Friday Afterschool
pick up Lucas
hug teachers
take photos
tour farm
show Asher the animals
take photos
Jimboys tacos for celebratory treat
home for Asher’s nap
"huggles" with Lucas on the couch
knitting with Lucas
15 mins TV
walk to Bird Track park
Daddy home
steaks, broccoli, salad, wine
after-dinner walkies and playground time
cheesecake and ice-cream with "2" candle for second grader
"I’ll tell you tomorrow"

Saturday
bad money news
supermarket for breakfast foods
breakfast
housework
temper tantrum from second grader over 5 minutes’  worth of work
lunch
Asher nap
leave to go sew with mom
boys rigged pirate flag
mom and I made two pairs of shorts for Asher and cut out four more pairs
supermarket for taco fixings
home for dinner outside
reading and beer in the bower
after-dinner walkies
showers for children
bed
collapse with exhaustion while Ian plays zombie game

Sunday
7:00 a.m. phone rings
Asher and I keep sleeping
Lucas and Ian get up
breakfast outside
hot tubbing with my boys
trip to OSH to buy seeds and other garden stuff
lunch of leftover tacos
Asher naps
I work on chapter 17
Ian keeps Lucas entertained
Ian supermarket trip
cocktail
"more outside bath?"
knit a sheep toy
 over for dinner, good conversation
crazy boys
Steve brought me birthday mulch~Thank you Steve and Jeannie!
goodnight Lucas, goodnight Asher
goodnight Steve
finish knitting sheep
goodnight Bascha

Crown of Dew
Originally uploaded by Dalantech

I ADORE the photography of Dalantech on Flickr. His work can also be found here: http://dalantech.deviantart.com/. If you like macro photos, bugs of all stripes, flowers, water droplets, etc., I encourage you to check out his work. The colors on these small Earthlings are inspiring and amazing. If you Honeys ever want to see honeybees up close, this is for you!

The ritual elements that pervade my son’s school are delightful. To some cantankerous Waldorf haters, they are cause for great concern or scorn, or even lawsuits, but I love them. The children regularly invoke the spirits and the elements; pledge within sacred space to do their best work, to be their very best selves; cast circles in which to work and risk themselves for the sake of learning. They thank the sun, earth, air, fire, and water—and even god—for the lessons they learn both formally and informally all day.

At this time of year, closing is in order. Thank yous are being said and gifts are being given. It is also the time of year for congratulations and marking passages. Today, all the children in the school, first through eighth grade, moved boxes and belongings to their next classroom. Lucas and his classmates hefted their stuff and moved into the second-grade classroom next door. Each grade moved in this way. The eighth graders moved back to their beginning; they will spend the final day of the school year in the first-grade classroom. There is a Saturnalian, topsy-turvy element here that is not lost on Lucas and his friends. He laughed as he explained that one of his classmates is now "older" than her graduating big brother.

Something about this great moving circle, this procession, pleases me immeasurably. I love the physicality of it. The symbolism cannot be missed because the body, mind, and spirit all experience the passage through space as well as time. I am continually awed by how much these people GET IT. All of my ritual experience and training answers yes in moments like these, and frankly, they happen all the time.

My Kitchen Window
Originally uploaded by SarabellaE

Before my birthday party last month, we had some serious house cleaning to do. Asher was underfoot and interrupting, wanting to be cuddled and held when I wanted to be doing things. So I decided to take care of two problems at once!

This kitchen sink bath was the perfect solution (—get it? Solution!). I was able to clean the kitchen while Asher had fun nearby. I couldn’t resist taking pics, though.

Today is our 14th wedding anniversary.

Fourteen years ago I knit my life together with Ian’s and I have never had a moment’s regret. We are sailing through this life together with intention, with labor, and with persistent delight in each other. We allow each other to dream, to rage, to unfold. We are both patient and impatient to explore all life has to offer us. There is enough time, stretching both forward and back, for us to fill up with our laughter and our struggles. We are complements. We are married, but we define the word every day, for it works for us; we are not slaves to it. The term will not box up our love and tie it with a bow, pretty enough for everyone to see and approve of. Rather, we flow, sometimes flooding over the riverbanks. Love is not tidy. We stride forward together, side by side, except where it makes better sense for one of us to lead for a while. This nest that we created and tirelessly maintain is feathered with devotion, solicitude, and care. I am so happy in my marriage. I love you, Ian. Happy Anniversary! 

Four more days of school. All the teachers I know are ecstatic about this because it means a rest. The mommies with older kids I know are pretty stoked, too. For them, it means lazy mornings of reading and puttering, not rushing about the house to get everyone fed and out the door. I hope this will someday be me. Although I am far, far from a natural morning person, I like my mornings once everybody skedaddles.

I now have a map for the summer. It’s not full of Big Fun, but it is pretty packed with Little Fun items, especially for Lucas. I’m hoping that I can cultivate a good attitude; enjoy a rest once in a while; continue to earn a living; and keep myself from going bonkers. I’m hoping that I’ll find a slower but not dead pace to enjoy. I’m hoping for more time at the pool, the gym, in the backyard. I’m hoping to sew a little, make jam–that kind of creative, homey stuff. They call it the out-breathing, the exhaling portion of the year.

I am hoping I can avoid resorting to the TV. That is a big part of why I have signed Lucas up for so many camps: Fine Art camp, Nature camps, Soccer camp, Robotics camp, Water Sports camp, Bookmaking camp, Fair Oaks Day camp, etc.

My son is almost a second-grader. In four days, he will be one. He is taller, bolder, more argumentative, more sassy, more preoccupied with making his own rules, and with doing things his own way. He is taking it upon himself to make decisions without asking.
I am expecting him to pass the bar exam and become an attorney any day now.

Asher is presently blowing on Lucas’s new harmonica and strummin’ his ukulele! It’s very cute.