Today had to have been one of the great weather days in history. A blue cloudless sky. No humidity. 74 degrees. A light breeze. Perfect. Late this morning someone posted a balloon-toped sign across from our house reading �Wedding� above an arrow pointing toward the river. To have an outdoor wedding on such a day would seem a very good omen.

AJ woke up in a spectacular mood this morning, putting us all in a good humor. We hauled him off to a playground around nine where he proceeded to chase after another boy half a head taller than he. �What�s your name?� he asked. �David.� The other boy replied. AJ ran over to pass along his newly acquired information before he had a chance to answer David�s query about his own name. David then asked him how old he was, but AJ didn�t hear that either, prompting David to spend the next few minutes following AJ around saying, �I�m three! I�m three! I�m three! It was reassuring to see AJ is not alone in the incessant repetition department. And clearly the penchant has something to do with being three, three, three!

Although we�d planned to go somewhere more exciting, we ended up spending most of our day in the backyard. A little lounging around AJ�s wading pool with cups of lemonade, a little digging in the dirt, a little pruning of shrubs and planting of flowers. It was highly satisfactory.

I am typing while watching the last stages of the National Spelling Bee on ESPN, which sucks me in every year. The tension is thrilling, although it�s hard to watch children look so nervous. I can�t even imagine what it would be like to watch your own child up on that stage. I love the voice of the Pronouncer (and yes, that is his official job title, as listed on my television screen). I also love the subtle, quiet ding of the bell that lets the spellers know that they�ve made a mistake and are out of the bee. If the speller is right, there is no acknowledgement � (other than delayed applause). This puts the focus squarely on error. Mostly, though, I love the words. The broadcast is totally geared towards nerds like me who like to play along at home. They don�t reveal the spelling of the word until the contestant begins spelling, even on the closed captions (I know this because I tried to cheat). �Sciapodous� � having very large feet � is my favorite thus far.

The other entertaining feature about the Spelling Bee broadcast is that the commercials are not adjusted for any possible change of audience from ESPN�s usual target. Thus I�ve seen an ad for Pepto-Bismol with people doing a dance that acts out various forms of gastric distress, an ad for a personal beverage vending machine (no coins required), and an ad for a toilet featuring a man sprinting through a house with a plunger accompanied by the music of Richard Wagner.

I leave you with that image, as I am dozing off at the keyboard, and no doubt, so are you.

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