AJ is downstairs watching a documentary about the human circulatory system. Mr. Spy is downstairs listening to Jimmy Webb. I am upstairs listening to all of the above, plus the neighbors� dogs, the kids next door playing basketball in the driveway, the barn workers whistling the horses indoors for the night. That is because the sun has just set and the temperature has just now dipped below 70 and the windows are wide open.

It was a stunningly beautiful day, the kind of day that demands the taking of an impromptu holiday. AJ and The Girl Next Door played in the muddy yard all morning, shrieking with delight. They ate lunch in our kitchen, swinging their feet against the counter stools. We all walked to school together, AJ, TGND, her mother and myself. While AJ was at school, I ran birthday related errands, for AJ turns six the day after we arrive at my parents� for vacation. My dad turns 65 the same day, so we will have as big a party as we can muster for five people. After I got back, I headed out for my run and did a much better job of ending up at AJ�s school at the right time, thanks to you and you for your helpful suggestions.

The only bad thing about the weather was that I was forced to wear shorts on my run, thus terrifying small children everywhere with my enormous pasty white thighs.

After school, the kids rushed out to the playground and we stood and watched them play until we all walked home together in a big parade. AJ�s friend M. came home with us and we all ended up trouping down to our neighborhood park, the one with the playground at the river�s edge. AJ and I have been going there almost every nice day since we moved here five years ago and we almost never see other kids. But today there were at least twenty running around, 7 of them kindergartners. There were also parents and dogs galore. AJ wasn�t wild about the dogs, but he was crazy enough about the crowd that he put up with them.

After the rest of the crew dispersed in cars, I helped AJ ride his bike, newly freed of its training wheels, home. He still can�t balance by himself, but he�s desperate to try. I know from experience that that probably means he�ll be zooming around on his own two wheels in no time. But for now, I hold onto the handlebars as he pedals. About halfway home (it�s about a mile and uphill all the way home) he was lagging, so we stopped for a rest on the bench by the big waterfall. M.�s mom, who was driving by with two of M�s siblings, saw the signs of fatigue and stopped and offered us a ride home, bike and all, which we gratefully accepted.

The sun set in a fierce pink sky. Even the puddles of melted snow standing in the driveway were pink and shimmering. And now it�s time to work but all I can do is listen to the basketball next door and think of my rose-colored day. It is hard to imagine that it is supposed to snow within the next 36 hours.

[Second entry today; click back for a link fiesta. Ol�!]

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