Renaissance Family

Today was a great day! We decided to surprise the girls and take them to the Maryland Renaissance Fair. It is probably the best decision we have made in a while. It is full of shopping, good food, lots of entertainment, and of course the joust!! I don't think I have ever seen the kids jump into the car that fast...ever!

Off to Crownsville we went, all giddy with the expectation of crossing off items on our personal 'Renaissance To Do list". Sailor wanted to eat a turkey leg or two, Pixy wanted her hair braided, Banshee wanted to take a picture with Queen Katherine, and I wanted to look at getting some new shoes for my pregnant-sized feet. (Yes, they are all kinds of swollen now.) It was exciting to know that this year, the girls would really get to enjoy the whole thing and take part in it.

We decided to get both girls' hair braided and then immediately off for a ride on the elephants. The girls looked like two cute Renaissance maidens with their hair in braids and escorted for a ride by their father. Nevermind that the ride actually lasted all of one minute--they were on an elephant for goodness sake! It was nice to catch the Sailor smiling from ear to ear, as he bounced along on the elephant's back.  We all needed this break from the craziness in our lives (the move is only a week away. Did I mention it is the same week as the first week of school? Yeah.)

From there, we went off to grab some lunch, after a quick stop at the Reptile Museum. The girls got to hold a snake and pet it: "Ooh, you're a nice girl, aren't you snaky?" Yes, that really did come out of my children's mouths. The snake's handler was very impressed by their bravery, to which he was told, "We've wanted a snake for a long time, but we just don't have the room at home." Really? Fill me in on the exact moment I said that, girls? Lunch was lots of fun, as we ate at a table with some revelers dressed in their renaissance gear. They were so into their roles, that it was interesting to see how the girls interacted with them. I have to say that they did well for their first time hearing and interpreting Renaissance speech. Go girls!

That was a couple things taken off our personal lists, just a couple more to go! We caught a couple shows, bought some magic wands for the girls, and I got to look at shoes. I swear the only shoe that I have been able to tolerate during pregnancy, is made at a store in the Renn Fair. Medieval Moccasins makes the most comfortable shoes ever! I use them all year round and honestly, it is time for a new pair, as my maroon shoes are a little lighter in color. They still look great but come on! I can so use another pair. I looked at all the colors and couldn't make a decision, but this gives me a chance to go out to the Fair again. HAHA!

I didn't get to revel in my plan too long, as I looked down and saw that my three year old was not smiling and not happy. Great! This experience has been too much for her, despite the fair not being too overcrowded or noisy. I looked at the Sailor and saw that he had noticed too. We all stopped our walk so we could ask Banshee what was wrong. As she put it, very simply "We haven't seen Queen Katherine to take a picture with her yet." After a promise that we wouldn't leave without finding her, we kept walking through the grounds(which promise you a workout) to take in the sights. Finally, as we were nearing the entrance...our salvation! King Henry and Queen Katherine were standing right in front of us inviting the children to come take pictures. "Banshee!! Look!! There they are!", Pixy shouted. The girls ran to the wonderful actors and curtsied, to which I received kudos on teaching them courtly manners. Yeah, baby! I rock!! They took their picture and the day was saved. I want to say that the Sailor and I high-fived 80s style, but I am sure he is going to deny everything, so I will just say that we were happy that all had turned out well.

In the car, after a requisite visit to the Privies, we all shared our simple joy of the day; a new routine since Banshee attended Kennedy Krieger. Sailor said, "My simple joys were that I got to eat yummy food and spend lots of QT (quality time) with all of you." Pixy said, "My simple joy was getting an elephant ride with Banshee and sharing a frozen lemonade." Banshee said, " My simple joy was everything today. It was special." Finally, when it came my turn to share, I wasn't sure that I knew what my simple joy was. The whole day had been wonderful! The weather was perfect, the crowd was great, we got to check off our to-dos while at the fair...I honestly didn't know what it was. As we drove home, I kept mulling things over and looking for my simple joy of the day. I didn't find it until we were on our driveway. "Eureka! I know what my simple joy is!", I called out. "My simple joy is that all day today, we were all smiling and happy. No tears, no sadness, no tiredness....just pure and simple joy." The car was extremely quiet. I looked back and....everyone had fallen asleep. Go figure! That's ok though, I know what my simple joy for today was and it is just fine. But if they ask me tomorrow what it is, I am going to say getting hit on by that saucy knight, hands down! Yes! Mama wins this round!

