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 a meteorologist … or a Snicketts.
Anyway, El Oso shoveled the driveway again, borrowed the Mazda again, and Puck and I hunkered down for another busy day of work. Mostly paper-based.
The best exercise I could conjure for Puck’s morning was circle-walking. Six, ten-minute sessions. This doesn’t really bother him: walking circles around the house. His imagination fixes any potential boredom.
“Mom?” he asked, walking to the foyer. “What would you grab to save if the house was on fire?”
“After I got you outside, I’d try to save the animals.”
“You would take the fish, Mom. I would get the Legos.”
“Nope. No Legos. They’re replaceable.”
“And I would help get Sebastian, and you would get Snickers.” He walked back to the bathroom for a pit stop. “I WOULD GATHER MY TOOTHBRUSH TOO!”
Six hours of our day were spent in the basement with a box of schoolbooks and blankets, 10-4. Izzy and Company, including Charlie and German, were filming upstairs for a J-term class project. A production that involved at least paper cups of coffee and the shower. So Puck and I holed ourselves up to keep it quiet. Snickers enjoyed our company and began showing off by pawing at, and snacking on, the strands of pearls still draped on the Christmas tree.
At four o’clock while Puck tore into a plate of beef, Hawaiian sweet rolls, apples, and cucumbers, Honorary Uncles: Charlie and German got him rolling in the giggles.
A second dinner one hour later of bacon, eggs, and Simply Apple apple juice completed the day. And a few more “I Love Lucy”, of course. That’s how we wrapped up yet another evening in front of the fire with a big snoring black dog on the rug and a stow-away cat trying to sneak some warmth and companionship.
Puck had a few more words for me before bed, wrapped up in a warm comforter and some big smiles. “Mom? You know the President?”
“Uh huh.”
“Uh, will you take a picture of Francis’ face and put it on the President’s clothes? And then print it out and uh, um, uh, leave some white space and put a picture of Lila dressed up as uh English lady and Francis will say, ‘The time has come to eat cheeseburgers!’”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“And Lila will say, ‘This place is so dirty!’ And Francis will have his foot on a stump!”
I love a good imagination.