Ode to Barnes and Noble

What does one do with a two year old 

who is not entertained by the rain? 

Who much prefers running to quietly coming

 and driving her mother insane?

The answer I pose is really a rose, 

as long as you are quite mobile.

Just pack up the babe, screeming away

and take her to Barnes and Noble. 

Its entertainments are few, but with plenty to do 

for a little one bent on exploring.

There are books, there are trains, 

there are other chiblains to entertain my little hoodlum. 

As you can see, I have spent way too much time at Barnes and Noble lately. It is incontrovertibly a great way to fill an hour when the park is too wet, or too hot, or Mama is too tired. Josh has been on the road since Monday, so we have had a lot of time to fill. Thankfully he gets home this evening. 

Other than that, not much is going on in rainy Maryland. To explain how regular things are around here I thought about writing an Ode to the Washing Machine, but Barnes and Noble won the contest. 

Hoping it's sunnier on your side of the street, 

Steph 

P.S. I am challenging myself to write for a few moments each day for a month. Today is the inaugural day of the challenge. Below is my first foray, which refers to a real place. For those of you familiar with this place, you will know right where it is, for those who don't, I guess you'll have to wait 'til more of the story is written to get in on the secret. 

In an adolescent city there is a street; a busy street with busy people. One side is freckled with rows of beige houses. The other is skirted by a tall brick wall with a iron gate. The wall does not match the beige houses. 

Inside the wall there is a tree. The tree is unlike any in the neighborhood. It is a barrel-chested eucalyptus, grown gnarled and gracious by time and experience. Its leafy canopy buttresses the crystalline desert sky pouring cool shade through the yard and out into the street.