I have now dropped Linus off at camp three times. It still feels odd to be in my car without him. When I admitted this to some of the moms I know, several told me they turn up the volume on the car radio because it is so quiet without the kids.
At Friday's session he learned how to play Duck, Duck, Goose. He was so cute when he explained to me how to play the game. He said, "I went around all of the kids saying, 'Duck, duck," and then when I got to the girl I wanted to be my goose, I touched her and said, 'Goose,' and we ran around!" He also learned to play a game called Wicked Witch. It involved calling out, "Wicked Witch, what time is it?" The kids had to take the same number of steps as the witch said was the time and then at some point running was involved. I experienced an awkward moment when he asked me what a wicked witch was. All sorts of images went through my mind: the witch from the Wizard of Oz movie, the Salem witch trials, the fun witch imagery at Halloween. I wasn't quite sure what was an age-appropriate answer and I changed the subject. I still need to figure that out and talk to him about it.
I asked him if he counted his steps out loud and he said, "Sometimes. Sometimes I let the other kids count and sometimes it was too noisy for me to think of the numbers."
Later, when I overheard Linus telling Matthew about it all, I felt as though a new, older kid was in our house. Plus, we'd gotten a letter from Linus' preschool teacher that day and I'd marked our calendar with things like the Class Lemonade. How on Earth did we get to this point? All I can say is, "Wow!"
(Lyz took this picture of us when she was visiting. When I drop Linus off, I help him open up his lunch before I leave. On this day his vegetable was peas from his garden. He even shelled them. He also had milk, fruit salad, and a wrap filled with herby cheese, lettuce, and summer squash.)
