Odds & Ends

I think this week is called "The Wall" here in the northern hemisphere. Everywhere I turn, people have just "had it" with the season and the weather. Admittedly it's been a little uninspired here too. I've managed to keep my moods in check (most of the time anyway) but except for little bursts here and there, it's been hard to drag myself to the keyboard. So here are a few odds and ends that are running around in my brain lately.

Today is a pedagogical day so my son is home from school. It means little or no studio time for me, Fridays being one of my usual "time for me" days but I am so acutely aware of the fact that he is growing up that I actually like having this extra time to spend with him. Check back in on Sunday night to see if I am still in that honeymoon stage. And a neighbor's boy, the same age as my son, is here with us for the day because both of his parents work. A good deal for all of us because they will play with each other a bit, allowing me to put some of my attention somewhere other than in a five-year old's world. But it got me thinking about being an only child. I have one sister, older by three years, so I know what it's like. It is only as adults that I can appreciate her presence in my life since we had a classic kind of older/younger sister relationship. My son is almost an only child. The almost because he has a half brother who is 21 and living on his own. When he was three, my son asked me if he could have a brother or sister. I almost choked, but I guess he was looking at some of the other kids he played with and saw opportunity to have other live-in kids in our house. I had to let him down lightly with the "no" to that request. So in some ways I imagine it can be a bit lonely for him not having brothers or sisters. In other ways it means he gets more - more material things but more importantly more of my time and attention. Maybe it's a wash.

Something else that has come up this week I saw first over at Oreneta's blog, called Blog Green. It's an interesting project where you do your part to pick up in your own neighborhood. I like the idea of taking responsibility for cleaning up my corner of the planet. Yeah, it might not be my garbage but let's stop splitting hairs and just do it. Imagine if everyone had similar sentiments? I did sign up for the project but likely can not start until some melt has begun here. I'll post some pictures once spring has sprung.

And now my Thursday Riley, taken at the end of the day. His hands still make little motions when he is stirred while sleeping. Another little detail I will miss once he out-grows it *sigh*: