Why is it so cold this summer?

As we were driving to Matthew's for a playdate Frost asked me "Shannon, why is it so cold this summer?"

I concentrated on the four-way stop for a little while trying to parse the question. Outside drifts of snow remain from the last storm and only the evergreens are in leaf.
Shannon: What tells you its summer right now?
Frost: Well, it is 2009 now. Daddy and I even counted down 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..... 2009!!!
Shannon: Uh huh? And what are the seasons of the year?
Frost: There is summer, winter, spring and fall.
Shannon: Its summer, fall, winter and ..
Frost: Well, I was just TELLING you what they ARE not putting them in ORDER.
Shannon: Ok. Do you know what makes seasons change?
Frost: The earth moves around the sun.
Shannon: And sometimes we are closer to the sun and the angle of the earth makes us get a bit more sun in the day and it gets warmer which is summer.
Frost: I KNOW.
Shannon: Well, it takes a long time for seasons to change. It happens slowly. So its just started being winter and it will go on for a long time.
Frost: So its winter?
Shannon: Yes.
Frost [pause]
Shannon: It will be spring in March but it will only be summer and really hot much later. It will be about 20 more weeks till anything like summer.
Frost: So its winter?
Shannon: Yes.
Frost: Oh.

Frost's Obsession with Graphic Novels
Frost is 7 and he is obsessed with graphic novels. He reads books of other types but he will read the same graphic novel (aka cartoon) 7 or more times. Here are the books and graphic novels he has read recently and those he keeps reading like candy again:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid X7
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules X7
Warriors - Graphic Novel version X2
Otto Undercovery: Canyon Catastrophe
Otto Undercover: Born to Drive
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Catcher
Guiness World Records 2009 (Mum, he bought this with your Christmas Money - it has 3D glasses and many gross records)
The Big Bad Book of Bart Simpson X10
The Big Book of Bart Simpson X10
The Big Book of Simpsons Barn Burners X10
Lego Catalogues for the past 4 years (reads prices, model information and makes LISTS of those he wants)
Warriors - Into the Wild (reading the book version now)
All Captain Underpants books (many times)
Warhammer Dwarf Army Handbook

The Ethics of Blogging about our Kids
I have been doing a backup of files on my computer and uncovered the old "journal" I used to keep about Frost when he was 2. It is a wonderful record of the year he was one - anecdotes and descriptions as well as reflections on the types of toy he enjoys and the games he plays with friends.

Reading it has made me wonder about the similarities and differences between blogging and writing a journal. I think that the main difference is the audience. When I wrote a journal about Frost I imagined him reading it when he was older and smiling when he remembered or learned about his younger self. The audience of this blog includes family and friends who would find this interesting, but also many who are concerned with the life of Wren and his heart issues. One audience (the journal) is relatively private and the other is more in the public domain. I am wondering whether I could write a reflective entry in a monthly journal for Frost which I keep on the laptop and draw on the anecdotes and I events I share here to make a bit of story about his life which is out of the public eye as a way to respect both voices.

People have often asked me how I feel about blogging about Wren and his heart - whether I have privacy concerns. The answer is "no, not yet." When you read journal articles on Shones Syndrome written 10-15 years ago you find a very high mortality for kids like Wren. In many ways, he and others of his generation of kids with complex CHDs, are the first to survive with relatively normal lives. To me, it seems that the information and courage I gain from reading about other 'heart' kids more than compensates for having his medical experiences shared and it helps me focus on the many fun and happy times we have despite the stress of the perenial concerns.

May I change my mind as he develops more concern for his own privacy? Yes. I reserve the right to be fickle and start writing about my vegetable garden and attemps at raising poultry instead.