I guess I just need to get used to the fact that each month is a blur. Thankfully I make a few notes in my phone throughout the month to remember little things that happen that make me laugh or cry so I can do a monthly recap, otherwise I think I'd just time travel through these kid years on accident. I'm not sure how long we will keep this up, I'm sure at some point I'll have to stop embarrassing them on the internet. For now though, I like going back and reading the little changes that happen throughout the months and years as we watch these girls grow. It's amazing how much I forget until I read it here. It's actually sort of terrifying. So, here are a few bits from this month that I don't want to forget:
- First, look at how tall Polly is. Just look!
- When I was a little kid one of my favorite things to do was drink apple juice out of a coffee cup. I wanted to be like my grandma and dad with their coffee but my favorite was apple juice. I remember requesting it with an enthusiastic, "Can I have apple juice in a coffee cup please!" The request had a specific cadence to it that still rolls off my tongue. Polly have her own version of this that she developed all on her own but it's "Can I have mango juice mixed with sparkling water in a fancy glass please!" By fancy glass she means wine glass so it's good to know the bar has been set a little lower a generation later.
- Callie still has only two teeth. I'm not worried, you're worried!
- Callie is definitely a blanket baby! Her blanket made it's first monthly picture debut above! Yes, my child has chosen a white blanket to carry around with her. It's great.
- On the way to school one morning Polly out of the blue asks, "Do people last forever?" Her question hung in the air for an eternity. It wasn't just what she was asking but how she asked it that made tears instantly start leaking out of my face. The question had a hopefulness about it but also a hint to the fact that she seemed to already know the answer. Inside I'm screaming, HOW DO I ANSWER THIS WITHOUT SCARRING HER FOR LIFE!?!?! Outside I calmly tell her no, people don't last forever. Every living thing dies and that's just the way things are and it's okay. I'm sitting there thinking good answer mom. You're not so bad at this mom thing. Then she follows up with, "yeah but not little kids." It wasn't even a question but a statement so I'm sitting there inside screaming, WHAT THE HELL THIS IS JUST A TEN MINUTE DRIVE TO SCHOOL!!! HOW ARE WE COVERING SO MUCH GROUND HERE! ARE WE THERE YET? DO I JUST LET THAT ONE GO??? Outside I calmly tell her that sometimes little kids die but mom and dads are here to help keep kids safe so don't worry. Then she follows with, "yeah and we have to stay healthy"which gave me a great opportunity to work in a speech about fruits and vegetables. She's quiet for a few minutes and I'm terrified of what's coming next and then she says, "Callie has snot ALL OVER her. It's on her sleeve, it's in her hair, it's on her seat, it's EVERYWHERE mom. I never knew babies could be so much trouble." I'm sitting there thinking THANK GOD! Now she's just questioning the existence of her baby sister. No big deal.
- I'm not sure where the above question came from. Over the last month we lost a friend, our former neighbor Cathy. She was one of the nicest people I've ever met, maybe even THE nicest person I've ever met and we had the joy to live next to her for 9 years. During that time we enjoyed hearing her play music through our open windows, watching her sneak into our backyard spraying some new deer repellant in our yard that never seemed to work, her cheerful scarecrow scaring me to death when I look up from my garden and it's staring at me. Side note on the scarecrow, she had her own Facebook page and many adventures. Her famous car cheered our street which she and her niece painted themselves. Polly doesn't remember her and we've tried not to talk about Cathy's death around her but it's been hanging in the air around our house. Polly's question hit me because this month we've been thinking about death and celebrating life and how it's all so bittersweet because it's all so quick. I wanted to tell Polly that without death, maybe life wouldn't have so much joy but life and death is hard enough for me to comprehend so hopefully we have a little more time before we have to have that conversation again.
- Speaking of death, on a lighter note one day we were driving past a cemetery and Polly could see the tombstones as we passed by and she yelled "DADDY I SEE POKEMON SIGNS!" She's getting taller and can see more and more out the window these days. Ben and I are both confused and then we realize that when Pokemon GO first came out, Spring Grove Cemetery, a beautiful park/cemetery here in Cincinnati was a major place for Pokemon and Ben and Polly would drive through there to get Pokemon on his phone. Our kid thinks cemeteries are Pokemon stops. Given the above conversations we are just leaving this one alone for now. Pokemon stop it is.
- Polly is a little dramatic. We were driving past roofers installing roof on a house and she asked what they were doing. I told her those people are getting a new roof. She asks why and I tell her they just wear out. She's quiet for a moment and then says sadly, "I'm going to miss our roof when we get a new one." I can't imagine what puberty is going to do to us.
