The Number Field

Although it is already the second day of spring, there was a fresh coat of snow covering the ground on my long drive to work this morning. Winter hasn't been harsh here, but it seems determined to hold on for a little longer. It won't last forever--beautiful purple and white croci have already been blooming for days in the flower beds at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and the daffodils are coming on strong. The sun melted away the snow by the late morning, and it turned into a beautiful, early spring day.

Like the flowers, each member of our family is growing and developing in new ways.

• Roman is crawling for real; he almost never goes back to the army crawl, and is picking up speed as he learns to coordinate his limbs better. He has also learned how to pull himself to a standing position using the nearest chair or person or whatever is the right height.
• Elena is learning the alphabet. Aunt Veronica showed Jenny some interesting and fun ways to practice letters. One exercise involves drawing the letter on a little chalkboard, then erasing it with a wet cloth, then erasing it again with a dry towel. The other method involves putting together letters out of their component straight lines and curves; Veronica loaned us wooden pieces of the appropriate shapes and sizes. Not surprisingly, Elena's favorite letter so far is E .
• Jenny has a new look. While in Seattle, she trusted Carrie's highly-praised hair stylist not only to give her a haircut, but also to give her a new hair perspective. She looks great!
• My recent accomplishments are less visible than the others. I'm proud of the fact that I recently finished Book One of Gogol's Dead Souls . My memories of the story and characters were badly faded and in need of a new coat of paint. I need to read more books, and less of the internet.