days of wonder

Iain has been delightful since he was born--and it just keeps getting better. His imagination is the most fertile, and his laugh the readiest. For months we have been treated to 'boats' (a half-eaten cookie), and seen any number of things used as a telephone or a sword.

Yesterday, though, was the very best yet. We were walking across one of the bridges over the river Wear and Iain was looking down at the water. He watched so intently and for so long, I wondered what he saw. Then he asked: 'Are those fairies?' I thought for a minute he'd seen a couple of boats--ferries, perhaps. When I looked for myself, I saw the sunlight playing on the rippling surface of the water as it does, giving the impression of blinking stars, or diamonds (if you're Eric Clapton).

Fairies? I never would have thought of that. Thanks, Iain, for reminding me how magical the world really is.

I for Iain

I admit I am hopelessly behind with the news. But this pressed itself on me and insisted on being publicized.

Of course Iain should have been eating some supper, but he wasn't. He decided he needed paper and a marker, and wouldn't be persuaded even by the promise of something sweet. So be it: we let him draw. And suddenly a little voice at the end of the table said 'I for Iain'! We looked up, and there he was, holding up the paper, having written a very clear capital 'I'.

No sooner had we gasped in awe over (and applauded) the I than Iain put the paper back down and started another drawing, explaining 'T for Thomas'. And there it was--a T.

Now I have no idea whether a 3.5-year-old is supposed to be able to do that. I don't care. We thought it was pretty cool.

hooligan

Thomas has caught World Cup fever. Everything revolves around football (or soccer, or futbol) at the moment. He watches the highlights and knows far more than anyone else in the family about what's going on. Conversations tend to involve mostly reflection on past matches (especially England v Slovenia) or speculation about future matches. Today, for example, Thomas was pressing me to declare whether I would be supporting Japan or Denmark, and couldn't believe I didn't care. He insisted that I should support Denmark, which makes me especially glad we didn't let him stay up to watch them lose to Japan 3:1. During the second half of the England-Slovenia match, Thomas went completely to pieces because England weren't scoring.

Yesterday afternoon Thomas engaged the Sainsbury's delivery man in conversation about the World Cup. 'I don't think England are going to win the World Cup', Thomas observed. The man agreed, and said he was a Holland fan. Thomas replied, 'Holland has won the World Cup twice'. (How does he know that? I had no idea, but the man didn't correct Thomas.) Further exchanges were made, in which I mostly stood by and watched Thomas grow up before my eyes. Eventually he wandered off and the guy (who was a really nice guy, obviously enough) told me that he'd been decked out completely for one of the England matches--the red and white wig, face painted and everything--only to be disappointed. 'I was pretty sad,' he offered.

Yes, I thought. But I'll bet you didn't beat your fists on the floor and cry.

latest photos

are here.

Enjoy!

a moment 6 years in the making

Ever since Anna was very tiny, she has been fascinated by the laundry. Heaps of dirty washing, mountains of clean washing, even hanging things out on the line. When she was about 2, I think, I started asking her to help me sort the socks. Of course I didn't expect much then, but we had fun doing it. Over the years we've become busy, and I haven't taken as much time getting her involved in the process one-on-one: Thomas quickly surpassed Anna in matching ability, and Iain started joining in by grabbing handfuls of socks and throwing them in the air gleefully.

Today, though, she came indoors before the boys and wandered through to the living room, where I was making my way through a sizeable mound of clean washing, including a great many socks. We put the socks off to one side, and she identified items of clothing by owner. 'That's mines' or 'that's daddy's' she said as she handed me T-shirts and pajamas. I came across a sock and asked her to find the mate for me. Although I wasn't surprised to receive it back together with the matching sock, it was a wonderful moment I have waited a long time to experience. She sorted most of the rest, with prompting, as I folded the other things. Eventually I brought out the sock bag (where I keep all the single socks when I finish the washing) and found some whose mates I knew we had. Anna helped me match them, and I put a couple of the leftovers from today's bunch in the bag without saying anything. When we'd finished, there was one sock left. Anna picked it up without a word, and put it in the bag. 'There' she said. 'All done.'

Amazing.

pub glass

The positions on the cricket pitch have always been a mystery to me. To be honest, I still don't exactly grasp the intricacies of the sport. But we visited a pub that not only had a playground outside for the kids (a wonderful thing in itself), but also had these fantastic glasses. So I discovered that although there isn't a shortstop in cricket, there is 'silly mid-on'. What?!? Next, I have to discover where the names of these positions come from. Thank goodness it's cricket season already. Hopefully we'll make it to Chalfont St Giles to watch the village cricket team play at home, and Uncle Cedric can delight his nephews with his bowling! Barring that, we'll return to the pub, and I can have a quick cricket lesson while the kids play on the playground--provided the weather gets a bit warmer.

No, we didn't tuck a glass in my bag to take home. But I did take a photo.

apologies

I have been working on a paper. Today, Thomas asked the question: 'What does it mean when you "give" a paper?' I am surprised he has never asked that one before--it's something that comes up enough in this house! Usually Lewis is the one giving the paper, though, at a conference somewhere or other. Tomorrow I have to go all the way to Seminar room B in Abbey House, which is one of the rooms in which I taught all year. So it's not very exotic!

Lewis would remark now, if I were a news reader, that there isn't really any news. That may or may not be true, but it is certainly the case that I haven't been looking beyond my computer screen any more than necessary. I check in with family in California, and try to keep abreast of my Director of Studies tasks and the kids...

There are photos from our weekend walk--a bit of an adventure, it was. Look for them on Thursday!