Dear Reese,
You eat watermelon by the slice at an afternoon gathering with our cousins at the beach. It’s especially picturesque since you’re wearing your watermelon swimsuit. You do keep dropping the slices in the grass and dirt and then picking up and carrying on eating.
I decided pretty early on in this parenting journey not to be alarmed by a little ingested dirt. But when you drop your fourth watermelon slice in the SS Kids Boat at the park and take the time to rub it in over the very dirty floor before picking it up, I do pluck it from your hands for Cappi to throw into the bushes.
We do not actually get in the water today. It’s windy and a little cooler, but the waves are fun to watch. A few guys go out parasailing across the swimming area, and you’re fascinated, as am I. We do play in the sand side by side with your cousin Morgan for a while, and then we wander.
Since you’ve got your legs under you, wandering is your favorite thing to do. This morning, you left the children’s room at the library (you said and signed ‘all done’ and then went to the door until I opened it) and we wandered all over the Kress, up and down stairs, inside and outside, through the eggs out on display for auction (an Egg Harbor tradition), and almost crashing a yoga class on the balcony (luckily, they had just finished).
I find all of this wandering with you very enjoyable. I hold your hand, and we can walk side by side. This is an improvement over the hunched-back pose I had to take for a while — holding both your hands to give you some more support while you practiced walking. I like being in the world together like this with you, you often leading the way. Though you are furious with me every time I stop you from going somewhere you would like to go. But I get mad when people tell me no, too. We get through it.
When we get back from an evening at the cottage — and a very important discussion on the overlooked question of whether we should have a door at the base of the stairs in our future home — I fold laundry before your bath time. You wander off, and I find you with a rag wiping down the kitchen chair. It is so sweet.
You are so, so sweet.
Love,
Mama