Travel Report

A quick note from lovely Pleasanton, California, where I am away on business travel. My friend Ed advised me to get a pair of web cams and use them to video phone back to Susan and Sam. (Two other families we know used this to stay in touch with family overseas.)

What a great idea! At four a child doesn't quite get what Friday means when it's Monday. This makes it all just a little more real for him. (Note: The video quality is low because Susan and Sam were sitting in a darkened room at the time.)

In the middle of the night last night he called out for Daddy and when Susan came in told her, "I said Daddy!" When she reminded him I was in California he said matter-of-factly, "I forgot."

So we each have web cams, and he got to see my hotel room and see that I was still alive. He was very curious about the hotel, and especially how big the tv is.

Susan and I have also enjoyed being able to stay in touch visually as well as verbally--as the last snapshot demonstrates.

This convinces me we should get webcams for Columbus and, especially--since we make it out there less frequently--South Dakota! Sam doesn't yet have much patience for sitting in front of the monitor (after maybe ten minutes he wanted to go back to the Andy Griffith episode Susan was letting him watch), but just giving him the chance to see his kin in far-away places would help with continuity of relationships for him. And it was extremely easy to pick one up and get it going. Took mere minutes.

Other Sam news: At Montessori they've had him making little booklets where he writes a different word on each page and staples the booklet together with a colored-paper cover. He loves it! So much that if he makes one of these booklets at the start of class, he is sure to carry it with him the rest of the morning. His teacher, Ms. Mulvaney, made a point of telling Susan's he's entering what they call a writing explosion--so it sounds like things are going to change quickly. Fun to watch!

January Thaw

Has it been just a week since Aunt Amy's visit? It's all a blur now, as I get ready for a week away.

AA's visit was in many ways a typical weekend, except for the pleasure of her company, which, even if we are spoiled with it happening often, is still somehow a rare treat.

The photos show AA and Susan in front of the roaring fire, and Sam in the bathtub. It's a little hard to see in the latter, but he is wearing a mustache and beard of soap suds. He was quite proud of that. :-)

Okay, one other note about that weekend. While driving Sam to the Play Museum we just happened to drive by two large snow monsters on a side street. Sam was thrilled! There was a thaw that weekend, and the snow was disappearing everywhere, but these two were hanging on admirably. Thought you'd be amused. Sam sure was.

* * *

This weekend we made it to the Play Museum again, for the opening of a Lego exhibit. It included various games, huge tables for the kids to build at, and many, many Lego sculptures. Shown are the Castle Neuschwanstein, and Sam nose to nose with a giant Lego dragon. Very impressive!

Another Snowy Day

This is a leftover from several weeks ago. We'd had a large snowfall. Nothing record-breaking, but quite pleasant. Sam loved trudging around in the snow, so while we were doing that, I took a snapshot or two.

No Dogs Allowed

A few weeks ago after locking horns with us on a Saturday morning Sam vanished for a little while up to his room, then called down and asked how to spell "No Parents Allowed." I wrote it out on a sign for him, and gave him some tape and he disappeared off to his room. Susan and I were enjoying the peace and quiet and not eager to disturb a good thing, but eventually we went up to investigate. Sam had put his pillows on the floor so he could lie there and much on cereal which he had brought up to his secret lair.

At this point he was no longer feeling the need to exclude us, so he had me make up a sign that said "Parents ARE Allowed." I think Susan and I were both delighted that he'd found a way to exert his independence which didn't require much clean-up afterward.

Well, the saga continues: Two days ago a younger boy was visiting for a play date. Sam usually plays well with him, but sometimes gets a little exasperated--like the time Sam called to Susan who found Sam tugging on the younger boy to keep him away from the toilet, where Sam explained he was trying to put toys! We think this boy inspired the following exchange:

Sam: "Mommy, how do you spell No cats allowed in Sam's room?"

Susan: "Honey, cats can't read, so they'll just ignore the sign."

