Dirt Chin the Urchin

Sometimes I worry. I worry that Sam seems pale, I worry about those dark shadows that show up under his sparkly eyes sometimes. I worry about his restlessness and my sometimes inability to help him direct his energy. I worry that he is bored, unhappy, not getting what he needs.

We had company over the weekend, good friends we haven't seen in a long time. Sam was so pleased with their visit, he seemed at ease in a way he hasn't been for a while now and I finally realized that we're transitioning into a new phase. It seems that we might be moving out of Velcro land and into Social world. So today, when he started pulling things off the shelves and throwing things around, we got in the car and went for an adventure. We ended up under the cottonwood trees in the crawdad creek at China Ranch and it was lovely and perfect. And we looked at EVERYTHING in the gift shop while he ate his ice cream and chatted with Darryn. Since he used to cry every time she so much as looked at him, this was confirmation that Something New is happening in our lives.

Of course, this means a whole new set of worries. How will I keep up? Where will we find friends? Will people ever stop commenting on his hair? But, as always, I am free to let those worries go and just see what the future holds with no dire visions of the outcome. In the afternoon, Sam and I crossed the road the passes in front of our house and went adventuring into the other side of the desert. And we found the most amazing wash that meandered through a brushy patch of land and we decided it looked like The Land Before Time and we pretended to be dinosaurs and we had a lovely time in this strange and foreign place, from which, if we climbed up on a little knoll, we could still see our house in the distance. And on our way home we stopped in the hideout and sat in the big chair together and rocked and swung until Sam wriggled out and landed on his chin in the dirt. Which is how he became officially known as Dirt Chin the Urchin ( and I am Dirt Mom).

So the thing is, the universe says to me, you just don't know what's out there, what mysteries and miracles might lie across the road, and you can't find out unless you venture to the other side. So you might as well get your shoes on and get going. And if you still feel hesitant, well, don't worry, Sam will get your shoes for you.