Princess Froggy Veronica

keep art alive; photograph by Julia

Veronica is all the things I wish I was at her age, and beyond. She is bold and bright, and emenates such a strong sense of self and spirit that I half expect her to take a running leap and fly right up into the air - with or without wings. She has a superhero's nature, brave and daring, yet she still possesses that ever-fragile and illusive wonder and innocence - you can recognize it in the way she asks why, with a slight lift in her voice and a tilt of the head, and in the way she takes in the world around her.

She has an artist's viewpoint on everything. She is happiest when painting and drawing, or making "craps" at home, at her Grandparents, and her birthday-twin Auntie Kate. She is giving in her art, too. She colors pages for the grocery store clerks and baggers, marks up dream castles in chalk on the pavement, and paints garbage cans into unique works at home, and for Auntie Kate.

I love to watch her when she does not notice my gaze, to see the way she examines everything around her, painting everything with this storybook imagination that I can see coming to life with every blink and wide open stare of her eyes. She notices the tiniest details in this world, the ladybug hidden among a patch of weeds and flowers, the glitter stuck in a mess of hair on a girl at the park; she is a discoverer of the beauty in everything.

She is fearless, and although it often scares me, I am also delighted in how I see her in the future. She has a bit of fire to her, and it is known to strike and burn at times. But, I see this as another of her gifts that will help her as she grows. This strength and passion are such gifts, and I sit back knowing that she will be able to set out and conquer anything she comes up against, and forge on through to fulfill any dreams she decides are worth fighting for.

She loves with just as much fury as she can battle with, and she is endlessly generous with those she takes into her heart. Veronica is open with her heart, too. She embraces people in general, never seeming to notice the differences. She will tell stories and her daily news to the homeless man at the park with his cart of belongings just as earnestly and with joy as she does with the women behind the perfume counter at the expensive mall department store. She would probably offer them all up a freshly picked wildflower, and a drawing, too.

Five years she has been in my life, forever changing it, and making it more color-filled and beauty bright. She is amazing and I love her so very much.

Saying "You can call me anything you like,

but my name is Veronica"

Veronica ~ Elvis Costello

L.

Three is the magic number

keep art alive; photograph by Bree

My darling boy turned three on the last day of May. Three years ago he came into my life. I remember the first night with just him and I in the hospital room together. I was lying there with him crooked under my arm thinking you will change my life forever.

When I first discovered I was having a boy I panicked. The kind of fear that grips you far below the surface and nags at you, whispering doubts and worries as you try to drift off into sleep.What on earth did I know of boys? It seemed so unimaginable and foreign, especially after being the mother of a daughter -- or two, eventually -- for over a decade.

I remember Kate assured me that there would be a bond I would never have known before, and that we would teach each other. That I would do just fine.

What he has taught me, in the mere three years he has been in my life, is immeasurable. I feel like there are parts of my heart that he has cracked wide open; pieces that I did not even know existed, until Max. He is a quiet strength in a family that is a bit more boisterous than most, and who tend to wear every emotion pinned right on their sleeve.

He has taught me to listen more, to learn from silences, and to notice some of the more intricate details of this world.

What he does share with all those in his family is a love of music. Whether he is singing into the vacuum cleaner, banging away made-up melodies on the Sesame Street piano inherited from his sisters, dancing around to the likes of 90's boy bands, Babyshambles, and electro clash -- he definitely has the music in him.

Cars and playgrounds, ghost words, and nicknames; Teletubbies, English football, and Thomas the Train; Jay Jay the Jet Plane, following his sisters, and stealing blankets and spaces in bed; Telling knock-knock jokes, saying "my friend Momma", and "I love you" in a soft whisper; trying on lipstick, inflections that go from highs to lows, and being our Pizza Man-Pip-Bubba-and Maxie. Those are just part of what makes up Max.

His party was celebrated at one of his favorite parks. His sister picked out a special pairing of Sally and Lightning McQueen in their "cruising" get-ups. McQueen is all chrome and white wall tires, reminds me of this drive-in and hamburger joint we went to when I was a kid that would have waitresses on rollar skates, and classic cars with dice hanging from the rearview mirror. It was his favorite of his gift, even the train sets and football. Veronica may torment and tease, but deep down she loves her brother, and seems to know him best of all of us.

Max licking the side of his birthday cake, then checking around to see if anyone was watching, and sneaking another lick and a bite, was by far the highlight of the party. I remember getting his own tiny cake for his first year party, and he just sat there and stared at it. Eventually his puzzlement took a bit of action, and he touched the frosting with the very tip of his finger to taste. For a moment I could see the just turned a year baby boy in him meeting up with the learning to be a bit sly boy he is becoming.

As we grow do we not all carry pieces of each year in our lives? If you look closely you can see the baby, the three year old, the teenager, and the adult in everyone you pass in this life. And, when I look at my newly three year old, I see all of it, and more.

He is more that a bit of magic and full of love, this boy of mine.
Happy Birthday, Max.
Thank you for coming into my life.

A man and a woman

had a little baby

Yeah they did

Three Is The Magic Number ~ Blind Melon

L.