Today The Girl started her pottery class. As the projects start coming back I'll give more details. For now I'll say that when I picked her up she was rosy-cheeked from the warmth of the nearby kiln, finely dusted with dry clay, and sparkling.
The studio is up at 109th, so Judd the Red Chicken and I decided to kick around up there for the hour and a half. The neighborhood around St. John the Divine is one that I like. It hasn't been completely conspicuously consumed by chain stores.
In fact, one of the loveliest (ladders on rollers -- yep; cushions in window seats -- yep) not-chain, child-centered bookstores is right up there at Broadway/112th -- Bank Street Bookstore.
I walk in and feel like every problem can be fixed. We can all be smarter, cooler, kinder, healthier, funnier, artsier... if we can just spend enough time there... if we can just buy enough books. I bought a few that I'll share as we use them, but my favorite take-away was intangible. The Boy and I were upstairs sitting next to each other in a window seat looking out at the snow coming down. We were a part of the city, but not being put out by it. He studiously looked through first a book about armor, and then a book about spies. I looked through my pile of books, but then just watched him for a bit. I wondered how his brain was taking in the information -- do pictures flicker across his mind? Does he see himself in armor? Or carrying a weapon disguised as an umbrella? Does he feel excited, or curious, or confused? Does he sense my presence next to him, or is he far away? I looked at the wooden ladder on rollers attached to the railing, and thought what I always think: man, I want one of those. I looked out at the street and considered that even though the snow-spitting clouds were making it feel close, it was still much lighter than it would have been a couple of weeks ago. The day was shifting into evening; the seasons are on the cusp of change. I knew it was a moment to remember.
"I'm glad to be right here with you," I said.
He smiled up at me, and while his eyes slid back to his book said, "Yeah, thanks, me too."
