Saturday

Scrambling in from my run, I bustled up the stairs to rouse Gabe for soccer. “C’mon little guy. Time to move!”

There he lay on his back, cheering on Baby Bear as he dipped and dove across the bed. Sunlight poured across them both, temporarily blinding me as I sought for Gabriel’s attention. “Nah, I think I’ll skip the game.” he answered, “I’d rather stay home all day and read.”

“Little Gabe,” I asked, “if you had to decide between circus, dinner and a movie or an afternoon at home with chocolate chip cookies– which would you choose?”

“We’re making cookies today?” he brightened.

Somehow I’ve raised a small nation of homebodies; we revel in the simple, the ordinary.

Xander and I put the finishing touches on our Halloween decor. We especially love the framed photos of Halloweens past.

Ben came home just in time to dig holes (and left again far too soon)

and Mary circled the basketball court on the old blue bike.

Later, Mary and I huddled under a blue quilt while Xander played soccer in the rain.

He’s pretty intense.

I love that Xander (and his teammates) don’t bother with a proper uniform– the star player wears an undershirt and I think Xander is wearing a church sock on one foot.

In an out of focus, but completely in character photo, Grandpa Fritz is Xander’s biggest fan and usually follows us home for a game of chess (and a hope that we’ll have chocolate chip cookies on hand).

As the evening light wanes, Mary recruits opponents for the teapot game;

I begin work on a flying blue monkey costume.

Bound by Calculus, Statistics and Art History, Stefan retreats to his cozy, silent blue room. But we follow him, stretching out on the beds and floor with our books and whispered conversations, because the best time, the sweetest thrills are when we are together.

And someday, one day, I’ll take them to the circus.