Too Fast

It just goes by too fast, doesn't it? Childhood, that is. I am feeling somewhat lonely this afternoon as the Littlest Nguyen naps. It is unusual for our house to be this quiet. The First Little Nguyen went home from school with a classmate for an afternoon of fun, a reward for keeping his apple in the tree at school for several weeks now. I can't believe he is old enough for that sort of thing already. Lately, the changes all seem to be happening much too quickly. Even Chi noticed a change in the First Little Nguyen's behavior recently. He dropped him off at school the other morning, and when the First Little Nguyen saw a friend getting out of the car ahead of him, he couldn't escape fast enough! Chi was left sitting in the driver's seat without a kiss, a hug, an "I love you", or even a simple "Bye, Dad". That's it right there...the first dis. The cuddles and kisses come few and far between now. Where has our first little boy gone? We really aren't "required" now unless it is to read a story (if it's too hard for him), prepare food for him to consume, or to listen to him spout off information about a few of his favorite topics: dinosaurs, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, ecology, animal rights. It charms me every time to listen, but the absence of kisses and hugs doesn't go unnoticed. Oh, well. I will take what I can get when I can get it, right?
I am glad to have some quality time to spend with the Second Little Nguyen, though. I always wonder if he feels slighted when we spend time listening to the First Little Nguyen read, help him with his homework, or when we run off to Faith Formation class without him on Sunday afternoons. While he misses his big brother during the school day, the Second Little Nguyen is appreciative of the calm and quiet and attention! Today, he made a birdfeeder from a small, plastic milk container we saved. I cut a little door in it, and he worked diligently to position some stickers on it. I sprayed it with some sealant, we tied some yarn around the top, and we hung it in one of our trees in the front yard. The First Little Nguyen's school had a Silent Auction and Raffle fundraiser a few weeks ago. The students in each class helped to create items for the fundraiser, and the First Little Nguyen's class painted two bluebird houses. I primed them, sealed them after the children painted them, and volunteered to wrap them up in a nest-like basket along with some suet and a great picture book about bluebirds. With all of the work I put into them, I thought, HEY! I'm going to bid on them! And guess what?! Surprise! We are the proud owners of two new birdhouses! The First Little Nguyen's teacher is a huge bird enthusiast (other teachers request things like playdough, stickers, and anti-bacterial gel while his asks for suet and squirrel repellant!), so he has developed quite a love for the little creatures this year. He was delighted when we won the birdhouses and quickly selected one tree in the front yard and one in the back yard on which to mount them. Yesterday, we discovered a nest in the the house in the front yard, so the Second Little Nguyen chose to hang his bird feeder right outside it's front door! Good choice, don't you think? We'll see if we get any eggs. It may be too late this year, but we also learned that bluebirds lay two sets of eggs each year -- one in the Spring, one in the late Summer. Maybe we'll see a nestling or two before the summer is over.