Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Indulge Me


That good boy was here most of the day. He comes in like the owner of the country, the ruler of the kingdom. And he knows he is.

There was no electricity when he got here. It was dark in the house but the rain was tapering off and we went out and found our first egg in a week. A huge green one and we were both overjoyed. I mean, I love my chickens and would probably keep them as pets but it's mighty nice to get eggs.

The rain cleared for awhile entirely and we went for a walk, up Main Street and to the post office. We talked to Ms. Liola, we discussed the power outage with quite a few folks. "Around eleven it should be back on, they said," was the word on the street. I hadn't even bothered to call it in.
And sure enough, just when we got home from our walk, we found the lights on again. Good timing for us although we didn't really do that much which required electricity, although we did some laundry, Owen helping by shutting the door on the washer, putting things in, pushing buttons.

I swept the floors and he found the old fireplace popcorn popper and used it as a vacuum. He didn't learn that here, I'll tell you. I never vacuum. He ran the popper over the floors as I swept them. We were a team.

He pulls chairs out from underneath the tables and climbs on them and then proceeds to belly himself up on the tables, too. He reaches for the camera, he hands it to me, finds a pen, hands that to me too. There is nothing safe from Owen.

We played on the porches and we went out to the garden. We looked at books and he found his dust mop for more cleaning. He emptied the cabinets and he spent a good fifteen minutes with a tube of tennis balls, opening it, taking the balls out, putting them back, replacing the lid.

He fed muffins to the dogs and ate pizza and yogurt on the run. We gave crackers to the chickens and every time one of them took one from him, he'd give a yelp of joy. He didn't have any major falls and he can tell me what the cow says, the rooster, the hen, the chicken, the cat. His meow is perfect. He can also tell you what the ghost says.

After we go through the litany of animals I say, "Owen, what does the grandmother say?"
He looks at me and I say, "I LOVE YOU!" and then I hug him up, tight, and he lets me.

I'll tell you something- this early evening darkness is killing me. It's not a joke, how the early fading of light triggers something sad in my brain. SAD. Seasonal Effective Disorder. What a great name.
Well. The days will continue to grow shorter until they turn that corner and then, slowly, they will become longer again. And until then, I'll hang on. You will too.

And we will have joys. My Owen, my friends, my incredible family. I found a note when I got home yesterday from Mr. Moon that said, "You are the love of my life." He has no idea what those notes mean to me.

I'm going to go make a salad with just-picked arugula. It doesn't even know it's dead yet, those peppery greens. And carrots, shredded and orange. And celery and dried cranberries and chicken and tomatoes, too. I'm going to throw everything in there. Mr. Moon will be home soon.

Tomorrow I call the doctor. Tomorrow I will do that.

And then I'm going to go to town and buy the fresh cranberries and pecans to make the cranberry orange relish for Thanksgiving and more pink yarn. I'm knitting up a storm and these old hands wake up hardly able to turn the fan off but I don't give a shit.

Busy hands are damn good things.

The rain has cleared. The sun has set. Owen discovered puddles today. He walked right through them and was happy.

And that made me happy too.

28 comments:

  1. Owen is something else. Those chubby little feet in that last photo make me want to give his piggies little kisses...dirt and all.

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  2. A big precious boy.

    Please do call the doctor...we need you healthy.

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  3. Doctor?? yes- call the doctor. dont make me worry...

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  4. :-( get well soon...that sweet owen needs a healthy grandma...oh how cute his lil face looks on the first pic:-)))

    talking about early darkness..over here..it rains since days..and at 4 o clock its getting dark..really dark..as dark as it is in the ass of a whistlepig....:-(

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  5. Rebecca- I kissed them plenty. Believe me.

    SJ- I promise. And promising you makes me know I'll do it.

    Screamish- Ditto, love.

    Danielle- What the hell is a whistlepig?

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  6. Oh, so many paragraphs made me teary-eyed (in a good way). Love how Owen says that Grandma says "I love you" and love the love notes from your man. And your salad you make from love. I love hearing about how you two feed the chickens.
    I've been wanting to tell you that all week your posts are like a Sunday sermon to me.
    I hope you feel better soon.

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  7. So glad to read your post and see those great pictures of Owen. Yes, tell the doctor the burden you've been bearing, and make him hear you. (Her?) SAD is awful. Take extra vitamin D and get all the sun you can, that's what my new doctor told me. I like her. She has me on low dose hormones to get back to some kind of normal, and I'm feeling a bit better already. Now if she could just make me less old! Glad you had a good day with the boy, a new egg, a new note, a yummy salad. All good things.

