Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Baptism Ritual At The Wacissa River


The flat dumplings came out fine and the boys said they did like them but not as much as the fluffy ones so we'll go back to the tried tried and true for future sleepover suppers. 



Would you look at those children's eyelashes? 

They gobbled them down and then Boppy headed them off to the shower while I sat at the table and leisurely finished my own bowl. After they were clean and in their pajamas, Boppy did the honors and made the root beer floats. Then teeth-brushing and tucking-into-bed where we read a book called The Little Tiny Rooster or something like that. The little tiny rooster saved the flock from a fox and all was well. That's the basic plot. 
I kissed them good-night and told them not to get up until 7:00 and they didn't. 
As far as I know, anyway. 

I really thought I slept poorly last night. It seemed to me that I was awake every ten minutes. However, this morning I discovered that we'd had a huge thunderstorm around two a.m. and I missed the whole thing so I guess I slept better than I thought. We didn't get much rain but I guess even a little is better than none. 

This morning after pancakes and bacon Levon asked me if I'd read him some books and of course that is nothing short of glory for me. He wanted to hear Amos and Boris for at least the thirtieth time and I was so very happy to read it to him. If there's another children's book as filled with feelings and philosophy as this book, I don't know what it is. I think that Levon has BIG feelings himself and perhaps he can identify with the tiny mouse and the huge whale who also have such immense emotions. By then August had joined us and he reminded me that we had not yet read Babar and the Wully-Wully so we read that too. I could have gone on all day long but if we were going to the river, we needed to get on with it and so we did. I packed watermelon and tortilla chips and salsa and we all put on our bathing suits and I sunscreened them up and off we went. There weren't too many people there and the teenagers obviously don't make it until afternoon because there were few there, doing their preening and daredevil jumping from the rope swing and walking in groups in front of opposite sex groups, and all the attention-getting things that teenagers must do because hormones force them into such displays. They have no more control over these activities than a peacock has when it comes time to spread his tailfeathers. 


The boys mostly played in the sand.


When Boppy and I got into the cold water though, they followed us and soon they were swimming around like little guppies and jumping off the dock with other little boys who all looked exactly alike. I am so very anxious when I'm the one in charge of making sure my grandchildren do not drown or get eaten by a gator. Overly anxious, to tell the truth, but I can't help it. It's the way I am. And of course the children all dart and run and go underwater and so I am constantly wondering where each of them is, having one tiny panic attack after another. 
But I did enjoy being there and I loved that first mermaid dive into the cold, cold water, feeling re-baptized once again. Washed clean of the heat, the stickiness, my sins and sorrows. 

After a few hours we came home and Levon wanted a peanut butter, honey, and raisin sandwich and I heated up chicken and dumplings for the rest of us for our late lunch. And then, after awhile, it was time to take August and Levon home and so I did. Levon fell asleep and August read his book, laughing out loud at the funniest parts. I delivered them to their mama and I am not going to talk about how hard it was to leave. 

I know. I KNOW. I'll see them very soon. 

There's a hawk in the back yard. He or she was sitting on one of the Bradford pear stumps a few minutes ago and then flew up into the magnolia branches. I rarely see a hawk perched that close to the ground. A Carolina wren whistled alarm notes for quite awhile and just now I saw the hawk swoop through the yard again. I have no idea what it's looking for. No babies chicks, that's for sure. But all activity at the bird feeder has ceased and I do not hear even a single chirp from the birds. 

Here's what August built today out of Lincoln Logs.



A two-room house and a very fine wagon. Could architecture be in his future? I had an uncle who was a well-known architect and of course, his daddy is an engineer. It is nice to see a child building something that does not involve Legos. 

And here's a picture of the African basil. 


Wasps are doing dizzy dives all over those blossoms getting drunk on sweet nectar, I guess. 

I'm going to make another squash soup. Tomorrow I have to pick beans. 
This is summer. And here come the cicadas, tuning up once again. 

Love...Ms. Moon



 

32 comments:

  1. What a lovely time you had with August and Levon! The thing about you Ms Moon is you already knew that, already felt it and knew that such a special time might never be repeated as the brothers grow older and less innocent day by day and month by month.

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    1. I am learning from my grandchildren, just as I learned from my children about how time and love and experience work. And I know you are learning too. It is so easy to think that we are old and so we are wise and we DO have a lot to impart to children but oh, we should never forget how much they have to offer us.

