lists and words

Today started with a list - I wrote it last night in a moment of panic that recent weekend time with the kids has been less than peaceful and more like a mosh pit of jammed responsibilities - mostly work-related, but some of my own creating.

So not this Sunday, said I. By 8 a.m., the bread was already rising. By 9:30 - vacuuming done (will I ever learn to spell vacuum? I'm pretty sure who ever came up with that word was cackling when they decided how it would be spelled) At 10 a.m., an amazing thing happened. I pulled out all the boxes for recycling, and Liam and Thea dove into them and equipped with two pairs of scissors and a roll of defunct paint tape, spent no less than an hour playing with the stuff - and here's the kicker - without once asking me for help of any kind. Not a single battle. What happened there? And why, why oh why, do we bother spending money on "super-toys" when what they really want is the raw stuff to do their own thing.

Nuff said.

The day was productive, too. The bane of my existence - running to the dump in the itty-bitty subaru with garbage cans hanging out the back - turned out to be funny. Snow blew in the back and Liam giggled the whole way down the hill. Then to the pool for a swim with my son-turned-dolphin (he'll be teaching me soon enough) and a quick grocery store run, and home again in time for Liam to build a fort, do his homework, and read to me. Somebody give the gal a medal. Or at least a beer. Even remembered to bring shampoo for Liam to the pool so I only had to put one kid through the wash cycle tonight. Seriously. A day like this only happens once or twice a month.

But by far the best part of today, hands down, came when I was kneading bread this morning. I heard a story coming from Liam's room, not unusual - always a story coming from him. But this time, I heard him earnestly sounding out words. OK, that's usually because it's a book he's read before and already knows the worlds. Not this time. New book. New words like "talk." I went quietly to his gate and watched in wonder as my child read to himself for the first time I had ever seen on his own. Magic. By tonight, he was blazing through the pages, no surprise since he's had it forever, but I really wanted him to lead the way, and he did. Look out world, here comes another word nerd.