Monday, October 10, 2016

Bless The Mothers, Bless Their Babies


Jessie brought her boy out to see her daddy and mama today and we had a very fine time with them. Now- let me stop right here. A momentous thing happened last night in that both Lily and Jason witnessed Magnolia June taking three steps at a time.
As in- she is starting to walk.
But August, who is three months older than his cousin, has no interest in walking whatsoever. He can rise from a sitting position to stand all by himself but when he wants to get from one place to another he does a crab crawl like none other I've ever seen and he is fast and except for getting his hands dirty as he goes, there seems to be no reason whatsoever (in his mind, at least) that he should simply walk. Now, I can't wait for him to start walking because he's such a skinny little monkey and when he does start walking he's going to look so adorable because all babies look like drunken monkeys when they walk and he's going to be the cutest little skinny drunken monkey on the planet.
Perhaps he knows this and is preserving his dignity whereas Maggie just wants to keep up with her brothers and is not overthinking the situation.

So. Okay. We have this little Radio Flyer push trike sort of a thing out here that I believe my ex-husband and his wife gave us when their grandchildren had outgrown it, knowing that I had grands who could and would appreciate it. I gave it a quick wipe-down with the Fabuloso-vinegar-water spray today and we offered it to August for his enjoyment. He was so excited about it that he almost leapt from his mother's arms and when he finally got to it, he figured out everything he could do with it in about one minute.


This included standing on the seat and dare-dogging it. He rode it, he pushed it.
He loved it.


He figured out how to sling a leg over the seat and to get on or off it. He was the boss of that thing. 

Before he and Jessie left, I cleaned his hands of the Lloyd black dirt but he got them dirty again, escaping from the kitchen and making his way back to the porch and back to the trike. 

So he was amused and we were too. 

His Boppy babysat for him while Jessie and I went down to the Subway next to the Flannery O'Connor convenience store and got lunch which we brought back and ate as a picnic in the backyard. 



It was just the most beautiful day and the kind of day that makes you want to hit the road on a trip down long and interesting highways with no destination in mind, or perhaps to take a ride out on a river. Something. Anything.
But we stayed here and that was okay, too. We discussed the washing machine situation and Mr. Moon called a repair service and dammit, it costs so damn much to have someone come out and replace the shit that's broken that it's hardly worth it and I think we're going to end up buying a new one and, researching the blog, I believe that washer is only about five years old and that's a fucking sin. 
I don't know. 
Anything beyond picking out what sort of a sandwich I wanted was just too overwhelming for me today so we haven't done anything about it and have spent the entire day doing not much of anything beyond playing with that boy.


Well, that's all right. 
He's a good boy to play with and it was proven today that he is as happy as he can be out here in Lloyd with his grandparents and so he needs to start hanging out a little bit more and maybe giving his mama and his daddy some time off. 
It's not like we don't have any toys or anything interesting to look at or do. It's like a damn day-care around here plus, petting zoo, plus library. And snacks. Plenty of snacks. And porches to swing on and rock on and hang out on and mermaids to look at. August was fascinated by my mermaids, probably because they all have bare breasts. 
Or as we call them- nurseys. 

He's just such a delightful child, as all of my grandchildren are, and when he left he was holding a feather we found in the yard by the car and had tickled him with and was tickling his own head with it, and also a giant bear which I gave him because we have three giant bears and god knows, nobody needs three giant bears and he loved it.  

Despite all the joy he brought us, I have felt a bit under the weather and low-spirited and so have made a pot of garbanzo bean and everything soup, and have some bread rising. The laundry is piling up and I should have taken the garbage and recycle today but did not. 

Well, so it goes and so it is and tomorrow I guess we'll go buy some new expensive crap washing machine that'll get us through another five years and tonight I'll get in my bed and read some more of Springsteen's autobiography which I am very much enjoying. 

One more thing: 
It appears to me that every famous guitar player who ever lived had a mother who bought him his first guitar. They may have been cheap guitars, they may have come from the Sears and Roebuck, or they may have come from the Western Auto but by god, those women went out and spent every penny they did not have on an instrument for their kid and to a man, every one of those guitarists remember those guitars with almost obscene pleasure and are beyond grateful to their mamas. 

