Holding on to summer...

With sunshine and blue skies and temperatures in the seventies all weekend, it was easy to overlook the changing leaves and pretend that summer never left.  Add to that the 5 festive events we attended as a family this weekend, and a delightful field trip to Hale Farm with my class on Friday (right after that grand day off at the zoo) and this week has felt a lot like vacation.

I really don't want to go to work tomorrow.

Also, I am exhausted.

A quick recap, because this September festival season has been so jam-packed that we really can't remember everything we do each weekend...)

 Friday night:  Art Opening at MOCA.

Ivy was our "only" for the evening as Jack was out at the movies with a friend.  All of us were nonplussed about the actual art exhibit, though only Ivy voiced her opinion, with a polite, whispered, "Mommy, I really don't think this is very amazing."  But we did enjoy crafting with clay and running into three families we knew (love the "small town" of Cleveland!).  And of course, ice cream after!   

Ivy is such a trip.  She kept us laughing all evening as she enthusiastically greeted the world in her "cowboots" and jewelry, leading us along the streets with skipping and jumping.  She is so tall and so lovely and so much fun to be with, this one.  Love her. 

Saturday:  Started the day with a breakfast fundraiser at St. Paul's-- cereal and music and crafts int he church basement and like everything about St. Paul's it was just too cute for words.  Too cute for pictures, too, as both Nat and I managed to forget our phones (Hey, getting everyone out of the house by 9 on a Saturday is no small feat!).  A couple moments I want to remember:  Ivy and Nora carefully tracing and coloring in their handprints on the tablecloths.  The 'big boys" flying paper airplanes and drawing in more and more friends over on the side of the room.  The children screaming with excitement, rock-concert style, when the guitarist announced he would be playing the ABC song...

 Then, off with Ivy to the Curesearch walk.  As I posted to Facebook, it was a beautiful day to wear purple.   I didn't know too many people at the walk this year.  A few of the other Mama Speakeasy regulars, and enough of their little ones running about that Ivy was soon off and playing as we waited for things to begin.  My friend Kate noted that it felt wrong to have our children here, running and playing and glowing in the sunshine and being so.... alive.  And it did.  Of course it felt wrong because nothing about childhood cancer or Rebecca's story could be anything but wrong.  

And yet.  A part of me can't help but think that having our children dance and glow in the sunshine is the only way to make anything right again.  If Rebecca could have been there, she would have been running and dancing and glowing too.  I soaked up the joy of our living children in her honor, and appreciated it in the marrow of my bones.

But it was still hard to clap for the survivors.

 Silver lining of the morning:  Meeting this lovely young lady, Sophie, and her mother, and another neighbor of theirs.  Wonderful people, who have been wandering in the same circles as us all this time and yet our paths had not yet crossed. We all walked together, with Sophie taking charge of Corydon.  She had so much love and enthusiasm for my dog, and such a contagious joy about her; a delightful child.  I am hopeful I'll get to cross paths again soon with these new friends, and I am grateful to Rebecca whose spirit is still working among those of us who love her.

Nat and Jack picked us up at Wade Oval because one cannot waste a moment of this intoxicating weather when there are so many festivals to attend...  We headed to Edgewater to check out the Neocycle event-- and we fell in love.  We were there for the Cyclecross race, which was fun to watch if a bit disorienting, as cyclists wove this way and that around the beach and throughout the festivial itself.  We enjoyed a decent band and some pretty good swag and the overall laid back vibe of "The Hub", but even more we just enjoyed being at Edgewater on this gift of a day.  Our children jumped in the surf and and the dog swam and rolled and basked and I wanted to freeze time with my feet in the sand and the lake breeze on my face and the treetops just barely tinged with red and gold.   Magic.

Today:  After spending the morning cleaning Jack's room (all I can say is, about time we did that.  Phew.)  we headed back to the lake to visit the Ingenuity festival (disappointing and disorganized this year, in my opinion) and a redux of Neocycle (just about a perfect event, in my opinion, but maybe that's the "frisbee on the beach" talking...).

Assembling robots that were cut out of wood on a laser printer.

Making stickers (Jack's favorite part)

Not nearly enough of these large scale art-y exhibits this year...

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Ivy had a great time finding these banners and posing for "selfies" to earn herself some fingerless gloves from the swag table.

  Apparently there were several other fall-ish festivals in the area this weekend and we could have been out in the country celebrating the harvest.  But I can't imagine a better place to spend this last blast of summer than in the heart of our city, next to our great lake.  There'll be time for fall next weekend. ...

Flying solo

I remember a time when my babies were babies, tiny, squalling, utterly dependent things, and I used to dread the nights that Nat went off to teach.  Home alone with Jack when he was so so new and  was so so scared of doing anything wrong... or home alone with  the two, confident in my ability to keep the newborn alive at least-- but not sure how to divide my attentions to meet the needs of a toddler as well.  I made it through those nights, each and every one-- but not without a hefty dose of anxiety and an ever-increasing respect (nigh, awe) for single parents.  (I still don't know how they do it!)

