Saturday, May 29, 2010

The Awakening


The long, dormant
thirst...awakens!
words tumbling
from tongue to pen.

Sweet verse,
sticky phrases,
a welcome relief
from desert parch.

Pouring out...
as if never lost
she cups her hands,
catching the potion.

Tangible language
yet...doubts
keeping it, caged
for unheard whispers.

Hard coals
dampened down
in a fire
left untended.

She lifts her veil
ready again
to shake off
the slumber...



By JCK

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Painting: "Shower Series 7" by Zoe Hadley


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Monday, May 24, 2010

BOY.COM

BOY: I want to start a web site. It will be called BOY.COM


JCK: What will you offer at your web site?

BOY: Games. Like Study Island, only better. It can be for 17th and 8th graders. 9th, 10th, 11th graders.

GIRL: Will you have any games for little kids?

BOY: Yes! I will have a game called...OOH, NO!

GIRL: How do you play it?

BOY: Well, you can throw a ball at a kid, and if you hit them, then you have to say, OOH, NO! Because, you lose.

GIRL: So, it is the opposite of Dodge Ball?

BOY: Yeah. I'm going to have posters and Billboards everywhere. They will all say: BOY.COM

JCK: Well, it sounds like you have a business plan in the making.

BOY: Yeah. I'm working on it.


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Photo taken of boots that were part of a super hero outfit that was made by BOY's village of kids for BOY on Community Day at school last month. Community days have a global theme each month, and are composed of 2 students from each grade (K-11th) forming a village to work together for the day.


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Monday, May 17, 2010

GIRL contemplates a universal question

Overheard in the Motherscribe household...


GIRL: Did God get sick in the head and accidently put bad things on earth?

BOY: *sigh* I have NO idea.



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Picture courtesy of Google Images.


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Saturday, May 15, 2010

Time cannot stand still

These last days of school are flashing by... Somehow my daughter will be in Kindergarten in the fall. I find my emotions washing over me in waves, unexpectedly. I cannot stop my tears, and am mourning her babyhood, the disappearing rounded limbs and cheeks. She is so ready to leave preschool...beautiful to see, yet bittersweet. I treasure our moments together, reveling in her blossoming this year. Time cannot stand still, but I can slow down and breathe all of this in...


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Sunday, May 9, 2010

Just for you, Mom!

BOY: No work for you today, Mom. No work! I'm going to do everything.


GIRL: Mama, you come sit on the couch right here. Here you go Momma! Surprise!

GIRL presented me with a framed picture of herself holding two beautiful roses. She had painted and decorated it at school. Under her picture was her personal quote:

My Mommy likes to play with me and BOY.

I love her because she is nice.

Her favorite things are really me and BOY.


BOY presented me with a paper airplane (Just for you, Mom!), and a joke book that he had made.

E presented me with a new beach hat, and a Mother's Day card that played..."Ain't no woman like the one I got..." by the Four Tops. It was hilarious.

The day was spent at the beach enjoying the sun, a brilliant blue sky, close friends, and my family. I am blessed...

Happy Mother's Day!


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Paintings by Don Hatfield.


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Thursday, May 6, 2010

What GIRL heard...

Yesterday I went to a parent "coffee with the Director" meeting at BOY's school. I brought GIRL with me. It was an informal gathering, all of us sitting on benches together in the kitchen. The primary topic was on the status of the middle & upper school's move for the fall. The site that they're considering has lots of positives, including being a block away from a beautiful park with a new gymnasium and athletic fields, all of which could be used for the school. Various things were discussed, including a parent's concern about a liquor store located near the proposed site.


As GIRL and I walked out to the car, I asked her if she had understood anything that we were talking about. She asked me a couple of questions, and then she said:


Mommy, how come they kept talking about the licorice store?


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Portrait of GIRL painted by BOY. Artwork done with a feather tip, dipped in watercolors.


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Saturday, May 1, 2010

It was...the $3.28 lesson

It is that time of year. Warm rays lavished on sun kissed skin. Daylight stretching out ... into eventide. Cold drinks over ice are poured, the music from the ice cream truck is closer, and naughtiness abounds...

Yesterday was such a day. GIRL and BOY managed to empty almost a full container of hand soap into the bath tub... and sink. Hearing shouts and giggles of irrepressible glee, JCK knew the countdown to JackO'Clock was over.

In fear for her life, JCK walked into a bathroom that had become a virtual bubble wonderland. GIRL was in the bath, and BOY was assisting her to "make bubble bath," by emptying the hand soap container in the tub.

The sink being overfloweth with bubbles, and the bathroom ahhh...flambée with the scent of chamomile and lavender, JCK managed to screech at a medium level of auditory tolerance. It. was. the. end. of. the. day.

A day in which JCK had not only swept and vacuumed out the wood burning fireplace, replacing the andirons with fireplace candelabras. But... had assembled an office chair with the help of her BOY & GIRL.

JCK was Flat Out Butt Tired... and in NO MOOD for dealing with a heretofore unforeseen bubble wonderland.

Since this was the second time that a hand soap container had rapidly emptied itself, JCK made a decision. There was a lesson in the making here, and who was she to deprive them of it? It was going to be a lesson in ...how much does this cost?

JCK informed BOY & GIRL that they would be going to the store tomorrow. They would purchase another hand soap bottle, and the money was coming out of their piggy banks.

Out of OUR piggy banks!?!!

Indeed. By JCK's estimate, $1.25 each.

Today, JCK accompanied BOY & GIRL to the store. They found the hand soap on the shelf, and JCK discovered that it cost more than her estimate. She informed GIRL & BOY that they would have to reimburse her for the difference.

But, HOW will we do that?!

SQUEAL!!!

Poor Piggy Bank. A victim of INFLATION.

At the check-out aisle, GIRL & BOY each handed the checker $1.25, plus another dollar from JCK. Now, JCK is not a mind reader, so she doesn't know what the checker thought of this transaction. However, the checker appeared to be impressed that two children were buying a container of hand soap with their own money. JCK didn't wish to burst his bubble. So, she just smiled and patted the touseled heads of her rosy cheeked, cherubic children.

The checker showed them the receipt -pointing to the cost of the item and the change that was due. He counted out their change. 22 cents. 11 cents each. Unknown to him, soon to be forked over to their mother.

It was... the $3.28 lesson.

On the way home, GIRL had a question.

Mommy, why did we have to buy ANOTHER hand soap? Why couldn't we have used the extra one under the sink?

JCK: Because, Daddy and I want to teach you and BOY about the value of things -how much they cost, and where that money comes from. If we had just used that other soap, then you wouldn't have seen the cost of using up a bottle of hand soap.

GIRL: Well! I certainly KNOW how much soap COSTS!

BOY chose to remain silent. JCK should have known this was a SIGN.

Approximately 4 hours later, BOY & GIRL managed to cover themselves, the dog, and the dog's bed in muddy water.

There will be NO television for the rest of the weekend. No movies. Nuttin'.

JCK thinks it is no coincidence that her children resemble Spanky & Darla from The Little Rascals...


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Photo of: "Club Spanky" dream sequence from the 1937 short Our Gang Follies of 1938.


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