THIS, Again

Things began to fall apart a little bit today.

We got freak snow that stuck around all day.

At least three friends started shit with their parents on social media/group texts.

The governor's stay-home order made some people so mad, they came from all over the state to protest by creating a traffic gridlock all over downtown including in front of hospitals. Genius.

Do-over Tuesday

It was too windy to walk today (I'd set off with L, T, and R earlier and bailed on them 10 minutes in), so Big A and I chatted inside instead. Scout and Huckie joined us too, but I don't remember what we talked about, actually.

It's Tamil (and Bengali and Malayali) New Year Day! Fresh start #4 or #5 if you're nominally Hindu--haha! It felt odd wishing people in the middle of a pandemic, but 2020 could certainly use a do-over.

When you love your big brother,

the governor's stay-home order sounds like a VERY good idea (to Scout and Huckie anyway)...

Also, At won't admit it, but he kind of likes sneaking peeks at This is Us, which I'm watching with Nu. 

Daffodils and Delights

A day that was full of surprises: for me--blue skies and a slope of daffodils and birds; for the kids--Easter baskets and an indoors easter-egg hunt.

I plan kids' presents way ahead of time, so I had most of what I needed. I added some candy, chamomile and lavender grow-tins, and lotions on my grocery run ten days ago and we were all set.

At and Nu really lit up with joy for the egg hunt. There were six clues, highly specific to us and extremely silly/simple. When they solved one, they'd find the next clue and so on...
Two here are princesses (in their head)

Sometimes they nap in their princess ----

When it's Friday there are things we do well:

getting bottus, praying to Jeji and ringing the ----

When it's dinner and it's time to eat,

this is where my butt finds a ------.

When the tea garden is in bloom like a glade

Nu- likes us to sit here and sip lemon----------

At put these together when he was a little buddy

Sometimes he sits here when he needs to ---------

When it's a smile on Mama's face you want to see

this is where you go to make her some hot ---------

It made me smile to hear Nu working out that last one "Not where Mama makes herself tea--where we make her tea!" (And hence not the stovetop in the kitchen, but rather the electric kettle in the rumpus room 😍.)

Brave New Nu

Well... the clippers I ordered arrived and Nu was quite insistent that they wanted their head shaved. "If not now then when, mama?"--which is a fair Q. Plus it was their "Boss Day."

On top of that, At pointed out that lots of people are doing it during the lockdown 

including health workers at the forefront of the the fight...

And so, voila:

Rising above

I want to be like Huckie!

Basics: Walks and Hugs

My kids seem ok with not leaving the house. Nu (a sliver of blue way back in this pic) has taken to getting through the daily exercise requirement by walking in the backyard with Scoutie and Huckie. At has cited "hell week" and "finals week" as excuses to not leave the house--like at all.

But all four kids have been absolutely amazing with support and kindness and love. Almost... carelessly? Yesterday around breakfast, At just ambled over and enveloped me in a huge hug. When I asked him how he knew I needed a hug, he said "when do you not need a hug?" It was kind of sweet and funny, and made me chuckle whenever I thought of it all day. When I thanked him for it at dinner, HE HAD NO MEMORY OF IT. Either he just thinks I'm super needy and throws me hugs all the time, or I'm imagining things now?