It’s Official

DSC_0066, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.

Well, I’m done for. I’ll never be able to take another job, move out of the state of Washington, or even move into a condo when I’m so old and decrepit that I can’t get up and down the stairs. The reason is: We’ve made too many memories in the past couple of weeks. Here’s the latest one. David is helping grandpa plant maple trees in the back yard.

He worked right along with his grandpa. Two trees. I had to make him stop and take drinks of ice water.

 He said he was a “good helper.”

He even found a worm.

And this one “with the hat” reminded me of his daddy.

So, don’t ask me. I’ll never sell. You’ll just have to look for another house seven miles from the Canadian border. You can’t have mine.  Because there’s a tree in my backyard that is David’s tree. We’ll watch it grow as he grows.

The Parent Effect

DSC_0099, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.

Sometimes I love my job. (Well most the time, I really love my job.) But the times I really, really love my job (and am very thankful for all the professors who trained me and who researched the theoretical underpinnings and the thought processes I use in diagnosing and making recommendations for reading difficulty) is when I’m working with children. Three months ago, I assessed a student and made recommendations. Yesterday, I reassessed him. The growth he had made was astounding. What made the difference for this little boy was not me, but rather the parents. They followed through with my recommendations. The follow-through is what is rare. The magic is in “the doing.” And when I see the follow-through, I am amazed. I am amazed at the dedication, the patience, the perserverance of some parents to make the changes, to implement the plan. After my meeting yesterday when I gave the parents the good news. They hugged me and thanked me. They had tears in their eyes. I had tears in my eyes, too. I wanted to hug them back and thank them for following through with the recommendations despite their busy schedules, despite the patience it took, despite the logistics to set up the program, despite all the interruptions, despite…… That’s the hard work. The easy work is making the recommendations.

A Castle in the Park

DSC_0103, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.

When a little boy comes home with his grandpa from the park and tells you he played in a castle, you might ought to believe him.

Come with Me to the Farm

DSC_0093, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.

We went to the farm yesterday. This is what we saw.

This is grandson David.  I’ve told you about him. This is the reason that you haven’t seen very many new posts on my blog. I’ve been really, really busy with David.  I’ve been working this summer, too. So, between David and my job, it’s been outrageously busy. But we’re having FUN. Grandpa is such a help. He and David are pals. He keeps David busy and happy while grandma is working. Now for the story that David wants to tell.

The farm had a HUGE barn.

And inside the barn, I found a huge green wagon to ride on. It was THAT big.

And a big red tractor to drive. I really liked driving the tractor.

I saw horses in the field (I really, really liked the horses and wanted Grandma to take a picture of me and the horses.) and ducks and geese and pigs and sheep and cows.

I saw beautiful flowers all around the farmhouse (and there were big bad boy weeds).

And there was even a scarecrow (He looks like Paul Bunyon.) in the vegetable garden  between the squash and the tomatoes.

And there was a wonderful apple tree to climb (And of course, Grandpa was right beside me.) Hope you enjoyed your trip to the farm with me. I have to go now. Grandma has promised to take me to the Raspberry festival. She says there’s a train that I can ride. So, see you later.

Four Year Old Wonders

DSC_0108, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.

As you can probably tell, I have been really, really busy. It’s a wonderful busy that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. Four year old wonders-grandsons are just the best. This is a picture from the top of a hill in Port Townsend overlooking the Sound.

Old-Fashion, Simple Pleasures

DSC_0100, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.

The fun of having a grandchild vist is revisitng (Again for the third time: once as a child, once with my sons, and now again with my grandchildren) some of the simple pleasures, that in this fast-paced, modern world, tied to work and the present economy, have often been taken for granted or entirely overlooked. Today we made homemade raspberry jam. David helped me make  raspberry jam, and it was far sweeter than anything store bought. We picked the organically raised raspberries (We probably ate almost as many as we put in the pail.)yesterday after Sunday school (Noah’s Ark and two-by-two).   Then topped ice cream with fresh raspberries last night as a treat before bed. (My husband had some, too.) Today we spent time in the library and checked out five books (One to read each of the five next nights) and two cartoon DVDs and one video – Pete’s Dragon.  In the past two days, we went on old-fashion walks around the block, played in the park, went raspberry picking, attended Sunday School (That was fun…lots of kids), and checked out library books. I’d forgotten how uncomplicated and sweet life could be, especially topped with raspberry sauce.

Breaking Waves

DSC_0167, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.

Point Wilson near Port Townsend.

PEEEWWWWJET Sound

DSC_0004, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.

How many four-year-old children do you know have  the opportunity to cross the PEEWWWJET Sound on a ferry (A ferry is a big boat that takes cars, trucks, and people from one place to another.) not just once in one day but twice! “WOW” in David’s words. That’s a big boat!

Big Bad Boy Weeds

DSC_0017, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.

Blogging has taken a back seat to my little four-year-old grandson, David. He’s come to visit for a couple of weeks. And he’s my gardening partner. Helping me garden was the highlight of our day. (Just slightly less fascinating than sitting out on the front lawn watching the carpenter put in three new upstairs dormer windows. Fascinating.) He helped me weed the garden, attacking those weeds with a vengence. “Grandma,” he said, “Here’s another big bad boy weed.” And there popped that weed into the weed bag, and he was off attacking another. Oh, what a treasure. I had to laugh. See why blogging has somewhat lost its luster, for the time being anyway.

Her Name is Cora

DSC_0043, originally uploaded by Gail Coulter.

I don’t know what she looks like, blond hair or brown. But I heard her heartbeat. What a wonder…… Cora, your grandmother is looking forward to your arrival. She bought a pretty dress for you. Take your time, baby girl, and grow strong. Love Grandma.