Late summer day

This morning at the playground Thomas headed straight for the big kids' playset, which has a special bumpy slide, a ship's ladder, a sliding pole, and a tricky staircase designed to keep preschoolers from climbing the playset.

Thomas stood and examined the staircase. "This is tricky," he said, pointing to the staircase's special anti-preschooler ladder step. "Not want Mas to climb up?" He climbed to the ladder step, carefully inserted a foot, and hauled himself up to the next step. "I did it! I made it!"

From that point up he was home free. He clambered to the top of the playset and slid down the bumpy slide wrong way round...again and again and again.

After we got home Thomas conked out. James went to help me mulch the odd hilltop part of our garden. As I spread mulch, he reassured the buddleias. "Don't worry, beautiful plants. My mama is putting mulch here so bad plants won't come and bother you. I know you are lonely, but soon we will plant more beautiful plants and you will always have friends." He turned to me. "Mama, I will keep the plants company while you go get another basket of mulch!"

Then we came back inside, cleaned up, and fixed tiny ice cream cones to eat on the back step. "Mama, you are so beautiful. I love you! And I love ice cream. Let's go inside and paint some pictures now."