Reading (that is, cutting back on TV time).

It is amazing how much work I can accomplish when I hire a babysitter. John Anderson, who I started tutoring three years ago when he was in high school, is now a sophomore at the UA. He’s happy to make some cash in the summer and Turner loves having another man around. Yesterday and today John took Turner to swim lessons and to the library while I finished my fellowship article. What a luxury.

I have written almost every single day since April for two to five hours at a time. Sometimes, this leaves Turner supervised by the TV while I churn it out at the kitchen table. He’s had plenty of imaginative play, of course, and we have some big adventure every day. But, sadly, he’s also watched tons of TV and movies this summer. My friends assure me that they grew up watching this much TV and they turned out okay, but I’m not convinced by it. I spent nearly all my time as a kid getting dirty in the backyard using my imagination. Turner’s imagination, though, was taking a scary turn. It wasn’t uncommon to hear him say things like: “I’m going to crack you in the head, stab your ear, then twist your arm until it pops.” Usually, tirades such as these would be followed up with some kind of kung fu move demonstrating how deadly he could be with only his body as a weapon. So. Andy and I decided we needed to cut back on the TV and to do a better job balancing Turner’s play fighting with non-violent DS games. DS, by the way, makes very few games where the object is not to get rid of, in some fashion, your opponents. Imperialism.

With only one movie a day and nature TV at night, Turner has learned to play in his room as long as I sit in the hallway with my computer and work (he can’t stand being in a room alone and never ever will be upstairs without us or downstairs without us; makes putting laundry away are real game of cat and mouse). He acts out plays for me (and he’s a great actor). He plays computer games online, which has made him so interested in reading. And, I’ve learned to write for thirty minutes, play for an hour, write for thirty minutes. We’ve built dinosaur worlds where we chase each other around the house hunting for defenseless bugs (and there are plenty to find in our place). We’ve built car villages where cops and robbers chase ice cream thieves and while they are resting in jail we go find our own ice cream (and we have eaten SO MUCH ice cream and gelato this summer I think they should name a flavor after us). We’ve cooked a lot together, cut paper, glued things, colored, painted, created greeting cards, played matching games and bingo and Go fish about everyday, and we’ve read book after book after book. Halfway through any of these activities, I’ll get a good idea for something I was struggling with in my writing, so I’ll rush to the computer and address it. At first, Turner would rush after me, but now he knows I’ll return in a few minutes more concentrated than before on our task. Not watching TV has been good for us all.

This afternoon, for example, I’m making pad thai for Turner and I to share as we watch the sunset (he had milk and an apple too, and he takes his noodles plain). Turner sits at the table and reads one of his new library books to me while I cook. It is a Scooby Doo chapter book. He reads to me often, and he does a wonderful job thinking up imaginative details and dialogue to go along with the pictures. He begins on the first page and says, “The author and the illustrator are...” and he pauses. Then he says, “the author and the illustrator are the same guy named John.” I’m so glad he recognizes that the author and illustrator are note-worthy. Most folks skip right over this page and get into the story, but there would be no story without the writer and illustrator. My pride in this is self-serving, I’m sure. So, then Turner turns the page and reads the title of the book (which he heard me say when I handed it to him as my requested read). Then he begins the book and talks me through it for the next ten minutes. He even does the Scooby voice! Can’t wait for you all to hear it.

After the pad thai was finished we went to the gym so that Turner could interact with other little people and so that I could celebrate finishing my article by working out some stress. Then we gathered our picnic dinner from the house and headed to the very end of Campbell Ave and watched the most beautiful sunset together. Turner and I chatted about what makes the sunset so purple and pink (I have no idea but I figure it has something to do with moisture so we came up with different theories). We sat in silence for a bit and watched the sun drop out of a cloud. Just before Crystal and Brad arrived to take in the sight with us, Turner sat his apple in the cup holder and climbed out of his camping chair. He put his arms around my waist and said, "Mom this is my favorite part of today." Me too.