Grey Friday blues

She still loves the yellow raincoat, and the weather certainly made it appropriate.










Dear Alex among flowers - serious, sweet, and if you look closely,
covered with snot. That's my girl.

Friday was a long day - Dear Nanny J had the day off to take care of some health issues, and though it wasn't supposed to be all day, that's how it turned out - I have no issues with taking care of Dear Alex all by myself for a whole day, but this one was different, and it put me in a less than hopeful mood. The weather was perfectly dreary, and it matched the way I think both of us were feeling - we had a fine morning, with a trip to the coffee store (one of the half-dozen Starbuck's within easy walking distance) for daddy, and a lot of books. We had a super time completely destroying the apartment, with clothing and books and toys spread from room to room to room, but there was something off about Dear Alex, and although she enjoyed our various activities, she wasn't her usual playful self, wanting more to sit quietly, not eat, and just be lazy-messy. I was restless and a little bored and cranky myself, as there were some things that I was hoping to accomplish, now out of reach with the responsibility of taking care of the kid. Eventually it dawned on me that there was going to be no reprieve, so I figured that it might be better to just get out of the house and do something, anything to break the funk. Dear Alex and I went for one of our epic walks, ending up at the East River, to play in a sandbox and contemplate the fog and mist and chill of this strangely fall-like day. A few days ago there was sun and warmth and a promise of spring, but lately, there's been a cold grey chill that feels more like November than May. We ended up having a great (if not a little subdued) time, playing in a chilly, wet sandbox until Dear Alex was covered with sand, and running around the small park and to the fence at the edge overlooking the East River so that Dear Alex could see the many boats and tugboats that went by. We spent a long time in the park, and spent a long time at the river, watching for boats - Dear Alex was fixated - It made her happy, I think to imagine her friends from books; Scuppers the Sailor Dog, and Scuffey the Tugboat out on the cold waters flowing endlessly past. The only thing better than watching the river was the long hot bath she had when we got home - raisin fingers, raisin toes.