anyone living with a little kid knows that within any 24-hour period, there are many ups and downs. overall, lillie is an extremely happy child, for which i am lucky!! but the last day has taken lots of extra energy and love in caring for her.
last night, we had a huge storm...finally! the intolerable heat and humidity broke with the lighting that filled the sky; the thunder that shook our house. it rained so hard that at times, we couldn't see the lake. we sat on the porch and just listened. when it got bad enough, angus (our cat) and lillie both hid under the dining room table. it was pretty funny, in one of those ways that you can't laugh out loud for offending the child.
today dawned calm and clear - gorgeously still water, whitish blue sky. it was so serene that we walked outside in our pjs and took pictures - of the geese families, swimming away from us; of the shoreline looking right and left. the water was so calm. we could not WAIT to jump in.
lillie and i were putting on our swimsuits when we noticed this guy walking in our yard. he was stapling chemical treatment notices to trees on each property. we rushed out to see it - no swimming today, no watering our plants for the next few days. although people can fish - what does that say? we can't swim or water our plants, but we can eat fish that ingest these chemicals? scary! even the geese got out, and settled on our neighbor's lawn.
the chemical treatment people made two swipes around the lake, putting one chemical in the water, and the other sprayed atop the water. the first run, they looked normal. the second run, they had on hazmat suits and breathers. YIKES!! this really freaks me out.
thus began a day of challenging parenting. lillie was sad, at first. she cried because she couldn't go swimming. then she got mad, and wanted to rip the sign down so that she could go into the water. next, she went and sat in a chair and looked longingly at the lake (when i wasn't looking), concurrently looking angry and annoyed (when i was). no tv shows or videos would console her. no puppet shows (usually the prize activity). no hair salon, no baking, no playing dress up. this child can be so stubborn!! finally, she decided that she'd never seen princess jasmine swim, and so she went and put on her princess jasmine outfit. a day without swimming was tolerable if one wasn't princess sea, or lillie. we made some gelato (currently being frozen in the ice cream maker) and a special dessert for tomorrow, when alice comes over. we played princess jasmine's hair salon, princess jasmine's store, princess jasmine's library. and then, the coup de grace of the day, she danced. mostly with her eyes closed, as befits a princess. happy lillie....
copyright 2006, jessica voigts
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Comments: 50
mary - you're right. scary, indeed!!!
thank you!
Salud,
Entertaining narrative and superb illustrations. Happy that lovely Lillie got her groove on eventually. They are so exasperatingly cute when they're petulant.
Great article, Jessie; great photos too, as expected.
and please, a picture of cranky lillie sometime soon - we could all use a laugh!
i'll try to get a pic of cranky lillie. you'll just crack up... i am still smiling over her closed-eyes dancing.
thanks!
dawn - thanks! when we lived in mpls, they had these combines for lakes - they would just mow the weeds. it was so cool to see. wish they'd do that here.
thanks!!
Lillie is such a sweetie! It's easy to see that she is cherished and loved, and that she is herself a loving and happy child. Great job, Mom and Dad!
Thank you for sharing this tale...replete with scary moments and disappointments...of your life at your wonderful lakeside home.
I think Jack Bauer is hiding in the boat with the green tarp.
And I'd like to see the angry face...I bet it's too cute!
You live in a gorgeous place.
PK
thank you!!
Nothing like dancing with your eyes closed to forget all about the disappointing part of the day. Great pics and narrative, as always!
- mike
thank you!
-ash-
Still, lovely photos.