was the August day that declared for the first time since its discovery in 1930, that Pluto was no longer a planet. It was a sad day for astronomers everywhere. Carrie was also very upset, seeing that it had

Mischievous and Silly Things

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 The day was sun-filled and oddly un-August. Back on the ranch, Mom led morning lessons with Frances and Linnea up in Carrie’s tree house, after the kids had added their own adjustments: tarp, bug net, coolers of supplies, etc. And Carrie did some reading up

The Opiate of the Masses

Tuesday, August 22, 2006 In news of the day, the rather unusually optimistic radio announcer, at 5:45am, was talking about Venus and a moon that could be seen in the early morning sky (that was rarely seen), or something along similar lines. There were no storms or inclement weather

Scientific Dramatics

Monday, August 21, 2006 Diana left for Chicago that day to begin a new life in the big world of the windy city, or near to it at least. However, she was still close enough to home for weekend visits. Monday morning before tutoring Collette arrived to find Pumpkin bounding

Cool Runnings

Sunday, August 20, 2006 Saturday evening there was blueberry ice cream for Collette and chocolate peanut butter for OLeif before he split for the lake and Collette settled down on the couch to watch on old black and white flick about a snake hunter and a card sharp bamboozler in

Quiet Days

Saturday, August 19, 2006 Saturday was even quieter than Friday. Reading, washing dishes, washing laundry, running errands, the library for an old film, mostly gray skies… Later that afternoon OLeif was off for an evening of barbecue and swimming in Lake St. Louis with the youth for a mission trip

From that dear lovely Isle of Innisfree.

Friday, August 18, 2006 Friday was a quiet day. Collette knew that there would likely be one hopping party at Molly’s that night, depending on the enormity of the junior high girls group that was meant to attend. Evangeline, Susie, Rose, and Molly were hosting. Collette had heard rumors

Especially when it happens he's an exile...

Thursday, August 17, 2006 Thursday – Joe was to complete his Eagle project beginning early that morning while Big Bad Voodoo Daddies, The Beatles, and Tiny Tim melodied them through the day. Joining him were Grandpa Hobcoggin, Mr. Bubble, Wallace, Curly, Israel, Frances, and Rose, the camera woman. Diana was leaving

They take him o'er the land across the sea...

Wednesday, August 16, 2006 Tuesday morning Rose had been lighting candles in her room near Pumpkin’s rump (where she sat demurely on Rose’s desk watching the birds out the window) and subsequently almost lit the cat on fire. “It was smoking,” Rose said matter-of-factly, “and she didn’t

And precious things are dreams unto an exile...

Tuesday, August 15, 2006 Bing’s 20th birthday. Monday evening, after dropping off the dented green car for a safety inspection the next day and after a quick meatloaf dinner at the Silverspoon’s Monday night, Theodore and Denae presented OLeif with his late birthday gift: a new leather-bound Reformation

When all the things he loves are far away.

Monday, August 14, 2006 Collette thought about people, people from the past and people moving on to new things, new times of life… The Christmas’ in Croatia, the Lincolns and the entire staff in Budapest, Catalina perhaps in Africa two years later, Mercy and Stephane, Shepherd and Malaya, Peter and

But then a body's bound to be a dreamer...

Sunday, August 13, 2006 Meanwhile that weekend, Sunday was Mercy’s 22nd birthday and Fidel Castro’s 80th. In the busyness of the whole day: worship rehearsal, church, Sunday School, sandwiches at the Silverspoon’s and cards over root beer floats, youth group, etc., OLeif and Collette had rather forgotten

And I've no doubt there's truth in what they say.

Saturday August 12, 2006 All of Saturday was spent for Dad, Collette, Joe, Wallace, Curly, Rose, Israel, Frances, and Linnea constructing and/or supervising progression on the great Eagle project, from seven in the morning till near five in the evening. And the results were very nice, although the pouring

I've met some folks who say that I'm a dreamer...

Friday, August 11, 2006 Friday began with a fine silver mist over the land. And once the sun had revisited for lunch, Mom, Joe, Wally, and Frances hauled a load of rock and 1,200 pounds of cement to the church office ramp site. The boys returned later with Nahum

Demon Cat

Thursday, August 10, 2006 At work that day, Rosemary had given Ivy a large Max kitty magnet to stick on her filing cabinet. Judah took one look at it and said: “That’s scary!” “What?” Ivy said. “It’s scary.” Beverly howled. “How is that scary?” “It’s just scary.

So run that you may obtain

Wednesday, August 9, 2006 Collette enjoyed new concert experiences, if for nothing more than watching the reactions of people in the crowd. While the bands screamed and rocked a handful of the people below would rock along as hard as they possibly could while the majority merely stood and watched.

Concerts and Applications

Tuesday, August 8, 2006 Tuesday began with Joe making phone calls, altering diagrams, and delivering letters as he had just received approval to begin construction of his Eagle Scout project. Carrie submitted her application to Starbucks. Rose picked up her college texts and applied to Target. And Diana had found

The Things They Do

Monday, August 7, 2006 The day of Joe’s Eagle Board of Review. Sunday had involved suits and dresses to church for the youth (including a blue and white striped seersucker and pink tie for Augustus), corned beef and red potatoes for lunch, a complete surprise baby shower for Lace

Peaches, Goats, & Karen Carpenter

Saturday, August 5, 2006 Collette woke that morning with her eye still bloodshot from two days before to find that the oven had been left on all night at 400 degrees. She hardly had to turn it on again for cinnamon rolls for breakfast. And with that, it was off

Marriage in Mexico

Friday, August 4, 2006 It was the sort of day Collette wanted to drop everything and hit a flight to Iceland… land of fire and ice. Perhaps the best place in the world. Volcanic and glacial stirrings, living quite neighborly with one another. The great wastes of gray hills and

Nemo Sine Cruce Beatus – Baker

Thursday, August 3, 2006 Judah’s 28th and Uncle Balthasar’s 50th, jolly Uncle Balthasar… She wondered whether or not he had decided to fly Grandma to Cancun for Bristol’s wedding the following month. In light of the current hurricane season going on, Collette thought it was probably a

Virtus Omnia Vincit – White

Wednesday, August 2, 2006 It was Wednesday that Collette stumbled upon the Silverspoon family plaid: a dark green and blue affair – very smart-looking for a supposedly Scottish clan. Although Collette was still quite certain that the Silverspoon family had not been Scottish, but Vikings. Another blistering day. Collette heard that

From Literature Debate in the Morning to Curry at Night

Tuesday, August 1, 2006 Back on the home front, Tuesday morning, Collette reviewed amoebas and Irish moss with Rose, while Frances and Linnea stuffed wads of cotton in Rose’s oscillating fan to prevent added noise from the whirring of the blades. And then Mom took the kids over to

Curses on the Pink Polka Dots

Monday, July 31, 2006 Sunday was spent with the Silverspoon family and Diana at Christ Presbyterian, Collette arriving shortly before the sermon (hurrying back from Grace after teaching Sunday School). And lunch was casual around a hearty meal of pork chops, mashed potatoes, and key lime pie as they sprawled

Chattings

Sunday, July 30, 2006 The coffeehouse brought the usual rigmarole and conversational carousing. Out in the river valley, the sun began to sink, as most of the kids: Joe, Ben-Hur, Augustus, Rose, Bob B,. and Molly camped out at Sonic, seeing as they weren’t quite in the mood for

And the Rains Came Down

Saturday, July 29, 2006 Saturday was one of those subtly “rotten days”. Accidentally deleted her writings from Friday, hadn’t bought jeans in several years and found nothing but boot-cut at the mall, no pomegranates at the grocery store (not till fall), forgot to go to the post office four

Friday Night: Now Entering the World of Marco Polo

Friday, July 28, 2006 Thursday night, in the warm summer rain, OLeif treated Collette to Outback and their Chocolate Chocolate Tower cake (the best, in Collette’s rather limited opinion, in the world). He also presented to her (after Rose had finished stringing it together) a necklace of hand-selected beads

Thursdays

Thursday, July 27, 2006 Thursday took heavy rainfall in the morning – a silver rain. Five hours of sleep solicited a sleepy day at the office, in which Ivy and Collette were given a new white bookshelf to place under their window, courtesy of Rosemary. Sunrise pieced it together and drew

White Christmas, Corn Nuts, and Blowing Bubbles

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 Ah…. a cloudy day. What could be better? It had been wondered in days past if Collette was half-vampire, so much did she prefer the dark wild days to the sunny ones. She awoke at 4:37 in the morning to the unpleasant sensation of feeling

Quo Vadis Domine

Tuesday, July 25, 2006 Mondays were for haircuts, Simon and Garfunkle, and chicken rings from White Castle; at least that Monday had been. And OLeif sported a half-nineties cut by the end of the evening. Earlier that day, after all the kids had left for their activities of the day,

Dancing Holes in the Carpet

Monday, July 24, 2006 Chester Hobcoggin’s 11th and the first anniversary of Shepherd and Malaya Pretzel. Sunday evening, the four girls gathered together once again to complete their dance over a pitcher of ice water, courtesy of Lonnie and mint double chocolate chip cookies, courtesy of Mrs. English. And

The Misadventures of a Sunday Morning

Sunday, July 23, 2006 Collette had seen pictures two days before: the great sand dunes of Michigan. She had seen them herself seven years before – Sleepy Bear Dunes. Who would have thought it would take twenty minutes to climb a dune. Dad, Carrie, and Joe shimmied up with no difficulty.

Wind-Down

Saturday, July 22, 2006 Saturday saw a hearty breakfast for Collette, Frances, and Linnea after they had spent the night at the apartment, and fairer skies. “Spring clouds” as Mom had said. She treated Collette and Linnea to nachos later in the morning after Collette had dropped off her charges

Take 37...

Friday, July 21, 2006 Another night out till two o’clock in the morning brought the dance troupe closer to their desired goal. However, it wasn’t perfect. During breaks, they snacked on potato boats, quesadilla wraps, and mozzarella sticks, courtesy of Mom, and discussed their weak points over fruit

Busting out the Moves

Wednesday, July 19, 2006 Collette received word Thursday morning that OLeif, who had been feeling quite sick the night before, was feeling much better. Mom told Collette that Joe had phoned her early that morning saying: “Hello, this is Jimmy. I regret to inform you, that Joe has broken his

What Does One do on a Day as Hot as Hades?

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 While the team in New Orleans went off for a grand demolition that morning, Collette found herself back in the heat and the fuzz and the haze. And Creole came over to spend the day with Frances and Linnea, while half of his family was in

Living Generation Number Four is Born

Monday, July 17, 2006 Jules Verne’s 2nd birthday and the day was strangely quiet and productive. Collette scoured down the apartment, hunting through old nooks and crannies of boxes and hundreds of writings. She stumbled across various oddities, including a bar of olive oil soap that her old violin

New Orleans or Bust

Sunday, July 16, 2006 The picnic came and went with the usual ease and chattings and munchkins running about, drowning down the sound of the peepers in the fields. The youth eventually opted to finish the evening in the youth building while Rose attempted to fix the color on the

On Preparing to Leave for the Sunny South

Saturday, July 15, 2006 Saturday morning brought a buster of a heat wave, enough fire to issue a heat warning for St. Louis for the rest of the week through Wednesday. Meanwhile, Collette and OLeif packed his bags for New Orleans. Ironically enough, New Orleans was anticipated to be cooler

A Revisit of the Second Attempt

Friday, July 14, 2006 After a solid six hours of sleep, Collette spent an entirely frustrating day at the church office which also included being engulfed with ill-functioning picnic factions, news of Megan having fainted at her internship at Boeing right as Ivy and Nicodemus were leaving for the game

On the Shores of Gitche-Goomie

Thursday, July 13, 2006 It was an evening for another OA ceremony down at the good old S-F. For the first time ever, they would be visiting twice in a summer. But this time, it would be with Troop 957 and they would not be bringing dinner to the Scouts.

Nothing really, nothing really

Wednesday, July 12, 2006 Collette woke up a trifle sick that morning, and found herself particularly satisfied that she would not be spending the following week in bug-spitten heat-stricken mold-ridden New Orleans with OLeif and all the kids. Perhaps she was just not meant to serve God by tearing apart

Life in General...

Tuesday, July 11, 2006 Ah, the awakening call of thunder clap. A perfect morning. Tuesday was spent purchasing supplies for the mission trip and preparation for Rose’s next exam two days before departure. Carrie and Elizabeth were having a MUSE-party for the release of their new album and brought

The Attack of the Itch Bugs

Monday, July 10, 2006 Monday was a gray day with rain in the afternoon. At breakfast that morning Mom mentioned that Linnea would like to go swimming before the heat of the day came on. “Little buttercup,” Mom said to her, as Linnea ate her scrambled eggs. “I’m not

Oh, Those Crazy Kids...

Sunday, July 9, 2006 Collette had a sudden urging that morning to return to the Magyar. Whatever had become of Malachi and Singabahambayo, Mot and Cathay, Boccaccio and Everlost, Donald and Louis XIV Applemangle (the American brothers who had visited Budapest on a mission trip, both fallen in love with

Spurgeon West is Married

Saturday, July 8, 2006 Sierra’s and Elizabeth’s 21st birthdays and the day of Spurgeon’s wedding. Meanwhile, Collette decided that she did like the second Pirates, sitting there in a sold-out show. What exactly was so thrilling about pirates in general, she did not quite know. Bloodthirsty pillaging

Farewells and Goodbyes to that Fair Country

Friday, July 7, 2006 Thursday night Diana and Collette spent a couple of hours over dinner and talked about life over fruit Popsicles and looking through picture albums before Diana had to scoot to make it to the movies with her siblings for the midnight showing of Pirates of the

The Day in the Little Village on the Danube

Thursday, July 6, 2006 Wednesday evening was spent again at the Hobcoggins for the grand homemade fireworks display. While it could hardly rival the magnificence of the evening before, it sufficed for a pleasant way to wrap up the holidays. Thursday was truly what could be classified as a quiet

Christening Fireworks

Wednesday, July 5, 2006 Upon arrival at the Combs’, OLeif and Collette were just in time to walk down to the old Elementary school playground and field with Carrie-Bri, Lucia, Rose, Frances, and Linnea. It was the exact same path that Uncle Mo and Mom had taken on their way

Ka-Boom Again

Tuesday, July 4, 2006 230 years. And it was Earnest’s 24th birthday and Mr. Christmas’ birthday. Firecrackers could already be heard going off before 9:00 in the morning. And as it turned out, the night before, while OLeif was working till the wee hours, Collette hiked along with

Preparing for the Annual Visitation of “The Earth Shakers”

Monday, July 3, 2006 Bristol’s 23rd birthday. The day before, an asteroid half a mile long had come in “close contact” with the earth, passing near the range of the moon. If it had struck the earth, as asteroids had been wont to do in the past, apparently, it

Sunburn and Sea Battles

Sunday, July 2, 2006 Saturday afternoon was spent at Ben-Hur’s after an extra forty minutes on the rode for OLeif, Collette, Curly, Susie, and Rose, in OLeif’s attempt to find Highway Double D a round-a-bout way. After hitting N, Z, and D, they finally found DD. Upon arrival,

Andrew Roo-zeh-boom

Saturday, July 1, 2006 Friday evening had been the Son Treasure Island Vacation Bible School closing ceremonies. And the kids were pretty funny as usual, running around in homemade tie-dyed shirts, spilling ice cream, and congregating on the porch steps of the old house, which was more often visited by

Neo-Nazis at Night on the Bridge in the Dark and the Mist... (No, Not Really – There was no Mist)

Friday, June 30, 2006 There was something oddly thrilling and adventurously chilling about actually seeing neo-Nazis. It was a terrible thing to feel excited tingles down one’s spine over something so potentially sinister. But when Collette walked over the lighted bridge that night – she saw them, and she could

Who Loves the Waffle House? Scott Hamilton

Thursday, June 29, 2006 Brit’s 30th birthday. Sometimes it still seemed only yesterday that he had celebrated his 21st back at the house, over homemade cake (if memory served) and “chippies”, no doubt. In Hungary, it had been a Friday. After switching planes in Vienna, they had come in

Past Embarkation

Wednesday, June 28, 2006 It was precisely five years ago that Diana and Collette had left for Hungary. Collette remembered leaving with Diana and all their pounds of luggage in the great green slug. Mom and Collette had met Mrs. English and Diana at the old Schnucks to trade off

. . . . . . . . . .

Tuesday, June 27, 2006 There was nothing much to say for Tuesday. Seeing as Joe and Rose ended up spending the afternoon at Steak ‘n Shake and the park with Ben-Hur (for fifteen minutes before he returned to work), Magnus, Wallace, Bob B., and Samantha Bee… Collette ended up watching

A Sweet Sixteen to the Wickel Girl

Monday, June 26, 2006 It was Rose’s turn to become sweet sixteen that day. Previously, Sunday afternoon was spent over fried chicken and mashed potatoes and fruit salad to celebrate Grandma Combs’ belated 70th birthday. Silky’s came afterward for everyone as OLeif, Collette, Joe, and Rose then departed

Dunks and Donuts

Sunday, June 25, 2006 The archangel had fallen. He was engaged. Carrie was taking the news rather well, with the developing rumors that he was moving to New York on top of it. Meanwhile, from 1:30 to nine o’clock, Jimmy, Loraine and baby Donald, OLeif and Collette, Joe

I Hope that Wasn't Shamrock

Saturday, June 24, 2006 Friday, Joe and Wallace were to partner in the mile-swim. And Ivy called into the church office that same morning to report on something, absently-mindedly interrupting herself: “Oh!… Sorry. I’m just looking at my purse. Maxwell’s been chewing on it. Teethmarks!” Also in regards

The Typical Enchantment of the Boy Scout Summer Camp at S-F, Where the Smudge Pots Always Cause Some Sort of Trouble

Friday, June 23, 2006 Before heading out to the camp that afternoon, Collette laced up her good hiking boots. That trusty old pair had seen her through the mountain pass in the Tetons, all fifteen miles in a blistering 92 degrees with a thirty pound hiking pack, platypus, dried mangoes,

Of Aspiring Pianists and Thunderstorms

Thursday, June 22, 2006 Collette was reminded that day of a recent conversation she had with her cousin over the phone, several weeks before. Lucia had called her after ten o’clock one week-day evening on her way to Dairy Queen with Queen. “Hey, sweetie!” She yelled into the phone.

A Guys' Night

Wednesday, June 21, 2006 Izzy’s 13th birthday – the last official teenager of the Silverspoon household. Tuesday evening, Ben-Hur and Augustus had come over to spend some guy time, (or as the great Justus of Orange would say, “male-bonding”) over pizza. Collette, meanwhile, continued her writings and readings in the

Mishaps on the Baseball Field

Tuesday, June 20, 2006 OLeif and Collette spent several hours at the Spinnings Monday night while OLeif and Ecclesiastes talked music over their violin and guitar, and Collette and Aubree discussed the junior high girls in preparation for Aubree to lead their discipleship group in the fall. Aubree had prepared

Letters to Scouts

Monday, June 19, 2006 Relevance was 23 that day. Edred would have been 20. Letters to Scouts: (From Collette to Joe): Hey, Man, Hope you’re having a good week with your fellow Scouts. Seeing as it has only been one day since you’ve left, I have no astronomic

And what Color will it be this Time?