Embracing fairy tales

"Why do you read those to your kids?", my friend asked.
"They're fairy tales. They all have a lesson to be learned." I said
"Yes, but you read them the original ones. Everyone dies in those. why cant you let them watch TV and be done with it?"she looked at the book in disgust.
"Well, yes, but reading these tales fosters their imagination and problem solving skills. I mean, how else would you know how to handle a big bad wolf, or a giant? Do YOU know when it's appropriate to call out Jack Frost's name?" The blank look she gave me told me everything I needed to know. She didn't. What a shame.

This was probably the zillionth time I'd had this same conversation with this same friend. She honestly believed that I was harming the girls by letting them learn about all kinds of mystical creatures and old folklore, because that's what fairy tales are. In her mind, they're old, have no lessons whatsoever, and therefore, no value at all. I disagree completely, which is great, because that alone fosters discussion...but, I digress.

Fairy tales are wonderful! They do teach lessons, no matter how embedded in the tale they are. They are meant to be frightening because the world is not always such a kind place and their value is astronomical! These tales were collected from elders a long time ago. We should treat them as treasures and not some stories meant solely for the entertainment of children. When did it become ok to dismiss these stories this way? How is it harmful to feed a child's imagination?

I love watching children's faces as they hear about Hansel and Gretel, about Little Red Riding Hood, about Snow White and Rose Red, about creatures that haunt the woods: pixies, fairies, goblins; you name it. It's akin to lighting a torch in a dark cave! They want to know what the lesson in each story is, how the problem was solved, how they could have done it better....it's a perfect way to engage them in conversation. Why not foster that? I mean, it's wonderful to teach children facts, give them the truths of daily life, but why take away all magic? I think my friend is missing that part of it all.

I get a little mad when I have conversations like this. Not because I have to defend my position, there just isn't one right answer when it comes to how people parent their children, but because people are losing their love of reading and the magic that comes with it. That's really what it boils down to. It's ok to watch a show about facts, the reality of life, but it is absolutely boring to pick up an old book and get lost in it. There is magic let loose in the world, when a book is opened. You're absorbed, transported, taken away to a different place, different worlds, and take part in an adventure that is unfolding right before your eyes. What is so harmful about that?

My friend just doesn't see that. It doesn't make sense to her because she has replaced books with electronics. She loves techie stuff, which is probably where the disdain for books and fairy tales comes from--it's just not "in" enough for her. That's fine for her but not for me. While I love the techie stuff too, I respect these tales from long ago. Someone thought they were valuable enough to put into a book, to preserve for future generations. This information, no matter in what form it was presented, was deemed valuable or essential to life. Surely, they still hold weight today, in this age. At least, they do at my house.

So, our friendship plods on, not as strong as before. My friend has since moved away, life gets busy. My consolation: when she does come to visit, she can continue to look at me blankly, or even shake her head at me as I teach all our children about when to call on Jack Frost, or how not to upset a house brownie. Deep down, I know the little girl in her is listening and thinking about walking to that dusty old bookshelf and letting a certain book's magic choose her to be its next great reader. There is magic everywhere, you just have to know how to find it, right?

The pond, the geese, the Juneau, and the beaver. Sigh!

Juneau is a wonderful dog. He is full of energy, gentle with the girls, and super quiet. He came into our little pack on Mother's Day, because his time was up at the shelter and they were going to put him to sleep. I am glad that he came home to us, as he had been treated very badly and needed lots of medicine to get his under-nourished frame back into top shape. It was serendipitous, right?

Turns out that while Juneau is amazing, he doesn't think things through, and is often getting into trouble because of it. Enter our walk to the park with Banshee. Banshee had done a great job at school the day before, and as a reward, we all decided to take her on a walk near the ponds to the playground. She decided it would be nice to bring Kai and Juneau along too. Since, the boys really needed their walk, we agreed with her--it was a beautiful day! We quickly leashed up the boys, packed our water bottles, and set off.

