Mother's Day, and Linden wisdom

On a super fun family bike trip. The trilliums are out!

Happy, happy Mother's day to all the wonderful mothers out there!  This year, mother's day passed by in a flurry of activity -- it began with a sleep-in (8 am!), followed by some presents in bed (both hand-made and hand-picked from Value Village).  It then proceeded to a wonderful impromptu early brunch with Jane, Mike and Poppy, and ended with us crashing a family get-together hosted by some Kanata friends.  I always feel particularly lucky at this time of year -- both to be a mom and have such wonderful mothers in my life.

Every year, Clark interviews the kids and asks them the same questions about me, to see how things change or remain consistent from year to year.  I won't post the whole interviews, but the answers that kept appearing with some regularity this year from both kids were that I really like to snuggle, and that I'm good at cooking food. That's me in a nutshell, folks.

Post-brunch park time with Poppy

Seeing as I fill this page each week with my own (sometimes inane) ramblings, I thought that today I'd offer some relatively random stories and observations, fresh from the young mind of Linden.

Two trilliums - one in full bloom, and it's white cousin, about to open.  I've always had a fondness for trilliums.

The other day, I broke down and got some Puffins cereal for Linden.  He'd been patiently but persistently requesting it for weeks. When he woke up the next morning, I said:

Tara: "Guess what, Linden?  Because you really wanted it, and you've been so polite and patient, I got you a special box of Puffins"

Linden: "And also because I'm a very good boy, and you love me sooooo much, right?"

My old nemesis: the broken foot woods.  We've recently become reacquainted.  So far, so good.

This past week, Linden's Junior Kindergarten class got together with two other classes, and put on a show.  There were a whole bunch of ridiculously cute kids, doing their best to sing all the songs they had been practising for weeks. Linden was VERY excited to be partaking, though he was upset he didn't have clothes that were nearly fancy enough (the tie was the best compromise we could come up with, short of borrowing one of Juniper's dresses, which he strongly considered and then eventually dismissed).

Going to bed that night, we asked him (as we always do), what his favourite part of the day was. His reply?:

"Singing on stage, and being sooooo proud of myself"  (and then, thinking about it a bit more) "and the dessert".

At least being proud of himself came first!

Linden in front of his life-sized artwork at his school concert

Though she had no part in the concert, Juniper couldn't resist donning her fanciest dress.  Or settling in for some pre-concert reading.

Post-concert photo op

Stuffing post-concert dessert in his face

Linden will get frustrated about things he has trouble with; mad at Juniper for pestering him, and upset when he thinks people are laughing at him.  He is a sensitive little guy.  What has been causing him an especially large amount of grief as of late, however, is (if you can believe it) the fact that he will never be able to carry a child.  I kid you not.

Often, the conversation will go something like this:

Linden: "I want to be like you when I grow up, mom"
Tara:  "What a nice thing to say, Linden!  What do you mean by that?"
Linden: "I want to be a girl"
Tara: "Oh, really?  Why is that?  What would you like about being a girl?"
Linden: "I want to have a uterus. I want to grow a baby in my uterus.  But I know I can't."

We've had lots of discussions about what he CAN do, and how he can contribute as a parent, and all the decisions he can make (about gender etc etc), but I think really and truly, the only thing he really wants is the one thing he can't have.  It is both sweet, and sad.

I will say, however, that just yesterday, the topic came up again when we were at brunch, and he told Jane authoritatively that he can "help MAKE a baby".  So things are, perhaps, looking up in his world.

Spring blooms, which make every walk even more exhilarating than normal

Beautiful blossoms covering the woods floors

Linden has also recently been touting the importance of physical activity.  Or, as he calls it, "extra-cising".  This is, I think, an especially important concept for someone with so much energy.  We are all more than happy to oblige and participate in extra-cising, in all the many forms it can take.

Juniper, helping Linden complete his "obstacle course" - both by making the rings possible, and by simultaneously counting down to see if he could complete the entire circuit in 30 seconds.  

Why settle for plain old soccer when you can get a cliff involved?

Flying a little balsa airplane

Climbing trees.  Bonus point to Juniper for initiating and completing the task in a long dress.  A girl after my own heart.