Columbus Day

I'm finding the return to regular life means less time for personal reflection and writing.  I'm going to try to squeeze in a posting since the dishes are done and Selim isn't due in the bath for another 40 minutes.  Although we have had such a big day that he may want to get in earlier.

We have had a three day heat wave with temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s.  It felt so warm that Selim and I went swimming in the ocean yesterday and then today we returned with Nedim in tow to witness.  I don't remember swimming in the Atlantic after Labor Day, what to speak of Columbus Day.

We had so much fun.  Yesterday, 3/4 of the Wallis Sands parking lot was full.  I should have followed my inner voice and tried to find the wetsuits before we left the house, but I didn't.  It would have been the perfect day for Selim to try ocean swimming for real.  Instead, he played happily in the water, but never took his feet off the sand.  I swam, even though the water was pretty cold.  We stayed over two hours and I even got a little color on my shoulders.

This morning we returned, with wet suits, his life jacket and goggles.  We forced Nedim into a family adventure so that he could take pictures to document our water play.  I wore a short wet suit and it made a huge difference in keeping warm.  I love being in the ocean and this felt like a special gift, especially since I never got to the beach during this hectic summer.

I managed to get a couple of other things done this long weekend.  I baked the bread that I envisioned when I bought the loaf pan in Bath.  I made earl grey ice cream.  The picture in the cook book was a little misleading.  In the photo, the ice cream is white and the cherries are really red.  But I followed the directions and mine turned out tannin color and the dried cherries are closer to brown than red.  Not so visually appealing, but very tasty.

Selim has a karate tournament on Saturday; his first.  He is very nervous.  His regular classes have gone past the regular time as they have been working on their forms and other things.  I love seeing his concentration, focus, and ability grow over time.  This month he is eligible to move up to the big person class.  Right now he is hesitant, but after the tournament, he may change his mind.

I think I am going to take some time off, before the year is out, to work on the house.  I've come back to all my clutter and am dismayed.  I need some quiet, non-mom time and go through the piles.  If I can live 15 weeks out of a couple of suitcases, I definitely do not need all this stuff to be happy.  I need my guys, my quilting and hand work projects, camera, and many of my books.  I do not need clothes that no longer fit, the magazine piles (except for the Architectural Digests), unopened junk mail stashes, pregnancy and early child books, and broken toys.  Clearly, I've lost control of my home and I'm not happy about it.

Some other night I'll post some pictures from our visit to the Ashram last weekend and the playground on Saturday.  I've got some good ones.