Hell on Wheels


It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superdad on a bike! Plus a buggy for his sidekick. The man was almost as excited as the day he got his first Diamondback (and he hasn't owned a bike since).

We bought this rig somewhat impulsively. The walk to and from whatever parking place we find 1-3 miles from the ACL Fest is one we've dubbed the "Trail of Tears." As we tried to figure out the logistics of getting ourselves (and possibly Lu) down to the Fest, we knew it was time for Jason to get a bike. And because pumping a 3.5-year-old on the handlebars is generally frowned upon by Child Protective Services, we also invested in the buggy.

Marriage Plans

Lucy is going to marry Patrick. Not cousin Patrick, although she adores him. She is going to marry her best (and maybe only) friend at school. She is going to wear a white dress like Cinderella, and Patrick is going to wait for her on the stage . And everyone is going to watch. After that, we will all dance. But she and Patrick will dance by themselves first.

I have no idea where she gets this, but I am afraid. We need to start a wedding fund now.

Big Question

Lucy may be having an existential crisis. In the car tonight, she asked, "What does it mean mean?" And I was like, huh? What does it mean mean? She repeated herself a few times until I understood — "What does 'what does it mean' mean?" A question within a question wrapped up in an epistemilogical enigma.

Me, carefully: "Well, I think it means you don't understand something and want me to explain it to you."
Lucy: "Oh."

Next week: God.

Completely in Love with My Daughter

We had the best morning ever. Jason left for Dallas around 6:15, so I got up and got myself ready because I was worried how the morning would go without him. I woke her up about an hour later and she was HAPPY, which never happens. We snuggled up in the bed and watched Sesame Street, which was especially good this morning because it had a bit about Goldilocks. We sang the Three Little Bears Song and talked about porridge, which was the perfect segue to breakfast.

She wanted a peanut butter and honey sandwich, and when I tried to give her just bread, she said, "Mom, that sandwich is EMPTY." We laughed a lot about that. And she wore Duck on her head like a shiek all during breakfast, which was also funny.

On the way to school, we talked about when we'd go back to Laney's and play dress-up (Laney, naturally, has the BEST dress-up box around). When I dropped her off, she put her Care Bear (who is actually a dog) in the Show and Share Box, and we agreed on two hugs, two kisses and two high-fives. As I walked off, she shouted, "Later, Mom." Then she went inside carrying her bag and her lunchbox. And I have been thinking about her ever since.

Located: Sexy!

This post would be longer except this blog is about Lu, and what I am about to write has nothing to do with her. Well, it does have to do with the happiness of her mother, which any shrink will tell you is important to Lucy's sense of well-being. Anyway, about the Sexy, and whether it was or was not lost or out of style or missing in some way...I can safely say that Justin Timberlake did, indeed, bring it back tonight. JT delivered some happiness to a certain post-ingenue (and about 4 million others) tonight.

Context Clues

Lucy knows a lot of words and when to use them, but not exactly what some of them mean:

• Sneezes, says, "I think I have a cold." Pause. "Granny, what's a cold?"
• While hiding in our blanket igloo from a snow monster: "Mom, I think we better split up." Me, impressed with her sneakiness: "Good idea." Lu, impressed and confused: "But Mom, what's 'split up?'"
• In the car, Granny points out the traffic. Lu concurs, then asks what traffic is.

Vocabulary aside, her grammar is mind-blowing. She uses the following tenses: past, imperfect (past continuous), subjunctive, present perfect, conditional and some others I don't know. She can describe what she wants to do, what she's done and what she will be doing (oh and what she'd prefer to be doing in the future).

Things She Is Not Allowed to Do With Us

We are in New York having a great time. We have eaten, walked, eaten, and walked some more. Oh yes, and also shopping. And a show. And we went to the US Open to watch Ben and MEW's friend Paul play. He lost (to a one-time #4-ranked French dude), but it was thrilling to be rooting for someone we knew. Jason was thrilled at the possibility of bumping into Maria Sharapova.

Nini stayed with Lucy this weekend, and when I called this morning before they left for school, Lucy reported that they'd been watching Cinderella. In fact, that's ALL she said. She rolled over on Nini, then handed her the phone. I won't go off on an anti-Disney tirade, but Nini knows how I feel about it, and as long as she TAKES IT HOME WITH HER and MAKES IT VERY CLEAR that the whole Disney movie thing is SOMETHING SHE ONLY DOES WITH NINI, we're okay.

Granny will be handling the next two days, so she picked Lucy up from school. I just talked Lucy, and she said, "Mom, I'm using scissors to cut things in your old room." Then she hands the phone to Granny, presumably to keep cutting. I had known Granny was buying some rounded scissors, but am now realizing that it might be a good thing that she hasn't been using scissors, round or otherwise. A healthy fear of scissors is probably the main reason she has a semi-normal, not self-administered hairstyle.

I guess that's what we get when we leave town and rely on the help of family members (which we very much appreciate). But someone should warn Lucy that the prince won't fall in love with her if she gives herself an ugly haircut.

Happy Talk

She has been in the perfect mood for the past couple of days. Constant talking, questions and narration. She is either asking me to explain the world to her, or she is explaining it to me.

She is suddenly so much more nuanced in her understanding. Today I was chasing her and tickling her, and she was saying, "No, Mom, don't tickle me." And when I stopped she said, "Don't tickle me, Mom(implied question mark)...When I say it like that it means I do want you to tickle me."

She remains obsessed with gum. I made the mistake of telling her she could have gum when she is four. Yesterday, the dogs got into an ancient stash of bubble gum (leftover Halloween gum Abby brought to our house in 2005, I think). When we discovered it, Lucy ran around picking up the unchewed gum. "Gum is not for dogs. Or for babies. Or for when you're three. It's for when you're four. Or five. Or a grown-up." I am currently saving several pieces for her, and she insists that they stay on display in the kitchen window, presumably for the entire seven months that remain until she can chew them.