So it must be a testament to my veteran status, then, that these days instead of dreading my solo-parenting days, I am finding a certain magic in them.  It seems that when I know I'm the only one on duty, I am much more careful with my attention to the tiny details of parenting, and to the children themselves.  I am much more likely to plan activities with the kids in mind, crafting often-ambitious outings centered on having fun together, not just getting through the day. And all that careful focus means I am more likely to notice and hold on to the little moments of joy that make it all worthwhile. Looking back over the past few years, I find that many of the events I remember most were "just me and the kids."   Attention is a magical thing.

Of course, my wonderful husband needs to know-- when I am the only one on duty, it also makes me intensely grateful that I can look forward to sharing the job again soon!

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Today's solo-parent outing was even more memorable than most thanks to the addition of two extra children.

Love that full van!

And I love the magic of adding someone else's children into our mix.  These two sweeties, Evelyn and Hadley, are a great fit.  It was a pleasure to be their "childcare" for this day off of school, as they entertained Jack and Ivy magnificently the entire time.  I think in this case four is less than two...


When you have four kids for the day, what is there to do but go to the zoo?  It wa a totally great idea.

The weather was perfect, warm and clear and shining with yellow-fall light.  

Dance recitals in the monkey house, of course.  We also had the bonus of running into another Boulevard family in the Aquarium, and our combined group of 6 played and explored and looked out for each other for the better part of an hour as we moved through the zoo.  Cleveland is such a shockingly small town sometimes...

Jack ate his lunch on this camel.

Fabulous play area by the new carousel.  Totally worth schlepping four tired kids up a hill.   We also got to see a newborn giraffe, which would have made the trek worthwhile all by its spindly-legged self.

Wildlife carousel.  We rode the Artic Animals.

These two, one year apart, are a grand match.  They are two peas in a pod with the way they pretend, and they share so many interests.  And, on the way out of the zoo, they stopped about 10 times to share their ice cream and rock candy, each holding their treat out for the other to take a lick.  Too cute!

In the light of today, I might almost forget about our picture perfect time at the Gardens last night.

The evening was too perfect to stay indoors, so as soon as we could get an early dinner out of the way, I bundled my two into the van and dragged them to the Children's Garden.  Given a choice, I think they would always choose to stay home.  You know, there's a TV there.  But at bedtime last night, when we talked about our favorite part of the day, they both mentioned moments from our Garden trip.

I am really glad we went.

Festooned in pumpkins and haybales, with fire circles going and the smell of wood smoke in the air, and crickets serenading us from the tall grasses, the Gardens were a fine place to be.

We planted seeds, and made mud pies, and read books in the tree house.

 I love the Children's Garden all the time, but it was extra special last night.   Almost empty, diffused with soft dusk-light, it was ours.  We took our time, explored all the paths, sat on the bronze frog and pumped water for the plants.  After, we bought treats and ate on the patio with the remaining hipsters lingering from the beer-tasting class earlier in the evening.   Night fell as we shared Doritos and cookies and push-pops.  The battery on my phone died and I am so grateful that it did, because I was able to be fully present and really enjoy being with these two unique little people I am raising.  I'm a pretty lucky mom.

 Throwing these pictures in here even though we had two parents along for this outing... :)

After our outing today, and a few more hours at home with the assembled masses, we decided the only thing to do for dinner was to order Mama Santa's pizza and head to a pretty place.  Because seriously!  This weather!  It just won't quit!

The view from our picnic spot in the Fine Arts Garden.  We are so lucky to live where we do, that this is practically in our back yard. 

Look!  Foliage!  Right on cue, Autumn is stepping onstage...

 It was a blessing to step out of my routine today and just be "mom" to these two crazy kids today. Life is good.

Trolleys and puppies and blue sky days

Here's that wonderful weekend of ours, for your enjoyment.

A quick trip to Horseshoe Lake Park with mom on Wednesday evening.  The weather this week!  Intoxicating!  Calling us out doors, keeping us out late...

As we drove past Ivy's school at one point last week, she called out the window, "Hello School!  I love you!"  She really does love it.  Here she is in her element.

Back to Horseshoe lake on Friday.  This time: ducks!  And the most wonderful sunset over glassy water.  A peaceful evening with friends.

Saturday:  One of my favorite days of the year, the City Hop.  Another perfect weather day, and a city alight with happy people and sidewalk bands.  I love exploring our city and discovering new treasures.  This year--the Hingetown neighborhood.  Home to the most adorable coffee shop (where Nat and I enjoyed our first-ever vacuum-pot), a perfectly lovely tea shop, and a stunning art gallery in an old transformer station.  And bikes you can rent by the hour with your phone, too.   I'm in love.

Saturday, too:  We got to meet Becca's new puppy-baby!  Louis!  I am in love all over again.

Sunday:  More dogs!  And another of my favorite days -- Woofstock at Holden Arboretum.  We thought we might be rained out, but the thunderstorms held off and we had a lovely time crafting and hiking and meeting happy friendly dogs in the breezy beautiful day.

A good week to you all.