Wednesday, November 07, 2018

flipping

People talk about Congress flipping, gubernatorial seats flipping -- all this signifies changes ahead, but me, I continue my days as before -- helping with grandkids, enjoying the quiet warmth of the farmhouse and every once in a while, flipping from one home to the next, from one child to the other, from teeny Fitchburg to big Chicago, even as days grow short and cold and leaves no longer swirl and the cheepers hide as best they can from the wintry winds.

I have far too little sleep under my belt. I retired upstairs before midnight but instead of tuning out election results, I kept shouting down to Ed -- what are the numbers now? He would dutifully report and the numbers would be harrowing and close, indeed, the result kept flipping so that I needed to shout down again, and then again, and this continued until Wisconsin finally had 100% of the votes counted, which happened at 2:30 in the morning.

It is Wednesday and so Sparrow came to the farmhouse early, delighting me with his smile and today, with his cap, which I am told Snowdrop only reluctantly let him wear.



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I kept thinking he surely looks like a little lad now! Lovely boy, lovely mood, lovely day.


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Breakfast is in the kitchen. The three of us today.


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Sparrow remains calm and so I get a bit of a break. He watches anything and everything and chortles along as mobiles spin and lights twinkle and some music box pours out the usual baby fare.


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And minutes after Sparrow leaves, I leave as well. For Chicago. Primrose's dad is away and so her mom (my younger daughter) could use a little extra help. By late afternoon, I am in their big city home. (Do you get the sense that Chicago is a little behind Madison in letting go of Fall?)


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I do a switch with the Chicago grandpa, taking over Primrose care for the rest of the afternoon.

The girl is 2.5 months older than Sparrow, which at this age is significant. She sits, is strong on her legs and vocalizes aplenty.


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She is at once serious and playful.


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And when it is evening and I know that her mom will be walking home from the train station, she and I set out to greet her. Once again, Primrose shows her love of stroller rides, even in the dark cold of a November evening.


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A little play with mom...


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... a bath, dinner, bedtime. The sweet girl needs it -- she is a little under the weather and we both hope it's one of those things that comes and goes quickly.

It's been quite the day! So lovely, from one night to the next. So very full.