Today Ruby and I biked to pick Margot up from school. We left at 2:56 because I proved to myself long ago that I can make it in four minutes with both kids in the bike trailer. When it’s just Ruby, well that’s another minute, at least. If I put it in a high gear and let adrenaline power my legs. If I let myself laugh at the gorgeousness of this place, this season. We fly.
In the 40s, today was warmer than it has been. We biked home; I shouted over my shoulder to the girls about my big garden tuck-in plans for the afternoon. These kinds of days aren’t plentiful from here on out. We unraveled with the day’s stories, had a quick snack and boarded a pirate ship.
Ruby directed our mission. Margot and I dug for treasure which we found and heaved overboard. Alice stood watch at the bow and received regular praise for her focus. Ruby sang encouraging anthems while heaving the water from the deck. Ahoy! More cover over here! We hurried because a bad pirate was up on the hill with the wolves. He wanted our treasure.
Margot reminded us that the wolves were on our side. We just had to move fast to get the treasure dug and the evidence covered before the bad pirate and his brood showed up. The wolves helped us with a good distraction. But still, our jewels were at risk. Hand me your sword mama matey! I did. She waved off aggressors. Ruby dug with fury. A storm was coming. I climbed the mast to get a better look. It worked! The crooked pirates had retreated over the hill. We pulled our ship onto land with victory.
And our garden is (mostly) weeded and covered with leaves, ready for this season. Tomorrow, I’d like to plant garlic. Hoping the kids’s imagination can take us on another adventure to get it done…
16 Comments
Ahoy matey….permission to come aboard!?! I want to be part of this crew!
xoxo, Mama
ps….love your imagination Burb….
Your granddaughters get credit for ALL of this. I merely played along. Climbing up the tree (mast) higher! higher mom!, running around with swords and telescopes, finding and keeping track of treasure (mostly weeds but Margot found an onion we had missed!)…it was all theirs. x
Love it! What special memories you are making and recording with your family. A good time to plant garlic, eh? Maybe an adventure for today.
Oh i love this kind of play so much. Its magical xxx
Um… Your girls… They’re good.
Bigtime Love this.
“Yo Ho Ho!”
So awesome!
hey, so can I just dig in all of my corn stalks and put the leaves in the garden ?? I am fairly new to this……because if I don’t have to clean it out that saves me a bunch of work and garbage bagging…..if I can just shovel it in where it is all ready,…..? thanks!!!
My girls are the same way with their adventures and enthusiasm…..i love it and cherish it while they are young.
Jenn~
Yes! All that stuff can stay in the garden. It will likely not fully decompose over the winter. Don’t dig it in; just leave it on top. You can toss it on the compost in the spring! Leaving a cover on your soil is good for a few reasons: 1. the leaves/garden debris add nutrients to the soil 2. Leaving a cover mimics nature (think about how great a meadow or forest is at maintaining itself!) 3. Bare soil gives all those spring time weed seeds the perfect resting spot; a cover keeps them out a bit.
Yep. Makes me want to be a mama, like, now. Love this imagination!
Playing your way through life! It’s a skill! If we could play instead of coax, or order our kids into doing things life is great! Play into the bathtub, play into and out of the grocery store, the possibilities are endless! Sometimes all it takes to get my kid to eat dinner is to pretend he’s a little kitty who needs to be fed milk. Love.
Smiling! Your family life is two years ahead of mine and you always give me so much to look forward to. While *now* is pretty awesome in our house, we have two years of in-between awesomeness plus all that follows. Funny, we went on a pirate treasure hunt just the other day (to collect all the flotsam and jetsam around the yard before a foot of snow comes and stays). Fifty degrees and sunshine for the past four days: I am flying high. Cheers to pretend play/work. My favorite.
My girls are still referencing Captain Hook in their play after our visit with you all. Those pirate adventures are memorable! Love this so much. (And an extra high-five for tucking in your garden already… I am sooooo behind.) xo
The fact that they are willing, able, and eager to help is a testament to your inclusive family lifestyle. It would be so much easier to park them in front of the TV with a snack while you do all the work, yet you use this opportunity to let them flex their imaginations and their muscles and to learn the value of manual labor. And I’m sure it was fun for you, too, to have those little pirate girls working by your side. Just a lovely scene.
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