Come Out with Me

There's sun on the river and sun on the hill . . .

You can hear the sea if you stand quite still!

There's eight new puppies at Roundabout Farm--

And I saw an old sailor with only one arm!

But every one says, "Run along!"

(Run along, run along!)

All of them say, "Run along! I'm busy as can be."

Every one says, "Run along,

There's a little darling!"

If I'm a little darling, why don't they run with me?

There's wind on the river and wind on the hill . . .

There's a dark dead water-wheel under the mill!

I saw a fly which had just been drowned--

And I know where a rabbit goes into the ground!

But every one says, "Run along!"

(Run along, run along!)

All of them say, "Yes, dear," and never notice me.

Every one says, "Run along,

There's a little darling!"

If I'm a little darling, why won't they come and see?

When I heard Sammy quietly quoting this A.A. Milne poem the other day ("Run along, little darling!"), I felt I'd been guilty of saying "Yes, dear" one too many times lately. Sammy follows me everywhere, and because he's a non-stop chatterer, we talk a lot. But over the last two and a half months, he has definitely had to amuse himself more than ever around all the newborn bustle.

Here is a small portion of his busy-ness and his evolving imagination. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the countless hours he's spent drawing, playing outside, climbing around piles of food storage, telling stories with his little trains, spinning or tumbling around, and otherwise tearing my house apart. He is so much fun.

Trains from Grandmama.

Reading and waiting.

Flying an "airplane."

Making "train tracks."

Being the train.

Photographer.

Practicing.

Taking care of his little violin in my big case.

(No, I don't know that this is his destiny.

But he can sing "tucka tucka" on pitch

and take a bow: "ichi ni san shi")

Painting.

Playing "trombone" with a piece of my clothes dryer.

Squirreling around.

This phase lasted a while. He would find four of my boots,

put two on feet and two on hands, and walk around shouting "Bana!!"

(???)

Balancing act.

Those tomato paste cans got some good wear.

(No pun intended.)

Kitchen play.

(Diaperless at the time; I used the "retouch" to give him some modesty.)

Making bread.

An "ark."

A "house."

A "train."

Samuel has been so sweet to his little brother. He talks to him and shows him his things, and regularly comments on his behavior: "Daniel is sad!" "Daniel is tired!" Daniel woke up!" "Daniel is happy!" "Daniel drinking Mama's milk!" He has also been such a good helper to me. He'll get me a blanket if I ask, or turn off the tiring music on the bouncy chair that gets inadvertently flipped on by floundering feet. Sammy seems to understand when I can't be by his side, but I need to be careful not to tell him to "run along" too often, lest I miss my chance to "come and see!" and be a part of his discoveries.

What a boy. I'm grateful little Daniel has such a friend and brother.