My Fresh Hell
Life in Scribbletown.

Rainbow Goblins Need Not Apply

2006-04-04

Oy, I'm back! Didja miss me? (Don't answer that if you said "no" in your head. We'll still be friends.)

Remember when I described March as the month of illness or something to that effect? Well, I was WRONG! By two days. We made it through March with only minor colds. On Sunday, Red got sick. Some stomach thing. Just days before Dusty and I are leaving for California. If whatever she had (she's made a swift recovery) has a 48-hour incubation period � or longer � we're all screwed.

Time will tell.

Fingers are crossed.

Actually, even TALKING about it is really jinxing things.

Did I ever mention that I'm one of those superstitious people who do not mention certain things because when they are talked about � outside of my head � they tend to come true? I wasn't quite this bad until I had children. Now, I truly understand the Chinese tradition of never saying complimentary things about babies because if the spirits thought the baby was cute, smart, healthy, etc., saying so aloud would cause the spirits to take the child away or rectify the situation in some heinous way.

So, forget I said anything.

Ahem � moving on�.

Dusty and I are very much looking forward to our trip on Thursday. If I get a chance (and can remember my Diaryland password), I'll update while I'm there. If not, you'll have to limp through the next week with silence on my end.

So. The weekend, she was good. Grandma met us at the mall on Saturday and bought Dusty and Red some new spring outfits. Dusty got a new, character-free, pair of tennis shoes. We have two new books for the hours we will be spending on planes and in airports: Little House on the Prairie (which,h I'll confess, we started last night) and another Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (the exact title escapes me). Also, some magnetic Barbie "paper" doll thing that comes in a recloseable case and a coloring book. Since I'm reading some enormous book that for some reason is taking me an unreasonable amount of time to read, I've scoured the house for small paperbacks that don't take a lot of brain power. I found a couple. I'm set. Especially considering that the time spent in transit will probably be spent answering a constant stream of questions and no actual reading (to myself) will occur.

On Sunday, the girls helped me in the garden. We cleared out dead leaves from the flower beds, I pruned, they rambled. They both helped me weed the vegetable beds. Even Red figured out how to pull the weeds and throw them in the grass.

Yesterday, I stayed home with Red while she recovered from her illness. We spent a lot of time outside, walking around. She has learned a new word, "Beep-beep," for anything on wheels: cars, trucks, buses, wagons, strollers. She's Little Miss Gerald McBoing-Boing with her "sounds = words" vocabulary. But, there are definitely signs of intelligence lurking within and she's become quite a fun little companion.

Then, last night we had a thunderstorm. First rain in over a month. The lightening was impressive. And horizontal. Dusty, who is afraid of thunder and lightening, still got a thrill watching it from our front door. She run up to the storm door, lightening would flash, she'd run back. Over and over. We lit candles in case the power went out (it didn't). We watched the rain fall, listened to the thunder, watched the dark clouds move across the sky.

Then the sun came out behind the house and slowly began to set turning the sky amber, then pink. Colors were clarified, amplified. The redbud tree was truly�.magenta. Pollen clusters were distinct.

"Will there be a rainbow?" Dusty asked.

"Probably."

Then � there it was: a rainbow with all it's colors quite clear! Red and orange and yellow and green and blue. It arced over the trees across the road and�.then there was another one on top of the first. Double rainbows!

"Cool! Wow! I've never seen a rainbow before!" shouted Dusty.

"Sure you have," said her father.

"Not in REAL LIFE! Wow!" she said, "Wow!"

Then she pressed her face up against the storm door and asked,

"Is it just for us?"

Yes, Dusty, this one's just for us.

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1:15 p.m. ::
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