Morning Outing

I have discovered that if I am not proactive with organizing our day the day runs away with less than productive activities.  The morning is especially susceptible to this phenomenon.  This morning we drove down the street to a neighborhood with a toddler-sized playground.  First we went for a walk, and then the children went up in a swing.  It was James' first time.

The Swing

by Robert Louis Stevenson

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

River and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside--

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roofs so brown--

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

A Poem

When my brother, Jesse, got married a couple of months ago, my father assigned me the role of "keynote speaker" at his rehearsal dinner.  That's not a role that comes naturally to me, so I took a page from my sister-in-law Katie's book and wrote and read a poem instead.  When my dad first asked/told me I would be speaking he told me I could write a speech and post it on my blog.  I didn't do it at the time, but on the occasion of Jesse and Sandy's 2 month anniversary, here is my poem, along with one of my favorite Jane Austen quotes for an introduction.

"Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations

and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no

subsequent connections can supply."

- Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

For my brother

There's so much about you

to remember that's fun.

When I need a good laugh,

you're always the one.

Thinking of you as a little boy

I remember certain kind of toys.

G.I. Joe and Spiderman,

a Batman clock that would not stop.

"Gotham City is in trouble!"

The house awoke to this cry

long before the day was nigh.

Dad arose to quickly deposit

that Batman clock deep in the closet.

I'll never ever quite forget

our very first camping trip.

So many bike tubes popped that week,

I pushed you back on my bike seat.

You were always brave and full of bluster.

"I won't fall out!" to Mom who was flustered.

But at the first rock, you flew out.

Stuck under the boat, Mom began to shout.

One thousand sit-ups every night,

you've always been so driven.

I came home from school to find a young man

and not the boy you had been.

I'm always so thankful for time with you

I had before I became a Pugh.

I loved helping with your school assignments,

driving you places before you were licensed.

I treasured each and every trip

you made to the "Bluegrass State."

Thanks for coming to spend time with your sis,

to watch movies and stay up late.

One night I called to say, "Hello."

You were watching a movie that night.

Not just with a girl but with her whole fam,

It sounded like this could be something right.

"That girl's in my hip pocket," you said.

And I would have to agree.

Her eyes light up at the sight of you.

You've found true love with Sandy.

It's kind of sad to no longer be

the number one girl in your life.

But in the end, a man should leave 

his family and take a wife.