Sunday, June 18, 2006 Father’s Day – the day the Boy Scouts always seemed to manage to leave for Scout Camp. Theodore and Denae were to drive them down. In Sunday School, when John Smith defined “abomination” as a type of bomb, Collette tried not to laugh. And when OLeif

And it went 'Pop'

Saturday, June 17, 2006 Grandma Combs’ 70th birthday – and she was as hearty and traveling as she ever was. It was the boys’ last day at home for a full week, and they spent the morning of it playing at a car show at Home Depot. They would be gone

And OLeif Returned with Stories

Friday, June 16, 2006 OLeif was coming home that afternoon after four days of battling it out with the naturally evil tendencies of young girls and boys. But alas, such tendencies arose in people of all ages, and were only more carefully concealed in the older ones. Collette missed Hungary

Ivy and Her Pranks

Thursday, June 15, 2006 Collette found herself in a world of many times and thoughts since Monday night. A roaming planet. It was rather a good thing. Work was the usual amusement. Collette was first greeted with more donuts from Ivy – her tool of “bribery” to keep Collette happy in

Rose's Second & Third Installments

Wednesday, June 14, 2006 Wednesday was a Monk morning and afternoon – prayer, contemplation, and Scriptures. Meanwhile, Mom took Linnea to her piano lesson with Madge Wheels, where she learned that the rattlesnake was being introduced to Missouri as the third venomous snake in the state, according to Madge’s neighbor,

Uneventful Triple Birthday

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 The triple birthday – OLeif (22), Eve (18), and Wallace (17). And OLeif was spending his with over two hundred junior highers at week-long conference in southern Illinois. Tuesday was mostly uneventful. But Linnea came back with Collette that evening to spend the night. Earlier in the

Shakespeare, Spies, & Weddings

After picking up several groceries for the evening, Collette and Carrie-Bri met up at the park ‘n ride with Diana and Bing, to see Julius Caesar once again. Reaching downtown, they marched to the green with a cooler and folding chairs to enjoy some old friend time. Diana and Collette

When Death Stares You in the Face, Sickle Poised

Sunday, June 11, 2006 Relevance and Kitts’ first anniversary – already. Only a year ago, Kitt’s had been close to fainting in the bridal-getting-ready-room with her bridesmaids. At least, that was the word around town, at the time. Carrie-Bri was worried that Kitts would fall flat on her face at

Gehen zu Betchen

Saturday, June 10, 2006 A typical Friday at the office – people were hard to please. But Aubree Spinnings called to invite OLeif and Collette to dessert and coffee later in the month. The three stooges: Joe, Wallace, and Curly were off to see Cars at the cinema that evening. Collette

Oh, the Days of High School Summers

Friday, June 9, 2006 Friday morning – Collette had her usual race against the neighbor on the other side of the wall to see who could start their shower first at six o’clock. The winner was generally a toss-up. But that Friday, Collette won. And apparently, for as much as

The Cogs & Wheels of the Church Office

Thursday, June 8, 2006 OLeif would be gone for the following week with Jimmy and the junior high, to a place of which Collette had yet to know. Perhaps it was Illinois, or Indiana, or Kentucky. She was not entirely sure. At work, there were more donuts from Ivy, and

College Girl

Wednesday, June 7, 2006 It was Mom’s and Dad’s 26th anniversary, and Colorado’s 21st birthday, back in Iowa. Hard to believe the kid had been married for eight months already. Wednesday afternoon, following more history, the yard was full of greens and golds and shadows and winds,

The Beginnings of Summer

Tuesday, June 6, 2006 Tennis was played for about an hour and a half at Ben-Hur’s school while a troop of yellow-heads practiced football in the field behind the courts. Those present inside the courts were: OLeif, Collette, Carrie-Bri (who was feeling rather sick and had brought a bottle

Trouble Will Come...

Monday, June 5, 2006 A day for Joe’s first board of review for his Eagle project, a day for Diana’s first interview with Intervarsity Press, and a day for a first forum gathering at the tennis courts. The archangel had been spotted once again by Elizabeth when she

Shhhh... Don't Tell Them Yet – Maybe We'll Find it and They'll Never Know!

Sunday, June 4, 2006 And with the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Rye, there was the arrival of Diana back in Saint Louis. She would head up to Chicago the following morning for an interview and then return once again for the rest of the summer, or until she would

A Renaissance Day

Saturday, June 3, 2006 Collette woke that morning to the golden light of Judah’s and Evangeline’s wedding day. She lay there in bed for a little while, listening to the chink of the ceramic bobs on the fan chains above her and feeling somewhat like she had on

Oh, the Bliss of a June Bride

Friday, June 2, 2006 Friday – the eve of Judah and Evangeline’s wedding. Seeing as their wedding program was as long as the church bulletin and required stapling, Collette knew that she would be in for the long haul that night, and decided to bring her trusty leather journal and

Castles for Sale & Greens-Loving Spiders

Thursday, June 1, 2006 And so it was a gray and cooler day that Thursday at the office. Diana would be home in two days, the Hobcoggins were on their way to Oklahoma for four days, and Judah and Evangeline would be married in two. Joe was to clean “Nemo”

It Goes that Way Sometimes

Wednesday, May 31, 2006 (7:19am) Last day of May. Carrie-Bri had returned safely the evening before, in a good mood, hair pulled back in a rolled-up red bandanna, some Hollywood shades, and her usual tough-gal trappings, rushing off to her concert (the Dave Matthews band, where the younger Marshalls

Tombstone Surprise

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 Later, Carrie-Bri called Mom from New York on her way to Macey’s to buy Grandma a little something, knowing that Grandma loved Macey’s, and was having a good time. Over the holidays OLeif and Collette ended up at various places over town, Monday. First

A Different Memorial Day

Monday, May 29, 2006 Memorial Day – and it would be one of the few Memorial Days in Collette’s history where she would not be with extended family. Meanwhile, she wondered about the kids, and thought that it was rather funny how they presumed to act so indifferent about the

An Unfortunate Bike Ride

Sunday, May 28, 2006 So by Sunday, the family was still camping at Babler (where the Englishs and Silverspoons played on Friday, and where Francis was cut up by a bike incident and where Adam-Age ran over him with his bike). It reminded Collette of the one day five years

Caesar's Ghost on the Green

Saturday, May 27, 2006 A day for Shakespeare – and so warm by nine o’clock in the morning – that Collette thought the pavement might serve as a good frying pan. As for the performance – after arriving three and a half hours early to reserve a spot under a grand old

Such are Things

Friday, May 26, 2006 Pictures had been taken over Oreo ice cream cake at the Souths, where they had an art teacher from a local public high school over for dinner (who went to their church and had created the fantastic mosaic which grandly hung above the South’s fireplace)

Tensities and Rising Heat

Thursday, May 25, 2006 And so Carrie-Bri and Eve left early that morning for New York City. And in the office there were frustrations as usual. Sinai had taken the day off, and everyone else just dealt with things and the tensities and aggravations of working in a church office.

Someone's Second Anniversary

Wednesday, May 24, 2006 Iwo and Strawberry’s second anniversary – hard enough to believe. Collette was certain that their wedding would be the only wedding she would ever attend on a Monday. And who could have guessed that that particular Monday in late May would have been practically the hottest

Smashed Fingers and Sweets

Tuesday, May 23, 2006 It seemed, from Collette’s notes, that it was Mr. and Mrs. English’s 25th wedding anniversary that day. OLeif had not returned home from cabling the new NAWS building Monday night, till 10:30. And while he was gone, Collette tried not to eat any

Hurling Whales, Honey Bees, and Engagements

Monday, May 22, 2006 And so it happened that Wednesday, May 17th, Peter proposed to his girl, Julia. At 19 and 20, respectively (from what Collette could remember), they hoped to be married a year later. Collette predicted that there would now be at least three weddings to attend the

This and That, This and That

Sunday, May 21, 2006 People, People, as the good old Yente would say. Whatever happened to all of them? At the graduation ceremony itself were: Velvet Law and Alfonso Candles (who Collette presumed would be married in December), John Boy Strawberry, Old Blue and Cashmere, the Orange brothers (minus the

The Gathering Day

Saturday, May 20, 2006 At the coffee house, Friday night, there was a good crowd going – even Mrs. South and Lollipop, Mr. and Mrs. English and Mrs. English’s parents, Annamaria, Tor, and Adam-Age, all the Hobcoggins and Silverspoons, Molly and Stan, Joseph served coffee, Magnus dropped by on the

And all that Good Stuff

Friday, May 19, 2006 Graduation rehearsal that night seemed somewhat tense. Most parents, as usual, were exactly particular on how they wanted everything run. And a number of the biographies tended to be lengthy and bordering, if not squelching, on/in arrogance. But that was the way the mill ran

Popcorn Tales

Thursday, May 18, 2006 [6:51am] It was then two days before the 2006 graduation, and OLeif was once again to narrate for the ceremony. It promised to be a few people short of the grand crowd of 2005, and there was a rehearsal that night to sort everything out

Yes, the “Golden Era” Slipped into the Sunset of Memory at Least a Year Ago

Wednesday, May 17, 2006 In the end, the concert had been unusually subtle. In short, it was empty. There was no other word for it. It was not to say that the concert was poor or even quite flat. It was decent and quite funny, but the golden era was

The Last Choir Concert of the Year

Tuesday, May 16, 2006 Tuesday, the last choir concert of the year. It was one of those annual days where everyone gathered together again. It was a sort of reunion, really. And the day was accompanied by a fair drizzle. It was a dull sort of day, but that was

Save the Banana!

Monday, May 15, 2006 And so another day of rain came that Monday morning. There were days that were just sleepy, and Monday was one of those days. In some news, the banana as the world knew it was threatening to extinct itself (if a great global effort was not

Mother's Day

Sunday, May 14, 2006 Despite the alleged “curse” on the land, the church had been built and they would be able to say, Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors, see all the people, (or however the nursery rhyme did go). And, the day was Mother’

Oh, the Days...

Saturday, May 13, 2006 OLeif and Collette dropped off a bag each of oranges and apples and bottled water for the work crew at the church that morning and then Collette and Carrie worked on her papers while Carrie continued to rave over the Thursday night Ok Go concert and

The Angel Himself

Friday, May 12, 2006 Collette knew that some good came from baby showers. The baby did get clothes and toys and things, despite the fact that the baby would remember none of it. And at the shower for little Juniper Pinwheel that Thursday night, they did pray for her a

Jews for Jesus

Thursday, May 11, 2006 Well, it was the day – the grand day. The day where there was the possibility of reunion after a mishap-half-heart-attack encounter in the grocery store three springs before… for Carrie. But back to Wednesday – it was decided by Grandma that she would be moving to a

And the Rain Came

Wednesday, May 10, 2006 [6:38am] Collette awoke to hear the usual radio announcer – who was likely already a little miffed at the weather forecast, which included (much to Collette’s delight) varying thunderstorms and rain over the next week). And so, when the clip of the female news-anchor began

Hmmmm...

Tuesday, May 9, 2006 [7:17am] It was apparently Magnus’ sister’s birthday – Anne Whippoorwill. And Ivy had jury duty, so Collette once again, took over the office for the day. In new news, Carrie would be accompanying Eve to New York at the end of the month to visit

Valley of Flowers

Monday, May 8, 2006 Valley of Flowers, that age-old tradition. On the way, Mom told the rest of them about their brief excursion to a park that Saturday, for Dad, Mom, Frances, and Linnea – a place three and a half hours south, past Rolla. It was there that nearly one

Diana's First Day

Sunday, May 7, 2006 Michigan – one afternoon in the gray of the rain, they drove towards Whitefish, the northernmost tip of Michigan. And along the way the forests glowed in the gems of rubies, yellow topaz, oranges, and golds. Collette had never seen such brilliant trees – sugar maples they were,

Rock Collections, Birth Pictures...

Saturday, May 6, 2006 [9:57am] Collette happened to be thinking that day, rather out-of-the-blue, about an episode which took place when she was twelve. Nine years ago that summer, she had been spending one afternoon with Diana. But before their activities could begin for the evening, Diana had to

The Fifth of May

Friday, May 5, 2006 Cinco de Mayo – the fifth of May, which was also Ben-Hur’s birthday, and it seemed fitting – bells, whistles, and party animal that he was… It was also the day before Diana’s graduation. And it was a half-gray day that morning as Collette prepared to

This and That... and This and That

Thursday, May 4, 2006 [6:35am] It was a day to watch the kitties for Ivy, while she and Nicodemus were in Branson. And as OLeif and Collette had been named Uncle O and Auntie Collette to the cats, it was time for another visit, as it had been nearly

Rumblings and Grumblings

Wednesday, May 3, 2006 [7:10am] Baby Lonnie’s birthday that day; but he was no longer a baby. Seven! How had the time passed so very quickly? Ah, a day of magnificently mysterious storms – woodland lights, mosses and green grasses, mushrooms and emerald green glades, fireflies, and winds in

Fond Memoirs of Canada

Tuesday, May 2, 2006 [6:57am] Collette found herself working that Tuesday for Ivy, who was on vacation. It wasn’t exactly a relishing thought – discussing attendance, typing up summaries, preparing mailings, attending staff meeting (from which she hoped to be excused, but thought not likely), etc. However, it was

Beautiful Days, Tiring Days

Monday, May 1, 2006 The first of May – perhaps it was May Day; Collette didn’t know. Monday was full of enchanting green forests and lawns all clustered together back at the house in the cool winds of the morning. And the lamb-shaped puddle was in its usual place before

The Never-Ending Run

Sunday, April 30, 2006 Rose purchased several interesting finds at the rummage sale that weekend, including a miniature lemon sorbet crank, a Peruvian-looking cowbell, and what she called “my penguin pot!”. Mom took a bowl painted with roses, two miniatures from Italy, and a pitcher and glass (which Judah had

Weary Bones

Saturday, April 29, 2006 [6:01am] As it turned out, Magnus and Wallace didn’t show, and OLeif, Joe, and Ben-Hur apparently fell asleep before one. Collette could not much manage staying much after eleven after transporting, sorting, and pricing four and a half hundred dozen items. And so OLeif

Should the Chandelier Fall...

Friday, April 28, 2006 [6:48am] Linnea loved Green Gables, there above the daisy fields. Collette had given her a piggy-back ride around the rooms Thursday night, as Linnea had forgotten her shoes. When Collette had taken her upstairs, Linnea gave a little gasp and said: “I love this house!

Rummaging

Thursday, Friday 27, 2006 Sometimes so many “busy” things happened, that it seemed rather dull to list them, but it was necessary for the record. And so there was a junior high youth gathering Wednesday night while Rose and Molly painted rummage sale signs, a brief visit to the coffee

The Cogs and Wheels of a Day

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 [6:37am] Tuesday evening was busy as well with the cold north winds a bearin’ down on the city. At Green Gables there, OLeif, Collette, Rose, Molly, and Julia Poach waited around for rummage sale items to be delivered while Dad, Joe, and Frances helped out

One of Those Evenings...

Tuesday, April 25, 2006 Monday evening, OLeif took Wallace, Curly, Starr, and Israel on a photo shoot up at the church property, near the silos and amongst the daisies. However, on the way to meet them (and Joe and Collette, where Joe dropped her off), OLeif managed to get himself

Coffee and Cake, Cats and Carrying On

Monday, April 24, 2006 So the weekend had been like the others. Saturday saw several hours of collecting and organizing junk at Green Gables for the rummage sale while another crew hung ceiling tiles in the foyer of the church and raked rocks into buckets over bagels and cream cheese

Another World, it Seemed...

Saturday, April 22, 2006 And it dawned Molly’s 15th that day. So it was to the City Museum that fair April night – Jimmy, OLeif, Collette, Jesse James, Wally, Susie, Rose, Bob B., Molly, and Samantha. Collette was impressed, she had to admit. There it was, off 16th and Washington

Little Meg

Friday, April 21, 2006 And at work there were thoughts on Judah’s invitation to speak to a posse of Cub Scouts (primarily from the Catholic church) on “God and Country”. And there was a prayer request for the bulletin regarding the Cross’ son, Qarqar Pastureland, who was learning Turkish

Discussions on All That

Thursday, April 20, 2006 That morning at work, Collette decided that Sinai reminded her of a full-grown Izzy, without the dull red hair, of course. During the course of the morning, Ivy and Jimmy chatted over the Bible belt, church country, dry counties, and the influx of PCA churches in

Introducing the “Pastel Pretties”

Wednesday, April 19, 2006 Eleda’s 9th birthday – and she was getting taller by the day. It seemed to Collette that out of all the English family, Eleda most closely resembled Diana than any of the others. Back on Tuesday evening, Carrie had dressed Joe and Rose for the concert

The Usual Tuesday

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 It was a serenely palm-tree sort of day that mid-April afternoon. Even Texas, whose temperatures were rather docile for early spring, had seen temperatures up to 100 degrees, and various blackouts. And Tuesday brought a typical session of history with Joe and Rose on the couch,

Another "Sweet" Sixteenth and Easter Proceedings

Sunday, April 16, 2006/Monday, April 17, 2006 Curly – sixteen years old that day. He, as OLeif, also had a special day to turn the magic number. OLeif had woken up to sixteen while in Sweden, presented with a Swedish breakfast and a pocketknife from the family with whom he

The Thrill of the Wind and Happiness from the Oldest of Friends

Saturday, April 15, 2006 The daffodils were sweet, the night was warm and dark, and the stars were pale – another night at the coffee house. Saturday was even better. The skies were such that the clouds hid the sun at perfect angles where only enough light was given to bring

Passover

Friday, April 14, 2006 Good Friday. And it had been a pleasant Maundy Thursday evening over chicken and bread loaves, nice crispy vegetables, and other things for the Snicketts (except for Carrie who was at work), Hobcoggins, Plums, and OLeif and Collette. The Lord’s Supper was taken following some

Struesel Distractions

Thursday, April 13, 2006 Passover – and so in preparation for the Maundy Thursday meal and service that night, the lilies for Sunday morning, and other things, there was some fast work at the office. Ivy made the song sheets for the sunrise service in a jumble of bright tulip shades

A Warm Day in April

Wednesday, April 12, 2006 Back on the ranch, that morning, Joe and Frances argued over who would clean up the kitchen trash can, whose contents the dog had spilled on the floor. To dismiss the smell, Joe ran through the house with a can of flowery air freshener singing the

East of Jericho, toward the sunrise...