It was wonderful! Banshee got to walk Kai on his leash, as he is gentle about walking and looks out more for her than himself when walking. She was in heaven and proud of herself for doing something that only big kids do. Juneau, on the other hand, is a horrible walker! He wants to sniff everything and run ahead, turn around, skip..you name it! In spite of his usual leash nonsense, we got to see a blue heron, a beaver, various birds, and a couple of neighbors fishing. We were actually all giggling, as Juneau decided he needed to commune with nature by rolling around the grass upside-down. "Come on, Junebug!", we called, as we started to walk towards the observation deck to see what the beaver was up to.

Banshee and Kai got to the deck first and were watching a flock of geese on the pond. I got there next and was pointing out the beaver to Banshee, while the Sailor and Juneau walked up to the deck. No one is sure what happened next, because all we heard was a huge splash and Juneau's leash went taut. "Where is Juneau?!", I screamed out, after I saw that Kai was shepherding Banshee away from the edge of the deck. When he does that, it usually means danger. Something was terribly wrong. It was then that we saw exactly what happened...Juneau was in the pond.

Panic usually sets in very quick and you start to look for solutions to the problem, but when we all got a good look at what Juneau was attempting to do, it was actually hard not to be mad. He was chasing after the geese, and the beaver was chasing after him. This totally looked like something out of Grimm's fairy tales, or perhaps, like something out of America's Funniest Home Videos? Yeah. The situation got hairier, as the beaver totally went under water. Thanks a lot, Juneau. Someone was going to have to go in, and it sure wasn't going to be me. The Sailor looked at me and grimaced. He decided he would use the leash to guide poor Juneau out of the pond, hopefully, before the beaver decided he was a threat. Not that we were too worried about Juneau. He is a good hunter; the beaver might have gotten some good blows in, but Juneau would bring him home as dinner. I remember saying: " Not that that makes it any less scary, but we need to get him out now!". The leash lead Juneau up onto the bank, carefully, so as not to hurt his neck or snag onto some unsuspecting goose. What walked out of the water, tail wagging, was not the usual white beast we love...oh no! This was Swamp Thing! Juneau was now pond mud black/brown/gray goo colored. Every single neighbor that was out at the pond, not only saw the whole thing, but were now rolling on the ground in stitches. It was hard to not laugh...it was just odd. What an adventure, huh?!

Banshee and Kai were waiting for us to bring Juneau up to the path, and were both so grossed out, that they decided to keep walking a little bit away from us into the trees to explore. The Sailor and I had to examine Juneau on our own. Oh man! He stunk to high heaven, even if he was ok and looked perfectly happy. The weirdo wasn't even shocked or nervous. It looked like our trip to the playground was going to be cut short. We couldn't let that stuff stick on his fur!

I want to say that we made the walk back home in seconds, it was that fast! We immediately, gave Juneau a bath, and no amount of Key lime Aloe dog shampoo was going to help that stink. We needed to go in again! And again! And again! I think we went through half a bottle of the stuff. Meanwhile, Kai and Banshee looked on and judged us on our washing technique. I think they were disappointed they had to come home too. After the bath, Juneau tried to make up to them, with no success. He knew he was in trouble with his 'siblings'. The Sailor and I just looked on to see what he was going to next. Juneau approached them quietly and laid a toy at their feet, which was huge because he still doesn't know how to play well. Banshee walked up to Juneau and hugged him: "Naughty Juneau. You don't jump in water. That is soo soo bad." He was forgiven there, but Kai wasn't having any of it. He looked on at them as if he was above it all. "Come on, Kai. Give him a break! He isn't a thinker. Juneau will do better next time," the Sailor said to him. Reluctantly, Kai did forgive him and lightly sniffed him. He did not stay near him though..he could probably smell something nasty that the rest of couldn't smell. Oh boy!

Did Juneau learn his lesson? Nope. While he hasn't jumped off another observation deck, he has gotten stuck in a tree log in the back yard, chased down a deer, and attempted to make friends with a skunk. He keeps all of us on our toes, that is for sure! We love him dearly, but you can't help thinking that whoever said little children were tough, has never had a Juneau in their life. They'd probably change their mind...in a heartbeat. Better yet, in the time it takes to jump into a pond. Sigh!