a birthday party

Caged animal, Charlie.

 

Schuyler and the gang (Destiny and Zarah).

There's this place called Kid Zone.  It's kind of the only (for the moment anyway) indoor playground in Bermuda.  Winter and rainstorms make it very popular.  It is also popular for birthday parties.  The room is not immense and the playground - a series of slides, tunnels, and stairways - consumes most of the room such that the parents form kind of a parental moat of people on two of the sides with exactly three seats.  There is also a ball pit in there loaded with plastic balls which some genius decided to put in the far corner so if any kid runs into difficulty in the pit, the adult minder has to crawl through miles of kid sized tunnels to get there.  It is a concrete room that reflects all sounds sharply and magnifies the cacophony which grows to torturous levels as the party reaches its peak.  But the kids love it.  And, since there is nowhere for the kids to go but in this labyrinth, the parents ultimately dig it as well.  At this one, Schuyler was the core invitee.  Charlie wasn't technically invited but I kind of brought him along anyway because it was easier and I thought he would like it.  He did.  He played and played but really just in one little spot in front of me and wasn't keen on playing with the other kids (who were a older mostly) or venturing too far into the maze.  I had to bribe him with chocolate to get the above pic.  Schuyler on the other hand was psyched.  She was in her element.  She's now in the top tier (P1) of her class in the bizarre but strictly observed caste system at her school and her three best friends (Emma, Destiny, and Zarah) were in attendance.  Above is actually a break in these three demonstrating their dance routine they have developed in an early form of a musical group the girls would eventually call "The Cupcakes".  For my part, I get to hang out with the other parents (mostly Mum's) and try to have a full adult conversation despite the wall of white noise cutting through every syllable and the constant interruptions with boo boos and I-need-to-pee's.  It's basically like meeting strangers in a brightly lit nightclub except you are sober and have two lives to preserve.

homework

 

I don't remember having homework when I was five.  In fact, I'm quite certain that I didn't have any.  Maybe seven.  But five?  No way, man.  But here we are.  Schuyler had to copy a typewritten (and frankly quite complicated) typed paragraph about ecosystems or something in cursive.  It didn't go terribly well.  It's not like she can't do it (because she did finally complete the mission) but the combination of heavy fatigue (Schuyler needs an unusual amount of sleep and right before bed her concentration is almost nil) and fissures in her self confidence made this a drawn out and frustrating task for everyone.  But it's kind of like the "Little White Donkey" episode in the Tiger Mom book.  In fact, that's exactly what sprang to mind when we were taking turns supervising.  She kept wanting to give up because she found it hard (and she was tired) and many times I verged on giving in a letting her go to bed.  But The Little White Donkey kept coming into my head which, in my interpretation, is the value of completing something you weren't sure at all you could accomplish.  We weren't up until 2am and this was not exactly Mozart but it was difficult for her all the same.  you could see the cracks in her self confidence and the difficulty of staying on task but then she finally finished.  We figured out that placing the green pencil sharpener under the word she was working on helped her concentration and made the big task a bunch of little achievable ones.  What is it?  Every journey begins with a single step or something.  We'll see what happens when the real homework starts coming in.

digging around

 

 

 

 

 

Late September and the livin' is easy.  I must have written this a thousand times but it bears repeating:  We live in a stunningly beautiful place and we should be ashamed if we don't make the most of it.  And we do.  Or try to anyway.  So here we are on a Sunday digging holes in the sand and riding the waves.  There is something relentlessly fun about sand castles.  I don't think I'll ever grow out of the joy of thoughtlessly sculpting walls and battlements and moats.  And now I have help.  Schuyler loved washing the seaweed in the buckets and then decorating the keep yard with "grass".  Charlie, of course, enjoyed knocking it down.  But everyone loved when the tide rushed into the moat and filled it up for just a few seconds before seeping away again.  Schuyler is also no chicken.  She went right into the ocean with her mama despite waves which quite frankly bordered on unsafe.  This is good.  This is a good life.

once upon a time...

 

 

 

These are the days I hope you will remember.  These are the days I hope all of us will remember.  The days of childhood when magic still ruled.  Not a magic that made the real world change but a magic that allowed us to believe that donning a ball gown made in China and a fireman outfit purchased from a toy could allow the real world and its rules to drop away and superimpose palaces and fire stations in its place - that thin veneer of imagination supported only by the childhood mind's determination to make it so.  When I'm at work and I allow the banal tasks of the job and the pressure of deadlines to eat away at me, I hold on to the memories of you guys sitting at the table snacking in your costumes and I let the make believe pressures of work fade and reveal a world of play and fun and magic.  This is what you teach me.

checking up on charlie

 

 

37.5"
35lbs

3 years ago today...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So for five months, my office had been the home for an entire world.  A world of Thomas The Tank Engine.  We had been on the lookout for a train set and finally found a great second hand one on the classifieds website.  So we bought it.  Unfortunately, it was almost a half a year until the kid's birthday so the home of the train set and the large painted plywood board with the lakes and roads on it was my office.  Which was nice.  It meant that every time I got down about the mundane parts of my job, I could look over and know the excitement and joy that awaited our little guy.

Happy Birthday, Charles!  We can't believe you're three already!  Although, it seems like you've been two forever which has been lovely because it has really felt like we've been able to enjoy the year of you being two for a long time and we are very aware that these times sweep by quicker than anyone would like.  You and Schuyler are still one of the greatest joys of our life.  You are a rambunctious kid.  You climb everything.  You charm people with your smile and say hello to almost every stranger you meet.   You throw things, empty shelves of books onto the floor, you LOVE kicking a ball around, and anything that involves running.  Pretty much anytime we ask you what you would like, you answer "CHOCOLATE!"  Recently, you've taken to giving lots of hugs and kisses which is adorable - especially when you wake us up with a big Charlie hug and a kiss on the cheek.  I can't think of a better way to way up (which is good because you are often up at 6am which is just a little bit early for your poor mum and dad).  You are going through the typical three year old stuff of crying and screaming because you aren't quite sure what's going on and how to communicate it.  You can be terribly contrary e.g. "I want to EAT!"  "OK.  Let's eat!"  "I DON"T WANT TO EAT!"  But that's all normal, so don't worry too much about it.
You are loving school and you are unusually good about concentrating on the work you are doing both at home and school.  You're a little timid at the new school with all the new friends but you're no wallflower either.
We can't wait to see the person you become and love watching you as you bloom!
We love you, Charlie, and we will always be there for you - no matter what!

when mummy was schuyler's age

Mummy and Auntie Julie

 

Uncle Chris and Uncle Justin

Leaving

Sometimes kids get really deep, really quickly.  Here's a discussion Charlie and Schuyler had at the breakfast table when we were talking about Mama going away to Vermont for work:

Charlie:  "When you guys are away I cry."

Sky:  "We're never going away, Charlie. Unless we die."

Charlie:  "Die?"

Sky:  "Everyone you know will die someday, Charlie."

Charlie:  "Everyone?"

Sky:  "Yup.  They bury your bones and celebrate."

mummy is at work in vermont

 

 

 

 

goodbye bahamas

Quiet time.

One of my favourite pictures from this trip.

Hugo and Schuyler lead the pack.

 

Schuyler and her living doll.

All good things must come to an end and we had to give hugs that would last long after we left and say goodbye to our family and head back to the little island that is currently home.  It was a really wonderful time and, for me, one of those mental snapshots that i'll carry around in the permanent album in my head.  It was just wonderful to get the cousins together and they clearly loved hanging out together.  Let's do it again soon.