huck finn abe

after this, how can i not start a blog?

i knew abe was in the backyard, presumably with the shovel and pail he received from a birthday party he went to earlier today. abe likes to whittle away the quiet moments of the afternoon by making big holes in the dirt next to my garden. i'm okay with this -- as long as he doesn't dig holes in my actual garden.

sending abe outside is an encouragement to my disposition. by four o'clock my nerves are frazzled after a long day with abe. compounded today are two dogs we are watching -- boo and poky -- who love and follow me, which means abe is following the dogs which are following me. abe is teasing and poking the dogs, and inadvertently teasing and poking me.

so i can justify this quiet, peaceful moment when i leave my child in the backyard -- yes, unattended.

my peaceful solitude was quickly broken by otho, running in, and quickly saying, "mom, abe's taking a bath outside."

a bath outside?

i followed otho to the backyard, where i first saw a wet patio, then soaked clothes spewed onto the patio, and then last, in the corner of the patio, an old, blue toy bucket, filled with water. inside, was abe, splashing quietly in his home-made bath.

abe is my huck finn. he is full of joy and unending love -- but he is also the most darn-tooting-rascaling-menace i know.

now, even as i write this, abe is only half-dressed, under my desk, terrorizing the dogs. so much for quiet time.