on delaying

7AM snowing lightly, one school's start time delayed, morning plan disrupted. There was a beat, and I had a thought about just dragging Linc along on my previously scheduled commitments after I dropped the twins at preschool.  Another beat.  Linc, excitedly: "Mama the last time it was just you and me was on Halloween!" A third beat in which I saw his swollen newborn eyes taking in the strange world around him and felt an immense sense of my life rushing past. Now, every plan for this day fading, tepid and unimportant.  I stop on the way home and buy him a lollipop and we return to the kitchen table to play his game of choice--Stratego--until the ice melted.  Brian Lehrer was on the radio talking about the debate last night and Lincoln had a million questions about a million details of an analysis I had thought was over his head. We talked about Trump and political parties and  Clinton and how primaries work and who might become our next president and when he'd be able to vote too. His miner blew through a few bombs and captured my flag just before it was time to leave. And we donned our winter coats and walked the few blocks to school with snow blowing softly on our cheeks. Just the two of us.

Sun/son

And schoolbus tent.

Sunday morning walk

With Grandpop.

derby day

Lincoln spent a grand pinewood derby day racing cars, eating Doritos, hanging with Dad and Grandpop, amazing his sister and brother and losing his 3rd tooth (or rather, Mama yanking it out, on request, right in the middle of the 69th heat). His cool design came in a pretty consistent 4th out of 5 each try and he enjoyed the thrill of it even so. A pretty successful first showing all around. 

dress up duo

Today, 7:47 AM. These two are in full swing. 

too loud

TOs and FROMs

Making things for other people just to show them you like them and you care that they are in this world. Making things that require a fair amount of your time. Time away from what you were just doing right now. Making things that your parent could totally just make in your stead if she was into lying and raising lazy selfish jerks. 

With these kinds of projects, the twins are mostly ambivalent and occasionally hostile.  Linc is *just* starting to come around (although he teeters on the brink of that selfish abyss when faced with a few dozen TOs and FROMs: "My teacher said you can either bring something for everybody or for nobody.... I was thinking maybe nobody.") But he eventually found some motivation in the prospect of making people laugh with Star Wars jokes.  And O & Z were actually fairly eager to make a mess with Zeph's fingerprint kit from Aunt Debbie. So these three kids did some amount of creative work. They made their respective marks.  I'd call this a slightly less self-centered enterprise than it was last year.  I'll take it.   L seemed most excited about addressing an extra card to himself and the little guys actually do not show any signs of understanding the concept of exchanging valentines at all. 

But I'll get them yet.  Just you wait.

starry eyed

pinewood preparation

Lincoln has always been keen on engineering and design (I've got an archive full of his detailed schematics for battleships, spaceships and fantasy worlds), but today he emerged from his perpetual imaginative state and turned one of these plans into a prototype.  John supervised the design and construction phase and I dug out the paints for the finishing process. Lincoln sawed and sanded and made design adjustments midstream, and hammered and carved and painted. And made a little car with fins. A "future car" he calls it as he talks about its twin jet engines and glow-in-the-dark green headlights (though it is oddly reminiscent of a 1970s cadillac).  He's got weights and speed trials yet to complete but I can say with a good level of confidence that he felt very proud of himself today. And John and I had a moment together where we just sat back and watched this, and felt full of warmth and love and awareness of his fast acceleration toward an independent self.

Lincoln's preferred reading position

He's a champion edge-sitter (and edge-falling-off-er). While reading. While eating. Pretty much while doing anything.