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 after nine o’clock, for further instructions in mathematics. And Mom and Puck watched the rain fall from the front porch.

Francis told stories of choir camp on Tuesday with Puff ‘o Lump, who had joined for the first time.

I kind of just heard this drone from him that went on and on and didn’t stop,” said Francis, laughing.

By the time they all left at noon, a huge storm system was moving northeast. Though it never really seemed to quite hit their part of town, which was not an uncommon occurrence.


Come the after nap-hour, Puck was ready to bake. So Collette helped him put a little Bisquick and cinnamon and sugar and milk into a glass measuring cup. He whisked it all together and then buttered the inside of a miniature silver bread pan before Collette poured in the batter. Ten minutes later, it came hot out of the oven. Puck was very proud. After Collette sliced it into six tiny slices, he gobbled them down, happily.


In other news…

Joe was turning a whopping 22 on Friday, which meant ‘party’. Plans were already being made. Grandma Combs was making the cake.

And Rose was negotiating a continued contract and raise, now that her current six-month contract was coming to a close. They wanted to keep her, but Rose was tired of the two-hour-plus daily commute and was ready to establish her own place down into the city.

They have to pay me more than that if that’s going to happen!” she announced.

It was generally agreed that she was underpaid.


Come evening, Puck continued with his children’s catechism, the first three questions. Then he repeated, unasked, the questions back to Collette.

Why did God make you and everything else?” he asked with a grin.

For His own glory,” Collette answered.

And why did God make me and everything else?”

For His own glory.”

Why did God make grass and my sippy, and this, and this, and this?”…


Some days, it seemed, were for little more than gold lamplight, soft rainfall, reading stacks of books, and egg salad sandwiches for dinner.


Puck had one last thing to say before crashing into bed that night. “Mama, I don’t know how to go to sleep.”


That night, OLeif was out with his dudes.

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Jamie Larson
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