Snuggles

James is rapidly approaching that wonderful 6-9 month zone where he can sit, hug, and still not run headlong into traffic. In the mornings he smells warm and starchy and it is wonderful to just pick him up and see him smile. When everything else in life seems to be going haywire, it's nice to know holding him makes his day.

He's still the baby that tries to put both hands in oatmeal and has made off with a fair share of my hair, but those moments fade. The ones that stick are what it feels to hold him against you and kiss his forehead.

I tell myself to hang on to these moments when he is a teenager and trying to assert himself, but by then he will be another person. Perhaps one that is more frustrating, but probably just as interesting to observe as he grows.

Damn, is it Lent again?

Leo McKern remains one of my favorite actors. Rumpole of the Bailey was only one of his great roles. He also played a rather unorthodox monk in Ladyhawke who, when told he cannot eat the hawk in question, inquires, "Damn, is it Lent again?"

I felt similarly out of touch when I started receiving coupons for spring and Easter outfits. Seriously? I just recovered from Christmas. While I love buying the boys Easter suits, it just seems so soon, but once they put out the ads you have to buy or the sizes you want go. It's the principle of the Internet marketplace. Your size will stop being in stock if you wait. All other sizes will remain until clearance.

Then I realized, it isn't even Lent yet. This parenting thing means constantly living in the future and most days with work, I feel just barely caught up on the past.

Why again can't we eat the hawk?