Elementary

It has snowed again in Bellingham--a scant three inches, but enough to cancel school. Our final day for the year is now in July. Bummer.

Yesterday morning there was just a skiff of snow and thankfully school was held as usual. My kids with difficulty found adequate snow gear and got themselves out to the bus stop at the end of the driveway in good time. About four minutes later, however, Alex came bursting into the house yelling something about Tim's footwear at the top of his lungs. I raced out of the house and got to Tim just as the bus came over the top of the hill (this is referred to as "seeing the bus in its full splendor" in the ritualized and super-competitive points game the boys play every morning).

Tim was wearing aqua sox (black, women's size 8) over bare feet to combat the snow. I dragged him into the house, him wailing all the way about missing the bus. After I'd calmed him down some, he explained that one of his every day shoes had a hole and the snow was getting in. I asked if the water shoes were working better.

"Worked fine for me," he said defiantly.

I asked if he had ever seen ANOTHER child at school wearing aqua sox. He admitted that he had not. I asked him why he thought he hadn't. He replied with a remark denigrating parents, their knowledge, and their open-mindedness. I asked what might prompt parents to ban the aqua sox in cold weather.

He replied, "Mom, if you're going somewhere with this, could you please just take us there, because I don't have any idea what you're trying to say."

We've discovered with Tim that either he's thought too much about something (the aqua sox) or not enough (the day after I switched some dresser drawers around, he came down dressed in Nigel's clothes. He hadn't noticed a problem.)

And then there are the pure Timmy world moments, like last week when he came upstairs to discover that I had popped open a tube of ready made biscuits just a moment before. We almost never have popping tubes, so he was extremely disappointed. He stood holding the empty tube for a few minutes, and finally said, "Mom, why do they make these things, anyway? To entertain tired old ladies?"

I guess I know what I am!

We are rich with joy. Christmas was packed full of it. We especially loved having all 22 Mumfords (plus three dogs!) who could make it here for New Years Eve. That was a great celebration. Everyone left on New Years Day at almost the same time. Within ten minutes, I walked into my room and discovered Nigel thoroughly asleep on my bed. He slept for five hours!

It was a great way to start 2007.