I cannot believe it. Carter has a fever, and Ava has a terrible cough. I truly hate this time of year. This is the 3rd year in a row where we have had 6 weeks of non-stop illness. It is not helped by the fact that following a few days of GORGEOUS spring weather, it snowed, and is hovering in the 30s.

I just finished a book titled “Never Let Me Go,” and am in that weird phase of feeling like someone has just left. I love it when I read a novel and get so wrapped up in it that the characters feel like part of my life, but I also hate this weird ‘so what do I do now’ feeling when it is over. This was a book that was dark and disturbing, and yet oddly cozy. It is hard to describe--if you read it, you might know what I mean. It is sort of science fiction, and it tackles a huge bioethical debate, but it is set in the present, thus avoiding the cold, lonely surreal feeling that books like Brave New World might have. There is a book by Hermann Hesse that employs a similar mechanism (I cannot remember the name, but it is about a game like chess sort of, and it is one of the best books I have ever read), in which he creates a world set in the future but the whole environment is remarkably medieval in its appearance. So the reader has a sense of connection even though the story is fantastic, and there is no weird alienated feeling. Anyway, the book was great, and I highly recommend it, even though it gets off to a slow start. It is funny, it is not a book that I would automatically pick up, but I committed myself to it just because, and I was happy that I did. The same thing happened when I decided to read The Darling by Russell Banks. Ava picked it out at the bookstore, probably because it has a striking black and yellow cover, and I almost put it back, but thought, why not read it? And it was unbelievable. Which then lead me to The Sweet Hereafter at Grandma’s suggestion, which was also unbelievable. I guess the obvious lesson is to keep reading. So, my next book is Saturday by Ian McEwan, which also is a book that I would not normally select. But it happens to be on my bookshelf, and if I want to read the 2 Alice Munro books waiting there, I have told myself that I need to do this one next. And no, I have not finished Katharine Graham’s autobiography. It is big and hardcovered, and is hard to read while putting the kids to sleep, which is the only time that I have to read. Anyway, I am dying to talk to someone about “Never Let Me Go,” so if anyone reads it, let me know.

Ava did really well at swim class last night. (Disclaimer: I did not know they were going to be sick today when we took them to the pool). She wore a life preserver, and this let her have a level of confidence that was missing last time. Carter of course adored it. He is a little fish. Ava swam with me for a while after the end of the class, and we did a lap with her on my back. This was very fun for her, especially because she got to go in the deep end, but very exhausting for me. Towing 30 lbs is not exactly easy. We also had a MUCH better day yesterday. Ava was just nice. Pleasant. Happy. Who knows what the difference was, but it was there. Today has been an odd mixture of yesterdays’ pleasantness and Tuesday’s touchiness.

Carter is trying really hard to learn how to clap and wave. If I say clap and hold my hand up, he will clap my hand with his left hand. If I do not, both ‘clap’ and ‘wave’ elicit a crazy flailing of his arms very similar to his splashing in the tub. Last night he sort of tried to clap his hands together, but he had his fingers curled, so they got tangled, and then he was left with his hands in a knot in front of him that he kept staring at with a furrowed brow, with an expression of ‘now what do I do’ on his face. I know it was one of those situations where once you start thinking about something, you cannot do it, but the minute you let it out of your head it just happens. So, obviously, his hands came undone, but not through any concerted effort on his part.

Ava has figured out that if she makes a funny face by putting her fingers in the side of her mouth and pulling her lips apart in that “if you do that your face will freeze” face, Carter will completely crack up. So this is how they entertain themselves in the car. That and Ava gives Carter her Gatorade. This causes a huge amount of consternation for me, since I am not so keen on giving Carter Gatorade just yet, buuuuut….he does like it, and he does not cry. Here’s to Ava and her smarts. I think Carter thinks he has gone to heaven when this happens.

On the other hand, I was neurotic with sugar when Ava was little, not wanting to introduce it, blah blah blah, because everything says that one should always introduce savory foods first, so that they learn to like those, before learning that there are sweet things out there. But, has anyone noticed exactly how sweet breastmilk is? Or formula? One does not have to taste them to know—they are both ridiculously sticky. It is not like sugar is a huge secret. So, I have been a little more lax with Carter. Rather than plain yogurt, I have been giving him Yo-Baby, and so on. And, as I said before, I am a huge fan of the instant blood sugar boost that the occasional lollypop can give. (For Ava of course…I have not yet stuffed a piece of candy in my son’s mouth…).

And to close, a piece of advice: unless you are 100% sure that the item you are putting in your mouth is indeed a cheerio, do not do so. It could be a piece of a pine cone, which I can say with authority tastes AWFUL.