IN WHICH AJ OBSERVES THE BEAUTIFUL

Yesterday afternoon AJ stood at the top of the sledding hill surveying the terrain. His nap had gone later than usual and by the time AJ had attempted to cheer up his still ailing father with a story and wriggled into his snow pants, the sun was already going down. The sky was a deep blue and occasionally turquoise shot through with shards of brilliant yellows, oranges and pinks. It was an incredible night. AJ and I made the first run down the hill together, the frost stinging our faces. We hit a bump about halfway down that nearly knocked us off, but we held fast and slid to a stop just before the frozen stream in the valley below. As we walked up the hill, still smiling, AJ began singing �Twinkle, twinkle little star� at the top of his lungs. Pretty soon I joined him.

�I want to go down myself this time and then I want to go with you and then I want to go by myself again. It�s a pattern�

AJ is very interested in patterns all of a sudden. He has always liked arranging things.

AJ went down by himself so fast that his giggles and shrieks came in fast peels and I had to sprint down the snowy hill like a crazed moon walker in order to catch up with him.

By the time we�d stopped laughing and climbed again, a new light had appeared in the sky at the top of the hill.

�Mommy, look at the beautiful, beautiful moon!�

And it was too. A great, big round yellow moon hanging heavy and low just behind the black silhouette of a gnarled and ancient oak tree. It was a spectacular moon. It was a spectacular night.

There are moments like this when I wonder why I miss living in the city.

------

IN WHICH AJ TAKES ON THE AFTERLIFE

I was reading the NY Times this morning, as usual, when AJ came up to me and peered over my shoulder.

AJ: �What�s that? It looks like where you go into the car wash� (AJ hates the car wash)
Harriet: Actually it�s a curtain on a stage. There used to be a man named Johnny who had a TV show that a lot of people used to watch. He would come out in front of that curtain every night and say funny things. But he died a couple of days ago, so they printed a picture of the curtain with no one in front of it, because he�s not around anymore. (I tend to get long-winded when the subject of death is broached, however tangentially)
AJ: Oh. Because now he�s behind the curtain.

-----

IN WHICH AJ CONTEMPLATES EXPLORING AND BARKS OUT ORDERS

Scene: The lunch table in the Harriet household. AJ is eating a bowl of noodles and a plate of grapes and bananas. Harriet is trying to suck down a yogurt while simultaneously reading stories in hopes that AJ might stay seated at the table long enough to finish his meal.

AJ: (interrupting a story about a cat playing hide and seek) You know what, Mommy?
Harriet: (taking the opportunity to swallow her yogurt as fast as possible) Hmm?
AJ: I was thinking that later we could put on our snow things and go out in the snow and see what�s going on.
Harriet: Do you want to go sledding again?
AJ: Hmm. Maybe. But I just want to see what�s going on. READ!!

0 people said it like they meant it