we watched in awe and felt the heat on our faces and quickly walked under the glowing ash as it fell to the ground taking care not to catch any on our winter hats...christmas tree bonfire, mid-january 2015

late in the fall the air was cold...the little one was crying...the city blocks stretched long as we worked our way towards the river...something big was waiting to be explored by the boy who loves history and his dad who loves to teach it...around, up, down and through they went...and thanks to a pigeon and his bobbing head her tears dried up and she too explored and it turned out to be a day well spent aboard a ship so big that even living on the edge of nyc can't make it feel small...the intrepid sea, air and space museum, hell's kitchen, nyc.

we peeked around a home that's stood nearly two hundred and fifty years...out its blurry windows and into its rooms where george and martha washington slept and ate and read and worked and we walked up and down its steep stairs where the four ford children would have surely walked or ran or played...we wondered if we would have given up our home at a time of war to this man and his wife and their five aides and eighteen servants in the winter of 1779...ford mansion, morristown, new jersey.

we hiked down to the river...past small waterfalls and signs of fall...we held hands and sometimes each other as we hiked back up again...stopping to catch our breath and the last of the summer sun...early september, hacklebarney state park.

 

i love the way her pigtails are never straight...i love the way she likes to use a hiking stick because her brother does...i love the way she likes to lead...and the way she always looks back to make sure i'm not too far behind.

the battleship new jersey launched on december 7, 1942 and was commissioned for service in world war II (1943), korea (1950), vietnam (1968) and off the shore of beruit (1983)...after being decommissioned for the final time in 1991 it began life as a museum in 2001 on the camden waterfront in new jersey...we visited a few weeks ago and the future historian in the house definitely approved.

first signs of spring...we are ready for you...keep on coming...

a stretch of days a few weeks ago just warm enough to leave the coats at home but not warm enough to venture into the stream...for me, perfect...for my little friends, a hard line to walk...at least they tried.

i love that he chose the old school roller skates with the bright orange wheels and worn-in leather over the sleek black inlines...i love that he set a goal..."if we make it around three times, that'll be real good"....i love that he asked how i got so good at skating even though it took us about an hour to reach his goal...i love that he made me remember all those laps around the basement my sister and i did as kids...i love that he thought i would win the parents race even though the only ones racing were the dads...i love that i knew he was right.

last week i followed behind the boy with the ever-growing feet...wading through the leaves gathered on the surface...discovering an artist's hidden work...waiting (so patiently) as his mama wondered at the yellow hearts that danced above their heads and at the sunset colored grass beneath their feet...thinking he wasn't seen as he took his first steps on the tree that stretches across the stream...knowing that yes, actually, he was.

visiting our csa farm...for the girls means walking and talking...cutting and arranging...unlimited stems...it hurts to stop.

up high...at my parent's house...decorated windows...changed with the season....for those outside looking in or inside looking out...never asked her...never wondered until now.

a birthday party for a little girl who loves horses..i know a little boy that's quite fond of them now too.

visiting the county fair...remembering its fun to venture out in dark ...watching happy faces each choose a ride...strapping one in, watching the other do it on his own...holding my breath until the rides are finished...knowing daddy is doing the same...sitting in the middle on the ferris wheel..holding on tight...not wanting to let go.

looking at art ...often he is attracted to a piece for one reason...then walks away loving it for another...

artist: julian schnabel