Nude Swamp Water

In the last week, Espen has become a fully developed nature boy. At the first given opportunity, the clothes come off and the wild rumpus-ing begins. This pleases me immensely.

I had harbored secret worries that he would shun nude toddler-romps altogether and go straight for his driver's license. Thankfully, he has discovered that less clothing equals more fun.

Skip to yesterday. I return from a weekend class on the Yoga Sutras, all full of knowledge and benevolence for the human condition. Tobias and I are peacefully chatting at the window, watching our wonderful child frolic about in unfettered ecstacy.

He is wet. Of course. It's a warm day and there is water about. Oh yes. Being pumped straight from underneath our house. Nevermind why.
Actually, yes, mind why.


Said hose is actually part of a bilge pump that is extracting mysterious water that has been lurking under our house for who knows how long. Exact contents, unknown, but it is rank.



But it's a fantastic hose. Really more like a miniature fireman's hose just begging a three year old champion to wave it about masterfully. Which Espen is very happy to accommodate.

Tobias and I chuckle tolerantly, love in our eyes, insulated from complete responsibility by Farfar's presence in the backyard.

And then we see Espen drop the hose, drop himself to the ground in front of it.  And open his mouth wide.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Tobias and I both screamed, launching ourselves through the door and onto the deck.

"NO DRINKING THE WATER ESPEN!!!" As though we'd been rehearsing the line for months.

Espen looked up, puzzled. He has been drinking from garden hoses with great success for the last many months. Clearly, his mind registered this rubber beauty as The Hose of all Hoses.

Farfar looked up. "He isn't drinking from the hose." clearly, having seen such things almost happen and then not many times.

And then, "Is he?"

Ahhhhhh........