Tuesday, April 11, 2006 (1:25pm) Collette was on a mad dust-hunt that morning and afternoon, being at home and thinking bits here and bits there. She had Pandora humming for the duration of the day, and found that it couldn’t help but be comedic trying to read Numbers

Digging Through the Sphinx's Paws

Monday, April 10, 2006 At breakfast back at the house that morning, the subject of the Sphinx was mentioned around the table. The suggestion surfaced that the Sphinx contained treasure chambers within its paws. Although the government was not allowing anyone, thus far, to research this rumor further. “I’m

From Rachmaninoff to Sheet Ghosts

Sunday, April 9, 2006 [6:56pm] Collette did not like the idea of a “Gospel of Judas.” She did not like it at all – the heresies. She was however, surprised to find the following quotes in The New York Times: “An early Christian manuscript, including the only known text of

Another Friday Night

Saturday, April 8, 2006 The day of Snickerdoodle and Penelope’s wedding, out in Colorado. Collette wondered how their tape had gone over with the family. Meanwhile, “Mall Madness” as it had thus been dubbed, had not been quite as maddening as originally suspected. There gathered amongst the goths, preps,

Madness & Ghostlings

Friday, April 7, 2006 And so there had been nineteen tornadoes the day before, although there must not have been a good deal of damage, for nothing was mentioned in the national news aside from the fact that there were nineteen altogether. Meanwhile, that very Friday night, OLeif and Coleltte

That's All

Thursday, April 6, 2006 Wednesday night, OLeif made chicken salad with red onion and preserves, celery, red pepper, lemon, and other things, on wheat bread. And despite the fact that Collette mostly hated vegetables, she liked it. Thursday was stormy and that was the best way it could be. “…and

Ancient Trees, Essays

Wednesday, April 5, 2006 Wednesday was the usual – the cat crackled at the birds through the window of the patio door, Carrie-Bri reluctantly shared a leftover batch of fried chicken taken home from The Columns in a Styrofoam box, and Frances did his math wearing a forgotten pink satin glove

Goings on of a Week

Tuesday, April 4, 2006 Kitts’ 20th – another kid reaching another milestone. Monday evening, all the girls visited Plato’s Closet to find Rose a skirt for the spring, and then for sandwiches over The Philadelphia Story at the apartment. It had been a day of cold sunshine and good winds,

Storm

Monday, April 3, 2006 It was an amazing storm. It had been half an hour since youth had begun – Jimmy, Judah, OLeif, Collette, Joe, Magnus, Ben-Hur, Wallace, Susie, Rose, Bob B., and Molly – they had been singing in the youth building and as they wrapped up prayer at four, thunder

The Calm Before the Storm

Sunday, April 2, 2006 [7:37pm] Sunday brought rain. Collette heard the thunder and saw the flash of the lightening before waking and once again heard the rain on the roof during the church service. During the Sunday school hour, the kids were discussing amongst themselves whether Ezra took a

The Quiet Blue of Evening

Saturday, April 1, 2006 The first day of April brought a tasty fish sandwich for lunch, readings in Genesis, and cleaning the apartment while OLeif sorted the computers. Then it was to Target for a birthday card for Kitts’ 20th birthday, and two, two-dollar kites from Walgreens. And while Carrie

Thoughts on Michigan

Friday, March 31, 2006 A 5.7 earthquake in Iran was in the news that morning. That region of the world was prone to such monsters. And Friday saw another automobile accident in front of the church, a short ways down by the fields. A small dark blue car had

Remembrances of the Ozarks and the False Earring

Thursday, March 30, 2006 [6:30am] Severe weather had plans of entering tornado alley that fine March morning, and Collette had hopes that they would see some good winds and mighty rains – not enough to bring damage though, of course. Wednesday night was spent at the Silverspoon’s to film

Of Monsters, Babes, & Angels

Tuesday, March 28, 2006 There were strange thoughts going on in Collette’s mind from that morning’s reading. Genesis 6:1-2 (a rather comic set of verses with which to begin): “6:1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to

Of Old New Mexican Haunts and Spills and Gifts

Monday, March 27, 2006 [7:01am] It was the day they would return from New Mexico. And suddenly, spring had come into the air and there was the itch to run out of doors for an afternoon of tennis, a good hard three hours of running about and hitting things.

What is in a Name?

Sunday, March 26, 2006 [6:38am] At the fort, OLeif and Collette perused the cases of artifacts in the small museum. And Collette found two awesome pewter soup spoons under Plexiglas which she thought would be perfect for OLeif, as none of her soup spoons at home were big enough

Lizard Skin, Milkshakes, & a Good Smoke of the Pipe

Saturday, March 25, 2006 [10:09am] The third Piper discussion focused on hedonism amidst the usual mingling chatter and ideals from the kids. Present were: Joe, Wallace, Pepper, Augustus, Molly, Magnus, and Susie. And, as seemed to be a beginning tradition, Steak ‘n Shake followed where Shakespeare proceeded to stretch

Clams.

Friday, March 24, 2006 [6:36am] The days were getting lighter and the snow had almost completely melted away. The crew had made it safely and sound to the Land of Enchantment, and there was to be another John Piper discussion that evening. It was a Canada day, the sort

A Day of Many Nothings

Thursday, March 23, 2006 At work, there was little new discussion on anything in particular while the repairman updated the maintenance on the copier. And Rosemary, Jimmy, Ivy, and Meg discussed the good snows that used to come when they were kids. “They always say how Missouri has these great

Observations of the Creepy Crawl and Other Incidents

Wednesday, March 22, 2006 It was off to the concert after swinging by Dairy Queen for cheeseburgers, mostly plain cheeseburgers, but not before Magnus had another accident in the car. This time it was chicken soup and had to be mopped up with two towels and a wet cloth before

Of Discussions on Indians & Spilt Soda

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 Tuesday found Mom packing for Frances and Linnea. As soon as Collette came over she saw that Frances was wearing his new muscle-man t-shirts, which Dad also pointed out later. He was very intent on growing up to be like Dad and to prepare for the

Waiting for the Storm

Monday, March 20, 2006 Snow was coming, and Collette knew that the radio announcer would not be happy about it. “I hope you notice the edge in my voice… because it is going to be deeply ironic,” he began, quite irritated… a little maniacal laughter… For as it was the

Someone "In Like" with Little Collette

Saturday, March 18/Sunday, March 19, 2006 [9:45am] Collette wanted to see a great field of thick green clover, the brightest green a shamrock could offer, a carpet for angels… but that was a rambling thought. [6:54am] As usual, it was another quite busy weekend. Friday night saw

A Happy Shamrock Day to One and All

Friday, March 17, 2006 As the national radio broadcast announcer put it so aptly, “It’s the day everyone pretends they’re Irish.” [6:45am] Thursday night was a night for thought – for thoughts not tuned to one object or one idea, but thrown about, so to speak. On most

Day Before the Irish

Thursday, March 16, 2006 Ivy’s brother and step-mother were coming in on Friday, so Ivy left three hours early from work that Thursday to prepare for their arrival. Ivy was the queen of clean. As much as she complained about how dirty she left things at home, every time

Preparation of Mind for the Big Day of Emerald Green

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 OLeif and Collette ran by the grocery store Tuesday evening for fruit and sandwich fixings. There, they ran into Emerald Buckle, and Collette enjoyed seeing the Saint Patrick’s Day displays of red potatoes, potted green clovers, etc.. And Wednesday morning she began to wear green

Monks, Loons, & a Surprise

Tuesday, March 14, 2006 Ah… The ways of the good old days. Perhaps they hadn’t been so good, actually. She didn’t know. But it was the thought of it. She woke up thinking ever so briefly about them. Well, not her good old days. Good old days in

Wind, Lightening, Leaks, & Hail - a Typical March Fare

Monday, March 13, 2006 [6:49am] It had been a weekend much to Collette’s liking, according to the weather. And from Saturday night until Sunday night, she thrilled over the skies. But it began with Saturday and Rose’s photo shoot. It went very well that Saturday morning, set

A Place One Wouldn't Normally See In Such a Condition

Saturday, March 11, 2006 [8:11am] Coffee was crazy Friday night. Instead of the usual ten people standing, it was closer to every seat taken, half the room standing, and fifteen more kids running around outside in the cold. It was almost like a reunion. Amongst the many were: Joe,

Another Blow to Troop 975

Friday, March 10, 2006 [6:48am] Over white tea for breakfast that morning, a rosy sunrise hit the deck of the skies. Collette would have been able to tell that the sun was out long before she checked out the window, as the radio announcer was chipper and had no

The Thrill of the Possibility of Inclement Weather Once Again & Wedged Locks

Thursday, March 9, 2006 [6:18am] National news warned of severe weather for the Midwest that morning, and following that report in the six o’clock morning news, Mr. Radio Announcer said: “They’re not kidding either,” and proceeded to give the local weather forecast of thunderstorms and rain and

Of Thunderstorms, Beer Signs, & Killer Vine

Wednesday, March 8, 2006 [7:01am] Collette lay in bed early that morning to hear a great roar of thunder at 5:50. It sent delightful shivers up her spine – perhaps the best sound in the world. Growing up in the Snicketts’ house meant that one automatically loved thunderstorms. And

Return of the Grumpy Radio Host & Thoughts on the Southwest

Tuesday, March 7, 2006 [6:30am] That wonderfully cloudy morning, the classical radio announcer was gloomy and proper as usual: “And we have weather for today… It is updating as we speak. One moment. I have never had this happen to me in all the time that I have worked

Mandolins, Dumpster Diving, & the Ever-Re-Surfacing Unidentified "Ballooga Whale"

Monday, March 6, 2006 Sunday brought a rain… a beautiful gray rain and mist in the fields that night. Collette heard it come during church, the drumming on the roof. It seemed to calm her, though she didn’t really need to be calmed in the first place. There was

La-Dee-Dah...

Saturday, March 4, 2006 March forth! – yet again. Somehow Collette could never forget that 03.04 equaled “March forth!” every year after that one March 4th six years or so previously after she, OLeif, Diana, and a number of other English kids had performed at the Family Arena in a

Travels Across the Good Ole U.S. of A.

Friday, March 3, 2006 [7:07am] It almost seemed a day to record memories, perhaps from the numerous vacations the Snicketts family had taken over the past years: Arkansas (Hot Springs) – 5, (1990) Virginia (Williamsburg, Gettysburg, D.C.) – 6, (Autumn – 1991) Arkansas (Hot Springs) – 7, (1992) Colorado (Grand Canyon, Great

The Usuals of a Thursday Morning

Thursday, March 2, 2006 The day began with OLeif viewing a Quizno’s franchise infomercial over bagels for breakfast, one of those rare morning the television was on. Collette hated television in the mornings, unless it was for the Olympics. And while the weather on Wednesday had been blustery and

A Reminder of the "Golden Era" via Jars of Clay

Wednesday, March 1, 2006 [6:38am] It was a happy March 1st to the world that morning and Ash Wednesday to all those of whom actually partook of the holiday (which were many)… and now only twenty days from spring, which Collette was not entirely sure she appreciated, not having

Five Men to the Military and One to the Gardens

Tuesday. February 28, 2006 [6:38am] Collette awoke to find a red spot on her forehead the exact shape of the British Isles, Ireland included (although a little far north). That’s what stress did for one, even at 21. But she rather wondered if it wasn’t stress, but

Of Giant Lollipops, Stingrays, & a Girl Who Hated Weddings

Monday, February 27, 2006 Saturday had brought a rather quiet afternoon and evening. Earlier, at Flo Valley, as Carrie-Bri, Joe, and Rose entered the test room, the proctor hurried by the table where Collette sat in the atrium. “Are you all quadruplets?” The proctor asked looking over her glasses, papers

Yet Another Evening of Intelligent Conversation Melting into a Visit to Steak 'n Shake

Saturday, February 25, 2006 [7:22am] Saturday morning saw Germany with a staggering 27 medals, and America with 23. With one and a half days to go, Collette thought it was interesting that America had remained in second place within the medal collection. Friday evening had been spent for OLeif,

For Love of the Boy Scouts & Other Such Thoughts

Friday, February 24, 2006 The radio announcer began Friday morning talking about a massage store where he had stopped one day (part of a live advertisement, yes, but he seemed to be enthusiastic on the subject). Apparently he had found one chair in particular, quite amazing, as though he were

Classical Radio Announcers, Peanut Butter, & a "Silver Lining" (According to the Media)

Thursday, February 23, 2006 [6:31am] Collette was awoken to the radio announcer on the classic station that morning, giving the weather forecast along with: “…And the bright torch of Venus burns ever brighter, as it will over the next six months or so…” He was Collette’s favorite announcer,

Mom: Archaeological Menace to Society at the Ripe Old Age of 9

Wednesday, February 22, 2006 [7:43am] After watching a dynamic calliope performance by Sasha Cohen at 10:30 the night before, Collette woke to find OLeif much recovered, and wishing for canned fruit for breakfast. Meanwhile, Collette found that the all-too familiar pain under her tongue was the result of

OLeif Strikes the Ice Cream Too Late

Tuesday, February 21, 2006 [7:02am] OLeif woke at 4:01 in the morning, sick to his stomach. After having removed a good deal of content from his stomach, he wearily suggested that it was the bowl of bad ice cream. Collette waited up with him a short while as

Retreat Mish-Mash, Plans for New Mexico, & a Bowl of Bad Ice Cream

Monday, February 20, 2006 [8:17am] In the end, it was generally reported among the five senior highers (according to OLeif) that the weekend appeared to be building up to a climax which never came. Collette could easily see that herself. But after all, it was a weekend retreat and

A Bit of a Weekend Blur

Sunday, February 19, 2006 [5:10pm] Collette could not quite manage to summarize the youth retreat in a few choice words. There was something very satisfying in it, for her own purposes. And yet, that was not the point. She kept her thoughts in a journal and just let them

A Graduation in the Tooth Department & Spectacular Weather

Thursday, February 16, 2006 [6:33am] Collette awoke that morning to discover that Estonia’s Kristina Smigun had won her second gold and that Norway had pulled even further into the lead, adding another silver and bronze from women’s cross-country to make a total of thirteen medals. [19:21pm]

A Frances Birthday, Australian Champs, & Valentines for Pit Bulls

Wednesday, February 15, 2006 [6:58am] Frances’ 11th birthday! The big guy was getting sweeter and bigger by the day. They could always tell by the size of his hands that he would be a big guy – he had almost chubby paws, the dear boy. And with his front tooth

Valentines, Fish Therapy, & a Mormon Photo Shoot

Tuesday, February 14, 2006 – Valentine’s Day [7:06am] Collette was tired of hearing of poor Vice President Cheney’s incident with the shotgun. The media never could manage to leave people alone for such stupid things. But there was a good story for the Chinese in pairs figure skating,

The Rather Dry Details of Medal Counts (to Everyone but Collette) for Team U.S.A.

Monday, February 13, 2006 Annamaria’s sixteenth birthday, and the Olympics seemed to be headed in a good direction. The “Flying Tomato” had taken gold, while Norway was currently ahead of the game with seven medals (one gold), Russia had just moved up to surpass the United States with five

The XX Olympiad - Torino, Italy - the Winter Games

Friday, February 10, 2006 [6:29am] Collette managed to spend the remainder of Thursday in a rather un-tired state, despite the fact that Ivy was also tired and Judah was a little wobbly on the stairs, according to Ivy, as he was overwhelmed, overworked, and over-spending-time-planning-a-wedding-with-a-reception-hall-that’s-not-big-enough. And that evening,

A Bit of This and a Bit of That

Thursday, February 9, 2006 Wednesday night, Lucia and Annamaria came over to watch movies over juice and cookies. Lucia seemed to be in quite a pleasant mood as usual, over school and work, and general living, (i.e. meeting Queen at McDonald’s) and was looking at school over the

Snowmen, Confetti, & Broken Faucet Handles

Wednesday, February 8, 2006 Tuesday night provided some sort of tortilla Mexican soup with sour cream and blue corn chips, which was quite delicious, at the Silverspoon’s. OLeif and Collette had just come from Trader Joe’s and came bearing gifts: a pound of milk chocolate, double-creamy Brie and

A Waste of Good Resources - Orange Juice, Imitation Cocoa Puffs, & Toilet Paper

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 On the way to the house that morning, OLeif and Collette listened to more Puritan Prayers. Collette had brought an orange and before OLeif had gotten into the car, she wrote in pen on its bright peel: ‘Eat me’ along with a smiling google-eyed face. “Do

A Day for an Eviction Notice, Burgers, and the Twilight Zone

Monday, February 6, 2006 Super Bowl had included one good interception by the Seahawks (Collette’s favored to win), and there was little else to be said on the subject. The event took place at Boy’s house, which was very pleasant, and even Nicodemus and Ivy showed up to

Dad Hits 48 on Super Bowl Sunday which Came Late that Year and was Rather Uninteresting Anyway...

Sunday, February 5, 2006 [7:18am] Dad’s 48th birthday! It surprised Collette at times just how young her parents seemed. Wise, yes, but still fit, fun, and youthful. She and Carrie often commented on how much younger Dad seemed those days than he had ten years before, even. At

Basketball, Honeysuckle, & Crocodile Pie - The Big Bad Dad Returns!

Saturday, February 4, 2006 [9:38am] Collette awoke that morning feeling as though her tooth had never bothered her. The remains of clovish dressing still hung in the air, but it was a very small price to pay for the relief of the pain. Friday evening, while OLeif wrapped up

Blood, Cloves, & the All-Time Favorite Dreaded Dry Socket

Friday, February 03, 2006 [12:52pm] It grew increasingly odd that week – the effects of the pulled teeth. Surprisingly, it grew worse and worse, not better and better. Monday was by far the painless day of the entire operation. But she could hardly complain about it. Every few hours she

Skateboard Battle Scars, Talking Cheesy Bread, & Groundhog Day

Thursday, February 02, 2006 [6:56am] Collette woke to a beautiful day of rain to go hand in hand with her dream of magnificent thunderstorms out in the untamed country and jungle. Her jaw still ached a trifle, but she rather figured she would be fine making it through the

Bananas Tabooed on Auzzie Ship & Jaw Pain Continues

Wednesday, February 01, 2006 [3:38pm] Collette found herself in a particular amount of pain, Wednesday, from her left jaw. The medication was also making her quite dizzy and tired, making her wonder if she would be able to make it to work the following day. Meanwhile, Dad called Mom

The Loss of Teeth & News from Mint-Loving Sydney

Tuesday, January 31, 2006 [18:26pm] Two days later, Collette was able to look back on Monday morning satisfactorily. And, actually, even right after surgery, she had found everything to be quite good. And so to replay: The day began in a fine manner, even with the sun peering out

Thoughts Before Entering the Surgeon's Chair

Monday, January 30, 2006 [7:00am] Yes, it was the day Collette’s teeth were coming out, and she rather wondered what it must be like for those people out there who were obliged to have surgery, blood transfusions, or painful therapy weekly or monthly. Having teeth pulled was nothing.

A Farewell to Maria and to New Teeth

Sunday, January 29, 2006 [7:10pm] It was another Sunday morning in the nursery for Collette, along with Mom and the Grandparent Hobcoggins. It was also the Welches’ last day at Grace – the last day for little Maria to light up the church with her smiles and funny way of

Days of Robbin Hood, Gus' Pretzels, and Calls from Australia

Days of Robbin Hood, Gus’ Pretzels, and Calls from Australia Saturday, January 28, 2006 While OLeif went to Whittaker’s and the movies with Shepherd Friday night, Collette spent some time over at the house with the kids, watching old plays till she cried from laughter with everyone else. And

The Big Bad Dad "Down Unda"

Friday, January 27, 2006 The night before, Collette’s top right wisdom tooth has just popped a corner through the gum. And Dad called early that morning to check up on the case of her wisdom teeth (to check out the surgeon, the medication, the shots, etc. – surgery was no

Trees, Bells, Smoke Bombs, & Old Friends in a Secret World

Thursday, January 26, 2005 Thursday was a slow day in the office, as all the phone lines were down (minus the fax machine which solely sufficed for any incoming calls). Fran left soon before the afternoon began, in order to attend luncheon at home with Rosie and the Honeys. Then

As the Wise Old Jewish Maid, Yente, Would Have Said: 'People, people..."

Wednesday, January 25, 2006 Tuesday night was awesome. Collette was amazed at the number of people who had the same mindset – the same views on the Christian life, spreading the Gospel, the church, and world views. Spending the evening at the Spinnings – four and a half hours – from 6:30

"Or you could feed me to a plant..."

Tuesday, January 24, 2006 Tuesday began with a four-hour session of psychology, sociology, and geometry for Joe and Rose after Mom fixed eggs, cheese, and turkey on English muffins – quite tasty. And the wind blew furiously in the sunlight of a late afternoon in January as the kids left for

Origami, Winter Picnics, and Sweet-Gum Balls

Monday, January 23, 2006 [4:14pm] Monday was another beautiful day – waking to gray skies and cold. It was out to Pere Marquette with Grandma, with Dad and OLeif being at work, of course. After picking up Grandma, she showed them her latest attempts at origami: “Look at this miserable

Compilings to Make a Sunday - Creatures, Jokes, and Barrel-Rolling Fish

Sunday, January 22, 2006 [6:36pm] Another Sunday began with a stop by St. Louis Bread Co., for a souffle apiece and an apple juice for Collette. OLeif was late coming back out with the box of souffles as he had run into Joseph the Blue-Eyed and they exchanged opinions

The Reemergence of "Little Graffitian" from the Good Old Days of After-Choir

Saturday, January 21, 2006 [13:43pm] Collette found herself spending fifteen hours at the church, Friday. By six-thirty in the evening she headed over to the youth/choir room and turned on the heat. Though the skies were rather balmy, the cold and rain were soon to come in. Shortly

“Now, that’s a Thought – An Earthquake at the Dentist?”

