july 2, 2008.

summer is hard work and luxurious. by 9:00 a.m. this morning we nursed, read 6 books twice, helped my mom clean out the fridge (she's on a mission--separate story), washed the sheets and hung them out to dry, ate a few course breakfast, let the chickens out, cut flowers for a couple different rooms, watered the garden, made a fresh batch of carrot popsicles, filled a small tub of raspberries to bring to the la leche league nursing toddlers meeting, and both got dressed. the last item took the longest. it's not hard for me-- i tend to be seen in the exact same clothing for a couple days too long, but frankly, the act of getting a 2 year old dressed is probably the most trying part of the day, except for at 3:06, when she absolutely needs a nap but has many miles to go before she sleeps, thank you robert frost. "I DO IT MYSELF NOW" is the predominant theme, and it includes picking out inappropriate items (like turtlenecks and sweaters for 85 degree weather), and then trying to get them on "like zanna do." zanna is adah's BFF who lives down the street, from whom she learns lots of things. the other thing that prevented us from getting out the door was the cherries. to adah's disappointment, we could only reach 3 or 4 of them on tree limbs, and she insisted, no joke, that we should go to her muh's house (grandma's) RIGHT NOW for a ladder. thankfully, the art of distraction still works, and after asking if she wanted to go on our bike and bus adventure in her bathing suit, we were able to switch gears and actually leave the house. she was quite a sight wearing a bathing suit and alligator rain boots. we visited the la leche league folks, who at one point almost had me in tears of future grief as a couple of them recounted the loss of their breastfeeding relationships, because as we know, it's not just about the breast milk, even though it is liquid gold. it's about attachment, closeness, and purpose, and even though breastfeeding has brought me frustration sometimes, i can't imagine weaning her, like some people have suggested, even in jovial comments like, "is she still going to be nursing when she goes to kindergarten?" i'm not sure how long our nursing relationship will last, but hello international average of 4 years. i'm still very content with child-led weaning and our "don't offer, don't refuse" policy.

so speaking of child led weaning, a funny thing just happened... i was just writing the above sentiments as anne was helping the kiddo brush her teeth, when she came down to announce, "adah told me to tell you that she doesn't want milk tonight, only the kind she picked out at the store, but she would like a kiss, though." is this the beginning? so i went upstairs, we read "the napping room" and "the bear and his boy," sang our gratitude song together, talked about tomorrow's plans, and off she went into the land of nod.