A Year In Review: Part Three

Well hello there, gentle reader. Ready to pick up where we left off?

 By June, it was already feeling like summer. A big part of that was due to the teacher strike, of which J was very much a part. Thankfully, most days the weather was balmy. Often E came with her to walk the lines. He caught bees in mason jars, and learned how to set them free without getting stung. He rode his runbike and waved at passersby whether they honked or not. He asked good questions about why the government and the teachers were fighting, and learned that the personal is inevitably political. He taught a trio of teachers how to play Jacks and gave them a run for their money, if only they'd been making any.

As June dragged into July, M grew blonder and yet somehow remained adorably bald. His dimple deepened. Ever eager to fill his daddy's shoes, he still napped reliably on afternoon walks with his Grandpa. Not yet three, he was still (and maybe always will be) the baby of the family.

 E's interest in animals grew with the length of each day. He befriended the geese of Roberts Bay, the bird sanctuary at the end of our street, by tossing them handfuls of kelp. He collected snails on his morning walks. He became fascinated by penguins, the mascot of his school. He could explain the difference in size and eating habits of resident and transient orcas.

He told his parents he would be a marine biologist and study whales when he grew up. J had the feeling he didn't seem far from either.

It felt like the last summer they would be little. The last summer they would still sit in the grass and be dwarfed by its height. By September, M would begin preschool, and before long (if the government saw fit) E would begin first grade. J wanted to find a secret pocket in time where she could tuck her babies just as they were, keep them hidden and safe from the world.

 Change has folds of sweetness beneath its salty flavours, and that summer they lingered long and slow. E's bangs grew passed his eyebrows and his beauty became brighter. Winter's child kissed by midsummer's light.

And M. Little lamb-child. All wide-eyes and watching.

They are always perfect, these boys, every moment they're in.