Friday, January 20, 2006 [6:20am] Collette had her teeth cleaned the same day a rocket was launched from Florida to Pluto (Carrie-Bri’s once-favorite planet). And with the extra gravitational thrust from passing Jupiter, the shuttle would find itself arriving at the little stone planet five years ahead of

Peanut Butter Apples, Communicants Class, and Other Topics on the "Agenda" for the Day

Thursday, January 19, 2006 And so various things were discussed at the office that day: Fran had won (by adding his business card to a jar) lunch for the staff at the Macaroni Grill the following Tuesday afternoon. However, they debated that morning whether or not to skip it as

Forget Your Sores, Itches, & Cares, and Take a Walk Down Memory Lane

Wednesday, January 18, 2006 [7:06am] The previous day had been Benjamin Franklin’s 300th anniversary. And Collette rather wondered if he had been born into a snowy day – drifts of white and skies a shade of gray the likes of which a stormy sea would be envious. Collette had

Smashed Produce, Kamikazes, & Red Grand Pianos - What a Day Will Bring to Mind

Tuesday, January 17, 2005 [20:41pm] There were assorted things brought up throughout the day, as usual: Thoughts of how once in the old days, when OLeif and Peter Pretzel had nothing better to do with their time, Peter would film OLeif chopping full cans of soda in half with

The Various Uses of the English Language

Monday, January 16, 2006 [6:55am] Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday came about that bitterly cold morning: Collette rather wondered why kids weren’t allowed to take off school on Washington’s or even Lincoln’s! birthday. Perhaps they had been allowed at one point in history. Of course

The Nostalgia of a Pine Wood Derby & Other Such Good Gatherings

Sunday, January 15, 2006 [7:25am] Friday night was spent over pizza and “Brazil,” courtesy of Magnus. Accounted for that night at the apartment were: OLeif, Collette, Joe, Magnus, Wally, Curly, Rose, and Molly. Good times, good times… There was something utterly relaxing and nostalgic about attending a Cub Scout

Who Says Friday the 13th Can't be "Lucky?"

Friday, January 13, 2006 The snow came down and the wind howled that fierce Friday morning of the thirteenth of January. As Collette collated the congregational report, she watched the screen door slam open and shut on the back of the old Grimm house across the farm. Likewise, their wind-catcher

Piper Cubs, War Paint, Eighteen-Wheelers, and Everything Else

Thursday, January 12, 2006 [7:59am] On the way to work that morning, Collette and OLeif discussed the Tabletalk devotional, trailing off onto subjects of the world having been divided (physically (in the splitting of the continents) or culturally, or both!) at the birth of Peleg, the various ethnicities perhaps

“The Church Asleep and Slumbering Soundly – But Always Hope, Salt and Light”

Wednesday, January 11, 2006 Wednesday was an odd sort of day with the sun always shining at unusual angles and the lingering rains of Tuesday still hanging about in the air – Collette hoped they might return with snow over the weekend. But it was also the sort of day, in

Rainy Days - for Buying New Shirts, Color-Coding DVD's, and Lodging Objects in One's Tonsil

Tuesday, January 10, 2006 [6:49am] Collette spent all of Emerald Blots’ 19th birthday, thinking the day was actually Tuesday, instead of Monday. And she awoke to great aches and pains throughout her back, arms, shoulders, and neck (where OLeif had run up behind her at youth and grabbed her

First Romantic Proposal of the Year

Sunday, January 8, 2006 [6:47am] Collette was awakened that cold Sunday morning to reports on the radio of a 6.7 (which was later amended to a 6.9) magnitude earthquake in Athens. It had shaken the entire country, as well as Crete, and had been felt as far

Alas, Alack the Silver-Lined Day

Saturday, January 7, 2006 [9:17am] Collette happened to sleep into 9:12 that morning (the time being the same weight of Frances at his birth). She had been mortally tired and such was the remedy – nearly ten hours of sleep. She was awakened by the sound of OLeif springing

Old Friends from Eight Years of Sunday School

Friday, January 6, 2006 [6:53am] After a sleepy morning and afternoon at work, and a pleasant birthday lunch for herself, Isabella, and Jimmy at O’Charley’s, OLeif and Collette returned to the apartment. Carrie-Bri, Joe, and Rose soon showed up, as did Curly shortly later. And they enjoyed

The Epitome of Self-Satisfaction - "Just wait till I tell Mom and Dad what I tried tonight!"

Thursday, January 05, 2006 Wednesday evening was great. Before OLeif came to pick Collette up from the house, Elizabeth and Paige Popp had come back with Carrie-Bri (all three of whom had been out and around in Chesterfield for the afternoon) and were ready to head back out to coffee

An Unexpected Twist of Events - Reaching the Interior

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 – Louis Braille Day [6:43am] Monday night had been great fun – OLeif, Collette, Carrie-Bri, and Rose over with their second family, the English house. Eve had made brownies and the whole family was there that evening for them to gather around for a good long game

Threat of Tornadic Activity - Always a Thrill (No Joke) at 3:00 in the Morning

Monday, January 2, 2005 [11:22am] Collette was full of joy that strange gray morning – how anti-thankful she had been for God’s grace and mercy, for His salvation of her, and all the beautiful blessings through trial and discipline and good things and hard things, by which He had

He ran thus till he came to a place somewhat ascending; and upon that place stood a cross..."

Sunday, January 01, 2006 [16:02pm] Yes, indeed, the crowd had been a rather noisy rabble, but considerate enough, in the end. The only screams were heard between the hours of three and five o’clock in the morning when the girls began to pull various sorts of pranks on

Joe, the Louis

Saturday, December 31, 2005 [10:09am] The last day of another year, and Collette and OLeif spent the morning sleeping in till nine-thirty, of which was almost unheard. Collette justified it by saying that they were preparing for the all-nighter youth gathering that night, beginning at 7:30 at the

Torah Bells, Pencil-Thin Daggers, & Leather-Handled Chocolate Pots

Friday, December 30, 2005 [9:08am] It was the day of Mrs. Sing’s funeral, out in Florissant. And Grandma, (who had just returned from Lake of the Ozarks with the Combs family, Thursday), Mom, Frances, and Linnea would be on an outing for lunch at the Piccadilly Cafe and

Miguel Dominguez - the Latest Non-Spanish McCrae Addition

Thursday, December 29, 2005 [10:17am] It was another fair gray morning. Carrie had returned after two in the morning, apparently, after having seen “Kong” with several friends, including Paige Popp (who was now planning on being married the following December 2nd after becoming engaged the September of 2006), Louis

Carrie Ends the Reign of Blonde

Wednesday, December 28, 2005 (10:10am) Collette was jarred awake by a loud clap of thunder that morning, but heard no more following. The day was gray and full of rain, however, which suited her perfectly as she only felt well enough to lay on the couch with a cup

A Rather Dramatic Bunch

Tuesday, December 27, 2005 (10:48am) As it happened, Wally thoroughly enjoyed “Muppets Treasure Island” and laughed enough to shake the couch, along with Magnus, Molly, Starr, Rose, OLeif, and Collette. Joe eventually left for the upstairs to play “Need for Speed” with Curly, Izzy, and Frances. Meanwhile, there were

A Christmas Passing

Monday, December 26, 2005 II (14:06pm) Wisteria Sparrow’s 19th birthday – somehow Collette had never forgotten her birthday, or her brother’s (Jimmy) which was May 19th, or her older brother’s which was on August 5th. Some things just stuck. But it was also the first anniversary of

Eight Christmases of Peace on Earth and Good Will to Men (on Whom His Favor Rests)

Monday, December 26, 2005 (11:32am) Another Christmas had come and gone. And there had been eight celebrations. Christmas #1 – a brief opening of gifts for Collette from OLeif. Christmas #2 – a short three hours at Grandpa Snicketts’ where they all received gift cards and heard of Amanda’s latest

Wickel It

Saturday, December 24, 2005 (8:51am) Christmas Eve. Collette woke to a nosebleed at six o’clock in the morning, but then she fell back asleep until 7:30, and the world was gray and followed a fresh rain, but it was good. The evening of Christmas Eve Eve, the

Unicorn in the Eye, Administered by Mr. Magic-of-Christmas

Friday, December 23, 2005 (8:25am) And so it was the day before Christmas Eve, and the festivities were already beginning. Thursday evening had been spent on a Christmas lights drive, for the Snicketts family and Magnus and Molly. On the way to the house, however, Magnus threw a bit

Pray thee take pain...

Thursday, December 22, 2005 (7:55am) Tuesday evening’s voice recital was interesting, to say the least. There were about twenty kids who sang, like, seven songs apiece, according to Molly after she witnessed the event. But she thoroughly enjoyed the performance, apparently, finding it much more creative and interesting

Festive Greetings on Thy 21st

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 (8:15pm) The birthday evening had been a blast as well, with a full golden moon rising in the east. And there were electronic greeting cards from the English Family and Molly (of a pear of crunchy goodness). All very thoughtful, for at home there were

"And I said, 'It's the tree Mom got us from World War II!'"

Monday, December 19, 2005 (8:33am) Collette’s 21st birthday dawned in golden sunshine and bitter cold – a rather beautiful day, with even the sun considered. Sometime in the morning, a lady dropped off a cheery red apple basket of Christmas fruit for the church (a gift from the electric

Long Red Pony-Tailed Boys & Crumbling Lampshades

Friday, December 16, 2005 (8:33am) Collette read a good passage in the Matthew Henry Commentary that morning, coming from Genesis: “Man is a little world, consisting of heaven and earth, soul and body… The matter was despicable. He was made of the dust of the ground, a very unlikely

Your Top 50 Favorites for the Ball & Chain

Wednesday, December 14, 2005 Collette spent most of Wednesday morning, trying to settle the matter of a foreign object lodged in front of her left tonsil. A most annoying situation, and rather bizarre. She waited into the afternoon to hear which doctor she would have to see. Meanwhile, she employed

Quotable Persons of the Year - St. Lucia Combs & Rose Snicketts

Saturday, December 10, 2005 (11:21am) Friday had been a good day. There were some days that there was truly no other word to describe it, than that it was good. And for it, Collette was thankful. It was to Memorial Presbyterian that evening in the bitter cold of the

Only the Eyes!

Friday, December 09, 2005 The morning was so very white and bright that Collette could not look out the window at church, for fear of blinding. But it was beautiful… and just after the old Busch Stadium was torn down – rubble under snow. Later that morning, when Mariam Garfunkles came

Why Do We Need You, Christ Child?

Thursday, December 08, 2005 (7:00am) Thursday woke to a chance of 2-4 inches of pearly white fluff. Grandma and Mom were headed to the Women’s Christmas Dinner that night, and Collette would be writing study notes at the apartment in OLeif’s absence. Collette was certainly getting good

Snow, Christmas Lights, and Volcanoes

Wednesday, December 07, 2005 (15:52pm) Pearl Harbor Day – It was a whopping eight degrees that morning. Some parts of Iowa were seeing fifteen below, and northern Texas was likely to see snow. In the Pacific, a volcano was ready to blow – the island was already evacuated. Such, was Collette’

A Bah-Humbug to You, Under the Mistletoe

Tuesday, December 06, 2005 (11:48am) Sunday provided the hanging of the greens in the service. Collette had to admit, as they carried in the poinsettias to the front of the church, that it felt somewhat like a fashion show, with the choir, Starr Hobcoggin & Goofy Nickels singing duet,

Of Catholics and Protestants

Saturday, December 03, 2005 As read in Moby Dick the previous Wednesday evening in Texas – a short passage: “I never fancied broiling fowls; – though once broiled, judiciously buttered, and judgmatically salted and peppered, there is no one who will speak more respectfully, not to say reverentially, of a broiled fowl

The Eyes of Texas & Everything Else Texan for Thanksgiving

As for the trip, there were always oddities along the way, and the first was spotted in the Silverspoon’s subdivision – a tree which had the appearance of being a bloomin’ onion. Once the van was loaded to capacity, they were off with coffee and bananas to start while Theodore

Prune the Holly Bush, Dream of Tsunami, Attend Fifty Weddings...

Tuesday, November 29, 2005 (1:51pm) So it had been a long, good week since the 3:30am departure for Texas the previous Wednesday morning, and the new week was already humming with Christmas plans and such. From earlier: Sunday came around with a visit to Christ Presbyterian where Pastor

The Woes of Being Dubbed "Mrs. Raven" in Public in the '90's

November 22, 2005 (8:30am) Collette found herself once again at her desk that Tuesday morning, half-thinking at times that it might, instead, be Friday. The evening before, she and OLeif had traveled on to Journeys to purchase a small Christmas gift. And while the friendly brownie-colored sales-dude fiddled with

Fun with Magnus, Molly, & Beanie Babies and the Rise of "Wickel Wickel" - Yo, Dawg

Sunday, November 20, 2005 (7:55am) Saturday had been a mix of frustrations, but it included more blessings and things for which to be grateful (including the frustrations), for they taught and instructed. Saturday held a short morning, for naturally OLeif and Collette were both tired from the previous evenings’

Of Bulgarians, Gillyweed, Dragons, and Pumpkin Juice

Friday, November 18, 2005 (7:06am) Carrie’s 19th birthday, whether she would admit it or not. And she was all a’gawk over seeing “Walk the Line” that night after work, although they had all just returned from “Harry Potter” at three that very same morning. It seemed to

Binary Code, a Yellow Moon, Pinochle & Lima Beans

Thursday, November 17, 2005 (6:51am) Curly Hobcoggin, Sr.’s, and Samantha Bee’s birthday – number five of the week… Collette had watched a part of “Good Will Hunting” with OLeif the night before, ignoring the language, and enjoying one part in particular: “Clark: There’s no problem. I was

Alaska, Icelanders, Gold, and "Sweets"

Wednesday, November 16, 2005 (6:38am) Mr. English’s and Mr. Toast’s birthday – Mr. English would be 48. And the temperatures would be down to 20 or so that day. However, Collette woke up comfortably under a good layer of blankets with the ceiling fan spinning for circulation. She

Lot's Wife

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 (7:03am) There was severe weather in the forecast that morning – perhaps tornadoes, to Joe’s and Frances’ interested alarm. The rain began pounding quite steadily by 10:30 in the morning, with bits of thunder, while Collette finished up writing and German with Joe and

Beginnings of "Birthday Week"

Monday, November 14, 2005 (7:14am) Denae’s 52nd and Diana’s 21st – And it was good to celebrate a birthday on a less-busy day of the week. Although Collette knew of a birthday on every day of that week, from Monday till Saturday. Saturday had been full. On the

A Battle Over the Spirit of Christmas

Saturday, November 12, 2005 (7:36am) Collette had been outside, shivering between OLeif and Rose at the coffee house, Rose bundled in Joe’s white and green shamrock hoodie, while Magnus and Molly argued over the spirit of Christmas, when she saw it – two shooting stars. They were gold, and

Napoleon's Tooth, $1.25 tea, & Hijacking Clergy

Friday, November 11, 2005 (7:59am) It was a cold November morning, just right for the month (unlike the excessively warm days they had been experiencing lately). And it promised to be a busy weekend, although full of good things. There was coffee that evening after picking up several kids,

Jacket Games, Poinsettias, & Chicken Marsala

Thursday, November 10, 2005 Wednesday night had been spent in the basement of the church office with eight of the Junior High kids, Rose, Molly, Jimmy & Loraine, OLeif, and herself. There was the “knot” game to attend to, as well as the jacket game, including a brief lesson from

National Joaquin Phoenix Day?

Wednesday, November 9, 2005 It was another afternoon in which Collette found herself taking a shower downstairs at the house. For OLeif had convinced her to attend Junior High youth, along with Rose and Molly. So while Mom had taken the kids to their two choirs and Carrie had dropped

"Spiked His Lip Balm with Persimmon Juice"

Tuesday, November 08, 2005 (7:04am) Collette read several articles of Spurgeon on Monday, as she waited for dinner. In particular, she enjoyed a certain passage: “We Calvinists have what the professionals call an “image problem.”… Sure, Calvinists are known for being smart; no one doubts that. But these are

"It's a Wonderful Life"

Monday, November 7, 2005 Sunday had been a lazy day. But Sunday School was always another matter. The lesson was taken from Jacob and Esau, much to the delight of Ivy’s nephew, who was also named Jacob. OLeif had such a way of animating and creatively telling the story,

Birthplace of Raggedy-Ann?

Sunday, November 6, 2005 (6:38am) International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church – Saturday had been a jolly good time. Carrie and Joe dropped Mom, Collette, and Linnea off at Grandma’s apartment, where Grandma already had Carrie’s birthday present ready – two packages of paper Chinese lanterns (which

Oh, the Bustlings of People

Saturday, November 5, 2005 (7:10am) It was off to the land of the Amish that morning. Whereas in the beginning, the list was to include: Grandma Combs, Aunt Petunia, Mom, Collette, Carrie, Lucia, Eve, Annamaria, Rose, and Linnea, the list had been dwindled down to four: Grandma, Mom, Collette,

Glitter in the Hair

Friday, November 4, 2005 (6:47am) After two showers, the glitter finally seemed to be disappearing from OLeif’s beard and hair, although Collette had seen a bit of it stashed among the pillows Thursday morning. Jimmy also, had been seen in the office with glitter on his face and

Thankful P. Harvey

Wednesday, November 3, 2005 (7:01am) In world news, there seemed to be little new reports of any urgency. President Bush had announced the day before that he had proposed a 7.1 billion dollar plug into flu research, stockpiling, and so forth, for whenever the next pandemic hit (bird

Saturday Night Fever, Porcelain Bathtubs, & Sweet Onions

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 (7:22am) As it happened, Joe had been dressed as John Travolta – Saturday Night Fever. Carrie had obviously been the mastermind behind such a creation, for as soon as OLeif and Collette popped in the Hobcoggin’s front door, there he was – black leather pants, black

Jack 'o Lanterns and Rainy Skies

Monday, October 31, 2005 (7:35am) Ah, another Reformation/Halloween day… And it promised to be a cool rainy to-do. So Collette got to wear her black top, but covered it with a toasty green sweater of sorts with a turtleneck. And she wore a bracelet Rose had just beaded,

A Mighty Fortress is Our God

October, Sunday 30, 2005 (7:28am) Reformation Sunday – a day in which Collette always loved to wear all black to church and to the Reformation Service – black pants, black boots, black sweater, and long black lace shawl around her neck… Why, she was never quite sure. But this Reformation Sunday,

Homemade Pizzas & Weekend Happenings

Saturday, October 29, 2005 (8:41am) Friday night had been spent at the Silverspoons. And while the boys banged around on banjo, guitar, bass, and violins, Denae and Collette made homemade pizzas. It was Mrs. Hobcoggin’s recipe and was prepared with flour, salt, sugar, oil, hot water, and yeast,

"People!" - Yente

Friday, October 28, 2005 (17:03pm) Loraine Saint had come through the office the other day in petite jeans, running shoes, baggy sweatshirt, round glasses, and her hair in a ponytail. She had just been out to lunch with one of the senior high girls and Jimmy was watching the

And the Evening Wore On...

