Invincible Summer

"There is often a paradox in adult minds. On one hand, we admire spontaneity; we speak of the free spirit, the unconventional, with at least a lingering trickle of envy. On the other hand...we let our own inferiorities and inhibitions stamp out the spontaneity in our children, and we let our schools and institutions do the same thing. If we are not careful, it becomes harder to preserve and protect in our children the joys they were born than to teach them new ones." - Linda & Richard Eyre (Teaching Your Children Joy)

Become the Sky

The butterfly counts not months but moments,
and has time enough. - Rabindranath Tagore

Dinner al fresco while watching two Red Admirals chase each other back and forth over our rooftop. One stopped on our hammock for a rest. A few moments later it darted to S's cheek for a quick kiss then playfully landed atop my head.

After a series of rapid arabesques, it came to rest upon a flower in our garden.

It opened its wings a few times, introducing itself in a display of color, then climbed onto my hand before sailing off once again.

*About Most Alive Monday: I've decided to make at least one "most alive choice" each day and post my favorite each Monday. This, of course, is to motivate me to consciously "live juicy"! I hope you'll join me and share your "most alive moment" in the comments section so we may inspire each other.

The Modern Dad's Dilemma: A Review by Papa Bear

And now a word from the Papa Bear...the mister Robert also known as The Great Robinsky...

Through his long experience in talking with and surveying children, John Badalament tells us that what children want most from their dads is a strong emotional connection with their fathers, and children want to know more about their dad’s own childhood. This then serves as an undercurrent for Badalament’s new book, The Modern Dad’s Dilemma: How to Stay Emotionally Connected with your Kids in a Rapidly Changing World. The book is a self-help guide for dads who want to figure out how to balance all of the competing interests for their time and attention, with a central component being creating and maintaining a strong connection with one’s own children. While the book has familiar self-help elements (including a series of challenging exercises in an appendix), at its heart it was, for me, a book about stories. Badalament interviewed a number of different fathers who bring with them an array of different backgrounds and experiences, however, for each the common thread is working to maintain a strong emotional connection with their respective children. The stories of these men serve as the centerpiece of each chapter in the book, bringing life and humanity to Badalament’s ideas. All of this directs each of us as a dad to create our own stories with our children - stories that have meaning and serve as a connective tissue in the relationship between father and child. For example, one of Badalament’s ideas for creating stories is via the development of a familial ritual that is performed by father and child. The ritual can be something simple, such an every Saturday morning outing for at breakfast at a bagel shop. The act itself is not the critical element – the critical element is the performance of the act in a sincere and deliberative fashion defined by active engagement.

Dads also need to learn the stories of their children – not just hear them, but to listen carefully and to know the details. It is this knowing, which children recognize, that serves as a way to forge a strong emotional connection with children. As dads we are also bridges between the past, present and future. We possess the stories of our own childhood, as well as whatever our own father’s passed on to us, be it good or not. Badalament asserts that in order to become a more emotionally connected dad, each of us must come to terms with our own relationships with our fathers. The appendix includes an exercise designed to facilitate this which I intend to engage in over the coming days.

I strongly recommend this book for any dad who is interested in developing or maintaining a strong relationship with his children.

Joyful Moments (and a winner)

"This moment contains all moments" - C.S. Lewis

There were many moments of joy last week. There was the moment where we wrangled some neighbors to join us on our weekly walk to the farmers market, then getting crafty with our friends from At Play Cafe next to the peaches. Watching S ride his balance bike back and forth through the puddle. Making it home before the rain. Seeing his little hands shell peas and how he said, "shelling makes NO sense, it should be called UN-shelling". When the doorbell rang and in bounded the neighbor's sweet kids (one with a fistful of clover flower) and how their mom sat on the kitchen floor with me to finish shelling. And then eating those delicious fresh peas for dinner with pasta and spinach ricotta pesto...

The Solstice picnic at his future school. The cool peeps there. The fun and challenging scavenger hunt with cryptic clues. The honey colored light. The one with the potato canon whose perfect imitation of some dismayed ducks brought me much laughter. The beautiful wee babe with the long toes. The boy who said, "you're really nice". Watching the kids catch fireflies while wearing the glow rings that I gave them. S pulling me in the wagon before sunset. The way he smelled of summer, warm cotton and sweet grass. When he spotted two planets in the sky on the way home and correctly identified Mars.

Making Father's Day pancakes with S. His excitement about flipping them all by himself. The carnival at Town Center. His first time on a Ferris Wheel. The moment when his expression changed from that of apprehension to one of joy.

*Because of his sensory processing, he's wary of new experiences...he wants to try them, but it takes him awhile to let go and have fun - the expression on his face (below) when he's in struggle is altogether heartbreaking for me, but his proud smile after facing his inner conflict and choosing joy is worth it.


















How he wanted to sample some carney-confections, especially the one that looks like insulation.

And that moment, unsure of the textural experience, yet wanting to say something positive he declared it, "very pullable".









His first time trying a snow cone and how LIME was the color of antifreeze. He said, "refreshing".



















His face as he came down the big slide and when he went back THREE more times. 

