Re-post of Getting Reacquainted

Oh, this post kind of breaks my heart - look at Ani, sitting there so little and laying her claim on Dan with her leg thrown over his...I am reposting this one because we are in that place again, as Dan works so hard on finishing his first full draft of his dissertation to distribute to his community this week.  Ani seems to understand it better now (four years to the day of this post) but still longs for and demands Dan's attention whenever she can, mischievously locking the door in the morning or distracting him with her storytelling...We are all doing our best to hang in there, supporting him with clean socks and leftovers for lunch and by not killing each other  taking as good care of each other as we can.  Today that meant long spells in our own corners, me curled on the bed, reading about food (Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl), Ani on her bed, fiddling with her Thinking Putty and listening to The Penderwicks for easily the 50th time (she mouths the words sometimes, she knows it so well), Eliza alternating between Nancy Drew and a graphic novel version by Hope Larson of A Wrinkle in Time, and playing a new game - Animal Jam - on the computer. Coping, and taking care.

Thank you, dear people, for your kind words on the 800th post, and for enduring and enjoying these glimpses from the past...

Getting reacquainted

This is a photo from a week ago, as A prepares to say good-bye to Papa for the day.  I forget, when our days are so full, that the stressful times of the quarter are stressful for even the smallest in our family.  She was insistent that he spend some time with her before he left, which he gladly did, and then she followed him down the street and commenced to sob and sob when he was finally gone and I asked her to come in.  She does not give over to tears much, this one, and so it was heartbreaking to watch the large drops roll down her face.  She was inconsolable.  

So she has been waiting and planning for this day, today, the day when Papa did not have to go to school and could spend the entire day with her.  E even talked about making signs to hang up around the house as a reminder today: pencils and paper with a large red X through them, just in case he was tempted to write another paper...And it was a lovely day! We spent hours at the Farmer's Market, eating oatmeal, buying beautiful eggs and spinach and apples and apple butter, running into friends, and listening to a singer and guitar player - and then after some hanging out at home - together! - we headed to The Ridges for a hike before supper.  There, at the "peak", our little hill of a destination, time stopped and we watched clouds move, listened to the woodpeckers, and rediscovered the feel of four.  It was really nice.  

Happy Spring Break, Papa!