Across the street

For over a year Oliver has been spending the days I work with Jess, our wonderful neighbor across the street. Every morning - rain, snow, hot, freezing cold... Jess comes and knocks on our door and greets us with a great big smile. With the exception of maybe one or two mornings Oliver has greeted Jess by running to either Davis or me and crying. Usually, after a moment or two, he will reluctantly put his arms out for Jess to take him. Sometimes I feel so sad ripping him off me and handing him, crying, to Jess. But then, moments later, I see the two of them headed off, via bike, stroller or car, to Starbucks - their morning ritual - and, 9 times out of 10 Oliver is smiling.

Another reason I am starting to get a lot less sad over our morning good-byes is that Oliver, who is becoming increasingly vocal, has started to regal me with stories of what he and Jess do all day. For example, this morning he told me about how he and Jess went to the beach last week, and yesterday he told me about the songs they sang last week in music class. Also, Oliver has started to want to ride his bike across the street and just sit in front of Jess' house and tell me about how he waters Jess' plants, where Jack (their cat) likes to hide, and where Lucy (their dog) likes to roll around on the grass. Given all of this, my sympathies are falling more and more to Jess, sorry little Rocket.

Here are some pictures Jess took of Oliver last week - he looks pretty happy...