Saying YES to the dart game that he so wanted to play. When he popped the balloon on the first throw and won his prize!




















And how my mind flooded with childhood memories: Riding the Ferris Wheel with my grandmother. When my daddy played darts to win me a prize...how I was afraid of the sharp darts and the loud pop of the balloons. Riding the Merry-go-round, waving to my family as I rode by, and the loud music. My grandfather winning me a goldfish with a ping pong ball. My mother eating cotton candy on a paper stick.

Speaking of winners and joy...it brings me great joy to announce the winner of the Time to Remember Giveaway (drumroll)

Happy Father's Day to my late father

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! Thank you for taking me on expotitions in the woods. For wading in streams until our feet were numb. For teaching me how to find water. For unearthing sassafras root to delight my sense of smell. For waking me up and carrying me into the dark with the big kids to go find night crawlers with a flashlight. For sharing your love of art and creating. For playing games. For eating dinner with me in my playhouse. For the bonfire at the beach. For carrying me to my bed when I fell asleep in the car. For dancing with me on your feet. For making me laugh. I miss you.

Explore, Dream, Discover!

"Explore, Dream, Discover. " - Mark Twain

We had a little adventure... went to see the US premiere of Le Ballon Rouge! It was every bit as enchanting as the beloved film by Albert Lamorisse.
















Took a ride on a historic carousel...

Explored Footbridge Stream at Glen Echo Park...

Time to Remember (and giveaway)

"It was a time of innocence.
A time of "kick the can" and climbing trees,
of riding bikes and skinning knees,
of endless days and porch swing nights,
watching flickering dancing lights.
It was a time to remember." - Robert Nutt (Amy's Light)

As soon as the evenings grew warm, S began asking, "Is it firefly season yet?" And just as he got settled into bed, he would run back to the window for one last check. A few nights ago, as he lay sleeping, his dad and I saw the first flickers. We made plans to celebrate the following night with an outdoor reading of "Amy's Light". Satch put on his pajamas, grabbed a glow ring, listened and waited for the lights.

"In the night we shall go in...
and your hands,
your little hands and mine...
will steal the stars". - Pablo Neruda















Amy's Light by Robert Nutt is an enchanting story that truly reflects the wonder and innocence of childhood through the magical experience of catching fireflies. The illustrations are beautiful beyond words, lifelike, yet dreamy. The moonlight, the glow of the fireflies reflecting in the little girl's eyes...BREATHTAKING!

The generous peeps at Dawn Publishing are allowing me to giveaway a copy of Amy's Light to one very lucky reader...and you have no idea how happy this makes me.

Kindly leave a comment on the post (please include your email for winner notification) by midnight Sunday June 20th. Tell me about your earliest memory of fireflies or a firefly moment shared with your child. The winner will be picked by random generator and announced Monday June 21st.

Heavens

(S with prop from viking costume)

















Where are heavens?

Heavens?

Yeah...like human heavens and crocodile heavens?

Nobody knows because you can't see it with your eyes.

Oh...can you see it with your heart?

I'm not sure...I think so.

Maybe it's invisible.

Maybe.

I thought heaven was a kind of meat.

More and More

There’s a kind of white moth, I don’t know
what kind, that glimmers
by mid-May
in the forest, just
as the pink mocassin flowers
are rising.

If you notice anything,
it leads you to notice
more
and more. - Mary Oliver

Grassy Grass Grass

"Spring comes, the grass grows by itself" - Tao Te Ching

I've been looking for a drying rack for a growing collection of reusable water bottles. I wanted a rack that doesn't take up a lot of counter space, and is actually fun to look at.

BEHOLD!

Grass Countertop Drying Rack by Boon!

It measures just under 10 inches square and is made of dishwasher safe BpA-free, Phthalate-free, PVC-free plastic.

Under $20

*Boon donates 10% of their profits to charities specifically benefiting children in need.

Most Alive Monday: Free

The world was made to be free in...

Location: Discovery Woods

*About Most Alive Monday: I've decided to make at least one "most alive choice" each day and post my favorite each Monday. This, of course, is to motivate me to consciously "live juicy"! I hope you'll join me and share your "most alive moment" in the comments section so we may inspire each other.

Holding Animal Presence: Robin's Egg

Nearer to the earth's heart,
Deeper within its silence;
Animals know this world
In a way we never will.

May we learn to return
And rest in the beauty
Of animal being,
Learn to lean low,
Leave our locked minds,
And with freed senses
Feel the earth
Breathing with us. - John O'Donohue

We found the tiniest brightest blue egg imaginable on the ground. As I was holding the egg, I thought I felt movement because the sensation startled me. We looked everywhere for the nest it may have fallen from and found none. I called Wildlife Rescue League and they told me to find any active nest and slip the egg in. The mama bird will raise it as her own. We looked for quite some time and eventually found what appeared to be an active nest deep inside a flowering bush near our playground. I slipped the egg in it.

The following day, we walked over to take a peek. There was a mama bird sitting on it. Wishing the chick is alive and well and that we may hear some joyful peeps in the near future.

In the name of the wind, and the light and the rain...