June Is Not Quite Bustin' Out All Over

Even if you’re not a Rodgers and Hammerstein fan, even if you’re not a musical theatre fan at all, you probably know (or at least, have heard) the song, “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” from the musical Carousel.

The clip above shows what you expect to see in June in New England: bright sunshine, people in shirtsleeves, a light breeze, happiness all around. Even in real life, June is a time of year when you can actually imagine a bunch of people randomly breaking into song and dance for no particular reason. The lyric at about 2:10 sums up our expectations of the spring into summer transition here in New England: “March went out like a lion, a-whippin’ up the water in the bay. Then April cried and stepped aside, and along come pretty little May. May was full of promises, but she didn’t keep ‘em quick enough for some, and a crowd of doubtin’ Thomases was predictin’ that the summer’d never come. But it’s comin’, by gum! You can feel it come! You can feel it in your heart, you can see it in the ground, you can hear it in the trees, you can smell it in the breeze. Look around! Look around! Look around!” And then of course, it goes into the best-known line from the well-known chorus, and the very title of the song itself: “June is bustin’ out all over!”

But June hasn’t quite busted out anywhere around these parts yet. Today is a rather April-ish June, with cold temperatures, cloudy skies, and dreary rain. Instead of short sleeves and sandals, we’re all donning our rain slickers and galoshes. We’ve traded in our iced coffees for steaming mugs of joe. We’re pushing the “heated seats” button in our cars instead of the “A/C” button. The colorful flowers in the garden are sagging under the heavy rain and looking like they’d like to bust right back into the ground.

And yet, with the silence of the air conditioner that ISN’T running in my window, I can hear a whole flock of determined birds happily chirping outside. When I peek through the rain-streaked window, I can see my little neighborhood bunny happily nibbling on the damp grass, looking not the slightest bit deterred by the weather.

Maybe it’s because they don’t have calendars so they don’t quite realize that today is the first day of June. After all, last week was full of gorgeous warm days, days when I admired how quickly my impatiens had started to spread, noticing that our grass had thickened up and was ready to be mowed, happy at how much the ivy and the grapevine on the fence and spread and created a pretty green privacy hedge by the pool. If I wasn't expecting a beautiful day today merely by virtue of the fact that it's June first, I wouldn't be disappointed, either.

But maybe they just remember that the cool, damp, dreary weather makes us all, plants and animals and humans alike, appreciate the warm, dry, sunny weather ahead all the more. So I’ll try to hang in there for another few days, and I’ll keep hoping that before I know it, June really WILL be bustin’ out all over!!

Midnight at the Oasis, or, When the Children Are Asleep

When the children are asleep we sit and dream,
The things that every other dad and mother dream.
When the children are asleep and lights are low,
If I still love you the way I love you today,
You'll pardon my sayin', I told you so...
When the children are asleep, I'll dream with you
We'll think what fun we have had and be glad
That it's all came true.

These are the lyrics to a lovely song from the musical “Carousel.” I love it because it’s a reminder that no matter how many children you have or how long you’ve been a parent, sometimes you need to take a break and be husband and wife again for a bit – even if your conversation is still mainly about your children. And that’s what my husband and I did last night.

We had spent a wonderful day playing and swimming in the pool with the kids, and once we got both kids fed, tubbied, and tucked snugly into bed, it was grownup time! A relaxed candlelit dinner with a nice bottle of wine to share, quiet chat uninterrupted by small demanding voices, and a midnight swim for dessert.

I love being a parent – I even love being a stay-at-home parent (well, most of the time). And I love playing with my kids, and talking to them, and listening to them. But there are times when I yearn for adult conversation, for more than 2 minutes of peace and quiet at a time, and for eating a meal without interrupting myself to feed someone else at the same time. So nights like this serve to rejuvenate and refresh me, and to give me strength for the ongoing battle. Nights like these are my oasis.

Water, Water Everywhere But Not a Drop to Drink

Saturday afternoon I brought Ryan over to Herb’s parents’ house for a visit. It was a gorgeous day so Bammy and Ryan and I took a long walk around Boston. Bammy introduced Ryan to the Make Way for Ducklings ducks.

And he watched the carousel horses (and cats and pigs and frogs) going around and around.

And then when we got back, Ryan got to play with Pappy for a while.

But the real adventure of the day was a few hours later, as we were getting ready to sit down to dinner and the doorman announced over the intercom that there had been a break in a large MWRA water main and all water for drinking, food preparation, and even tooth brushing would have to be boiled before using. I thought to myself, “Oh dear, I’m glad we don’t live in Boston!” And then my husband informed me that our city is served by the same main and therefore our house would be under the same order. Rats.

Of course, I had just filled a bottle for Ryan, so I immediately tossed that out. And as soon as we got home, Herb boiled several gallons of water and put pitchers in each of our bathrooms and on the kitchen sink. As I went to make up Ryan’s bedtime bottle, it occurred to me that I could heat some of the water in the coffeemaker (which I had filled earlier in the day) and cool it with ice cubes – which reminded me that although the coffeemaker isn’t hooked directly into the water supply, the icemaker is! So Herb turned that off so we knew that the supply of ice we had was safe.

I did Ryan’s tubby time that night and he was very disappointed that I didn’t squirt him in the mouth with his bath toys like I usually do. I was especially careful as I rinsed his hair, avoiding getting water in his eyes, nose, or mouth. He doesn’t have any scrapes or cuts at the moment, but I still made his bath time shorter than usual to minimize any exposure to germs.

I’m grateful that the problem seems to have been resolved quickly and we may have clean water again as soon as 24 to 48 hours from now. But it does remind me of how much easier we have it than many other people around the world. And I hope I continue to think of that every time I brush my teeth, and take my vitamins, and wash my hair and my laundry and my dishes, and most especially as I make up Ryan’s formula and wash his bottles. Even though I have to boil the water to make it safe, I use a stove instead of searching for firewood, I have a microwave to warm the water when I need to, and I have a fridge to put a pitcher in to keep it cold. I have bleach and hand sanitizer and bottled water just to make sure everything is sanitary. And because of all that, I have a healthy baby. I am so very grateful for that.