The Way to say No~

After pre-school on Monday I picked up Asher (my 4 yr old nephew) and took him to the park for a picnic lunch. He'd had a wonderful day at school and was his normal chatty-happy-self. We talked non stop in the car on the way to the park and I learned some interesting things. For example, he told me what he wanted for Christmas:

A skateboard with a Pokemon animal catcher, and

A Robot that makes cotton candy :)



When we arrived at the park and sat down to have lunch we began talking about his school day. Apparently the music teacher was telling the kids about Sign Language and going over a few common words and how to make the motions. Asher's mom has been teaching him how to Sign since was was a baby, so the lesson was pretty easy for Asher as he knew several of the words already.


We talked about how to sign "I love you",

However, with Asher being a HUGE Spider Man fan, he explained to me that hand sign was also the way to sling a web ☺

Next we talked about the word "Yes", and how it looks as if one is knocking on a door. He agreed and we practiced the sign while knocking on the table and saying "yes- yes" who is it? lol



With a burst of enthusiasm he grinned at me and said, "Aunt Nonna, do YOU know how to say NO in Spanish???
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I smiled at him and said, "Why don't you tell me?"
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This is what he did...
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I laughed so hard I almost fell off the park bench! I hugged him and said, "I think I love Spanish!"

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I DEFINITELY love Asher!!!

:)

The moment of transformation~

"As they sang the hobbit felt the love of beautiful things made by hands and by cunning and by magic moving through him, a fierce and jealous love, the desire of the hearts of the dwarves.

Art by Chickory/K9 chickory.etsy.com

Then something Tookish woke up inside him and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking stick. He looked out the window. The stars were out in a dark sky above the trees.

He thought of the jewels of the dwarves shining in dark caverns. Suddenly in the wood beyond the Water a flame lept up- probably somebody lighting a wood-fire - and he thought of plundering dragons settling on his quiet Hill and kindling it all to flames. He shuddered; and very quickly he was plain Mr Baggins of Bag-End, Under-Hill, again."

But of course the story does not end there~

I, myself, fell under the magic spell of Tolkien again this week. His words are transforming. I must be a close relative to Bilbo :) (My height and weight alone are almost proof!) Along with his desire for an adventure he also loves his comfy little home. As in my house the tea kettle is a friend, and my tomato garden is a sanctuary. I worry (yes, I do) over my plants when I'm gone for too long, and I fuss about someone making sure the racoons get fed every night. One of the coons, Gus, lets me pet him from ear to tail when he comes up to feed. His mother and brothers have seen me just as often, but still scurry away when I open the back door.

(and trust me, I have not forgotten my lesson from the chipmunk!)

I read Tolkien and something in me stirs. The volcano of words with in me have been fairly well dampened this summer with losses, and surgery, and once tiny kids sprouting into adults before my very eyes...but he wakens the fire. Thank goodness.

Both Lewis and Tolkien were favorite authors of mine as a child. Their stories take me back to a time where hiding in a book was a good way to avoid some unpleasant things- like a house full of kids, dirty diapers, an no air conditioning. What could be better than sitting under a big tree with Bilbo as my guide, or Lucy- and tromping through a forest towards a dangerous foe- all while living in the heart of an ever growing and busy city?

Someone asked me yesterday, "What is your passion? How do you make a difference?" The question was posed again in another form from one blogger to another...with an urgent message of "invest yourself in something that matters". The message was for me as much as it was for anyone.

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Yes- I'm a mom, therefore the investment of myself has been in my children, but much like the tomato garden, the investment is paying out . They are almost grown and act accordingly (well, most of the time! lol) I'm almost grown too :) (and still struggling with acting accordingly!) The moment of transformation awaits, and the journey probably won't be a quick one, but aren't we all on a similar path in that regard? Some are just further along the path than others.

I expect to meet some ill tempered Dwarfs, and a shape-shifter or 2, and most likely I'll run into a beastly dragon with a clever sense of humor...but doesn't it sound wonderful all the same? Aren't the elves, and the treasure, and the friendships worth the peril?

I think so.

~I know so~

???

Ever had a day where you wanted to curl up with a good book- and almost nothing else?

Well aside from playing with my 4yr old nephew, and picking up my daughter early from school, and cooking dinner...

I did sneak in an hour of reading in bed :)

Back soon~

The words are brewing in my head again- finally...
But until they're ready- have some Veggie Beef Soup-
I call this one "Health in a pot"- (and it's not part of ObamaCare) grrrhhhhahahaha!

Some of my fresh tomatoes did end up in this- and it was DELISH!