We are all getting ready for Halloween. We picked out our costumes (or, more accurately, Mom picked them out for us). Emmett is going to be Woody from Toy Story; Riley is going to be Woody’s best friend, Buzz; and Tessa is going to be Rapunzel. These are all characters we know and love, and when Mom brought home the costumes, we were so excited that we couldn’t even fathom waiting until the end of the month to put them on. We wore our costumes for two-straight-days.
Emmett, actually, wore part of his costume for that time, as he prefers to be wearing only the bare necessities. As a result, Emmett ended up spending a long time in only his skivvies, his cowboy hat, and his belt and holster. It was quite a sight. All summer long, Emmett engaged in a power struggle with Mom and Dad over the need to wear so many confining clothes. He stripped down for naps. He refused to get dressed in the morning. Only so often will he even put on socks, regardless of the weather outside. Emmett just prefers to be nearer to the state in which he entered this world. Watching him, though, you can see the draw to this au natural lifestyle. He revels in the feel of soft blankets against his skin; he giggles when rolling in the grass, the cool touch of the blades eliciting a surprised intake of breath. Why put a barrier between experiencing everything that you come into contact with? Why ruin such fun?
Unlike Emmett, however, Riley and Tessa opted for their full costumes. Riley kept saying, “Tessa’s a pretty Rapunzel.” It was very cute.
We have all been working on our animals and animal sounds lately. Riley is a softie and loves to snuggle and play with almost any kind of animal. But, for some reason, right now he thinks that everything is mean. (“That’s a mean bird, Mommy.”) So, when we decided to get some fish for the pond, the first thing that Riley asked for was a mean fish. Mom and Dad tried to talk him out of it, but we think that the fish somehow heard him and when we got to the fish store, the fish knew about his request.
We all approached the above-ground ponds, filled with koi, with a bit of excitement. Emmett, of course, right away removed the lid and tried to reach in for a fish. But when the store employee came over with a skimmer to select a fish, one of the fish darted up and out of the water, smacking loudly against Riley’s face and then back into the pond. For a heartbeat, Riley just stood there, unsure. Then he looked to Mom and Dad for some explanation. Seeing that this episode could go one of two ways, they assured Riley that the fish was not mean and that it, instead, jumped out of the water to say “hello” to him.
Riley, at first, was not convinced. But after continued reassurances regarding the fish’s underlying motives, Riley started saying-kind of unconvinced at-“Yeah, the fishy jumped up to say hi to Riley.” But, by the end of the morning, he was repeating that refrain with belief and gusto. It really wasn’t a mean fish. The fish was so overcome with joy at seeing Riley that he jumped out of the water to say hello, conveyed by way of a resounding, watery slap across the face. Unfortunately, due to the weather, once the fish were deposited into the pond, they settled to the rocky bottom to hibernate for the winter. Only come spring, when the koi thaw and begin moving about their new home, will we all be able to tell the color of that fish’s heart.
With the memory of the tail slap slowly fading, Riley started seeing animals everywhere. There was an elephant and a giraffe in the trees in the neighborhood. A fish was visable in the waterfall of an area lake. But the 300-pound black bear in the backyard kind of came out of nowhere.
We were all playing outside, with Emmett and Daddy moving between the kitchen making dinner and the backyard where we were rolling in the grass and playing in the sand box. All of sudden, Dad came outside whispering fervently, “Bear! Bear!” Mom looked up, and sure enough there was a black bear just sitting there, watching us. It wasn’t all that close-maybe 50 yards away. And no one was quite sure what to do.
Dad had a camera and was running to the bear, but Mom seemed hesitant to hang out outside with such mouth-watering appetizers (us) on display for the bear. Mom’s better sense won out, and she picked us up (Emmett was inside, in the kitchen) and ran to the house. Riley was impressed. “Mommy’s running fast,” he said, as if hardly believing that Mom was capable of such speed. But from the safety of the deck, we all peered out into the evening light, trying to get a good look at this new neighbor.
“Mommy, where are the bear’s eyes?” Riley wondered.
“Bear,” Tessa repeated, trying to open the gate to convey our welcome.
Soon, however, the bear wandered back into the trees and disappeared. And now, Riley often sees the bear when driving to school, although we’ve never confirmed these sightings. Regardless, Riley assures us that the bear is, indeed, a mean bear. But that the bear does have eyes.
See you soon,
E, R and T
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