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  8. Adorable boy. If you call the doctor I'll get the bloodwork I've been putting off...

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  9. These days with the early sunset make me feel stuck in a permanent twilight - like waking up in Tokyo with jet lag. I feel like my eyes are never quite open all the way.

    Let's all call our G.D. doctors!

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  10. DTG- I hope he tells us.

    Michelle R- Owen doesn't say "I love you." I do. He will, though. Soon enough. I am so glad you are enjoying sermons from the Church of the Batshit Crazy. They are really coming from the batshit heart these days.

    Mel- I am actually considering the hormones. But maybe not. Who knows? Hell. More Vit D. Yes.

    Leslie- Okay. I'll report in tomorrow.

    Lisa- GD doctors. Fucking doctors. Damn. If we didn't have these bodies which go haywire (and these minds, too) we wouldn't need them!

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  11. Even with the rain, looks like you and Owen had a fab day.

    Here not only is it dark too early, it's also cold, snow covered and now foggy. UGH!! Just keep holding on.

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  12. I so remember when my boys discovered rain and puddles -- we get so little here it was always a momentous occasion when it rained! Thanks for prodding my memory with your adorable Owen.

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  13. Hahaha, I too just thought, what the hell is a whistlepig. I promise to find out if he doesn't come back and tell us.

    Owen is such a clever good sweetfaced boy. ah, the Zoo of the New :)

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  14. PS can you get a SAD lamp? The daylight ones?

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  15. oh a whistle pig..its actually the forest whistlepig i meant..its..a animal...once in the mountains one jumped on me!..more or less..

    its this:

    http://www.brandenblog.com/wp-content/gallery/stuff/punxsutawney-phil2.jpg

    they are known for having very dark rear ends..just..the way it is dark here in aix la chapelle from 4 o clock on

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  16. It's fun to hear about Owen's visits. The way you talk about it is like reading a story. And we all get to watch him grow up and be so smart together.

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  17. He's a sweet sweet boy. You're a sweet sweet grandmother.

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  18. Mel's Way- Thank GOD we don't have snow. I mean it. How do you stand it?

    Elizabeth- Owen seemed so surprised when he walked through a puddle. Like- what? What's that water doing here?

    Jo- I get plenty of hours of sunlight. Believe me. It's just that early turning...

    Danielle- Yep. That's what we call a ground hog. I like whistlepig better though.

    Jill- Well, I'm grandmother. I must do these things.

    DTG- Let' start saying, "Happy Whistlepig Day!"

    Lora- I am a sweet grandmother. It's easier to be sweet as a grandmother for some reason.

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  19. I'm down. That's the end of "groundhog" for me.

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  20. i like whistlepig too..:-)

    we really should get a happy whistlepig day:-)..this could be a official holiday at the church of bat shit crazy no?

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  21. DTG- Done.

    Danielle- We do have Groundhog Day over here. It's not just a movie. Do you? But yes, I think that Whistlepig Day should be the first official holiday of the Church of the Batshit Crazy.

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  22. ohh there is a groundhog day..and a movie??? nobody ever told me..how cool is that!!!

    well..the church of the batshit crazy is so wonderful it needs a own holiday..:-)

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  23. What do grandmothers say: I love you. That is priceless and not like that Visa priceless commercial shit either. TRULY PRICELESS.

    I have the SAD, too. This time of year, my ass just wants to sleep and sleep, so some nights I go to bed extraordinarily early. I just feel weary this time of year. Also, fucking X-mas is coming. I'll call you over X-mas, and our asses will chat and bemoan the season and have a few martinis. My ass has free long distance. Okay? Is it a damn date?

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  24. Danielle- You've never seen the movie? DO IT RIGHT THIS SECOND!!! Bill Murray. It's lovely.

    Ms.Bastard-Beloved- Well, that's what grandmothers say.
    And a date? You got it, babe. That's a part of the holiday I can truly anticipate with joy.

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  25. I love that boy and the things he does.

    Our littlest is also making me melt all the day now, talking goo-goo and grabbing my hands and licking my face, so you know you have a good taker for baby stories right here.

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  26. He is just too cute! Those cheeks! They're practically edible, aren't they?

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