Yes. No. More.

A year ago at this time we seemed to constantly face the question of if and when L would walk. For reasons I can't quite explain that seemed to be everyone but ours goal. Don't get me wrong, walking is a wonderful thing, but as I told a friend at a lake gathering, "I would trade walking any day for meaningful communication." He was quick to point out that we had at least some of that. L made certain sounds that caused me to turn my head. We were beginning to hear differences in cries etc. My goal was some form of yes, no and more. It is amazing what you can get across if you have those 3 messages. I didn't even need these in verbal form. Sign language works for me too. L's movements towards those things have been slow.

First we got a version of bye/ blowing kisses. Then we got a Mama and a Daddy. L is VERY strong willed. Many therapists have pointed out this is probably why my child even survived her rough start, but it also means she speaks when and if she chooses, and not because you want her to. So we continued with the sporadic speech. We got lots of sounds. A version of "all done" and then "again." We kept working on yes, no and more but to no avail. Finally midsummer she began to sign and say more. I would have taken either. Both was fabulous. She said it to get Rafferty's cheese fries. You gotta love this kid! We got a variation of the word "swing" and then an occasional yell to get to the slide or outside. Then, slowly at first, very inconsistently, we began to get a nod. A whole body movement for yes, a slight shake for no. Hit vacation and a two handed sign for yes began to take hold only to disappear as soon as we got home. In therapy she was refusing to say up and down, but popped out "Cookie Monster" to get the toy she wanted. And then it was there; a true shake of the head for no, the sign for yes, the sign for more. This is what I asked for. I should be happy right? I should, but tonight she signed "more...please." I am literally crying with delight. Communication with your child....more, please.

Canning

In his book See You in a Hundred Years, the author, Logan Ward, shares how he, his wife and 2 year old son leave NYC and move to rural Virginia. The plan was to spend a year living as people would have in about 1900. They moved in the spring as soon as the garden was producing a few things in the hopes that they would be able to live off the land. As you can imagine, suddenly being with your spouse 24 hours a day brought on some issues. Cracks or stress points that had existed in their marriage prior to the project seemed to become giant holes. He goes on the explain that if they still lived in New York, they would no doubt be spending time on some therapist's couch. As the situation would have it, they worked out their problems over a hot stove and canning jars.

Ahh the healing power of the canning jar. I have no idea why, but each summer I am overtaken with an almost uncontrollable urge to bring in the harvest and fill my shelves with winter goodies. Some may call it The Proverbs 31 woman gone overboard. Others may see lunatic squirrel. Either way, here I am...up to my elbows in pickles and jams trying to figure out how to get tomatoes and green beans finished before school starts next week. Yes, I know "they sell those things at Wal- Mart."


It is no secret that I have a pretty stressful life. Every time I think I will get my head above water, some crazy thing like farm accidents or dental surgery plunges me under again. I have seen a therapist before, and would certainly encourage people mired in depression to do so, but this is not quite the same thing. This is daily life run out of control. Too many outside demands, and not enough of the priorities I want to have. Some days I have nothing to show for my hours in this house. I have carried L all day or refereed kids and end the day exhausted and questioning my worth. Thus canning.

There is something terribly empowering about knowing that even if I don't get to the grocery, I can still fix a fabulous meal by just running down to the garden. Fresh tomatoes and squash are an almost perfect meal. Even better than those fresh veges are the jewel like jars that dot my couter tops at the end of a summer day. This is accomplishment at its best. This is my therapy. The house fills with the smell of ripe fruit as I begin peeling and prepping the product of the day. The kids have to be dealt with, so I strike deals with B and H. "Take L to the trampoline for 15 minutes and then you can have....." Meanwhile I rush like crazy to move hot jars in to position or coax the thick, sticky syrup in my cauldron to a boil; "lava" a friend once called it. Sometimes I get the girls in on the action. We won't be winning awards for consistent sized pickles, but B loves to chop and slice. I may only get a few pints done in a day, but there they sit; neat rows of shiny jars, deep orange, yellow green and various shades of purple. I listen for the lids to ping as I wash up the supplies and can't help but smile. Contentment swells within me. This is a job well done, work with an obvious product to show. This would be enough reason to can, but then there is the look on J's face as he tastes peach jam that is somehow even peachier than the fruit from which it came. And, the over heard comment from H " my Mama makes the best strawberry jam."

Dolphins and Sea Turtles and Crabs, Oh My!

St George is a nature lovers paradise. The Island is dotted with marked off triangles where sea turtle eggs are securely nested waiting to hatch. There are no lights on the beach and all the condos have black out curtains to keep from confusing hatch lings that instinctively know to look for the light of the horizon. The dolphins swim so close you sometimes wonder if you could touch them. The sightings are so common, the kids quit turning to look when we yelled. The other native inhabitant is the crab. Last year we had one that lived right off our patio, and was staring at us each morning when we raised the blinds. This year the girls went looking for them. Brian couldn't go and he couldn't handle the twins very well for long, so the girls headed out with whatever adult they could convince. The big crabs were okay. However.... one night Uncle Danny and Grandpa led the expedition to the beach. The girls wanted to make sure I didn't miss oooing and ahhhing over their finds, so brought back a bag filled not only with a larger crab, but a handful of quarter and dime sized little suckers which they promptly released in the condo. Let's see, sand colored crabs racing around on the sand colored carpet and me in bare feet. I'll take the chair thanks.

Just Posing

My Fish

B and H love the water. They practice mermaid kicks and all sorts of underwater games. H may be the dare devil, but B loves to snorkel and explore. L also loves the water. This is the one place she can give J a run for his money. She goes under, "dives", blows bubbles and is learning to kick and float on her back. J prefers to have his feet firmly touching the bottom, or be carried by very capable hands. I commented one morning that I had 3 fish and a landlubber. B looked at J for a moment and said "I think you have 3 fish and a crab."

St George Island 2009

What a wonderful time we had at the beach! St George Island, Florida is very isolated and not yet overtaken by tourists and chain stores and eateries. We had such a great time last year that we made a return trip to the exact same spot. All the Bush clan made it for at least some portion of the week. The whole island seems to move at a slower pace than the rest of the world. We ate breakfast at 9 and rarely made it off the beach unless it was to move to the pool. Very little stress. We didn't try to eat out and still had some of the best seafood ever. The local grocery made wonderful crab cakes that we fried at several meals. Karen made a delicious Jambalaya with local shrimp, and we had local steamed peel and eat shrimp another night. Add some fresh produce and we ate like kings. Brian was a little more limited this time, so I definitely got a work out loading and unloading the van. Sleep, more videos than we see in 6 months, good food and plenty of playtime.... can I have another week please?