Sam, thinking: "Okay, then No dogs allowed.'"

Today's theological questions from Sam

Sam: “Is God invisible?”

Me (Susan): “Yup.” I added, “When Jesus was on earth, he was visible, because he had a body and was a person. But God the Father is invisible.”

Sam: “God the Father?”

Me, not wanting to explain: “Yup, God's invisible.”

Sam: “Is Moses invisible?”

Me: “Nope. Moses was a person just like us.”

Sam: “Can we see him?”

Me: “Moses lived a long time ago. He died a long time ago and is probably in heaven with God right now.”

Sam: “Where is heaven?” [Discussion ensues, in which he is unsatisfied by my saying that it's hard to say where heaven is. Sam claims to know where heaven is: in the sky. I say it is good that we have that cleared up.]

Sam: “Is Jesus coming again? My bible book says that he is.”

Me: “Yes, he sure is.”

Sam: “When? Tomorrow?”

Me: “Well, it could be tomorrow. That would mess up our play date plans, wouldn't it?”

Sam: “It would? Why?”

Me: “But it might not be tomorrow. It could be tomorrow or in a hundred years. No one knows.”

Sam: “But it could be tomorrow? Can we see him when he comes?”

Me: “Yes, we'll be able to see him.”

Sam: “We'll be able to see his body?”

Me: “Yes.”

Snowy Day!

We returned home to eight inches, and got another inch overnight. It's in the teens and breezy, which makes for great tromping-through-the-snow conditions!

This is a minor squall to our South Dakota kin--who, despite the wide-open spaces, are running out of room to put all of their snow. Why, the creek's not even frozen! Just the right amount for having fun. (And, as the resident target, I am pleased to say it's too dry to make good snow balls out of!)

So, here are some photos from today. (Note Sam sporting one of his two new multicolored hats!) A note about the shot with the tree trunk: Sam's been telling us he knows how to climb trees. Even asked Aunt Sue if she does too. Yesterday he mentioned that he knows how to climb a tree because he did so in a dream.

Today, outside, he walked right up to a tree trunk, looked up it, then said to me that he really doesn't know how to climb a tree!

Not yet, Sam, not yet.

Christmas in Columbus

Spent the week between Christmas and New Year's in Columbus with the Collins kin. What a treat! Sam was sad to leave, which says it all.

Which isn't to say that he was a widdle angel the whole time, heavens no. He's four, and from my experience with his friends of the same age, he's not atypical in his willfulness. But he did well for dinner at Aunt Carol's (a very enjoyable evening, and we were concerned about that)--at least til the end, and that was a fine time for him to lose it, to provide a measure of contrast for the rest of the evening. :-) He also sat well through the marathon fauXmas gift-opening celebration quite well.

This visit bore plenty of the jewel of family visits--free babysitting! Sue, Mom, Amy all were happy to help out, and Sam enjoyed it all immensely: Dad reading with him and showing him the newly renovated electric train set, and for the first time really connecting on some level with Kevin, once he learned what a pro Kevin is at video games. Kevin was happy to have an admirer, and for Sam, who's never had access to video games, it was a treat just to watch Kevin work his magic.

Enjoy the movies! The drive home is usually seven hours, but turned into nine because of a blizzard which started around Cleveland and lasted into New York. The core of the storm was in Pennsylvania. Just after entering the state we were shunted off the throughway onto side roads which took us through what I imagine must be the less photogenic parts of Erie. The video is just after entering New York. It's hard to see, but the snow's still coming down, though not quite as bad as in Penn.

The snow was quite beautiful. Temps in the teens and strong winds--the drifts made many houses looked like they'd been abandoned, though I am sure the residents were just holed up inside.

A great visit--can't wait for the next one! Nor can Sam--who, it should be pointed out, also keeps asking when we are going to visit Aunt Ruth and Uncle Paul...

Random quote from the way back

"When it's dark at South Dakota, does that mean it's light at our town?"