Thursday, October 27, 2005 (7:23am) And so once again – back to the wedding… The D.J. had just broken out the party lights and the music opened with a bang. His repertoire was the usual, as Carrie noted, who had only attended at least eighty weddings over the past

To the Boy Who Wore Pink Tutus - Cheers!

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 It was at Lone Tree’s Veteran’s Hall – the reception. And as they pulled in, the now-empty limo was just coming out of the long drive. Inside, the dance floor was lit by the skylight above and the tables were nestled under the circular overhang

An Old Pal's Wedding in Small-Town Iowa

Tuesday, October 25, 2005 (6:50am) The next morning in Iowa brought a stark change from the gray skies of Friday. Saturday was shining bright from one end of the horizon to the other. The wind was bitterly cold and rocked the travel trailer. A frosty dew had settled over

Ducks, Cows, & Windmills - Amish Paradise

Monday Evening, October 24, 2005 – Mrs. English’s birthday (16:51pm) It was 12:30 by the time they left. For a good while they drove in relative harmony. OLeif, Carrie, Joe, and Rose all had their music along and the two little ones had books and such. It was

Cowboys & Indians

Monday, October 24, 2005 (7:31am) Summarizing a weekend was always difficult, particularly when it had been such a good time. But Collette somehow managed to piece things together when such a weekend had just passed. And there was never a better place to begin, than from the beginning… Colorado

Indian Summer, Closing

Thursday, October 20, 2005 Wednesday evening was spent with OLeif and Collette talking over good things – he was always such a comfort, encouraging her in her journey, in living for Christ, and taking joy in each day, as it came. After dinner, he scooted off to youth while Collette sorted

To Run the Race

Wednesday, October 19, 2005 (7:24am) The Revolutionary War had ended that very day 224 years previously. Perhaps they should visit a veteran’s cemetery, Collette thought. Although there were no soldier’s graves from that era, anywhere near, that she could think of. Meanwhile, Collette heard through a blog

A Pilgrim on the Road

Monday, October 17, 2005 (7:39am) It would be the night of another full moon. And the weekend had gone pleasantly – beautiful for camping. Finally, Saturday at about 12:30 in the afternoon, OLeif, Collette, and Rose, were able to visit the campsite. Carrie and Joe were both at work

Blackberry Winter

Friday, October 14, 2005 (16:46pm) Friday consisted of Collette adding an announcement to the bulletin for a field trip to Pumpkins & Pines for the home schoolers. There was a grand corn maze, hay ride, and each child would select his own fat little pumpkin to bring home. Ah,

Hunt for the Dark Chocolate M 'n M's

Thursday, October 13, 2005 (16:31pm) Work began with an email from “Prince Fayad,” requesting millions of dollars to be channeled into his personal account, no doubt, in order for his virus to infect the church computers. And Rosemary wore a new “bangly” bracelet of silver hearts and thick silver

A Myriad of Troubles & Delights

Wednesday, October 12, 2005 (16:23pm) Tuesday evening had been simple and enjoyable, just OLeif and Collette together, enjoying a funny film about roughing it in the wild on a hunt of sorts, and eating a take-out meal wrapped in Styrofoam boxes and a pile of napkins. Collette decided she

God is Great, God is Good

Tuesday, October 11, 2005 (17:32pm) Theodore’s 57th birthday, and the morning had begun a little rough. Actually, it was gray and beautiful with a short cool bite to the wind. But after breakfast, the troubles of the morning had been resolved and there was laughter over tomato soup

Linnea Turns Eight

Monday, October 10, 2005 Columbus Day. Collette had somehow manged not to write about Linnea’s birthday, Friday, the seventh of October. And then there was Saturday, the evening being spent at the Buckle’s house in an appreciation cake and snacks for the youth leaders. The Buckles were nice

Sun City Dominoes & Grapefruit Trees

Friday, October 7, 2005 As it turned out, Thursday evening, Eve had come over to the house for Carrie to color her hair, and then they had watched “The Haunting.” And Kitts had called Carrie, Wednesday night. Apparently she loved being married, loved their apartment, loved school… And they had

Red Duct Tape

Thursday, October 6, 2005 (16:37pm) That Thursday was one of those perfect fall days, minus the beautiful colors of the trees (which seemed to have decided not to bloom with spectacular reds, oranges, and yellows, after all). And it was Mo’s and Ivy’s anniversary – their tenth. So

Train!

Wednesday, October 5, 2005 (6:51am) It seemed like a day that should have been someone’s birthday, but no one that Collette could think of in particular. Meanwhile, Tuesday afternoon, Carrie was still grumpy about the number of papers she had to write. She came into the living room

Fox in the Hen House

Tuesday, October 4, 2005 (7:32am) Linnea’s birthday was coming up quickly. She had been counting down for at least six months, and now she had only three days to wait. The spunky little girl with the freckles and missing front tooth – it was too cute. Collette arrived at

My Life is Just Ruined

Monday, October 3, 2005 Sunday had concluded with a two mile walk for Dad, Mom, and Collette, while Francis and Linnea biked past the fields in the early evening sun. On the way back, Francis stopped briefly to talk with three boys across the fence in the schoolyard. Apparently they

Watermelon Muscles

Sunday, October 2, 2005 It was Collette’s turn to work in the nursery that morning, and Rose would be accompanying her in it. All the little tykes would be running around with balls, story books, and wide eyes, eager to learn – and occasionally to battle it out with their

The Old Raven Farm

Saturday, October 1, 2005 October – Collette’s favorite month. Somehow it had come around again already. And Friday evening had been good. “Oliver Twist” was well done, although a dark film, indeed. Collette noted that they didn’t often make films like that anymore. It was hard to imagine that

Radio Drama

Friday, September 30, 2005 The last day of September crept in cold. Collette put the kettle on to boil for tea almost immediately that morning. It was an inviting chill. She split open another banana and commenced her writing for the day. Work had passed as usual. Although it was

Autumn Leaves & Blue Sky

Thursday, September 29, 2005 Thursday was somehow that one day of the week that made Collette wonder how it had come around again so quickly. It wasn’t that Thursdays were bad – she enjoyed her job, talking with Ivy… It was just that she would walk over to the office

Hawaiian Bread & Shot Put

Wednesday, September 28, 2005 Tuesday evening had been spent at the Silverspoon’s. Theodore and OLeif discussed 401K plans and the boys played music, including a new tune Curly had composed to the words of an old cowboy poem. Theodore had even written his own poem, although not quite finished,

What a Happy Time That's Sure to Be

Tuesday, September 27, 2005 It was strange being home during the morning hours. Collette was not entirely sure she enjoyed having so much time alone. She thought about Diana; even though away from home, she would be enjoying her friends and her lunches at Saga, her editing and team meetings

An 80th Birthday

Monday, September 26, 2005 Monday brought a break for Collette, as Mom had requested that Joe and Rose have a week break themselves from study to switch their rooms around. The boys would take the basement and Rose was thus required to clean out her entire truckload of junk and

In Other News

Sunday, September 25, 2005 Another Sunday and Collette was up by 4:16 to take a shower in preparation for the four hour drive to Kansas City. She was so unbelievably tired, she feared it might border on the fatigue she felt upon first arriving in Hungary those four years

Learned Scholars & Theologians

Saturday, September 24, 2005 The first evening had gone quite well. Thankfully, Dad was able to get them all there an hour and a half before the seminar began. And so from six o’clock to seven-thirty they sat just behind the two front deaf rows, which would afford an

Banana Oil

Friday, September 23, 2005 It was the morning of the Sproul conference, and Collette did not wake to a sore neck or shoulder, for which she was most thankful. Instead, she hurried to get ready, putting water on to boil for tea, wearing her new earrings from Rose (which she

A Day out of the Ordinary

Thursday, September 22, 2005 Thursday had been a day left almost entirely to Ivy and Collette, as everyone else was out of the office (including Sinai, who was in Pennsylvania speaking at the 30th anniversary of the first church he had pastored.) Collette and Ivy were calmly minding their own

Lettuce be Friends

Wednesday, September 21, 2005 The last day of summer… perhaps the most difficult summer Collette had ever been through, and yet at the same time (because of that fact), it had been one of the best. And she did not regret it. All of Wednesday was spent in tutoring and

Teepeeing Grandma

Tuesday, September 20, 2005 Monday was spent on a sort of field trip. Mom and all the kids dropped by to pick up Collette at 9:30, and it was soon across the river to see Grandma Combs and drive over to Pere Marquette. The breezes were beautiful that morning,

Calling up Tears

Monday, September 19, 2005 Saturday evening had once again been spent at a coffee shop where Wally and Curly performed (occasionally with Starr). And Shakespeare and OLeif discussed the animation. “Ahhh!” The little bald-headed tortured genius would shout from time to time, holding his head in dramatic agony. “I need

Balloons & Chutes

Saturday, September 17, 2005 Friday had seen some interest in the balloon glow at Forest Park. With OLeif and Collette, came Joe, Shakespeare (commonly known as Magnus), Rose, and Mollie. The show was rather impressive, each globe of color lit when the horn was blown and the applause from the

Bits 'n Pieces, Odds 'n Ends

Friday, September 16, 2005 “I think manna must have been banana bread,” OLeif said confidently as they drove off of the grocery store parking lot. “Man, I could eat banana bread all day long. Ooh – when it’s in the fridge with that little bit of cold frostiness – Mmm mmm…

Cake Thief Lounge Band Singer

Wednesday, September 14, 2005 Tuesday evening had brought in the gray clouds as Collette, Francis, and Linnea played badminton. Rose organized a book reading room downstairs consisting of her and Collette’s antique book collection placed in one of the Great-Grandparent’s dressers. Dad and OLeif soon arrived home from

The Fat Cat

Tuesday, September 13, 2005 Monday was spent tutoring from eight o’clock in the morning to four o’clock in the afternoon. During the several sessions, Rose and Joe amused themselves with drawing cartoon characters entitled “The Germ” and “The Pill” with superman capes and deviously mischievous faces. And they

A Bald-Headed Fellas & A Fairy Princess

Monday, September 12, 2005 The weekend had passed quickly as usual, and in a fun manner. Six Flags had been first on the list for Saturday morning. And all but Carrie (who was at work) attended the theme park for five hours with Dad’s company – Technology Partners. There was

One on Each Arm

Thursday, September 08, 2005 Thursday Collette found herself at the office again wearing her new argyle socks (which OLeif had bought her three pairs of for a dollar apiece at Dierbergs while they were grocery shopping the evening before), although the environment was not quite as crazy as it was

The Reformation Tattoos

Wednesday, September 7th, 2005 The Tuesday following a holiday was usually rather awkward, however this particular Tuesday had seemed pretty much as though it were any Tuesday. Perhaps this was because it was the first day of choir for Joe and Rose again, and choir days always seemed like Tuesdays,

Pumpkin Head

Tuesday, September 6th, 2005 Labor Day had been spent with a morning for a pleasant drive out to the country, just Collette and OLeif. And the afternoon and evening was at the house. The Combs came over with Grandma, minus Linus who was at the baseball game, against the Cubs.

Angst

Sunday, September 4th, 2005 During a particular film about go-karts and teen angst, which OLeif watched with Joe and the kids for a distraction before the surprise birthday party…. Linnea asked OLeif: “What’s wrong with him?” (In regards to a particularly angry young punk.) “He’s filled with angst,

Surprise Bash

Friday, September 02, 2005 Friday brought Joe’s surprise 17th birthday party. After having the Silverspoon & Hobcoggin boys, plus their sister, Aristotle George, the Buckle boys, Bluetooth Coca-Cola, Molly McCrae, Goofy Nickels, and Evrain Orange, Joe was brought upstairs with OLeif on the pretenses of helping Dad move propane

The Quest for the Ring

Saturday, August 27, 2005 The day before Collette’s and OLeif’s first anniversary – The plan had been to take a good three hour hike on the Greenrock Trail with Joseph, “Shakespeare”, Elizabeth, Carrie, Joe, and Rose. However, as it turned out, Joseph called apologizing that he had just been

Chicago or Bust

Tuesday, August 23, 2005 The weekend trip had been quite amusing, in all respects. In began quietly enough, as most trips will… the usual chats and passing of the snacks and drinks from the coolers, the moms conversing with Grandma in the front two seats while Aunt Petunia crocheted and

Haggis & The Missing Link

Friday, August 19, 2005 It was time for another trip back to Chicago. And this time, instead of the quiet ride back in February, 10 girls would pile into the big slug and head north. Collette rather wondered how silly it would all get; nothing would surprise her. As she

Home Coming

Thursday, August 18, 2005 Collette woke to storms that Thursday morning, the morning of Mrs. Pretzel’s funeral. Collette wondered how it would be there. So many people would come, there would surely be hardly room for everyone to attend. It was difficult knowing how to be around friends who

Airborne Trash Can

Wednesday, August 17, 2005 The week was passing quickly for Collette, and likely for everyone else. She and OLeif were to visit with Mercy that night while she and OLeif practiced “Be Thou My Vision” for the funeral the following morning. It was a day for cramming through the tutoring,

Fighting For Meatloaf

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Monday had been Bing’s 19th birthday, and Carrie had decided to get her good old life-long buddy a subscription to download as much music as he could handle for a full year. Carrie also displayed another ear piercing to Mom and Collette in the basement

The Passing of a Child of God

Monday, August 15, 2005 Yes, Saturday had been quite a piece of fun. Mom and Collette had just made it inside the van on the parking lot by the river before the deluge hit. And nearly only the street lamps could be seen through the gully washer along the boardwalk,

Blue Bead

Sunday, August 14, 2005 It was so good to have OLeif back, and Joe and Rose. OLeif’s account of the week spoke of much growth in most of the kids and Collette was exceedingly proud of Joe and Rose and what they had dealt with and learned over the

Of Muggy Mornings & Peppermint Tea

Saturday, August 13, 2005 It was Mercy’s 21st birthday and Collette hoped that the day would go well for her, despite everything. Perhaps the family would get together and have a small celebration, everyone: Mr. and Mrs. Pretzel, Shepherd and Malaya, Peter and his girl, Mercy and her man…

Taiwan & Nepal

Friday, August 12, 2005 Friday had been a quiet day at the office. For Carrie there was a Napali tattoo and for the entire English family there was a grand welcome to the littlest one, Jules Verne. Storm clouds threatened in the skies and after work, Mom, Collette, Francis, and

From the Netherlands

Thursday, August 11, 2005 Wednesday evening had been good. Before being dropped off at the Saint Charles Coffee House, Collette slipped another application to the library for Carrie and went with Mom by the grocery store for ingredients for the morning’s breakfast: a fruit salad: papaya, red grapes, kiwi,

Train Catcher

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 Tuesday night, Collette and Linnea were trying to get to sleep. All was quiet for several moments when Linnea pointed to the dream catcher hanging in the dark from the bunk bed. “I wonder why this train catcher hasn’t worked yet?” She asked. Collette then

Red

Tuesday, August 9, 2005 Tuesday woke to Carrie scaring Linnea awake with a hideous skeleton mask on her face from two Halloweens ago. She had made quite the statement that Halloween, all in black platforms, a billowing black cape in the wind and nothing but black on her, except for

Organic Carrots & Back Bends

Monday, August 8, 2005 The Englishes had their new little one in Taiwan for nearly a full day by that time, seeing as Taiwan was thirteen hours ahead of Saint Louis. And the four youngest Englishes at home were spending the afternoon at the Snicketts’ playing in the little pool,

Quiet Afternoon

Sunday, August 7, 2005 The sermon had been good that morning, and there had been news of the safe arrival of the youth and leaders in Chicago. There seemed little to say on that warm afternoon in early August. Carrie was half-asleep on the couch. Francis had gone to spend

A Monster Sandwich

Friday, August 5, 2005 Thursday was a cooler day of gray, which was a necessary change, Collette thought. Carrie completed her semester with flying colors and prepared for her next session. OLeif, Joe, and Rose prepared to leave for the Mission Trip to Jesus People USA in Chicago only two

Coin Thieves

Thursday, August 4, 2005 Tuesday evening was spent over strawberry smoothies, iced mochas, and pipes on the patio of the Saint Charles Coffee House – OLeif, Joseph, Collette, Elizabeth, and Carrie. And the following afternoon was at the tea house in New Melle, part of an old German church built in

The Way God Made It

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 “You’re the best person that I love…” OLeif mumbled, half-asleep, to Collette that morning. OLeif had a way of putting things in a very unconventional way, especially when he had just woken up. In the news of the day – Rose’s hair had received a

Sunnies?

Monday, August 1, 2005 It was the first day of a new month, typically the hottest month Saint Louis ever experienced. And Sunday, although it was quite warm, was pleasant enough for Dad, Mom, Collette, Francis, and Linnea to drive over into Red Bud, Illinois, to visit Fort de Chartres,

Krispy Kreme Shorts & Penny Loafers

Friday, July 29, 2005 In other important news, Joe was hired at the Hair Saloon as the shoe caddy and was in training from four to six that Friday evening. He was provided his own red shirt and would purchase khakis for his uniform over the weekend. They were all

I Want to be a Rockstar!

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 The weekend had been a rocky point in Collette’s journey. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and even a good deal of Monday had been very difficult in various respects. Collette found that even through such hard points, God was reminding her that her faith was the

Well, How Does Your Garden Grow?

Friday, July 22, 2005 Thursday, Rose called Collette at work, twice. The first time: “Hello?” “Oh, hi, Collette,” Rose giggled. “What does precocious mean?” “What? Why?” “Oh, someone just said that we were precocious.” The second time: “Hi. What does ubiquitous mean?” “Why?” “Someone else called us that.” Collette didn’

Yellow Car, No Returns

Thursday, July 21, 2005 Rose was picked up by Mom and Collette after 5-Day Clubs on Wednesday, full of bubbly laughter as usual. As they waited for her to arrive, Mom and Collette ducked inside Target to keep cool. The temperature was still 91, though the evening was already well

Plans & Observations

Wednesday, July 20, 2005 It was already Wednesday of that week as Collette choked down her second attempt ever of white tea for breakfast. And it was hard to believe that Shepherd and Malaya would be married in a matter of four days. It was a busy week already, and

Two Theologians

Tuesday, July 19, 2005 The evening had gone well. Quite a crowd gathered in the end. Collette, Carrie-Bri, Joe, and Wally were the first to arrive for their tickets. Then came OLeif direct from work. Joseph and Magnus Pie soon followed. And then Elizabeth strolled in, looking quite stunning actually.

