boo, why, bock, ed

Looking back now on last year when we had Teague in occupational therapy for his supposed developmental delay, it all seems so silly and unnecessary. And yet, I'll never know if he is where he is today in part because of the therapy- who knows, maybe he'd still be lolling around on his back at 22 months. In any case, things have certainly progressed quickly over the last five months. Master Teague has developed whole new levels of confidence. He walks and runs with authority, can climb up on things like chairs and tables, and can walk up and down steps holding a railing. He mostly can feed himself with a spoon and fork, though sometimes he still prefers to have mommy or daddy do it for him (kind of like when I used to fight with him about holding his own bottle). His language is accelerating and he picks up new words every day, like "backpack" referring to the baby backpack I use to carry him (though it sounds like "Bop Pop" coming from him). He has surprised me by successfully identifying colors in a variety of settings (boo, why, bock, ed). He is fascinated by his shadow, which the other day I pointed out to him that if he waves, he will see his shadow wave back, and so now, every time we walk down the street he waves and waves, all the while watching his shadow wave back. He loves to play hide-not and go seek-not, which is this game where you say "Teague, can you go hide?!" and he runs screaming and laughing into the next room where he proceeds to just stand there and wait for you to come get him. He's scribbling with markers, loves stickers, and can easily do some simple toddler puzzles.

So, this is all both, for the written record I'm keeping here, and also to also make the point that the young guy is coming along just fine, thanks for asking. Mira is still stressed and hard at work, and now I'm starting to feel stressed as well, thinking about revising the resume, getting daycare worked out, actually getting a job in this economy, etc, etc. Which is too bad because I've been so relaxed, in fact, more relaxed and happy than I have been in a long long time. Now I can feel the concerns of corporate work, scheduling, tight timelines, long workdays, and worst of all, less time with Teague. I'm gonna have to get the business casual clothes out of the closet, GACK!!!! OK, I've got to try not to spend my time here complaining. That's it- no more negative broadcasts, but I will keep everyone updated on this next great shift in our family life that is due to occur sometime in August.

It's all about the Garden

I'd like to think that we could safely call it summer now, if it were not for the fact that last night it dipped down into the 40's (again) and it is almost June for cryin' out loud... The last month or so has been all about the garden, or rather, the new garden plot. We found out the first week in May that we had finally come to the top of the list for a coveted spot in the community garden. I had always envied those lucky folks I'd see behind the fences, hoeing their rows, watering, harvesting and even sitting outside having dinner with wine as butterflies and birds flitted about in the late and mellow sun of summer evenings. My great aspiration this year, as I had assumed we would NOT have a plot again this year, was to buy a bunch of containers and potting soil and to grow many vegetables up on our deck. I had already invested pretty heavily in bags of soil and plastic pots, which were more expensive than I had anticipated, when we were informed of our good fortune.

Now, every morning, Teague and I walk out along the cool, concrete and brick corridors of our urban neighborhood, cross busy streets aflow with AM traffic, and unlock the gate to the community garden were we are blessedly transported into a different world. Not only is it great therapy for me, but it gives Teague an opportunity to run around in a relatively safe, concrete free zone, though, I have to note, not entirely free of concrete. In fact, despite that many people have farmed and eaten vegetables off of this large plot of land, I have some reservations about the quality of the soil. I took over a plot that appeared to have been largely neglected the previous year. It was massively overgrown with weeds, wickedly prickly bushes of unknown genus, and the strange detritus that drifts in from off the streets, including little crack baggies- or at least that's what I assume they are, because you sure couldn't fit a sandwich in one of those little things, not even a finger sandwich. As I cleared the plot (10'X20') and turned over the soil, I kept turning up what appears to be construction rubble. I've discovered pieces of eyeglasses, power cords, many bricks, concrete, and other enigmatic pieces of junk. Supposedly this garden was built on top of abandonded homes that were torn down and hauled off, though, obviously, not entirely.

Well, so far I've managed to mostly kill most of what I tried to plant. I grew seedlings in the big sunny kitchen window, and they looked pretty good. I even tried to "harden" them according to web-gardener recommendations, but maybe this spring has just been too tough.

I only have a little over two more months of taking care of Teague and being the at home Dad. I just don't know what I'm going to do when I have to give this up. I love being at home and watching Teague grow and learn. I love cooking our family healthy meals and taking care of the house and garden. As I write this I'm looking out the window at sunlight on brick, newly verdant trees along our street, and a fine breeze is coming through the office window. But I turn away and look reluctantly at that resume on the screen.