Savannah Ogeechee Canal

Family time seems to be hard to come by lately. The kids have become incredibly independent, which is a great thing . . . . but it means most they drop their school bags by the door and shout “I’m going to a friend’s house!” and out the door they go again. My time with them is spent fussing about homework and violin practice and showers. And I realize that the older they get, the more this will be the case. (Though I hope I can stop fussing about homework and bathing one of these days!) So now, while I can, I want squeeze in as much fun family time as possible!

Sunday afternoon we headed out for a walk at the Savannah Ogeechee Canal, a canal built in 1830 to connect the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers, allowing southern plantations to move their stores of rice, wheat and lumber quickly and more safely to market. In 1862, General Sherman’s army camped in the area where the canal meets the Ogeechee River, before attacking Fort McAllister, a few miles to the east. Today the canal serves mostly as a nature preserve. There is a tiny museum (where we found baby gopher tortoises!) and an area where scout troops can camp – something I think we will be doing later this spring!

 

Flying through February

February: baking and homework, warm sunny afternoons after long rainy weeks, homework and baking and more homework. And Alton Brown! Trying to remember to find the beauty in the day to day seems harder in February, but spring is right around the corner . . .

eleven

I still can’t believe another year has come and gone, but suddenly my baby boy is eleven. And what a spectacular eleven year old he is! While our trip to LEGOland over the winter break was his official birthday celebration, we also had two fun-filled weekends to bookend his actual birthday.

First there were sleepovers with best buddy Ben and Lola Gray’s friend Sofia. We all headed downtown for pizza at Screamin’ Mimi’s followed by two amazing documentaries at the Gray’s Reef Ocean Film Festival. After watching Mission Blue, and despite the fact that it was way past bedtime, the kids wanted to stay and get autographs from the amazing Sylvia Earle.

Schools were closed on Fletcher’s birthday, so we had a lazy morning with birthday pancakes and gifts, then cake and lots of playing with neighborhood friends.

The next day, I took treats to school and got to visit with Fletcher’s class for a while. First I sat in on the tail end of a math lesson, and realized that 5th grade math is way above my level. Then I ate donuts with the kids and listened while they told me all about their field trip to the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum.

The next weekend, Grandaddy Mike came for a visit. Fletcher was still so excited about his visit to the Mighty Eighth, he wanted to take us all back on Saturday. I’m so glad he did, and so sorry we had not been out there before! It’s a really impressive museum, but what was more impressive yet was Fletcher’s skill as our tour guide. He took us through the entire museum, recounting interesting facts and stories and leading us through the history of WWII and the role that Savannah and the Mighty Eighth played in the story. This is one incredibly sharp kid we have on our hands here.

Saturday evening, Grandaddy treated us to box seats for the Ringling Brothers circus! There’s nothing like a clown nose and cotton candy to bring out the kids in everyone. Plus, listening to Fletcher laugh at the clowns is the greatest thing in the world. Seriously. I love the way that kid laughs.

To cap off the weekend, Sunday morning was Youth Sunday at church. Both Fletcher and Lola Gray sang in the choir, and Fletcher played an incredible violin solo of Simple Gifts. He was super nervous, but he didn’t let the nerves stop him. Despite a few slips towards the end he did an amazing job – and even got a round of applause from the congregation! That’s something you don’t see in a Presbyterian church every day!

I am so blown away by this crazy kid every. single. day. His curiosity, his compassion, his playfulness and his creativity, not to mention his smile and his incredible hugs, have made the world a brighter and more interesting place for the past eleven years – I can’t wait to see what the next eleven will bring for him!