Uncle and Uncle

We had some really bad news recently. Ethan's only uncle has been diagnosed with stage 4 abdominal cancer, and has started undergoing chemo. I've been very distracted and upset, and it's been extremely hard on my sister and their kids. It's just plain bad luck, with nothing that anyone could have done to prevent it. I'm just really hoping the chemo works.

We also had some really good news recently. Ethan's oldest sister is two months pregnant. If everything goes ok, Ethan will be an uncle himself in the fall. It's funny sometimes when the best of things happen at the same time as the worst of things. It will be really nice for Ethan to have another kid in the family, as he really is otherwise the only small guy.

Rain, rain, rain

It looks like, finally, the rain has stopped. We had something like 18 inches of rain in March. Ethan and I went to see the flooding, finding some cars underwater, some houses with nature-made moats, and the North Bridge partly underwater. Wow! Luckily we're at the top of a sandy hill, so no problems with our house.

Time flies. Ethan's 8th birthday is only a few weeks away. We've hired a Jedi Knight trainer to come put the boys through their paces at the party (note the word 'boys' -- that's what Ethan wants, and I've noticed that somehow this year the parties have become more gender separated). Anyway, I found myself crying the other night unexpectedly with grief that he wasn't of all things, 4 any more. He's definitely growing up, and I sort of miss the little guy who was so easy to carry. On the other hand, the reality is that things are so much easier with Ethan now.

The basic point is that I knew that kids grew up fast -- but that fast? I had no idea! The years are just starting to fly by. I look back and the first few months with him seemed to long -- and that was years ago now. This is going to be his 4th birthday with us! So hard to believe. As this reality of the speed of life has sunk in, I've been making lots of conscious choices to just spend time with him, and enjoy him before he grows even bigger.

Are jeans going to finally go away? That's my prediction (noted here in 2010). Reason: the 2nd graders won't wear them. Ethan will only wear the nylon, synthetic athletic pants with the elastic waste. Will not, NOT, wear jeans under any condition. Too tight, he says. At first I thought it was only him, but no, it's many of the boys, and even some of the little girls, and not just at Ethan's school. It's so interesting how trends like this spread.