indoor magic

I spent the morning sorting dusty boxes and handing carefully torn pieces of scotch tape through a small attic door to a 12 year old child.  It's not how I wanted our morning to go but last night she had asked if she might have the space under the attic eve for a playhouse and for whatever reason I had said "yes". 

The real plan for the day had been a few rounds of Name That State, a little reading and writing. Perhaps if things went well History- you never know.  

I was up at 6 am to run and shower before the house was awake enough to stop me. By 8:30 I was making a small dent all the household laundry that had been set aside for BC's work clothes. 

I made Beach a breakfast of toast and banana-strawberry smoothies. Drank a few cups of coffee and started the job of pulling the assortment of holiday boxes, forgotten crates, and home schooling books from the dark, cramped, & sloping storage room. 

By 11:00 Beach having helped empty & vacuum the space was taping Christmas tree lights to the unfinished drywall. 

By 11:15 she had moved in and shut the door. 

I could have said no. That would have been easiest. After all she is 12 now, does she really need a play space?  One that experience tells me will be abandoned in a matter of a few short weeks.  

And until then, the displaced boxes will have to be put somewhere. It's up to me to figure that out where in this little house to fit them.

I could have put her off saying, "not today" or said something ridiculous like "let me check with your father" or the one the kids hate the most "let me pray about it".

But I said "yes".  So now she is behind the walls eating lunch like a little mouse.  A happy little mouse.  

Score one point of light for childhood.   

  

solo

As BC was loading his truck to leave he pulled a red solo cup half full of fresh picked pine nuts from the cup holder and gave them to Beach.  

She sat right down where she had been standing to try to figure out how to eat them.  

She had never seen pine nuts before.  

After he pulled awayI found her still sitting where he had left her.

"He won't be home for Halloween, will he?" She asked not looking up.

"Sorry kid, it doesn't sound like it."

 "That's okay, these are really good."

fun out with weekend dad

Yeah, I'm a little grumpy and I don't think it has anything to do with my bowling score or my sore knee (which bowling didn't help much).

It might be the whole instant family moving through the weekend like we are speed dating each other. It rubs me the wrong way. And I know I should be grateful for the time BC spends at home but at this point I'm really not. 

There is a lot of stepping on each other's toes and a lot of general confusion about how the house & kids run these days. 

A 10 minute discussion on the appropriate place to park a car when the driveway is occupied sort of makes me want to run from hills. 

But he really is cute. 

We fixed dinner together, turkey meatballs & vegetable pasta, no one was stabbed. Kitchens really are the most dangerous room in the house. 

I know he is trying to balance 2 world at once. Living on a job site for over a year must make home seem like a foreign country. The first night he was here I jumped into bed on his old side where I have been sleeping for over 6 months. Then I remembered he needed to sleep somewhere so I moved to the middle... 

He heads back to Moab in a few hours. The plan is for him to stay there until the house is done. Rumor sets that date about Nov 5.

He has jobs lined up here in SLC waiting for him.

We have Beach's gymnastics meet season with all the travel, stress, & fun hanging over the horizon.

All I know for sure is I'm done. 

But done at what, that I don't know.

Utah's Wasatch Reptile Expo