Melting Snow, Melting Heart

First off, accept my apologies for the sappy title. Though this past weekend in Chicago was gray, it was also warmish. By Sunday, the accumulated results of 14 days of measurable snow in Chicago had finally begun melting. By and large, the weekend's meteorological changes took place without my supervision, holed up, as I was, with my laptop, notes, and trusted candy cane pen. The hubby has been a prince about taking on extended periods of bubduty on the weekends so that I can make progress on my dissertation (I am pleased to announce, by the way, that I completed my draft of chapter four this afternoon--should be revised, streamlined, and off to my director by the end of the week, NTB).

It melts my heart, of course, to see father and son enjoying their time together. They sha poo snow. They have lunch at sports bars while they watch Irish basketball. They cultivate the bub's tackling technique. And finally, this weekend, they were able to walk to the park. Thanks to February's weather, Chicago's roads are riddled with potholes and the sidewalks are a patchwork of puddles. There's not much my bub loves more than a good puddle, which helps to explain the heart-melting scene I witnessed from my front window yesterday afternoon while taking a writing break.

I peered outside and saw the bubby, in red coat and quack quack hat, smiling from ear to ear and holding hands with another boy his same size who was also wearing a red coat. My hubby and the other toddler's father followed closely behind.* The bub led his new friend to the huge, lake-like puddle in front of our house and showed him what to do: jump, jump, jump, giggle, and smile. By the time the bub came inside, his jeans were soaked and he had splashed enough to completely saturate his socks through his boots. But he was smiling. So was his dad. So was I. NTB.


*Good news . . . the bub has a new neighbor his age, actually three whole days older than him, just four houses away. And, for the record, the hubby tells me bub initiated the hand holding. How cute! NTB.