A Night at the Movies

Monday, July 18, 2005 It was a good morning. Collette had forgotten how good it was to read through a theology book with OLeif, as they had in the old days. “Knowing Scripture” by R.C. Sproul was first on their list, and they would make it a habit every

Tipsy Tupperware

Sunday, July 17, 2005 The sermon that day included a reference from R.C. Sproul, when Pastor Hatch had spent some one-on-one time with him over a summer in his past. At one point, sitting on R.C. Sproul’s living room couch, Dr. Sproul had picked up a cushion

Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Saturday, July 16, 2005 It was a day for organization, and Collette came over to the house prepared to rehaul the basement. Truly, hadn’t they been hearing for years from Mom: “I’ll never go down into that basement again. It’s a pig pen down there.” Even when

The Return of the Gecko

Friday, July 15, 2005 (4:52pm) OLeif awoke that morning feeling much better, as he had also taken to a cold the previous two days. As he prepared to get up, Collette read Luke 17, which was where they were currently as they read through the Bible, alternating between the

Gargling Derby

Thursday, July 14, 2005 As is turned out, the shuttle launch was postponed till Saturday. The crew had already been strapped down ready for the flight when it was called off, due to technical difficulties. Better late than sorry, Collette thought. Although it must have been a terrible disappointment for

Space Shuttles & Rain, More Rain

Wednesday, July 13, 2005 The next space shuttle was ready to launch at 2:51pm CST that afternoon. Super cold rocket fuel was at that very moment being pumped into the ship, and the crew was preparing for its flight. Collette prayed that everything would go off well after that

Pink's & Inspiration from a Spider

Tuesday, July 12, 2005 The week was full of rain, and Grandma Snicketts had come over on Wednesday bearing goodies, ideas, stories, and laughter. On Tuesday, however, Carrie had found some new songs to add to the Snicketts collection. She had stumbled across the most “rocking-est” song ever from the

I Already Got Him Elected

Monday, July 11, 2005 (Installment I) Sunday afternoon was spent with OLeif, Joe, and Rose at youth group while everyone else went to visit Grandma Snicketts. They watched Hurricane Dennis’ terror over Pensacola, Florida, and Mobile, Alabama. There was also satellite feed of the devastation in Cuba. Meanwhile, Dad hung

Church Picnic

Saturday, July 9, 2005 It was a day for a church picnic, although once again, Carrie would be at work and Rose at another picnic with her 5-Day Club pals. But OLeif was to play music with Judah and Curly, so Collette had to come. Mom and the kids looked

Carrie & Paige & The Amateur Stage

Friday, July 8, 2005 Carrie did, indeed, have wonderful stories of her ventures in Kansas City. After meeting two pleasant Egyptians, one who had his own silver company in his homeland and made handmade jewelry, there was plenty more to see. “Even two marines, marines, in full uniform, came up

The Rockets' Red Glare

Thursday, July 7, 2005 Yes, the fireworks had been a magnificent display. What with all the boys nearly blowing each other up, Joe dancing around the fountains in an Indian war dance, and all the kids (including OLeif) inventing new ways to shoot everything off… it was quite an enjoyable

Who Will Host the Games?

Wednesday, July 6, 2005 And in the end, London was to host the games of 2012 after Moscow, New York and Madrid, and finally Paris were knocked out of the running. Wednesday was spent on errands. After Joe drove over to have his environmental science merit badge approved, (dressed smartly

Begin the Big Blow-up!

Tuesday, July 5, 2005 (Installment I) The Fourth of July had been delightfully gray and cool, promising rain, a great change from all of the other Independence Days of the past recent years. It was cozy all wrapped up in the Combs’ old house where Mom and Uncle Mo had

Peace

Monday, July 4, 2005 Sunday had been a rather strange day. Collette had been unnerved about pains in her legs and back and such… But after talking it over with Dad, Mom, and OLeif, she decided not to do anything more about it. She was on edge, however, for awhile,

Octopi, Barbecue, & Norwegian Singers

Sunday, July 3, 2005 Saturday lunch had been spent at the Blunt’s house, from church. There, they saw Red’s new bike, which his parents had just bought for him after their return from the Virgin Islands. There was also Red’s fascination with sea creatures and his collection

Guys & Dolls - Location: Ecuador

Saturday, July 2, 2005 Friday evening had been spent at Mercy’s new apartment down among the Lindenwood University student housing. Upon first pulling in, Collette had the feeling she was just entering a housing complex in Ecuador or some place in South America. There was a courtyard dividing two

"The Happiest Celebration on Earth"

Friday, July 01, 2005 July 1st – Canada Day. The coming weeks held some potential for difficulty and Collette figured she would have to brave through the best she could, as would others. But life held both sorts of times – the good and the bad – and in the end, they all

Scrabble & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thursday, June 30, 2005 While Mrs. Pretzel was on her mind, there was still time to talk and laugh with the others. Diana, Bing, Carrie-Bri, Eve, and Joe came over to Ivy’s Wednesday night for barbecue and OLeif’s steak sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies baked specially by Carrie.

Dark Days

Tuesday, June 28, 2005 Little new had happened that week, though it was only Tuesday morning. And Collette surmised the week would pass quickly. The previous afternoon she had not felt well. And while Joe took Francis and Linnea to their swimming lessons, which were inevitably canceled due to storms,

A Birthday for the Clam

Monday, June 27, 2005 Although it was only six days into summer, it seemed to Collette as though it was nearly half-over. Diana had already been back from Wheaton for nearly two months and she would be back there before she knew it. Meanwhile, there was tutoring to be taken

Buddy H. & The King

Sunday, June 26, 2005 It was Rose’s fifteenth birthday that day. And as last year, they had all attended the Elvis Concert the night before at Jefferson Barracks. There, where Civil War soldiers had once drilled, and just beyond the field of thousands of white stones, Elvis, Buddy Holly,

The House is Going to be Loud Now

Saturday morning was spent with Carrie taking two more exams after having picked up Collette from Ivy’s. Maxwell and Joy were amusing themselves by eating, and Maxwell was thoroughly enjoying chasing about a brightly colored rope in the foyer. There was also another jar of chocolate rocks which Ivy

Never had a Mocha

Saturday, June 25, 2005 Friday evening had been spent at a brief closing ceremony for Vacation Bible School. It had been a hiking theme that hot summer week, and Linnea and Francis proudly wore their backpacks, singing with the rest of the children under the smiling lead of Mrs. Swiss.

Whatever Happened to Ernest January?

Friday, June 24, 2005 Thursday had been quite interesting. It was, after all, one of the best days of the year. However, it began with Collette taking a phone call at the church office from a woman (she thought it was a woman, at least), who needed help fixing her

Of Geckos & Diving Competitions

Wednesday, June 22, 2005 It would be the night of a full moon, and as Collette prepared to leave that morning, she heard a train off in the distance and was briefly reminded of Colorado. The pine forests, cold mountain streams, reading with Grandma Snicketts (who read Tom Brokaw’s

Rosemary Sauce

Tuesday, June 21, 2005 It was the first day of summer and Izzy’s twelfth birthday. The evening before had been quite enjoyable. OLeif drove them all – Diana, Collette, Bing, and Carrie-Bri – to the India Palace. After first having taken the hotel-staff elevator by mistake, they located the guest-friendly version

Mosquitoes, Space Ships, & Emerald Bracelets

Monday, June 20, 2005 It was the last day of spring, and OLeif was to chauffeur Diana, Carrie-Bri, Eve, and herself to the India Palace that evening, for dinner. Although Collette was not particularly wild about the thought of curries, Mom and Dad had both said the environment was quite

Buble, Circus Peanuts, & Windmills

Sunday, June 19, 2005 Father’s Day – Joe left for Scout Camp that morning and Rose began her second week in Kansas City. Dad made it big with the gifts over chicken casserole for lunch – including a special candy stash from Francis and Linnea (including circus peanuts, lemon drops, and

Earthquakes & Nuclear Missiles

Saturday, June 18, 2005 OLeif had just left for the Ozarks that warm breezy morning. He was to pick up Tennessee and drive with the rest of the youth group to the big lakes where Mr. St. Mary from church had offered his boat for the day. Sticking his mandolin

A Police Car

Friday, June 17, 2005 Bunker Hill Day – it was a slow eight and a half hours at the office, only made slightly interesting by the arrival of a police car on the scene at five after nine in the morning. Some unrecognizable man in a red car, talking on his

Sorry for the Little Guy

Thursday, June 16, 2005 Collette had spent the entirety of Wednesday writing her new book over a cranberry juice; she finished the twenty-second page just as OLeif walked in from work at six o’clock. Although it was certainly no masterpiece, she enjoyed writing for no particular reason, and when

All it Takes is a Cute Girl

Wednesday, June 15, 2005 Another Wednesday had come around for Collette, and somehow, though the summer had not even officially begun, Collette felt as though it was sweeping by and would be gone before she could get her thoughts gathered. It was the feeling of being behind. People changed so

Twelve Wives

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 The lightening had flashed magnificently the previous night, causing the electricity at the apartment to flash out three times before the storm subsided. And on the present Tuesday, it was Flag Day, approaching the first quarter. Great puffy whites filled the upper deep and Collette wondered

Tornadoes & Spitballs

Monday, June 13, 2005 Monday morning, a triple birthday, was set aside for preparing for Tuesday evening and such. Mom and Linnea picked up Collette in the morning, and all three dropped by Hobby Lobby to search for Rose’s and Grandma’s birthday presents. Linnea selected a wooden horse

Ashes over the Pretzel Parlor

Sunday, June 12, 2005 The day had gone well. Aside from the fact that Blessing’s surgery was scheduled for the next morning, it was also: OLeif’s, Eve’s, and Wally’s birthdays: 21, 17, and 16, respectively. Sunday, while Joe went on a caving expedition with Wilbur, Wally,

"I Want a Duck!"

Saturday, June 11, 2005 Collette was fascinated by the “mysterious island”, and wished to create her own. Translated from the French, she was not quite sure the words in English matched the same original tone, however, even the translated passages created by Jules Verne were so very interesting. The youngest

A Sad Dealing in Aruba

Friday, June 10, 2005 Thursday night had sent Collette through the bouts of an incredible headache. It was a monster. She knocked off at 9:30pm, due to the throbbing of her head, and awoke at midnight as it had worsened. After sitting up a time with OLeif and praying

Garret Raven & Judah Rye

Thursday, June 9, 2005 Wednesday had been a day for the high seas, bunches of green bananas in the hold, the sand and sun of the pyramids… And in the evening they had watched a brief clip, live, of a man walking a high-wire in a red circus costume at

Holey Moley!

Wednesday, June 8, 2005 It would be a day for catching up with nick-nacks, Collette decided, and for preparing to write her mystery the following two weeks. She wondered if she would ever really finish it, but decided it was worth a try anyway. The dove still cooed on the

Of Pirates, Indians, Fairies, & Castaways

Tuesday, June 7, 2005 With Mom’s and Dad’s anniversary came hard news of a Tae Kwon Do instructor with cancer. He was very young and it was a sad thing to hear of. They hoped, however, that as he was young and healthy, he would recover well and

Willie the Wasp, and the Donut-Head

Monday, June 6, 2005 It was D-Day, Normandy, and a new moon. And Collette was ready for a full week of work. Sunday, Rose was all excited about her new fish and the skull and cross bones gracing the rocks below. Dad was also taking the family out to Culver’

Scrapes & Scythes

Sunday, June 5, 2005 Collette put on her new skirt from Carrie-Bri. It was beautiful, as though it had just been sent over from the spiced and gilded halls of Morocco, where Muslim chants and vendors’ cries were still heard in the market below. At church that morning, Susie Plum

Sinister Serpents & Other Creepy Crawlies

Saturday, June 4, 2005 Collette had spent the night at the house, Friday, after Francis and Linnea pleaded with her a good while to do so. And so she borrowed a pair of Carrie’s pajamas and finished out Nancy Drew’s: The Mystery of the Ivory Charm with the

Rabbis, Coffee, & Football

Friday, June 3, 2005 The world was full of terrible news that morning – of Operation Lightening, Michael Jackson’s trial, 38 killed by insurgents in Iraq, and a seven year-old who bled his sister to death, the filibuster in Washington… and one redemption – the four million dollar value of an

Veni, Vidi, Vici

Thursday, June 2, 2005 Wednesday afternoon, the Coca-Cola boys were outside swinging badminton with Joe while their younger brother, Creole, exploded dandelion puff-balls with Francis and Linnea. But soon it was time to leave, and Mom, Carrie-Bri, and Collette took off. On the way, they discussed life and such, as

Look at my Creation!

Wednesday, June 1, 2005 Collette arrived at the house, Wednesday morning, just in time for a brunch with Mom and the kids. Of course, a meal was not complete without the usual floor entertainment, which included gifts from Linnea, just for the good-will of the day. Rose’s gift was

A Day in the Life of The Clam

Tuesday, May 31, 2005 It was a day set aside for the rather strange side of things, that last day in May. Perhaps it began the night before – OLeif was the one who reminded her while they talked of his schooling. “You know things aren’t going to be the

Gypsies & Shish Kebobs

Monday, May 30, 2005 It was yet another Memorial Day. It began in a rather untraditional manner with a trip downtown for Mom, OLeif, Collette, Carrie-Bri, Joe, and Rose. It was a gypsy bazaar, an unconventional fair, including illegal items such as military medals and archaeological artifacts. Carrie managed to

Graduation

Sunday, May 29, 2005 It was difficult to really figure out how Saturday had went – Graduation Day. All the graduates were looking sharp and lovely in black gown and shining red. And Mom was looking splendid in her new dress suit and earrings. Even Carrie-Bri had finally settled again on

A Particularly Half-Bad Day

Friday, May 27, 2005 (Installment I) Thursday had been a particularly bad day, and Collette wished to rather forget it. There were a few highlights. It was, after all, Carrie-Bri’s graduation ceremony rehearsal. There she was – up there in the front row, the seat closest to the lectern in

Sweet Eyes of Pie! - A Kyrgyz Kidnapping

Wednesday, May 25, 2005 Collette woke up as a carrot-top that sunny morning in May. Tuesday afternoon, Carrie-Bri had whipped out her brushes and colors and had transformed her hair into a cinnamon red and copper blast. “Oh, it’s so cool!” Carrie gushed, looking into the mirror. “Come here;

Lucia in Hollywood?

Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Canada’s Victoria Day had been the night of the full moon – and a full beautiful yellow glory it was, rising above the hills. Monday had also been for much badminton, Joe earning fifty bucks for washing and detailing Mr. Swiss’ car, Rose getting her much-sought-after

A Pontiac to Norway

Monday, May 23, 2005 As it turned out, there was a rather awkward silence in church Sunday morning, as each graduate from high school, college, and seminary, were recognized individually before the service, and asked to stand as their names were called. Upon hearing this, Carrie gave Collette the death

Boot Them Out

Sunday, May 22, 2005 The Star Wars bash had seemed to be a success. Following the film, about twenty kids drove back to the Snicketts’ where OLeif grilled the hot dogs and there was plenty of badminton and volleyball. Even Oreo French was back for a visit. However, by the

The Sun

Saturday, May 21, 2005 It was yet another sunny morning out in Saint Peters, and Collette figured that for a rare once, it might be helpful to elicit the sun’s rays. After all, there was supposed to be a hot dog roast and bonfire, volleyball and such that evening.

Roses, Hail, and Hebrew

Friday, May 20, 2005 Thursday, OLeif had surprised Collette by coming home early. A knock at the door revealed an OLeif loaded down with bags, a case of bottled sodas, and keys in his mouth. In one hand, he held two large bunches of beautiful velvet-red and pale roses. And

Uzbeks and Star Wars

Thursday, May 19, 2005 It was the golden birthday of an old friend of Joe’s, Jimmy Sparrow. He had been the fourth of nine kids, back in the day when six kids in one family had been incredibly large. And now the Englishs were preparing for their tenth. Wednesday

Beverly Hills and the Paper Shredder

Wednesday, May 18, 2005 The choirs, all three, and the jazz band, had been wonderful as usual. “Soon I Will Be Done” was sung again, a spectacular spiritual that Collette and OLeif and Diana, and so many of the others had sung so long ago, it seemed. And by the

Ten Years

Tuesday, May 17, 2005 It was very strange to think that after nearly ten years, Bing and Carrie-Bri would be singing at their very last choir concert that night. All those years of solfege and candy, soccer in the spring, baseball in the summer, tag-football in the fall, sledding in

Tortoises, Rings, and Racing Machines

Monday, May 16, 2005 Collette had felt quite miserable Sunday afternoon and into the night. Finally at 9:30 after a plate of sliced strawberries, a warm shower, a mug of peach white tea, and some medicine, her aches left. She woke up a good number of times during the

Books!

Sunday, May 15, 2005 Saturday had been a good deal of fun to make up for the terrible week. However, it was the anniversary of Edred’s death. It had been four years, and while Carrie-Bri was out with Elizabeth that day, she hoped to place fresh flowers on his

World Market

Saturday, May 14, 2005 The day began in a gray way. Dad, Joe, and Francis were off on a Spring Camporee scouting weekend. Carrie was to spend the day with Elizabeth, re-highlighting her hair, tanning (the mist-on type), and perhaps evening have some CZ pierced… but hopefully she would forget

Together Again

Friday, May 13, 2005 Friday the Thirteenth – Collette was already tired that morning, and not greatly anticipating another eight and a half hour day in a warm office doing paper work. But Thursday night, she, with Diana, Carrie-Bri, Eve, Annamaria, and Rose, went to the Chesterfield Mall for Diana to

Good News

Thursday, May 12, 2005 The storms had never quite made it to Collette’s edge of town, although the wind was gusting quite furiously, and OLeif reported a great deal of lightening on the way back from work. While Collette waited for him to return, she cut some ham into

Robbed!

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 Tuesday evening had been absolutely terrible. The afternoon had been alright, aside from being very sore. Mom had dropped off Francis and Linnea while she and the rest of the graduation ceremony committee listened to Justus Orange give his speech for the graduation. And so Collette

Lost Tooth

Tuesday, May 10, 2005 Monday had been a day for running about. Collette was far too sore from the aggressive badminton tournament to do much of anything active; she was ashamed. But there was laundry to wash, dinner to fix for the kids (cold fruit, sausages, cheese, and barbecue), mathematics

Mother's Day

Monday, May 9, 2005 Another Monday morning, another laundry day… Collette rather began to wonder if the world was spinning faster and the weeks were getting shorter. Mother’s Day had been fun. Following church they found (not sunflowers), but a shockingly bright bouquet of emerald green, lapis, fuchsia , and

People

Sunday, May 8, 2005 Mother’s Day – another one had come ’round. And there were roses to be given out after services. For lunch they would be over at the Silverspoon’s. Later in the afternoon, provided there were no thunderstorms, they were to take Grandma Snicketts out to Babler

Church Steeple

Saturday, May 7, 2005 Francis and Linnea had a good time that evening. First, before Francis came over from his choir workshop, OLeif and Collette took Linnea to the grocery store. After picking out eggs, bacon, and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, at OLeif’s urging, they decided on Pizza Hut

Black Hair, Blue Eyes

Friday, May 6, 2005 Collette was a little unsettled that morning; she couldn’t quite be sure why. It was, indeed, going to be another sunny day. Why that thought preoccupied her every morning, was another mystery. However, for once, she decided it might be a good thing. The church

Memories

Thursday, May 5, 2005 Cinco de Mayo – surely to be a wild and colorful party in St. Louis. There would be beads and brawls and beer… much like Mardi Gra. However, while Collette didn’t really recall why Cinco de Mayo was a “holiday”, festivities, within reason, were always fun

Clam Shack

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 Another day of sun greeted Collette with a hearty bright glow. Collette was not cordial in return. She knew she always turned a cold shoulder to that “giver-of-life”, but somehow she could rarely abide to be pleasant to it. At class the night before, Dad had

Lonnie

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 It was baby Lonnie’s birthday that day. Of course he was no longer a baby anymore; he was now five years old. Meanwhile, Monday had been spent on a variety of things. There had been a trip to Costco with Mom, Carrie-Bri, and Linnea, to

Two-Step with a Little Twist

Monday, May 2, 2005 Sunday there had been no Bible study, as it had ended for the summer. And so, there was a drive out to New Town and Pizza Street for dinner. All were there, minus Carrie-Bri, who had to work once again. But work was brightening for her,

Loyalty Day

Sunday, May 1, 2005 It was Sunday morning, the first day of May – Loyalty Day. And as Collette sat drinking a glass of cranberry juice at 5:57am, an email appeared in her account, sent December 31st, 6:00pm, 1969. Most peculiar – there was no sender name attached. How it

Last Day of April

Saturday, April 30, 2005 The last day of April – Mom was on the Ladies’ Retreat in St. James, Francis was spending the night at the Silverspoon’s, OLeif was soon off to Ben-Hur’s house in Augusta for computer talk, Collette was to clean the apartment from top to bottom

Star Wars Colors

Friday, April 29, 2005 It was another fast Friday at the office, dull and gray and rather unusual, actually. But it was so-so, nonetheless, Collette concluded. Plus, there were several peanut M’nMs, courtesy of Ivy, in Star Wars colors (gray, dark blue, maroon, purple). Aside from the rush of

Go Fish

Thursday, April 28, 2005 Oh, it was going to be a fine way to finish up the month of April. Rain and storms were coming and Collette hoped they’d stay a good while. The future looked promising once again. But there were other things on her mind as well.

