summer so far

Normalcy is back in full swing. Europe is but a vague memory for ST; however, she did comment today that she will be doing the Camino next year. 

Sophie's attending something that's somewhere between daycare and activity camp and seems to do neither very well.  This is the last week and she gets to hang out with JJ for the rest of summer.  JJ doesn't quite fully know this yet, but she will once she reads this ;-)

We've been having fairly lazy days, but we seem to fill them with lots of activities.  We've been hitting the pool a lot since we technically lose access to the pool in three days.  Sophie's had a couple of lessons, which seemed to be enough to get her to figure out how to swim a lot better on her own on top of water.  Underwater, she's like a fish, but on top of water has proven more challenging.  She can also jump off the diving board on her own with a life jacket and swim to the side. She's fairly fearless with the life-jacket on.  She's really progressed a lot this summer. 

We're still working on figuring out how to bike.  She needs a lighter bike.  But we did go take a 15 mile or so trip the other day in the whee-hoo.  She definately fits into that better now than in the past. 


This weekend will mark another milestone for ST. She gets a new-to-sophie house. She's v. excited because she gets what she calls a private park with a swing set, sandbox and fort in the back.  While this was for her, it was just as much for me.  I had perhaps the coolest fort growing up, so it seems only right that ST does too.  

Austria

Back from Europe

What an amazing month of travel for ST. We started off with two weeks in Spain where ST spent two weeks in a Spanish daycare during the mornings. She didn't love it, but didn't mind it too much either.

After Spain, we flew to Milan and drove to Lago di Ledro.  What a perfect spot to start a family vacation.  We kayaked and had dinner overlooking the lake.

We then headed for Austria.  We spent five nights in Lofer with not enough sun to go swimming, but enough to play.

At the end of our trip, we headed back down to Lago de Garda and found the most perfect campground and some sun again.  We ended with an evening in Sirmione and a dinner overlooking the lake. Ahhh, Italia.

Pictures forthcoming.

Guess what we ended up doing today?

Wait, . . . what now?!

How did this happen?

I was talking to Sophie about all of the fun things we could do today:

"We could go swimming; we could go to the bookstore; we could go to the mall and ride the rides; we could go for a bike ride,..."

"Oh!" Sophie said, "We could go to the store and buy me pretty clothes!  And shoes!"

Trying on Backpacks

And voguing, apparently

A rough couple of weeks for metaphysics

It's been a rough couple of weeks for metaphysical speculation and incipient existential Angst.

The mother of one of Sophie's classmates died unexpectedly.

Besides being enormously depressing and upsetting, this has led to a spate of questions I would really rather not answer, like:

“Daddy, when do you stop being in the ground when you died?”

Her mother and I have decided on a policy of honesty without offering any unasked-for details.  Much as with the question of where babies come from, Sophie seems to be content thus far to stick to broad outlines without asking too many followup questions.  It seemed likely that religion would come up.  We decided not to broach the topic ourselves, but to leave it alone if Sophie should pick it up at school, as it were.

And then her fish died.  This was much less tragic and not at all unexpected.  It was even the occasion for some light comic relief, since Sophie quickly decided that the fish's passing left the door open for a kitten (it didn't; it doesn't).

This wish for a kitten was a secondary reaction.  Sophie's first reaction was to recapitulate what I imagine to be the phylogeny of basic religious principles and burial rites.

On being told that her fish had died:

“OH!  Where is she?  I want to see her.”

On being told that said fish had been flushed down the toilet:

“I bet she’s happier there.  Is she happier there?”

On being told that the fish was happy there:

“Yeah, I bet that’s a better place for her.”

(As you can see from that last, already our principles crumble).

Much as her mother and I had suspected, it turns out that the kids at school have been circulating religious theories on their own.

“Dad guess what?”

“What?” 

“———’s mom that died used to live in the sky, like God!”

“Oh?”

“She flutters and flits!”

We've been reading chapter books about fairies and I think some of that got mixed up in there.

I'm afraid Sophie is already inclined to hereditary bouts of existential Angst: I was wracked with anguish at the incomprehensible thought that the sky never ends when I was six or seven, and Sophie has already made infinity one of her favored topics of conversation.  So though I would not myself offer Sophie any such spiritual palliatives, I'm pleased—as per my agreement with her mother—not to have to disabuse her of her notions.

Sophie seemed quite pleased with the idea of the fairy mother.  The above exchange was, on her part, delivered in a tone of happy exultation.  It seems likely that this will be her last word on this, for a while.  And for that, I say, pretty much unironically, thank God!