Raking and a Fire

Yesterday was another full day. We start off slightly easy. Get up around 7:30 / 8, try to stay in bed but the girls are awake so I am awake.

Marceline also wasn’t feeling well so her day has become “stay at home, stay in bed;” which for Marceline is not a bad thing. She has hit her “I want to read everything,” and read several books yesterday while watching tv on and off.

Edith and I met some preschool friends at a playground for a Sunday playdate. And while it was a play date for Edith, it was also a playdate for me. I know my role, or rather the role I have cultivated with the group of preschool kids from both Marceline and Edith’s years at school.

I’m the parent that plays with the kids. Chases them around, plays games with them, picks them up and twirls them, and generally engages with them all the time.

One boy who I haven’t seen since June was shy for about two minutes, and then ran over grabbed my hand was dragging me around the playground for the next two hours. Edith and her friends were grabbing my hat and giggling / running away from me. One little girl who was about two, who was at preschool pick up every day last year, grabbed my finger and had me help her gather acorns and roll them down a slide.

We were there for two hours and I think I had maybe 5 minutes where I didn’t have a kid attached to my hip. This as most of the other parents were talking and catching up. Not that they were ignoring the kids, but there weren’t sought out by the kids like I was.

Maybe it is from being raised in a day care house.

Anyways after that Edith and I got lunch before coming home to find Marceline asleep and Sam reading. Edith and hid downstairs for a bit to not wake Marceline before I decided I had to get out and rake. It was in the mid 40’s and comfortable, and our backyard was full of leaves. I also started a small fire to burn some of our sticks that have been piling up in the backyard.

Eventually we moved Marceline outside under a blanket. We figured some fresh air would do her good. And it did. She was more lively out there for a few hours than she was in the last 24 hours. We ate dinner out there, read books by the fire, and watched the sunset before telling stories in the dark around a dying fire.

It was a great way to end the day and end the weekend.

Raking

Our leaves finally fell off last weekend.  It’s pretty late in the season for that but I got out in the front yard for a couple hours yesterday to take and do some yard work.

Most frustrating was getting our hoses off the outdoor spigots.  We maybe left them on last winter.  But some elbow grease, actual grease (WD-40), and wrenches I got them off.

Raking was another matter.  We have a leaf blower, but if there is some sort of leaf blower technique or strategy, I don’t know it.  Probably doesn’t help that we have a nice wind swell being at the end of the cul-de-sac.

So I hand raked a lot.  And listened to music.

Started with some Jessica Lea Mayfield, then some Angel Olsen and finished with some Jets to Brazil.  All throwbacks to one degree or another.  But kept me moving

Which I needed.