Mud

The humorous: We headed home, the Baby Girl and I, a bit earlier from the park as anticipated. I forgot to turn on my common sense button before we left the house. Got there, found the playground awash in wicked hot direct sun (imagine! at 11:30a!). But it was our good fortune that the park sits next to part of a little bay area that empties into Boston Harbor, which, you figure, empties into the ocean.

So Baby Girl...well really I decided we should "cool off" down by the water. Sand was muddy and dense like quicksand. Within a minute, Baby Girl and I were caked in mud to our knees (common sense would have told me to turn around, not pass go, not collect $200 but WE HAD TO get to that water!).

Almost got eaten alive by tiny crabs, so populous were they. Attempting to walk back to sandy patch and Baby Girl cannot traverse mud. I pick her up, she kicks me in the face. Now my face is muddy, including my spectacles which do not come with wiper features. Our clothes are also muddy, and I don't know how this happened really. We were sparkling clean just moments ago.

I look down and see that my shoes, which are part Croc plastic, part fabric are irrevocably muddy. I make a donation of Crocs to the park garbage can. I drive home barefoot with child screaming muddy murder in backseat.

The serious:

When I think about my life in Christ, I think about how often I am rebuked to give up something more to follow Him. How I will say, Jesus, I give you this this AND this BIG BIG thing, oh, but that thing over there? I'm going to take care of that, Jesus. Don't you mind that. That's under control.

He says pick up your mat and follow me. Deny your mother and father and follow me.

Maybe even throw the shoes away that are keeping you from getting to the living water, throw them away and follow me.

I'm shoeless now, Jesus. I think I'm ready. But what about my muddy kid with the tears?

Kongrisheee

Loverpants has an aunt who is lovely and sends us clothing items for Baby Girl from Korea. I am especially grateful for these items, not only because our now 18 month-old is a peanut and fits more readily into the Korean clothes (go figure, since she is Korean), but because the ensembles are novelty items in other ways, too. Item the First arrived some months ago. It has been hanging in the closet until I figure out its purpose.

For starters, doesn't it look like a straightjacket?

And what of the 2 pockets? Is one for the latchkey kid's carabiner? And the second for her lunch money? Is that how they roll at 18 months in Korea?

I also have to wonder about the text on the shirt.

If you look closely, it refers to "Fashtons using Basic fabrics...." Fashtons? Is that a cleverly elided hybrid for tons of Fascists? Because that doesn't seem quite appropos for children's apparel.

Now the second shirt is very cute. The curious thing is that the tag is on the outside, but I suppose children don't like tags rustling their skin.

The irony for me, though, is that it is social custom among Koreans to "fix" the appearance of friends and acquaintances. This includes a certain vigilance about tucking in people's tags. Presentation is everything in Korean culture, so if someone pulls a tiny string off of you - like it was the biggest bother to them, like they couldn't concentrate on what you were saying because of that pesky thread on your scarf - you should be complimented. So I don't know if this pajama set is just forcing the compliment, but Baby Girl is a fan of it so far. The front of the shirt says "Let's Go Happy Travel." Nothing too ridiculous. Happy Trails would probably make more sense, but at least it's better than this broken English e-mail found on the straightjacket pocket:

Polka Dots

Yesterday I was able to take a leisurely bike ride. The weather was a splendid summer cocktail of warm, breezy and sunny. Baby Girl and Loverpants were out causing car accidents, what with how distractingly cute they look all riding in and pushing that jogging stroller, respectively. They left the house before I did and as I was turning onto a main drag I saw a cute dad with a hottie body pushing a jogging stroller OH WAIT THAT'S MY FAMMMMBLY! I passed them and looked back and my little darling was looking exactly like Red the Fraggle with two ponytails defying gravity. The moment gave me goosebumps, my beautiful family, the beautiful weather, this city, this air, these freckles and suntan lotion that make up this moment! Ah, to be alive!

Then Lovey shouted something that I only heard the last words of -- wahh--Polka dots?

Kenny! Your pants! They're see-through.

***

Apologies to the estimated 10,000 people I passed along the Harborwalk yesterday. I hope my polka-dotted underwear did not offend.