One Hot Concert

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 The concert had been really good, and, yes, it had been a bit of a surreal experience, as Collette expected. Carrie had on her black leather jacket and was all psyched for the mosh pit. “This is so exciting, you guys,” she raved. “It’s going

An Irishman

Tuesday, April 26, 2005 It was a day for a concert down in The Loop at The Pageant. Muse – a rock band from Britain, which incorporated classical piano into their writings. Collette looked forward to hearing it, although she knew, even before Carrie-Bri warned her, that she would not enjoy

Chinese Checkers

Monday, April 25, 2005 (8:11am) It was one of those Sundays that something just seemed wrong. Saturday hadn’t been too bad – with Carrie passing another exam, the Buckaroo Cafe, Grandma over… but somehow that morning in church had felt very different, as though there was something lurking above,

Buckaroo

Sunday, April 24, 2005 It was the first day of Passover. The Buckaroo Café Dinner and Auction, had been quite a success. Collette was impressed. The acting was funny, and Collette laughed so hard, the back of her head ached. Dad was in such stitches, that he got his red

Adam & Eve

Saturday, April 23, 2005 The time had escaped her again, and Collette found herself staring at another Saturday. Meanwhile, that very afternoon, as Carrie and Collette took Francis to choir, there was a good debate going on in the backseat, which eventually turned into a giggling match. Francis and Linnea

The Wake of a Storm

Friday, April 22, 2005 And so Friday had been like Thursday, storms coming. Waiting through the still warm afternoon of bright blue skies, then big puffy whites float in, and by three-thirty, there are dark lines on the horizon. By five, there is a rush to clean up the yard

Storms

Thursday, April 21, 2005 The leaves were even heavier on the trees that morning as the winds came in and skies were gray. It was too wonderful, especially because it looked as though the next few days would be the same. The night before it had been warm. As Carrie-Bri

A New Pope

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 There were storms coming that lovely morning as OLeif set out to an early meeting over coffee. The green leaves fluttered in the trees and Collette had great hopes of fantastic thunderstorms not far off. Collette had begun to realize more and more as the days

Eleda

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 The moon was waxing gibbous, Neil Armstrong was retiring following the Tour de France in July, black smoke still churned from the Vatican where the cardinals voted for the world’s next pope, the Revolutionary War was two hundred-thirty years old, and it was Eleda’s

A White Plane

Monday, April 18, 2005 It had been another good day, except for a headache in the early afternoon. There was tutoring at nine o’clock that morning, which lasted three hours, with the planning for the new tutoring sessions beginning that summer. Meanwhile, Mom had taken Francis and Linnea up

Saturday and Sunday

Sunday, April 17, 2005 And so Friday had finished with Carrie and Collette looking over college papers and discussing a good many things while Mom and Dad took the little ones to a park with a mishap or two, including a lady police officer. But it was soon forgotten in

Better Happenings

Saturday, April 16, 2005 Friday, as it turned out, had been more than enough to make up for the terror of Thursday, thanks to Carrie-Bri. And all seemed settled back to normal, for the time being. Thus things became busy once again. The first order of business, following work, was

Frustration

Friday, April 15, 2005 Another week had come and gone, and Collette was not happy with the results. Thursday had been a terrible day, and she wished it had never come. It was at that time that Collette wished she worked temporarily somewhere on the other side of the world

Unsatisfyingly Sunny

Thursday, April 14, 2005 It had turned out relatively good that unsatisfyingly sunny Wednesday afternoon. There had been a pretzel and soda with Mom and Linnea while Francis was in choir. And then following Joe planting Mom’s tree in the front by the door, and a session of math,

A Renaissance Painting

Wednesday, April 13, 2005 Collette had to admit to herself that Wednesday did not quite appear bright either. And yet the lightening and rumbling thunder of the previous afternoon had been altogether lovely, with the variant shades of the sky and the alarmingly bright fairy green grass of the yard

Mom's "Favorite"

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 Collette knew she was in for a headache that day. Carrie-Bri had passed off the book, and Collette knew it would be too tempting to solve, and that her eyes would surely take a good beating. The night before had been the Miss USA pageant, and

Simple Times

Monday, April 11, 2005 Oh, it was going to be a day of storms. Collette could already tell by the bluer light of the sky behind the closed blinds, even at such an early hour. She had been up before five, but she enjoyed the wee hours of the morning,

Shady Dealers in Watches and Leeches

Sunday, April 10, 2005 It had been a hard day. Collette was not entirely sure what to make of it all. There were images of what had happened – a little girl named Madelyn with two pigtails on the top of her head and tiny diamond earrings sitting in the big

Nervous

Saturday, April 9, 2005 (6:14am) The sunrise broke as candy stripes across the horizon, in golds and creamy reds – the sort of colors that can’t quite be described. Collette had the odd feeling she was likely the only one to see it that early morning. The sun had

Uneasy

Friday, April 8, 2005 Oh, had it all been busy. Collette somehow felt as though she had just been through a war and had lost several close friends in the action. From OLeif throwing a “temper tantrum” in the store, Wednesday night, because he wanted soda, and Collette didn’t,

Carrie's Creations

Thursday, April 7, 2005 In the world of the news – The pope’s funeral was scheduled for Friday in the Vatican. Prince Charles’ second wedding ceremony was re-set for Saturday as a result of the funeral. The prince of Monaco had also died, in his eighties. And the Space Shuttle

Treasure!

Wednesday, April 6, 2005 The redbud had fully blossomed outside the window. Finally, Collette knew what the bean pod tree actually held inside – wonderful soft whispering blossoms. They transformed the view into a veil of purples. The day before, Collette had hit the books hard – three hours of Chinese, an

A Weekend

Monday, April 4, 2005 Somehow Collette had skipped a day. Saturday had been good after all, despite the sun’s aggravating light. It was the kind of afternoon that was just good and summery and homey. Collette made chocolate kiss cookies while Mom and Dad fixed in Mom’s new

Nothing Terribly Exciting

Saturday, April 2, 2005 For the day ahead there was a little work to be done. Nothing terribly exciting, particularly because the sun was shining brightly and whenever the sun shone so steadily, nothing good could come from it, unless if she were in the right setting. In Mayberry, it

A Buried Sleeping Buddha

Thursday, March 31, 2005 It was a morning one might awaken to in the deep south. Strewn across the netting of their bed, early that morning, Collette watched streaks of orange-gold slip through the blinds. She imagined for a moment that the blinds were made of thin teakwood, stained dark,

Dreams of the Wild Blue Yonder

Wednesday, March 30, 2005 A day of wind and white blossoms. Suddenly the temperatures soared to seventy-five and severe storms were on the horizon. Collette figured it must have been Van Gogh’s birthday as well, as the Google display was written in “Starry Night” swirls. One thousand had been

"Cash for the merchandise, cash for the button ho..."

Monday, March 28, 2005 Another month was nearly to a close and Collette had rather decided that Easter had not quite felt like Easter. Perhaps it was because it had come so early in the bitter cold and gray of an early March spring. She was undecided on the cause,

Easter Sunday

Sunday, March 27, 2005 The birds sang a cheerful chorus in the wet gray of Easter morning. It was almost as if they knew. Collette could only picture that one morning, nearly two thousand years before. In the coolness of the early morning, the pale rim of the sun over

Good Friday

Saturday, March 26, 2005 Good Friday had been a day of good amounts of boredom for at least three hours. Work had gone typically as usual for a Friday, except that this time, Collette was obliged to remain three hours longer. And she would continue working from nine to four,

Maundy Thursday

Friday, March 25, 2005 Good Friday – a day of remembering the shadows. But Maundy Thursday had been a good time at Grandma’s church. The play was performed well – a setting in the Upper Room with Peter, Andrew, John, Mary (Jesus’ mother), Mary Magdalene, Judas, and a Roman Soldier. Collette

Broken Nose?

Thursday, March 24, 2005 Maundy Thursday – already it had come that year, with the rain the wet and the lovely mists and fogs. Collette loved the weather, despite the sinking mud and gravel at the church office for a third morning in a row. The week was busy – Mansfield, work,

Cars, Bikes, & Cars

Wednesday, March 23, 2005 Collette thought about Joe a lot that Tuesday. For Joe, it was cars, bikes, and cars. It was what he loved. War and jets and fighter pilots also made the cut. But it was cars that lit up his eyes. It was cars he loved. Collette

Mansfield

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 The trip had been wonderful, Monday. There was something about it that brought back the old days for Collette, and she loved it. The skies had been clouded and the hills were like blue mountains in the distance. They passed a good deal of rolling farms

Virginia's Birthday

Monday, March 21, 2005 It was the morning of Virginia’s birthday down in old Louisiana. And it was as well, a day for a bit of a road trip. Grandma had spent the night over at the house the evening before and they were to take a trip to

Palm Sunday

Sunday, March 20, 2005 It was the first of Holy Week, the first day of spring. Appropriate for them to coincide, Collette thought. And Easter was coming earlier than it had in years. It was already time to paint the pasanka eggs and prepare the ham and cranberry jelly. But

Last Day of Winter

Saturday, March 19, 2005 Collette rather wondered what had happened to the time and everyone over the past several years. There was a point not too long in the past, she thought, that they had all known each other, had spoken weekly, had seen what had happened to one another,

Emergency Surgery

Friday, March 18, 2005 In the world – Capitol Hill dealt with steroid use in athletes, and Mark McGuire testified. Collette suddenly realized that he had grown old since he broke the home run record those several hot summers ago. Perhaps more time had passed than she had realized. Fuel prices

St. Patty

Thursday, March 17, 2005 Officially St. Patty’s Day, and once again, Collette donned the green. There was much to think about and get done that fine day of sunshine… as much as she would have preferred the thunderstorms. There was the office to pack up, all the paperwork and

Up the Irish

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 And there it was, fresh on the table, hot off the press: “[Judy] went in to surgery at 8:13 this morning (after leaving her hospital room at 5:20 a.m.) and was in surgery for about 6 hours. The final report: THEY GOT IT

Ides of March

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 The Ides of March – and like Caesar, there would be others going under the knife that day, all across the globe. Surgery after surgery, except that this time, they knew one of the many. Within hours, Mrs. Pretzel would be there among the doctors, waiting for

Joe's Natural Talents

Sunday, March 13, 2005 The weekend had gone quickly as usual, with laughs and little disappointments here and there. But enough of the good had happened to suffice for pleasantness, even though Friday and most of Saturday, all were pulled in dozens of varying directions. Dad and Francis were on

Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag

Friday, March 11, 2005 It had then been three and a half years since the great disaster that one September eleventh back in two thousand one. Collette wondered how many even remembered the third anniversary of that dark day, the past fall. People quickly forgot – even those who had lived

Of Goings and Comings

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 The cat had been taken to the animal shelter. And Shepherd would indeed take the cat, even if Malaya, his girlfriend, decided she needed a different companion for her deaf kitten. And so one problem was nearly solved, nearly. Meanwhile, Tuesday had been a day for

An Impudent Beast

Monday, March 7, 2005 It had, indeed, been a beautiful wedding, and Collette had difficulty deciding if it was her favorite or not. Each wedding she had been to the past nine months had been so very different from each other – from very traditional to very… unique, all six of

A Return

Saturday, March 5, 2005 “So you remember all of this?” Dad was asking Collette as they walked around the atrium of Kirk. “Oh, yeah,” Collette smiled, recalling old times. “It even smells the same down there.” They both leaned over the balcony railing to the floor below. There, every Sunday

Three-Four-Five

Friday, March 4, 2005 It was three-four-five, and march fourth, as the soldiers might. Collette was looking forward to seeing Kirk of the Hills once again after two and a half years, at Idlewild’s rehearsal. They had been at Kirk for nine years before they became part of the

Funky Colors & Aluminum Ice Cube Trays

Thursday, March 3, 2005 It was Jashub’s twenty-seventh birthday. The half of a moon was still out that bitterly cold morning in early March. Collette found she could scarcely keep warm in the little apartment, though the thermostat was set to a balmy seventy-four, complete with tropical breezes, white

Busy Times

Wednesday, March 2, 2005 The previous afternoon had been alright, bitter cold, but a fire was started. Poor Francis was going through the stage of worry. And so Mom comforted him in the kitchen while Francis and Linnea helped unwrap caramels for the brownies, as Collette and Carrie added advice.

The Future

Tuesday, March 1, 2005 The month of wind blew in with little to-do that morning, although Collette was bundled cosily inside against its bitter claws. Again the skies were all gray and she listened to Tom Sudholt on the radio speak of his personal invitation to all the classical listeners

Sick

Monday, February 28, 2005 The last day of February (“Floral Design Day” – the celebration of floral art – as the radio announcer commented), brought a light dusting of snow to the ground. Collette had had a rough past evening of it. During Sunday school she had begun to feel quite warm

Headaches

Sunday, February 27, 2005 On the first to the last day in February, Collette woke up with a bugger of a headache. It was fortunate that there was still a small portion of sinus pills remaining from earlier. Why the weather enjoyed playing with her deficiencies… but what use was

Party

Saturday, February 26, 2005 There was little in the news the past few days. The pope was hospitalized during his tracheotomy and there was a flu epidemic in China, from birds. It was lethal to seventy percent of those who acquired it and they were attempting to isolate it within

Monday's Birthday

Thursday, February 24, 2005 It was a fairy snow that morning, the night of the full moon. Each tree was crowned queen and the air was full of a moorish mist and branches of icy white. Diana had written again the night before, sending a letter to Collette and Diana’

Minions and Frills

Wednesday, February 23, 2005 Another gray-shrouded Wednesday morning, Collette thought to herself that uneventful dawn. The evening before had been pleasant as well, which just seemed to be the word describing home. She had been picked up at around three that sun-filled afternoon, and as usual, Carrie was hyper from

Travels and such...

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 Washington’s birthday, and Collette had just received an email from Apple Moss in Australia. She was happy to be home, but had had a wonderful time skiing in Colorado and visiting L.A. “…[Elazar] and I had soo much fun with you all. Experiencing the

A Prince, a Gypsy, and a Duchess

Monday, February 21, 2005 The day before had been very pleasant, altogether. Before church had commenced, Joe wandered over to the four and five year-old corral, as the class had not yet arrived. There would only be a giggling gaggle of girls that morning, running circles around OLeif as he

Cookies, Weddings, and Irises

Sunday, February 20, 2005 The previous afternoon had been met with more satisfaction than Collette had originally hoped for. Upon arriving at the house before leaving for the shower, Collette was immediately greeted with a slew of information. “Hi there,” Mom called as Collette entered. “Hey, where’s OLeif?” Collette

Sugar and Gumdrops

Friday, February 18, 2005 Collette rather wondered if the lull would continue a spell. It was Friday – perhaps not her favorite day of the week. She had begun to picture herself as Laura Ingalls Wilder when she was fifteen and was obliged to teach school far from home, and on

Popples, Polka-dots, and Peach Fuzz

Thursday, February 17, 2005 Wednesday afternoon was very nice. Collette was picked up by Carrie with Francis and Linnea, which they shoveled off to choir. Carrie was set comfortably for the day in fire cracker red gym pants, and Collette soon discovered why, upon arriving home later after Chinese study

Renaissance Day

Wednesday, February 16, 2005 There was little in the news that morning of catastrophic significance. President Bush was calling for more speakers of the Arabic language, as there was a significant shortage in the CIA, particularly in the terrorist division. She would pass the information onto Carrie – even more incentive

A Frances Birthday

Tuesday, February 15, 2005 Francis’ birthday began with Collette kicking herself for not thinking. If only she hadn’t snipped the end of her braided hair tail an inch shorter, it would have been the perfect length to send in to “Locks of Love”. She determined to let it grow

The Rain

Sunday, February 13, 2005 Annamaria’s fifteenth, and Collette woke up to rain that morning. It was always good to have a rainy Sunday, she believed. It made the coming week even more promising. She would bring a book for the afternoon and just read for the fun of it.

Hair Cut

Saturday, February 12, 2005 Mischief seemed to be in the air the previous day. For as Collette sat on the couch that afternoon, for no particular reason, she decided she wanted to cut off her hair. And so, wrapping a towel around her shoulders, she had OLeif get the scissors

V-Day and Angry Robins

Friday, February 11, 2005 The morning began with the knowledge of a good rainy weekend coming, as it was hoped. The night before, OLeif and Collette had decided to send Diana fresh beautiful flowers for Valentine’s Day. They chose a bundle of blooms and set it for delivery that

Irrelevant News

Thursday, February 10, 2005 Another Thursday had come around, and this time, Collette would not be working alone. Ivy was back from her sister’s in Florida and there would likely be much to catch up on, including packing up the office to move into the new place with the

"...to pay the ferryman."

Wednesday, February 9, 2005 Chinese New Year and Ash Wednesday coincided that year. Collette wondered how often that happened. Outside the world was white and the skies were so gray against the lace-hung skeletons, that they began to hint at being violet. Collette loved such days, and she was glad

Baber, a Belt-Model, and the Big Bad Dad

Tuesday, February 8, 2005 In Tuesday’s news… It was the ninety-fifth anniversary of the Boy Scouts and Joe must have been feeling it in his blood, for he had just shown Collette the day before – his plan for completing his Eagle Scout, with the final ceremony to be held

Birthday of the Big Bad Dad

Monday, February 7, 2005 Another week had come, removing the old, which had passed remarkably fast. And yet to Collette, even her final exam had seemed to take place months before. Winters were times of fast and slow paces, mixed, which confused one’s sense of time. Sunday had been

G'Day, Mate

Sunday, February 6, 2005 The weekend had been splendid, a wonderful day for Dad to have his birthday with a family of kindred spirits, old, old good friends… It was a peaceful, almost sad day in a way. And on top of everything, Diana was going home the following day,

A Strangely Long Roadtrip, from Carrie's Point of View

Saturday, February 5, 2005 It was Dad’s forty-seventh, although they would likely celebrate Sunday afternoon instead. Collette had thoughts of bringing balloons, but Mom would get the gelato instead, and then there would be gifts later. The trip to Wheaton had been fun; even the ten hours in the

Corncobs & Russian Gowns

Friday, February 4, 2005 And thus it was time, once again, for a road trip, brief as it was. Within that very hour, they would be leaving to pick up Carrie-Bri and Eve from home. There would be few snacks but a clump of fresh grapes (which OLeif had only

Lucia, Lightsabers, and Lunatics

Wednesday, February 2, 2005 Groundhog Day – Collette never heard whether or not the groundhog saw his shadow. However, the rather plump little fellow, the official groundhog in Pennsylvania, seemed more interested in going back to sleep than being applauded for, as the crowd seemed intent on so doing. It had

Colors

Sunday, January 30, 2005 Collette was in a colorful mood that one fine gray Sunday morning. And so with her very non-vibrant black pants, she put on a sweater of bright thick strips in banana yellow, burnt orange, strawberry pink, eggplant, peppermint pink, sea blue, and avocado green. On her

Manna, Aliens, & Midianites

Saturday, January 29, 2005 It had been a nice evening. As they drove over to pick up the pizza, the world became a snow globe of giant white fluff, like down from heaven. Collette watched the bits of lace fall into the shelter of the still green grass as they

Sillies

Friday, January 28, 2005 Collette had seen little promise in that Thursday. After work, however, Mom, Rose, and Linnea had picked her up and handed over a Styrofoam bowl of whipped chocolate ice cream from Ally’s. It was like air, it was so light, but she left the last

SuperSucker2000

Thursday, January 27, 2005 Mozart’s birthday – Collette recalled the good old days when every Friday they would meet with the Englishs. And one Friday in particular, when Mozart’s birthday had landed on a Friday, there was a fancy chocolate cake made in his honor, for celebration. Of course,

Hearts

Wednesday, January 26, 2005 It promised to be a more gray day, which pleased Collette greatly that morning. It seemed to be a rather non-interesting day, except for that part, but it was alright to begin. It had been commented on the night before, how very fast the month of

Mayhem and Shirley Temple

Tuesday, January 25, 2005 (full moon) Monday had been slightly eventful – nothing big, mind you, but enough to make things interesting. The usual mischief had occurred. While Collette was waiting to tutor math, reading about how Shirley Temple was denied French-fried potatoes and ice cream at the café at the

Singularly Worst Day of the Year

Monday, January 24, 2005 It was predicted to be the singularly worst day of the year, every year, whenever it fell – Monday, January 24th. Of course, that one winter morning of orange glow, on Neil Diamond’s birthday, Collette only thought of it in passing. A mathematical equation could hardly

Sunrise, Sunset

Sunday, January 23, 2005 Saturday afternoon they had sat around, Carrie-Bri, Rose, and herself, to watch another Midsommer Murders over a shared plate of crispy bacon with two small forks for tongs. And then they made plans for the evening, which included as the centerpiece – “Phantom of the Opera”. Collette

"...just like that girl in Napoleon Dynamite."

