Susan's Blog

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Hey Mom

“Hey Mom, if one end of the Asteroid Belt is at Mars and Jupiter, where do you think the other end is?”
–Benji, this morning, before I’d finished my second cup of coffee.

Asteroid Belt? Is that a new fashion, to be worn low and sparkly on the hips?
Why doesn’t he ask Ned? I think it’s so cute and wonderful that he figures he can ask me this stuff; I am so non-science, non-math, but to Ben, I’m still Mom-in-the-know. Or maybe he just thinks I will make the effort to think about it and come up with an answer. Here is a typical conversation with Ben:
“Hey Mom,” is the start of most of my conversations with Ben. “Hey Mom, want to know something about Planet X,025?”
“Hmm?”
“It has three moons and a ring. And the ring on that planet actually protects its moons. I wished I lived there.”
Ahh, this is something I can now relate to. “Why?”
“So I can see how it felt to live with one eye. And you could feel what it is like to just say one word and a laser shoots out of it.”
“Out of what?”
“The eye! And the people of Planet X,025 only live on the three moons. They haven’t ever explored the planet!”
“Oh, then they have something to look forward to.”
“Yeah.” Satisfied, he gets out his pad (There is a stack at the end of the dining room table and assorted pens; a very large stack behind him on the sideboard, of maybe 30 pads, another similarly large stack next to the computer, another of brand new pads on the floor next to the computer, and two totally packed shelves of completed pad stories. Today I am going to try to dust, and I feel very depressed about the prospect! But every time he calls me into his room because there is a spider among the webs of dust on all his Legos, I take the opportunity to say, “That’s why we need to dust in here more often!”)

But I know I am not going to dust today. I won’t get to it. We still have no pumpkins, and it is only two days until Halloween! So the priority today is to go to a nearby farm and get a few pumpkins and carve those mothers. The other thing we must do today is clear our front yard of acorns. The oak tree let loose so many that our front yard is studded with them. You no longer feel grass underfoot; you crunch roundly with your feet.

I will spend a part of today picking up dust balls and picking up acorns and picking up pumpkin seeds and mopping up pumpkin guts and answering hard scientific questions and checking my email and trying not to eat those cookies Nat and I baked and looking for some fun in those things. That is my life on a late October Sunday.

7 comments

We just carved our pumpkins this morning! But I have to get a black sheet (or dye one) for H’s costume, and pick up candy and cider etc. for the big day. We host an annual trick-or-treat sortie. All old friends, so no need to put on the dog, but some effort must be made. October is a busy busy month at our house too!

— added by nancy bea on Sunday, October 29, 2006 at 10:20 am

It’s great that he still thinks of you as Mom-in-the-know, there to answer all the questions about science, miscellaneous and who-knows-what! 🙂

And I love crunching acorns underfoot. Here’s hoing you can have fun sweeping them up, though.

— added by Louise on Sunday, October 29, 2006 at 12:19 pm

Sounds like a great day to me. I too have been working in the yard, and my autistic son H. has been breaking branches off of bushes, and, with one in each hand, shakes them all about as he jumps and sings in the back yard – my little cheer leader! It feels good that he likes to be near me.

— added by Zoe on Sunday, October 29, 2006 at 2:05 pm

Bbbbbetterr ttthhann uuusss (bad imitation of teeth chattering), we are freezing here under seven inches of snow. Our pumpkins have triangular white snow hats on. We are thinking of making a Snow Ghoul.

At least we are not one of the quarter million in this area that are out of power, their only lights tonite will be in their jack-o-lanterns.

— added by Anonymous on Sunday, October 29, 2006 at 4:27 pm

My two pumpkins are still sitting on the table with faces drawn on them in silver marker and a cobalt blue moon-shaped piece of glass as a horn carved in one of them. I picked up a wood carving kit and a filet knife to carve them…after I clean up the collection of laundry and dishes heaped during the time I spend costume-making. I was a she-man on Friday night and Mary Magdelene on Saturday. We’ll see if i get my silver She-Wizard cloak made for Tuesday. Baby Bat and Dragon Lizard pictures to follow..some day soon. Happy Halloween to the Batchelders and my favorite Senator! Busy and Happy Times.

— added by mrs. gilb on Sunday, October 29, 2006 at 5:41 pm

Oh Nancy Bea –
I so wish I lived down there so I could go to your party! I love Halloween parties and there are none for me this year. Should have made my own…

Louise — The boys all did the work while I was at the gym!!!

Zoe — Isn’t that the best??

Jan — That really sux. Snow happens.

Mrs. Gilb — I wish we could get together and compare costume-making notes!!

— added by Susan Senator on Monday, October 30, 2006 at 6:44 am

PUMPKINS!!!!!! I new I forgot something!

— added by Anonymous on Monday, October 30, 2006 at 4:30 pm

%d bloggers like this: