A Rare Tuesday

It's a rare rare Tuesday -- no baseball game for Abe tonight.  No dinner with friends. No meetings about teen alcohol prevention, no science fairs or school concerts. No soccer practice or music rehearsal. And so we are home. Oscar is napping and I'm making dinner for the first time in over a week. 

Ruby made fruit salad, cubing apples and oranges and bisecting tiny frozen blueberries till her fingers turned blue. She topped the salad with sliced almonds and divided it into two bowls - one for her and one for Abe. They sat at the breakfast table and chatted and made silly sounds while I scrubbed carrots for the stew.

Then Abe tuned the little toy guitar he got when he was two and handed it to Ruby. He picked up his own guitar and they strummed together, Abe stopping every couple minutes to reposition Ruby's still chubby fingers on the frets. And now they are playing a board game. Abe is explaining the rules to her in a fake British accent and she is giggling and hopping like a frog in the orange jumper that she's wearing with purple leggings and wool socks.

I love Abe's baseball games. I love the evening sun on my face and the cheering and chatting with friends in the stands. I love watching Ruby invent ball games with other siblings or wheel around on her scooter in the adjacent basketball court. I love how Oscar cheers for his favorite players on both teams, watches the umpires and keeps track of the count.  I love rooting for Abe (who is playing with a cast on his wrist and somehow still contributing) and seeing the energy and excitement he brings to the game.  I love it all.

But I do love a quiet afternoon at home, too.