Maria looked out of the bedroom window this morning, and said, slightly alarmed, “there’s a man in the yard.” it was starting to get light and we saw that it was a man, he was Ed Gulley’s Tin Man, brought her for the Saturday and Sunday Spring Open House.
The Tin Man is a wondrous addition to the Bedlam Farm lexicon of creatures, animals, art works and wonderful people. Red seems especially fond of the Tin Man, he sits right beside him as if they are going for a walk. Red is not like the other children.
Maria and I can’t get over Ed Gulley’s quite amazing creation, he is asking $750 for the Tin Man, we’ll see what happens. I predict he will get it, either at the Open House or soon after.
Maria and I both realized at the same time, that the Tin Man should be right out in front of the farmhouse, they will be talking about it all over the county, he is the perfect symbol of our Open Houses, a celebration of creativity, art and our lives together.
Ed agrees, he is coming over this morning to move him to the front of the house. Better than a giant neon sign. The more we look at him the more we love him.
It turns out that my granddaughter Robin loves cardboard boxes and is thrilled to sit in one. Another commentary on the multi-billion dollar baby toy business, which I have greatly supported. Often, it’s the simple things.
The most fun I Have had with Robin has been showing her jars filled with buttons and beads, and I never thought of putting her in a cardboard box. Emma said she had the time of her life. There is a lesson here.
Robin was her last weekend for her first visit to the farm. We had a blast, we explored the town and the country. Robin showed no interest in the donkeys, the sheep, the chickens or the cats. She loved seeing the town, dancing with us, playing on the floor. We definitely did some bonding, she is a sweet and adaptable child, and i am in awe of the wonderful job Emma is doing as a mother.
We are back into the natural rhythm of our relationship, and I accept it. I will not see Robin for awhile, and she is growing up rapidly and out of sight. I don’t love Facetime relationships as much as so many others do, and Skype doesn’t work for me either. I do love seeing and sharing these photos.
I have this recurring feeling that Robin loves her life as I love mine. And that seems both natural and uplifting to me. These visits have a lot of meaning for me, and some of the meaning is that it is good to have some distance and time between our coming together, it gives it all the more meaning.
She knows who I am now, and reacts to me with many smiles, and I cherish the images of her and Maria dancing together. That was natural also. She is in good hands down there in Brooklyn, Emma and Jay are natural and loving parents, even in the turbo-charged and anxious atmosphere of Brooklyn parenting.
Robin did get a slight tick bite which we didn’t spot and there was much consternation there about that, the doctor said it was too slight a bite to have any impact, it was nothing to worry about. That is life in the country for sure. I am glad we got Emma some rest when she was here, but then Robin got sick and we all got sick.
Robin was back in day care in a day, so was Maria. I’m still on antibiotics, Emma is still wobbly. Life goes on. I’m going to try sitting in a cardboard box if it is all that much fun. We need to laugh.
