goodbye clothes, hello summer

I don't think either child got dressed yesterday. They wore either bathing suits or nothing at all. As you can see, this was the way the under-five set in our house operated on Sunday too, together with our friends Amelia, Henry and Agatha (adorable riding with the diapered school bus driver, above).

How I love feeling sunned and a bit sticky, having life oriented outside. Of course, the addition of Tumbletoads to our backyard and the presence of dear old friends facilitated the feeling of summertime satisfaction this weekend. Children scampering about, climbing and swinging and perfecting their tricks!

Highlights? Yes, I think I can come up with a few. I was immensely proud of Frances, who with Henry's help soon discovered the joy of completing a 'backwards somersault flip' all by herself.

Amelia made her signature crowns for the royal good guys - no wait, bad guys - no no, actually they are good guys. Until they switch hideouts and turn into bad guys again.

The water fun started in the wading pool. We eventually made it down the street to our neighborhood pool, where Amelia discovered how I spent my summer last year - hovering over a toddler drawn to the edge of the water like a moth to the flame. How relaxing!

All the sunshine and pool time reminded me of Edith and Asa's visit last summer. If only I'd kept the blog then so I could link to that post! Then as now, I'll take a wading pool over the Big Pool any day. Maybe I'll change my tune when the children can play on the slide in the deep end, relatively supervision-free, and I can be that mom hiding on a chaise lounge in a shady corner with a novel. And a beer. But I digress.

Mike turned on the tickle charm with little Aggie, cozy here in pajamas flecked with melted fudgsicle.

Cleaning up the kitchen after our friends left Sunday evening, I felt the peace of a day spent with others without a shred of social weirdness. I reflected on the way our tender, early, impressionable years as new parents were shaped in relationship with Amelia and Michael. I learned how to do this with them. Whenever a new problem arises or challenge presents itself, I always want to ask Amelia what to do - though the truth is I can usually imagine what she would say, and that in itself is helpful. [One of the only things helping me to be relatively calm as I plunge ahead towards an unprecedented week away from my family (for a Listening Hearts training retreat) is Amelia's support of the endeavor and her assurance that everyone will be just fine.]

The intimacy of two years spent sharing developmental milestones, the duty of pushing our kids to preschool in the shared double stroller (a pleasure that I, with the most demanding work schedule of the four of us back then, missed out on), sweaty walks home from the market, laden with heavy cantelopes and sweet potatoes, pleading with children who refused to ride in their strollers, and countless impromptu family dinners - these experiences are imprinted on me just as early experiences, for better or worse, are firmly lodged in our children's developing brains. I realize now, in another town, how I carried away certain assumptions about what makes for a good family life, what not to worry about too much, and what one might need to ask for help with. And these things are not universals, as I have discovered!

How lucky we were. Are. What a delight to share parenthood; to have parent-comrades that you don't have to translate or explain things to, that, for lack of a better phrase, get it. I don't feel defensive exposing my vulnerabilities or for that matter my children's vulnerabilities around such friends. Thank goodness for Amelia, and for all my kindred spirit mamas. Here we are, sweaty and dirty together, and it feels great.