August Abundance

Two things were in abundance this weekend... time with Jameson and fresh, local food. Jameson and I had a long drive on Friday to visit an old, dear friend of mine. Then shortly after we got back, Stefan and Alex left for a Cub Scout sleepover. So for nearly two days, this boy was mine, mine, mine. And everywhere we went, we were surrounded by the amazing, fresh food.



::We visited a friend of mine from college, who has a boy just two weeks younger than Jameson. After taking about twenty minutes to warm up, Jameson had a great time. He even tried cherry pie---made all the more fun because his new buddy was eating it too.





::The two boys also found a toad and had a great time catching it and holding it. The only problem was taking turns. Ah, what hard lessons to learn.






::Speaking of lessons to learn, I had a great time connecting with this little boy and learning about the intricacies of his world. We live together, and see each other every day, but it does take more time and more subtle listening skills to get past the every day chatter. The discussions about whether he wants peanut butter or nutella on his crackers for a snack, and what are we doing next, and are you going to work again, Mama, can take all day. This weekend I learned about the details of his stuffed lion's digestive system. I learned that he knows all the words to the first three songs on Joe Reilly's latest CD. (we listened to them about 33 times on our long drive to see my friend) I learned about every detail that his little heart desires for his fifth birthday party. I also learned that he has no comprehension of how far away that birthday really is. Mainly, I learned how refreshing it is to spend time with this little one, whose life revolves around family time and dreams of birthdays and stuffed animals and legos.

::On Saturday morning we made our pilgrimage to the Farmer's Market, to pick up our CSA share, to enjoy some treats, and to buy even more fresh food from the market. I did my best to slow down to his speed--walking slow, picking out the CSA products slowly, and even suspending all those thoughts about work, chores, and other things on my to-do list.

::And there's just something about watching him pick out tomatoes as large as his head!

::Another item I learned: don't let Jameson carry the watermelon across the parking lot!

::And so now I deposit this little memory here, so that I don't forget about this leisurely and wonderful time with Jameson. I also posted the picture below as my background on my work computer as a reminder of the important things---slowing down, truly listening, and relishing our time together.