Digital Sketchbook: Grow

My Mom recently sent over a photo of the harvest in full-swing going on in Minnesota, which is the image that is overlayed in the graphic below. Harvest is my Dad's favorite time of year and if you were to talk to him for just 5 or 10 minutes about the season, you would certainly be able to tell.

I have very fond memories of harvest back when I was young. I remember one year my Dad let me help unload each truckload of corn. I diligently watched the corn flow out of the truck and into the auger, making sure to sweep any piles of corn that had fallen outside. I felt even more proud when at one point during harvest my Dad left me to go the shop to grab some more supplies and I was "in charge" of unloading the entire truck by myself. I think he had even taught me how to lift and lower the truck bed. From there on that year, I was my Dad's tag-a-long. At that time we had a Springer Spaniel named Sadie, who, like most dogs, loved a good car ride. When the corn had been emptied and Dad was ready to drive back out the the field, I would call out for Sadie and she would come running and make her jump in the truck and the three of us would be on our way again.

I have so many more sweet recollections of autumn and harvest, but I think that one is probably the one I hold closest to my heart.

 

Today's Adventure: As told by Sebastian

The last week of August I was gone on my annual company trip. As a company, we once again made our yearly goals for growth, so each full-time employee was flown out to Cabo to enjoy a little bit of relaxation after another whirlwind summer. For most people in our company, summer is non-stop chaos since that is when our actual summer camps are up and running and it's showtime. (On a side note: I can't believe I've been there 6 years now. It was my first "career" job out of college and what an amazing company it has been to work at for so long.)

Of course, our company doesn't pay for each employee's family, which is understandable, so each family or friend brought along is an additional expense. Aliyah turned the big 2 this summer which means that bringing her and Sebastian along would have been pretty expensive with flights and hotel, so we decided to save a few pennies and have Mom go solo for the first year since I've been married or been a parent. (I have to say, I'm pretty sad to see the "free" seat for Aliyah go now that she's two.) Because I was leaving my two favorite people at home, I decided to just do four days in paradise. It was the perfect amount of time to be away. Just enough to have some fun and alone time, but also enough to be incredibly happy and grateful to be back in their arms when I returned.

I often get asked by my co-workers if Sebastian can handle taking care of Aliyah for such a long time when I'm away for business trips in San Jose. And to that I never have any hesitation to say, "Of course!". Sebastian is an amazing Dad and while I miss both he and Aliyah terribly when I go away, one thing that I am very grateful for is that I know that Aliyah is in great hands with Sebastian. I never have to worry about how they're getting by. Sebastian is also great at keeping me in the loop and writing me sweet little letters like this so I can read all the fun they're having together.

Here's his letter from when I was in Cabo:

What a day,

This morning, Aliyah's sentence repetition blew me away. "Look at the little bunny, Daddy." She spoke it slowly and clearly, and I think she kept repeating it because she was so proud. We got off to a bit of a slow start because were having quite a bit of fun. Once she got in the car, she started fussing a bit about Lightning not being there. Then she fussed about you being gone.

Then more about Lightning... and a little more "Where's Lightning?" after that.

I picked her up a bit early today (since the team did well) and disaster struck immediately.

Everyday, Aliyah rushes up to me. This time she came barreling towards me like a maniac. I failed to soften her slamming into me though, and her nose bumped hard into my shoulder. It wasn't super painful and she didn't cry too much, but she had quite a bloody nose. It got on her shirt, my shirt, and she really didn't know what to make of it. She was fascinated by the taste (it was really coming out) and the color it left on the napkins.

She wouldn't look up so I had to lay her down. She didn't like that, so Ms. Monica and I assuaged her plight with some crackers.

At home, she went nuts with Nola (that's "gronola in Aliyah talk) again. I gave her some celery, but she kept asking for Nola. We played a bit and I downloaded Madagascar. At first, she was a bit spooked, but she settled into my shoulders for a bit and we watched it with few interruptions.

After that, it was Lightning Puzzle time. We also did some spelling exercises in Microsoft Word. I had her find letters and I think she's starting to get the concept of sounding out words. We'll see. Bedtime was a little challenging, but I'm committed to turning her around in the next four days. I played hard ball.

Real hard ball. I told her if she didn't stop crying I was going to take Italian Car, because Italian's don't like crying. She cried.

I look Italian Car. She lost her 'Ish, Marta. You should've heard her. I felt terrible.

I returned 10 seconds later and returned Italian Car.

She went to sleep with just one more request. Tea.

She's such a sweetheart. We miss you lots and hope your enjoying the Margaritas and Coronas. You absolutely deserve your trip.

Love,

Bastian Sauce and Aliyah Berry