slow and steady

On Tuesday night, I turned from my laptop - full of that vaguely ill computer screen-overdose feeling - and told Mike I was in sore need of some leisure. I felt like I'd been running all day, only to click and type through seemingly endless work odds and ends and volunteer commitments after the children were in bed.

Then on Wednesday morning I was awoken by the sound of one big sneeze, followed by a series of mildly croupy coughs coming from the direction of Gabriel's room. Not the kind of sick noises that make a mama panic; rather the kind that make her heart sink. I'd keep him home from school, he'd go stir crazy, and I wouldn't get any of the things done that I'd left from the night before. Oh dear.

But was I mistaken! Those coughs were in fact the sound of the universe enforcing the slower pace upon me that I'd been wishing for just hours before. Sometimes it takes a sick kid to help me take a breath, look around, and really know that everything will be just fine. It's okay if those emails go unreturned for a day. Nothing will fall apart if I refrain from productivity - or the scrambly, inefficient semblance of it - for a nice, long stretch.

It doesn't hurt that the weather has become glorious and cool. I watched that bee climb all the way inside each morning glory, with only it's industrious, fuzzy bee bottom visible for a moment, and then climb back out, straight onto the next flower. He was busy enough for the both of us.

Gabriel and I pitched balls to each other, and watered the garden, and tried in vain to catch the tiny baby grasshoppers everywhere. I hung a load of laundry. (The mosquitoes have not yet received the memo about how the beastly buggy days of summer are on their way out, but they'll catch on soon enough.They attacked me through my leggings! Wily, wicked creatures).

So when we were driven indoors, we realized we had time to tackle a project we've been conceiving ever since soccer season started. Daily, Gabriel asks if today is a soccer day. I explain practice is on Wednesdays and games are on Saturdays, but the days of the week are not conceptually easy for him to grasp. So finally, we made a calendar.

I found some nice watercolor paper, which we first drew on in pencil to create a grid. Gabriel wrote the word "September" above it with such pleasure and satisfaction! In the past week the whole world of letters and words has suddenly opened up to him. It is a joy to watch him make connections and feel compelled to write important things down, all by himself.

We went over the pencil lines in marker. Then Gabriel drew soccer players on every Wednesday and Saturday. Finally, he painted his calendar. And the finishing touch? "I will draw a wild poodle at the top. Made out of...balloons!"

We added the God's eye he made in church on Sunday, and the calendar was complete.

Does he understand the days of the week, or when soccer practice is any better? Doubtful. But he is very proud of his work. And honestly, so am I. A long morning of creative mothering at home was just what I needed to tip the scales back towards a place of balance.