4.10.2012

(Up)heaval

The Easter Bunny delivered a bag of balloons. Huge hit.
Tuck has long been a fan of the mylar, helium-filled sort, but has only just discovered the joy of the cheap, latex variety, filling them with water in the bathtub, “bopping” them back and forth with Daddy, chasing the untied ones as they fly through the air deflating.

Sometimes his whole little boy body seems to deflate, too.  Lately, sometimes actually feels like a lot.  It may just be that he's three.  But it may be more complicated than that.  Our family dynamic changed three times in the same number of months. He has been such a resilient little guy, gently welcoming new baby Tollie and cheerfully pointing out things that look like Celie's hair and calmly remembering that Colby chewed the hole in his beez. Often, though, he's not gentle or cheerful or calm.  And sometimes, when he isn't yelling or crying, his contemplative face, silent and just as sad, reminds me of a popped balloon.
Fortunately those aren't the times we think to grab the camera.
JEB

6 comments:

Christy said...

What a precious smile!

The Wendels said...

I'm glad we were able to share some of those smiles over some yummy gummy worms!

Poppy John said...

Jenni Baby,

Your post makes me sad. I remember when you were little and wanted balloons. We didn't have the extra money, so, we told you the Easter Bunny had a latex allergy. Beautiful memories unfulfilled, sorry about that.

L2A

Tiffany said...

Oh 3-years-old and soooo many major changes...that's a hard combination. He'll be ok...those big smiles are genuine.

McKenna said...

Such a tough time for a 3 year old and so hard for you to know what you can do to help him get through it all. My four year olds are just beginning to realize what they have lost and I am as a loss myself to find ways to comfort them and help them understand.

Groves said...

"And sometimes, when he isn't yelling or crying, his contemplative face, silent and just as sad, reminds me of a popped balloon."

*****

I don't know ~
a life with no sorrow
is not a real life.

Tuck is, without question,
a real boy.

It would be strange
if such a lively little person,
with such a lively mind,
and a heart full of feelings
{full to bursting}
didn't taste the sorrow
of separation
as intensely
as the joy
of eager exploration.

It's okay if you grab the camera then, too.

They really are something special - your kids - but you know that.

Cathy in Missouri