Friday, May 07, 2010

Diary

Alison has a small Hello Kitty notebook she likes to write and draw pictures in. Last night she started calling it her diary. She laid on the living room floor with the markers and crayons and started drawing and writing in it. Oliver laid next to her with some construction paper and made Mother's Day cards, which he then presented to Silas, cheerily saying "This is fo you, fo Mothew's Day!!".

After Alison was done, she came up to me and told me she was going to give me my Mother's Day present. She said that her diary was only for her and I to look at, and then she sat on my lap and proceeded to explain every page to me. It was amazing. I couldn't help but think of the future, when there is no way in hell she would EVER let me look at her diary. When, in fact, I may be THE LAST person she'd ever want to see her diary. Well, me, Silas, and that boy she wrote about she has a crush on.

It's little memories like this I hope I can cherish forever. It also makes me think anew that it sure sucks they have to grow up.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

The first girl to break his heart


Last week Alison won a blue ribbon at the Science and Arts Fair for her science project. She made a model of the solar system. The day of the fair she also had to go into a room with a bunch of judges she told me she didn't know (see-no favoritism!), and answer questions about her project. We made her do the whole thing herself, so she knew all of the answers. Wait, I guess saying we MADE her do the whole thing herself sounds wrong. She WANTED to do the whole thing herself. In fact, when we first started talking about the science fair and what projects she could do she told Si "Dad, I want to do the one that takes the longest and is the hardest."

We were kinda' late and they gave the kindergarten awards first, so we missed it. When we walked in her teacher grabbed her and took her up to the stage so she could get her award with the 3rd and 4th graders. This is how the teacher announced her: "Before we start the 3rd and 4th grade awards we have someone...well, I guess she acts a lot like a 3rd or 4th grader, but she's actually a kindergartner."

After they gave out the awards, we got to wander around and look at the projects. Alison hung out with a bunch of her classmates. Oliver cried. "I just want to follow hew awound!" I think I felt my heart break in two. I didn't want to tell him this will probably be the first time of many he would get left behind by his big sister. Later I told Ali that Oliver missed her, and she made a point to go up to him, give him five, and talk to him a bit, before heading out with her friends again. He recovered quickly, but I didn't. I can still see the look on his face and feel his teary little cheek on my shoulder. Poor kid. I suddenly feel bad about all of the times I did the same thing to my little brother.

working out on the deck

Carrying it into school.