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  2. We get red tailed hawks in Nevada. Keep an eye out for your kitties! My, those boys are growing so fast. I’m a former librarian and love how everyone enjoys books. Love Rosie

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    1. I'm pretty sure this hawk couldn't pick up one of the cats. Not sure if it was maybe still a juvenile. I don't think I recognize your name, Rosie, but welcome! I do love librarians, former and current.

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  3. Those two grandboys are so beautiful- I’m so glad you get to spend so much beautiful time with them! - And they’re so lucky too! Xo, Rigmor

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    1. I think they are beautiful but isn't that what we're supposed to think about our grandchildren?

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  4. The Lincoln logs brought back memories of playing with them on a rainy day. The set we had belonged to my Dad originally.

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    1. Lincoln logs have lasted because they are such a great toy.

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  5. That is some great building! You may be right, an architect BUT also a dancer and an actor and an intellectual and a writer.
    The river looks most inviting- I would spend my life in that river if I lived there.
    I agree about the "dumplings" fat noodles are not dumplings in my book.

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    1. First off, I think you're right about the dumplings.
      And who knows what August will be? That child. He almost never stops talking until he starts reading one of his books. It's impossible for me to keep up with his brain.
      The river is as sweet as it looks. It is a miracle on this earth.

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  6. Your day at the River sounds great. The boys had fun. Swimming on a hot Summer day is glorious. The first dive really invigorates.

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    1. Especially in this river's cold, cold water! Spring fed.

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  7. Thumbs down on big noodles for dumplings! They are noodles. But big noodles in chicken soup are OK. I used to look at and admire the eyelashes on my nephews and grandsons. They are all grown men now and I cannot remember what their current lashes look like.

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    1. Yes. They are big ol' fat noodles. They're okay in chicken stew but they ain't dumplings.
      Ask your grandsons and nephews to send you pictures of their eyes so you can do a check on those lashes.

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  8. Those are noodles, dumplings are round. It's the law.
    The boys are still a little baby like, wanting the old favorite stories over and over! Future memories.

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    1. Well, you know what lawbreakers southerners can be. I guess if you grow up thinking those things are dumplings you'll always believe it.
      Yes. The boys do still have those sweet tiny child traits. I love seeing that in them so much.

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  9. The African Basil looks very much like what I know as Greek Basil, the bees surely do love it. Probably it's the exact same plant. I love the blue soup bowls! And I love the boys burying themselves in sand.

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    1. I have a Thai basil too. And what I guess we call a "regular" basil. All similar, all delicious.
      I have had those bowls for so long I don't even remember where I got them.
      I was impressed with the boys burying themselves. Little mermen.

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  10. What a wonderful time and the right kind of baptism. Those boys!

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    1. They are sweet boys, Mitchell. And that river is holy.

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  11. Sounds like a perfect day!

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  12. How lucky you are to be able to just pop down to that river to cool off (and have the weather for it). Not that I'd wax lyrical in the summer most likely, but still, you're very lucky!

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    1. Oh, I know! We are so very lucky to be able to drive there in fifteen minutes or so. And it's a pretty drive, too.

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  13. August looks so much like Glen to me.

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    1. When you look at Glen's pictures from when he was young, there is a resemblance for sure. But when you see August with his mountain cousins, you know for sure he's one of them!

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  14. I always worry about losing Jack, or breaking him. I'm responsible for him and I worry about him in a way that I didn't worry about my own children so much, so no, it's not just you.
    When I looked up those flat dumplings, they did not look appetizing. I like fluffy dumplings too.

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    1. Yes. With your grandchildren it's like we've been entrusted with their care and safety. Somehow it is different than with our own.
      Don't tell Glen but I agree with you about the appetizing factor of those dumplings.

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  15. Yes, the flat dumplings look like wide noodles but the soup still looks yummy. Glad you had your fun day at the river. Reading with the boys is such a treat. Thompson, Michael and I read one of the I Spy books the other day and we laughed and laughed at all of the things we couldn't find.

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    1. Is there ANYTHING better than truly, truly laughing with children? I can't think of anything.

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  16. That does all sound very summery! I had a similar night's sleep, complete with rainstorm which I mostly missed. And I only slept 5 hours!

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    1. Well, I must have gotten plenty of sleep because I felt fine the next day. I mean, somewhat tired due to being on kid duty but not so bad.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.