Envelope (February 1, 05)

Eli and I are sitting at my desk here, and he's studiously drawing all the figures in his latest Ed Emberly drawing book. He starts at the front and moves to the end, imitating each and every drawing. When he's done, he assembles the drawings--all of them fingerprint objects and animals or small cars and forms--and gives them the official Sponge Bob stamp, meaning they are done. He has completed four such books; he's working on his sixth. Each book has in it "coming soon" and the title of the next book (just like the Captain Underpants books do). His life is a chain. Today we had much talk about the tsunami, Sponge Bob, Jim Carrey, and kids in his class.

It's sunny outside today; Joe came over during the day yesterday because he was sick, and we sat on the couch for a while, talking. He was pretty happy to join me, one on one, and he read and read. I got up to get him a napkin and he asked as I was leaving, "Dad, would you get me a spoon? Would you get me a water bottle?" I said sure, and after a long pause, he said, slightly contrite, "Dad, I hope you don't think I'm too commanding." Which was a sweet thing to say...

I have so much work to do that I am slightly crazy, and it's hard for me to listen to my boys talk. After I give this paper in CA, I'll be better.

Eli worked for an hour the other day to develop an envelope for a sweepstakes. "Dad," he tells me, "I'm going to enter every sweepstakes." He painstakingly wrote in his address and name, zip code and phone for a sweeepstakes found on the side of a cereal box for some free sissors. He's sure he has a good chance because 1) it was only on the cereal box and not many people will see it 2) not many people will want sissors, and 3) it's not easy to see.

The envelope, with his loose and determined script, is a perfect picture of Eli. Here is a picture: