[day 20 ... january 20]

"We are the change we've been looking for." I hope that change has finally begun in earnest! Actually, for the past few weeks, it has already felt like Obama was assuming the presidential mantle, as W faded away into a corner. But it's glorious to see our man of the hour finally take his rightful place!

I kept Niall and Cory home from school for a bit this morning so we could watch the swearing-in ceremony together. I didn't want to miss seeing this historic event live, and if we'd followed our usual schedule, I would be driving from school to work just as Obama was taking the oath of office.

The boys were mildly interested. Cory wanted to know why there was a color guard and why there were men with guns lining the hallway where people walked on their way to the podium area. And then why were they firing canons after Obama was sworn in? Niall wanted to know who the various dignitaries were and what would happen if Obama wasn't sworn in by exactly noon ("We won't have a president for a few minutes, Mom!"). They both are eager to go to D.C. and see the Washington Memorial and the Capitol and the White House for themselves. Cory: "Can we fly there tomorrow?" Niall: "Can we go into the White House? Will Obama be there?" I do plan to take them there, but...not tomorrow. :-)

I can truly hardly believe this day is finally here. At each step of the journey, I really couldn't believe that Obama had really done it: when he won Iowa, persevered through Super Tuesday, steadily won the votes he needed to gain the nomination, and then carried the day on Election Night. I guess I just didn't have that kind of confidence in the American people, especially after Bush was re-elected in 2004.

But - he actually made it. He's our president now. An amazing feat for a truly remarkable man.

[day 19 ... january 19]

You might think from the first 18 days of this project that I have only two sons. But no, really, the older two do flit in and out of our lives periodically, and today I spied them playing football on the PS2 in the family room and took a few photos. Game-playing is usually reserved for the TV room but they apparently decided they wanted to take a spin on the bigger screen for the afternoon since they were home for MLK Day today. They were having a fine time. It's really good to see them enjoying each other's company so much these days.

[day 18 ... january 18]

Cory had a great idea this morning: "Let's go to Bothell Landing today!" We haven't been anywhere in ages, with all the snow over the holidays and then the lousy weather since, plus illnesses to boot. Today was another gorgeous sunny day, so it sounded like a fine plan to me.


Bothell Landing has a great play structure and the setting is beautiful: right along the Sammamish Slough (which is still running pretty fast but not as swiftly as in the photo the other day), with lots of trails, paths along the water, an ampitheatre, original settler buildings with small museums instead. It's fun to play, explore, walk, see birds, throw things in the water.


We started with playtime on the climber, as we usually do, and then walked down to the water to see the ducks (we don't feed them since it's strongly discouraged - it's terrible for the bird population) and on to the boardwalk over the wetlands.



Finally, we walked down the trail along the river, tossed sticks and rocks in to see the splashes and watch the sticks float along. A man came floating gently along in his kayak, not paddling, just letting the water carry him slowly along. Looked like a fine way to spend the afternoon.

Across the water on the bike trail, we could see fast cyclist speeding along, people walking with strollers and kids on bikes with training wheels - a whole assortment of people out enjoying the beautiful day just as we were.

[day 17 ... january 17]

One of our favorite neighborhood outings is to walk to see the goats, Harry and Lucy, who live a few blocks down the road. We live in a rural area known for horses, but people also keep the occasional goats and chickens. Lucky us, we have some friendly goats close by who love the attention of visitors. The family who owns them has several young children, but of course, goats are always up for more company.

Often we bring a few branches from our yard (they love fir needles), and then we pick up some more greenery next to their pasture to feed them as well. The kids could do this by the hour!

Today, Niall worked for quite awhile making a "concoction" for them of fir branches wrapped around several other kinds of leaves to make a sort of "bowl." Harry and Lucy weren't as impressed as they should have been, but they nibbled on it politely. I think they've had an abundance of greens lately, with all the downed branches in our area from the recent weather events, so aren't as eager for food as usual.

After we spend some time with the goats, we walk down to the end of the road - another quarter mile or so - and then turn around and walk back up the hill, past the goats again, and onward home. If we're up for a longer adventure, we take one of the trails that lead past the road and loop back around on another trail. With so many equestrians around, there are lots of horse trails that are also fine walking trails, and we have our favorites of course. In the summer, we take longer walks. But these winter days are so short (and chilly), unless we happen to get out early and have lots of energy, we stick to shorter stints and call it good. At least we get some fresh air, and the goats get some extra love and greens to nibble.

The sun through the trees was spectacular. We've had so much rain and fog lately, even a glimpse of the sun is welcome. Today we had an afternoon of splendor. Who could stay inside?

[day 16 ... january 16]

Niall and Cory got these fun critters for Christmas. They start out very small (a few inches long) and after soaking up water for a long time (like a week or more), they grow BIG! If we had them in bigger containers, they would probably double in size, but this was all the counter space I was willing to devote to the project. I'm not sure how much longer we'll have them sharing our kitchen with us, so thought I'd share a picture while they're still impressive-looking. When you take them out of water, they slowly shrink back to their original size.

[day 15 ... january 15]

Renee Motley-Colbert was a long-time teacher at Little School who died unexpectedly over the summer several years ago. Her only child, daughter Imani, was born just before Niall, and we shared the ups and downs of pregnancy. Imani was in class with Niall for several years as well, including the year before Renee's death when Renee taught next door to Stephen, Niall's and Imani's teacher when they were 4.

I had known Renee for many years, as she taught Kellen when he was 8 for his first year in the Woods Building. She was a warm, steady presence, always, and I miss her.

This bench was designed by students and others at Little School, and carved by a local woodworker. It sits under the trees next to the Big Field, where we see it every day when we arrive at school and can walk by to touch the smooth surface and admire the detailed carvings on our way to play after school. It's a wonderful reminder of a member of the Little School community who left us much too soon. She and I were the same age, with a child the same age, and her passing was an all-too-stark reminder that we really don't know when we'll leave this world.

[day 14 ... january 14]

Cheerios and the morning paper are standard fare here, continuing a tradition for me (especially the Cheerios part) that has rarely been interrupted for decades. When I was a teenager, thinking ahead to that lovely bowl of Cheerios helped get me up at the crack of dawn when nothing else sounded the least bit enticing.

I finally have a son who joins me in the Cheerios part at least, and is learning to enjoy the paper as well (starting with the weather page, as they all seem to). The big boys are up and gone early in the morning, to catch the bus to school in Seattle, and then Cory and I get up to have our morning Cheerios and milk. Ahhhh...it's nice when some things stay the same, in the midst of so much that inevitably changes in life.