Saturday, January 22, 2005 Linnea had spent the night Friday evening while OLeif was gone and the two girls had the apartment to themselves for several rounds of Catchphrase and Jolly Ranchers. And now they sat with potato ham chowder over “The Three Stooges” for lunch while the gray warred

Manger Ducks & Jelly Rings

Friday, January 21, 2005 And naturally, there were all the little oddities of the day such as a good hour spent on designing, printing, and slicing Sinai’s new business cards and zooming around the little M’nM wind-up toy on Ivy’s desk. There were more of the individually

"Plank" & the Swamp Monster

Thursday, January 20, 2005 The chicken cooked in the oven for their lunch while Collette busied herself with the checkbook and preparations for yet another day. There was at least a ten percent chance of rain that morning and a dreary two weeks lay ahead. Collette was determined to use

The Perfect Sled

Wednesday, January 19, 2005 Robert E. Lee’s birthday it was, that slightly warmer January day. Thankfully, for Collette’s better interest, the skies were gray with only the flicker of light circling the rim of the horizon, like orange sherbet – a pale golden-cream light. The rustling brown oak across

Muppetts

Tuesday, January 18, 2005 Collette awoke from odd dreams that morning. It had been the renewing of wedding vows for her Uncle Clarence and Aunt Julia. She was to be a bridesmaid herself and OLeif was to play his violin, as was she. Although there was a professional quartet for

An Incident with the Can-Can

Monday, January 17, 2005 It was an unusual morning. OLeif was home to take Collette to her exam and the sunshine shone frightfully odd as he left to purchase a screwdriver before it was time to leave. Collette polished off her apple for breakfast and prepared herself for the examination

A Day at the Races

Sunday, January 16, 2005 Before Peter had come, Friday evening, Collette settled herself in the giant’s rocking chair near the stove and listened to Carrie-Bri read of unexplained phenomenon. And they discussed the case of a possible meteor incident in Siberia in 1908 and on to deeper thought of

Want to See a Butter Sculpture?

Saturday, January 15, 2005 It was the morning for Francis’ pine wood derby race and they were to meet at “the Boy Scout church” by eight. Grandma would be there with Krispy Kreme donuts and a lovely cottage teapot for Collette. But that morning, Collette wondered why she hadn’t

The Bulletin-Folder's Creed

Friday, January 14, 2005 If Thursday had been bitterly cold, Friday was arctic. Outside the temperatures had dipped to twelve, with the wind chill just creeping up from negative two, to zero. It was predicted that it might only scrape past twenty by the warmest part of the day. Collette

"Busting Ours, Saving Yours"

Thursday, January 13, 2005 The morning began with nothing in particular. In fact, it was normal, but frigid outside, and Collette was obliged to put on another sweater to withstand the cool, even inside the apartment. The sky was a cold sea gray with promise of more storm, as the

Cousin Clarence

Wednesday, January 12, 2005 And suddenly it was no longer Spanish before her, but Mandarin Chinese, at Carrie-Bri’s urging. Collette rather wondered if they would ever finish what they had started, but she knew that Carrie would have to eventually, so she had better hop on along for the

Smile Lines

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 It was another night of fine mist – as thick as winter soup all beyond the fields and hills. The streets were covered white as they had been the night before. And there had been two lovely evenings at home. Monday afternoon was spent helping Mom and

Joe & Angelina the Younger

Monday, January 10, 2005 In the dream… she had seen the end of the world. She could see them coming over the sea – a grand army of brown and enormous tanks the size of large buildings, all evil and coming for something… she did not know of. That had been

New York, New York

Saturday, January 8, 2005 There were tales of New Year’s Eve itself. Carrie-Bri had told all – about the enormous crowds and the drunks… “Yeah, the police kept yelling at the crowds, ‘Stop pushing! Stop pushing!’ I mean, it was tighter than a mosh pit down there, and everyone kept

A Take-Leave

Thursday, January 6, 2005 It was finally that day – the day Diana English left for good, and would someday, perhaps, return to stay… but that was too much to ask for at the present time. The point was, that she was now on the way to the school of her

The Orange & the Blue

Wednesday, January 5, 2005 It was the day Carrie-Bri was coming home from New York City, and the day before Diana left. Their visit with her had been good the night before; they had gone over in the pouring rain of the night. Diana had served up a little dinner

Eighty City Blocks

Tuesday, January 4, 2005 OLeif was in the shower as Collette went about putting stamps to letters – one to St. Peters and another to Ukraine. The sky was a lovely sea gray and the bean pods barely trembled on the chiseled brown branches. The afternoon before, once again, had been

Francis' Baptism

Monday, January 3, 2005 Francis had been baptized that Sunday, and although Joe the Younger had even given him the wrong questions to answer before the actual sprinkling of water, (he was getting over being sick and was a little out of it himself), all had gone quite well, and

A New Year

Saturday, January 1, 2005 It was the first of the year and Collette woke at 8:10 to wonderfully gray and rainy skies overhead. OLeif had still not come home, two hours later, and she imagined that he would be morbidly tired upon arrival. And Carrie-Bri was hopefully safe and

Another End

Friday, December 31, 2004 Collette had just finished giving the kitchen a good temporary scrubbing. It was her and OLeif’s first New Years. And Carrie-Bri had made it safely to New York City the previous morning, in time for the grand celebration after a certain hotel flub was worked

A Bad Burrito

Thursday, December 30, 2004 The death total had risen to nearly eighty thousand that morning in twelve countries. It was said that the wave had brought with it the force of two hundred atomic bombs, and with its impact, the earth had rocked on its axis. Never before had the

Tsunami

Wednesday, December 29, 2004 It was one of those entirely rare mornings where OLeif did not work till four, and there was little to be done at the apartment besides empty the dish washer and straighten up the place, as Collette was through studying. There had been donuts for breakfast

Christmas with the Combs

Monday, December 27, 2004 Being with all the family once again had been wonderful. There were many lovely Christmas memories. On Friday, she received a soft pair of knit brown patterned Norwegian winter socks and a silver thumb ring from the Silverspoons, with some other nice things from the family

"A Far Green Country Under a Swift Sunrise"

Friday, December 24, 2004 It was a golden Christmas Eve morning and the little snow birds danced on the bean pod tree in the cold. It was the type of cold that was so very bitter, it made one angry without knowing it, if one had to function in it.

Clumpies Ice Cream Co.

Thursday, December 23, 2004 It was Peter’s birthday that morning of a flaming sunrise. The snow had not come. And Collette was heartily prepared for the day to end. But there was something to be said for enjoying things as they came and she would try her best. She

Christmas, Candles, & Wheat Bread

Wednesday, December 22, 2004 It was another Wednesday and a morning for work. Collette would go in twice that week as there were three bulletins to type, edit, print, and process. Every Christmas it was like that, and she and Ivy would be burning the midnight oil, relatively speaking. The

A Communist Santa

Tuesday, December 21, 2004 Sunday had been a good birthday. There had been sandwiches with provolone cheese for lunch and a viewing of “Harry Potter”. Then there was an opening of presents, which included: a soft white open tunic sweater with a tie in back from Carrie-Bri (it was very

Twenty

Sunday, December 19, 2004 Collette’s twentieth birthday came up dark and cold, just as she liked, with a great wind that passed from time to time. It seemed good on such a day far into December. And she hoped it might continue through the week. There was nothing worse

A Grumpy Day, Apparently

Saturday, December 18, 2004 Collette was antsy that morning, waiting on something she wasn’t even sure of. The past couple of days had gone well, relatively, as she usually seemed to speak of her weeks. Thursday, Joe the Younger and Ivy had remembered her upcoming birthday at the office

"We're not getting Christmas presents this year."

Thursday, December 16, 2004 There was hardly a warm breeze in the air that morning. In fact, it was as ice cold as could be. The sky was glowing with pink and gold and orange. Collette managed to collect several camera shots from the balcony before her arms froze. It

Violet Gentles

Wednesday, December 15, 2004 The previous afternoon had been pleasant. The hours leading up to a concert (particularly a Christmas concert, it seemed), had some special whir about it – a certain air. It was always enjoyable. And for the first part of the morning, while Carrie-Bri colored Grandma Comb’s

Family Recipe

Tuesday, December 14, 2004 And so it had come time again for another choir Christmas concert, this one to be held at First Baptist Church of St. Peters. It would be Carrie-Bri’s last Christmas performance, and Collette believed that even she would be feeling the nostalgic sentimentality of the

Little Applecake

Monday, December 13, 2004 It was another bitter cold day and Collette was in the mood for a mug of hot chocolate. Saturday, after having made arrangements to attend the Boar’s Head with Diana on Sunday, she did a little shopping with Mom for the Combs. She decided on

Before "the Plunge"

Saturday, December 11, 2004 It was a cold Saturday morning – gray, slightly rained, and pumping with Turkish techno from the little apartment on Vanderbilt Blvd. Collette could just see the whole apartment complex bouncing to the rhythms of the Middle East pounding through her speakers. She could see Lucia dancing

"...you're toast, buddy!"

Friday, December 10, 2004 It was yet another gray exam day – perfect weather, not even a mite too cold, really, for being out and about. This time Mom would drive her over to Manchester, and hopefully, she would have the same smile on her face when coming out the front

A Burning

Thursday, December 9, 2004 Much had happened over the past three days. Perhaps the greatest piece of news was the blow Diana had received regarding Wheaton. To her dismay, it was canceled from the books, and there would be no departure January 6th after all. They had all met that

Peter the Great & Canadian Spies

Tuesday, December 7, 2004 December 7th — it was Pearl Harbor Day — sixty-three years ago, it had happened. There were sure to be many flags out that day, billowing in the wind and gray skies. And with them swayed the bean pods, more than normal in the cold winds that had

"I'm not even kidding."

Monday, December 6, 2004 Sunday had passed quickly. After teaching Sunday School with OLeif, practicing with the choir for the hanging of the greens, and then singing in church, Collette took off with Mom for a house tour down in the city with Grandma Combs, Aunt Petunia, and Lucia. It

"Be near me, Lord Jesus..."

Saturday, December 4, 2004 Collette had received many ideas over Thursday and Friday, with some other notions that weren’t exactly to be considered ideas. The sun certainly failed to aid being happy about the day and such thoughts, but nevertheless, she was determined to rise above the sun and

Apple's Engagement

Thursday, December 2, 2004 Thursday, first work day of the week… not the favorite, but she still got to talk with Ivy, as she was back in the office. And the ridiculous poinsettias would hopefully be settled and ready for pick-up. There always seemed to be some kerfuffle with lilies

What may Come

Wednesday, December 1, 2004 It was the first day of her birthday month, and Laurel Peach’s 21st birthday. However, Collette was slightly disappointed with the streaming sun through the glass upon first awaking from a highly unusual eleven hours of sleep. However, she agreed that it did seem pretty

That was Carrie-Bri

Tuesday, November 30, 2004 Ah, another Tuesday – gray, rain, and soggy bean pods outside the window. Another day for a true winter season. And all seemed well enough in Collette’s mind. She had been at the kitchen table for a good three hours of focused study with a raspberry

Wormwood & Christmas Lights

Monday, November 29, 2004 Another day of cozy warm flannel and hot coca… After a brisk walk in the cold at 5:30am, OLeif and Collette each took a hot shower as Collette’s ears recovered from the freeze. She was sure her eardrums might pop before she made it

Sweets & Bluetooth

Sunday, November 28, 2004 There were many resolutions Collette would like to have followed, like brisk morning walks with OLeif, stir fry, salad, fish, and oatmeal – no more chocolates, pies, or anything… good. She often sighed to herself when contemplating this. Never mind, she concluded. Monday would begin a change.

"He STUCK his HEAD under the GARAGE DOOR!"

Saturday, November 27, 2004 It was on the cold morning of November 27th, that OLeif and Collette did a little shopping for their first Christmas. After a swift breakfast of fried eggs and cheese on biscuits, they ventured out into the crowds. And they came away with several prizes – an

Mom's Birthday

Friday, November 26, 2004 Friday came with Mom’s forty-fifth birthday. It seemed a good day for blue and white streaks of clouds, perhaps a day for Egypt, or a trip down to The Outback for some Auzzie fries, a pumpernickel loaf or two, Alice Spring’s chicken spread with

Windy Days...

Wednesday, November 24, 2004 The day before Thanksgiving dawned full of whipping rain and ghoulish wind. She decided that hanging the little sparkling white Christmas lights on the balcony might not happen that morning or evening after all. And she would be right, for the rain turned to snow at

Dark, Gray, & Rain

Tuesday, November 23, 2004 It was another Tuesday, although this one was unlike the usual. Ivy was out of the office for the week and so Collette was left to manage. She spent the morning battling it out with the computer in an attempt to print labels for an important

Pulled G's & a Looo-siana Road Trip

Monday, November 22, 2004 All went well that Wednesday evening at the concert. Diana played marvelously with Amy Oshira, and all was quite pleasant – pieces one could “walk along the hills and sing” to, as the viola instructor commented. Even Carrie-Bri who could normally not sit through a concert without

A Whole Mess of Things

Wednesday, November 17, 2004 Wednesday was the night for the symphony and Collette was excited to attend. It had been two years since she had come, which was to another St. Louis Youth Symphony performance, like the one she would come to on Sunday. The last time, a magnificent Asian

Easing into a Thinking Process

Tuesday, November 16, 2004 What a deliciously ghoully day, Collette thought to herself that morning, as she watched the skies out the windows. Red oak leaves danced jigs on their branches across the street. Granny’s Donut shop across the way was still open for the morning, as the police

"The ambiance of it all..."

Monday, November 15, 2004 The following day had been tranquilly happy, the care-free but hearty family afternoon she loved. Mom, Carrie-Bri, and Linnea had come to pick her up, Carrie in her Californian-Italian look, with retro shades, loose bangs, and a green fleece, sporty flip-flops… The delicious inside sunshine of

Double D

Sunday, November 14, 2004 Sunday the fourteenth, the day the church was once again dealt its blow. Collette was not happy in the slightest. It was Denae’s birthday as well as Diana’s. But the scene at church was sad. She would never forget the look on Joe’s

A Passing On

Saturday, November 13, 2004 Life seemed good that fair cold November morning. The beans trembled outside in the late fall sunshine, and Collette emerged from the college earlier, with a smile on her face. The deed had been done, and she was now in the second semester of her senior

"You crossed the bridge..."

Friday, November 12, 2004 A Friday held much potential, Collette had always thought to herself. It was the prospect of a weekend free from school and a day in which the Snicketts and Englishs had always met together to play, discuss, and occasionally have a slumber party. It was a

One Billion Dollars

Wednesday, November 10, 2004 Collette liked the look of the day. While the sun was out, it had a peculiar shine to it, something a little out of the ordinary. And as clouds seemed to sail in on the horizon, she had hopes of it being a good day. It

"Muh-nuh-muh-nuh..."

Tuesday, November 9, 2004 A day unnecessary for tutoring meant that Collette had the entire day to study, and she would once again take advantage of it. The night before went quickly. She had grabbed a box of Bisquick from the shelf in the kitchen and soon there was a

Lord-Welches

Monday, November 8, 2004 Ah, a Monday, Collette thought to herself – perhaps the most dis-liked day of the week anywhere in the United States. It was bright out, cold, and not terribly inviting. She had hoped to spend the early morning walking through New Town, as she had the previous

A Marvelous Venture

Sunday, November 7, 2004 Sunday came cool and calm. OLeif and Collette got ready for church while OLeif read the funnies and Collette listened to talk radio. On the air was a middle-aged fellow from New Zealand, a doctor, who was discussing the amazingly improved bee pollen, harvested on a

Astronauts, Arafat, & Oreo Cows

Saturday, November 6, 2004 Yet another weekend had fallen upon St. Louis, and Collette all happy for it. A nice sunny Saturday at home in the warm November sunshine and an air of creativity was cooking up a nice batch in her mind. Yes, there were seventy-four dishes sitting on

Liberals, Conservatives, & Imaginings

Wednesday, November 3, 2004 The morning following the election, Collette was pleased to see that the governorship was held by Matt Blunt, and that Akin, Bond, and many other Republicans were taking the senate all over the country. And most importantly, President Bush seemed to hold the presidency once again,

Journies

Tuesday, November 2, 2004 “You know what’s so cool about today?” Collette was saying to OLeif on the couch with his computer. “We’re the superpower and we affect everyone, the whole world is watching us today. Not just Mexico or Canada, but the entire world. Even the little

A Ghoulish Night

Monday, November 1, 2004 November 1st dawned soggy and windy, a perfectly cozy day. Collette had enjoyed the evening before of donuts and cider, the gilly suits, Dutch dolls, Indian princesses, and Mexicans running around with pillowcases of candy. The parents had discussed politics and religion in the kitchen and

"Kill 'em all; let God sort 'em out."

Sunday, October 31, 2004 All Hollow’s Eve dawned gray and foreboding, more like November than the warm October St. Louis had seen that year. The brown bean pods outside the bedroom window barely fluttered; there was hardly a wind to be seen. Outside, Collette had just hung a flag

Exam Aggravations

Saturday, October 30, 2004 The morning before All Hollow’s Eve dawned warm and red. A whisper of ghostlings was in the wind, and Collette smiled at the thought of their pirate flag billowing in the ‘swashbuckling’ winds from the balcony the next day. At the moment, following milk and

Pals & Their Doings

Friday, October 29, 2007 A day had passed, and Friday came warm and summer-like. A headache pressed upon Collette a spell as she prepared to begin a seven hour study session of abnormal psychology, for an exam would follow the next day. The apartment was quiet and cool. Crusty leaves

All in a Day

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 Collette would view the world each morning very differently, from one to the next. One could wake to a day as hot and bright as any Egyptian sun could provide, or to the sound of wind and thunder in the knolls of the surrounding neighborhood. Wind,