Once again we find ourselves at the end of the shortest and sweetest season, the prime summer days for preschoolers in Moorhead.  Dylan has been attending his park program for a month now, which means we have another week to go, then back to the unstructured adventures about town.  Our routine has been to leave home in the morning with Dylan riding his bicycle and me pushing Julia in the jogger stroller.  We drop Dylan off to play with his friends and Julia and I either run errands, run about town to other parks, or head back to the house to work on our bathroom remodeling project.

After park program we head over to the local elementary school to eat the free lunch with the HeadStart and YMCA kids as well as other neighborhood friends who have been regulars with us at these chaotic and learning filled lunches.  Dylan is getting much better about trying new foods due to the positive peer pressure and alternates between choosing the chocolate and the white milk for his tray.  Julia continues to experiment with silverware and occasionally painting her clothes with food and is a hit with the older kids who are amused by her creative ways to eat.

My reputation as a juggler keeps me popular with the wild HeadStart kids, and I often put on a bit of a show  on the playground when we are done eating.  Next week I have been invited to put on a more formal juggling and storytelling show for them at their evening program for the parents and kids; it is nice have a paid gig once in while to motivate me to work on my material.  I find that my creative side emerges naturally when I am able to beat back the to-do lists and get ahead on the non-stop daily grind of housework and parenting.  I think I am sitting on two or three nearly finished songs and have placed a good half dozen potential Dispatches on the back burner while I wait to catch up on all of the things.

I hope the summer finds you well, dear reader, and I hope you find the time to do the things that matter most to you and your families in the time we are given.  Peace on the journey.