And oh yeah- almost all of these begged-for purchases were inspired by Elvis Presley's first appearance on Ed Sullivan. Or the Beatles. 

And that's your fact for the day from me. 

Love...Ms. Moon






18 comments:

  1. August may not be walking but look at him being all daring standing on that bike seat! My son walked at 10 months so I was really surprised when my daughter didn't bother to even try until almost 18 months. She didn't really crawl either. She just rolled.

    I know you remember the days of buying an appliance and it lasted forever. We just replaced our 6 year old fridge. In the end we just bought a much older model fridge from the time when appliances were made to last because not only was it cheaper it will probably last longer in the long run.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have to have front-end loader washers due to my space constraints although I am not sure at all that they're any better than the old top loader ones. They use less water, though. I don't know.
      August will walk when he's ready. He's perfectly happy the way things are now, though.

      Delete
  2. That picnic looks like the perfect thing. Jessie glows.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those pants! I just love it, the whole thing.
    After two washers in 7 years, our appliance guy said buy Maytag Bravo top loaders. Easy to work on, not too many electronics.

    ReplyDelete
  4. August is great! And the modern appliance thing is appalling.
    Such waste, not to mention the expense and hassle of getting new ones so frequently. Birdie's strategy makes sense. But I admit I kind of like the way my two year old washing machine sings and lights up like a pinball machine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are going to get this one fixed unless it's just so dire that it makes no sense at all. I'm disgusted at the thought of the waste.

      Delete
  5. LG makes a good front loader washing machine. I got the small one, which washes and "dries" (though not in the US sense, but that cycle is good for getting wrinkles out and speeding up line drying). I've had mine for at least 8 years now and not a bit of problem.

    That August is such a sweet light. Look at him stand up on and with the bike. He'll be taking off across the room any moment now. Wishing you many more afternoons with him. x0 N2

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I need a bigger washer. My husband's jeans alone take up about half a load size. I think we do have the LG brand here.
      August loved that little bike so much. He'll spend more time with it, I'm sure.

      Delete
    2. LG makes a super-size washer as well, for regular folks. I think I ended up getting mine from Home Depot, so, at least you know the mainstream stores in the US carry the brand. Check it out.

      Delete
  6. It might be worth calling the repairman even if it costs the same as a new washer -- because you're keeping the old one off the scrap heap. But then again, scrap metal is one of the few reliably recycled materials, so environmentally even getting rid of the old one isn't so terrible. (Can you tell I've been reading a lot about garbage? LOL!)

    I love August's pants -- with that silly face on the back. Hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Have a repairman coming tomorrow. I hope he can fix it.
      Yes. I love that little devil on the butt of his pants. It is hilarious.

      Delete
  7. August will probably walk any minute, but you know I'm a huge believer in osteopathy for babies - even the most straighforward of births puts them through a huge amount of torsion and tiny misalignments can have big effects on movement.

    Having said that, I think the kids who get speedy at the bum shuffles and crab walks are just so efficient at it they don't want to give it up for wobbling on two feet :) I've heard it said a good remedy is to give them *two* ricecakes, so they don't have a hand to put down any more :)

    I hope you feel better soon xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No one around here is worried in the least about August's walking schedule. So...there's that.
      If we gave August two rice cakes, he'd just sit on his butt and eat them and then go wherever he wanted.
      Thanks. I do feel somewhat better today.

      Delete
  8. I have finished Bruce's book. I am bereft. It is not long enough. I wonder if he could be by long lost brother. So many of the same experiences feelings Both being Born to run. And l have long wanted to come from NJ. As you know. Maybe l was swapped for the guitar. Am going mad due to book being finished. What now? Haven't even been at the gin. Glorious Book. Maggi x UK

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know. I'm not enjoying this book nearly as much as I enjoyed Keith's. Not sure why. Bruce is just so damn serious. And he's always been such a good Catholic. Sort of.
      I'm sorry! I'm enjoying it but it's not as much fun as Keith's, I'll tell you that.

      Delete
  9. Hope you feel better .Mary am on the same wheel with you Maggi xxx

    ReplyDelete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.