Love affairs

Yesterday morning was both sunny and warm enough to finally return to the farmers market. I have missed it desperately, so after their swimming lessons, the boys and I beat a path down to Dupont, found a great parking spot and headed in. They ate everything they saw, and I came home with some real treats. 

Can you even stand how gorgeous this bread is? I mean, you'd have bought it too, right? Indeed. Once home, I immediately made a sandwich with a wedge of it; dripping with peppery olive oil, salt, pepper, basil and tomatoes, avocado and chicken, it was so satisfying I nearly had another.

And how fresh and lovely is that head of lettuce I ask you?! It just made a fabulous lunch salad.

We were so happy to be there. Now if only the boys would talk a bit less next time...I'm serious. It was epic.

On the way home, we passed this tulip tree. It lives about a half-mile from our house, and every year I'm flabbergasted by its marvelously ostentatious display. It's Octomom-pregnant! DC in the springtime really can't be beat, aesthetically speaking.

Ol headed off to a birthday party, so I decided I best go for another run. Jack asked if he could join me, and I'll admit that I was hesitant at first. His coordination skills are not always tremendous. He's been known to fall down while simply standing in place, and I wasn't sure I wanted the equivalent of Phoebe from Friends (remember how she ran?) tagging along behind me. But he was so earnest and darling, and I would love a good partner, so...

4.2 flipping miles later -at a 9:39/minute pace!- this awesome kiddo and I arrived home. I remain floored by his running prowess and am unbelievably proud. T attempted to join us, but when we circled back at mile 3, we found him panting on a bench. He has wide, flat, plank-like paddle feet which is one reason he was a good swimmer but is also why running is not his best activity. He drove home which was a good call. 

Last night, still amazed by Jack's out-of-the-gate run in inappropriate shoes (he was wearing those heavy, light-up shoes kids like; they don't even have laces!), I was certain I'd done something dreadful to him and that he'd wake up paralyzed. I may have even shed a few tears worrying about it.

No, he popped out of bed and isn't even sore. Did I mention he talked the entire time? I mean, that kid could probably run a damn marathon tomorrow if he closed his mouth to conserve the energy he spends verbally.

It's so cool to have your children knock your socks off in a good way. Maybe you've underestimated them, or maybe you just don't realize how capable they're become as they grow up. It's like a niece you haven't seen in a year, and so in your mind, she's still just walking and not really talking. Then you see her, and she's running and is a motor-mouth but it's dissonant, because she stopped growing when you last saw her, right? Except of course she didn't; your mind just froze in time.

With your kids, whom you see every day, it's the same but different: you recognize that they're changing but you don't see the changes as dramatically as you do when your times together are years apart.

And then boom, one day your eight-year-old  runs alongside you for more than 4 miles and says, "When we're done, I want a double high five and a hug. And then, I want to do this again together next weekend!" and you think, "Wow, when did this happen?" And it's cool.

Springtime in DC

I have a huge surprise for you: my children talk incessantly, and it's way too much. Oh wait, I've mentioned that before. Heh. By and large, spring makes everything and everywhere prettier than it was. The colors are richer, brighter, more alive. New buds everywhere give the impression of a true sentient awakening in our non-animal kin. You realize just how much has been going on all these cold months; though things may seem dormant or dead, stuck in the deepest of torpor, such is not the case for many a being. Many cities have been thoughtfully landscaped and tended over the years, but D.C. must surely be one of the most beautiful during this season of rebirth.

NIK_3020 NIK_3021 photo (14) photo (15)