Fishing

I'm starting day 3 of this new career and new commute (how does one adjust from a 20 minute walk to a 2-1/2 hour cab/train/train commute?) The hardest part, of course, is the compression of my time with JR. I think he's noticing too. He's been great so far about cooperating with Dad in the mornings and getting dressed, fed and out of the house in time for camp (I leave way before either of them are awake). He's been cheerfully willing to accept being picked up by babysitters (well, one old preschool teacher and one grown, college-attending cousin). I've gotten home almost in time for dinner (I'm working on that) and I've managed to be around for my favorite part of our routine together - bedtime.

We had been moving to a system where JR got his bath alone while I took care of household chores and setting clothes out for the next day. But last night, he wanted me to stay with him in the bathroom and he accomplished that by relating a very detailed account of that day's fishing adventure. It was great. My monosyllabic boy, who, ever since kindergarten began last September, has been increasingly stingy about sharing the details of the day, burst forth with a story of going fishing in the deepest part of the creek, the part nearest the campers' shelter. "Only boys, but one girl, oh and the teacher was a girl" "S almost caught a fish, but it was so slippery it jumped back in the water." "Did you know that salamanders are really slippery too? We saw a salamander. It was black and yellow. Those are the caution colors. Just like the tape in the city. If you see the caution colors you know the animal will taste yucky. We could have caught the fish if we'd had a net. Well, I had a net, but I gave it to Z and the fish swam in and jumped right out. We used sticks with worms on the end. When you lift up a log there are a million worms. No, I didn't have a stick. My job was to put the worms onto the sticks. But S almost caught the fish. Someone else almost caught a salamander. We saw a slug too - it also had the caution colors. Like the bee. I think I got bit by a black and yellow bug but it wasn't a bee. It was littler than a bee. But it had the caution colors...."

Ah, my city boy ...