Mondays

Maybe it's the weather, but today was a weird day, too. I went up to the U for a meeting, and thanks to the detours and closed exits, had to drive down Washington, perpendicular to the bridge. Just like with Ground Zero when I saw it last summer, the absence was powerful.


Back at home, it was apparently Toppling Toddler Day, with Vivi falling this way, that way, and always down. Julia was anything but physically adventurous at 11.8 months, so it's an adjustment for me to see Viver clambering up onto beds, tables, stairs, chairs, toilets, bathtub edges, et cetera - and to run to catch her as she pitches off of them. Back when Julia was a toddler - hell, now - you could leave her alone for a bit and expect on your return to only find her nearer whatever books were in the room. Not so with Genevieve! It'll be fun to see her push all the physical limits. I'm still wagering that she'll be walking by her birthday (nine days!).


Julia handled the chaos with aplomb, sitting quietly and reading a book or twenty. Today, she did something I hadn't seen before, setting the pillow from her bed against the wall on the other side of the room and sitting there to page through some Richard Scarry. If Levenger knew what's what, they'd get her on the mailing list for some "Tools for Serious Readers" right now. Homegirl needs a lap desk.


Literally over all this activity was some truly disgusting weather: low clouds, high humidity and very high dew points, still air. It's like someone's badly ventilated basement around here. The thick atmosphere must have muffled all sounds, because on my run I startled a pheasant and a deer, both of which leapt up from hiding spots a few feet from me.

Forecast: Significant blowing and drifting, with the possibility of heavy accumulation in rural areas.