It came a little earlier than last year, but it came. It came just the same. I cut the lawn for the first time of the 2012 cutting season this past Sunday. The weather was a little brisk and breezy, but the sun was shining paving the way for this grand event. The first cut of the season is like my Opening Day. I really do like cutting the grass and was looking forward to this day once my lawn started looking a little shaggy. But this year, it was a bittersweet experience.
My good friend Haniyyah was going to be in town visiting her sister-in-law, Ayesha, for a few days. Also in town was Haniyyah’s other sister-in-law, Fatima. Ellie and I were invited over for lunch with the group. (Actually I think I invited myself over) All of us have kids. Fatima’s daughter Aliyah, 5 months, is the youngest, then Ayesha’s son, Abdullah, is almost a year, then Ellie at 18 months, and then the oldest at two years old is Haniyyah’s daughter, Zayna. Three women, two babies, two toddlers, and me. There are a lot of Y’s and H’s in those names, did you get all that?
One of Aya’s friends, Kame-chan, just happens to live only 30 minutes away by train. They have been friends since they were in middle school and now they both have kids. And with her living so close to Aya’s parents, it was time for Ellie to have her first international play date. Since Ellie had to miss Japanese School this month, I thought this could be a great substitute too. Kame-chan’s son, Koutarou, is only nine months old and is just a crawler. So Ellie and her rambunctious almost two-year old self, plus a crawler, two languages and some good food should make for a pretty great afternoon, right?
It’s time for fall, my favorite time of year! And one of my favorite things to do is go to the Cider Mill. Last year on our trip to the Cider Mill, Ellie was just crawling and couldn’t eat donuts. But this year, it was a whole other story. We planned a trip with our friends Kelly and Evelyn to enjoy the apples, cider, and donuts.  I’ve only been to this place on the busy crowded weekends, so I was looking forward to going on a sleepy weekday morning.
I woke up at 8:30am naturally, without an alarm. The sun was shining through the window and there was a nice morning breeze. And then it clicked, it was 8:30!? Ellie was still asleep? Oh my gosh, I’m late! We were going to meet my friend Meggan and her son River at the zoo and needed to leave by 9:00am. Of course, of all the days to sleep in, Ellie picks the day we have plans. That seems to be her new trend, it’s like she can sense it.
