And today, while SG did all the homework she had specifically saved up for the last minute (Sarcasm Girl has to get the sarcasm from someone in the family; might as well be me) YG and I went out for a bike ride, picnic, and catch. Packed all manner of food, plus mitts and a softball, and peddled down the street to Glen Park Canyon, which was chock full of dogs, ball-players, toddlers, hawks wheeling overhead, and citizens catching the good of a really spectacularly beautiful day. So we locked up our bicycles and helmets and hiked up to the middle of the canyon, where there's a rock outcropping where we set up our picnic (YG had brought a placemat, so we were very civilized) and had lunch. As we were finished, a long-haired Corgi named Toffy (and her owners) came by, and YG of course had to discuss dogs, specifically the merits of the Corgi and a pet. My child deeply wants a dog, and I am in favor of the notion in a general way--except that I fear it would suddenly become my dog in terms of responsibility, and her dog in terms of love and bragging rights, and somehow that sounds like a lousy distribution of effort to me. After parting from Toffy and her owners we played catch for twenty minutes or so, and I tried not to say anything improving and useful ("Mom, it's really not a great idea to lecture someone on something you're not very good at yourself"). Finally we wound up at the playground. Since I had neglected to bring a book, I was a bit bored, but I coped. So now, a little tired but cheery, we are home, where SG is still toiling in the fields of homework. Maybe I'll take a nap.