Washed away

As I recently said, nothing much came of this past* summer, but my hope in September was not misplaced. Just one early September day at the Jersey shore was enough to scrub and buff us back to a healthy shine. Q and The Boy spent nearly four solid hours testing themselves against the waves, with the waves winning more than once.

Standing in the edge of a thing that might as well not have an end, we didn't have to think of anything but how our bodies made an edge with the world.

Tomorrow, it's back to school.

_______________________
*!

Meanings in the meantime

I'm still coming back from California and 2008, but in the meantime, you might enjoy re-learning some definitions via the photographic dictionary.

You know, something like this would make a good project for us, what with my lovely wife's photog skills. For example:

f

future | fu ● ture [fyoo ch ər]
—noun
1. the time or a period of time following the moment of speaking or writing; time regarded as still to come.
—adjective
1. at a later time; going or likely to happen or exist.


r

resolute | res ● o ● lute [rez ə loot]
—adjective
1. admirably purposeful, determined, unwavering: she was resolute and unswerving.

Feel free to suggest your own contributions from your own libraries.

Boys v. Girls

From something like the beginning we've naturally sorted into mixed doubles for most things (reading, going for bagels, etc.). We're also fairly sensitive about not reinforcing traditional gender roles and their expectations, which is made easier by my not being a True Man's Man and by my wife not being a Girly Girl. This past weekend, though, The Boy and I made a testosterone pack and went to the New York International Auto Show. It was fantastic — it's hard to be raised in the rural Midwest without acquiring a deep fascination with cars — and The Boy enjoyed it tremendously. He took his camera and snapped shots of his own, snagged posters and promo books and bags. And he's big enough that we went without a stroller of any sort (and I'm old enough that I was a little sore the next day). We walked the 3/4 of a mile to the subway, and transferred to the crosstown bus at Times Square after a respectable wait in the cold. We saw nearly everything to be seen at the show, which, according to the web, amounts to over 1000 cars, trucks, and SUVs. He and I smiled through all of it.

Okay, so here are a few pics from our Boys Day Out (don't forget to notice his car shirt and car necklace, by the way):



The girls had some time together, too, and they spent it, sharply dressed entirely in black, at the Children's Museum of Manhattan. Afterwards, my lovely wife tells me that Q quickly worked a large, New York-sized pepperoni slice down to a half moon of crust.

A few pics from their adventure:



Next up for us guys? March Madness, baby!

Crossing

So I tried to put this photo of Q waiting to cross the street on her trike—taken by my lovely wife, of course—up for the blog header, but it didn't sit well up top. Still, I like it so much that I'm posting it on its own. To appreciate it properly, give it a click to see it full scale. Then have a look at (among other things) what my wife chose to bring in to focus and what she left soft.

We're lucky to have someone so good to make a record of our lives. She can even make me look good, which is doing something.