Grateful Friday

Today I give thanks for...

Girls in uniform.

Beautiful bunts.

A late afternoon walk with a friend on a hot afternoon followed by a cold bottle of chardonnay.

When you realize that sometimes it's better to just watch day turn to night than try to capture it.

Brotherly bonds.

Fireworks that look like constellations in the twilight sky.

Making it to the strawberry stand before closing to stock up on several pints of these fresh-picked beauts. I bought cream to make homemade strawberry ice-cream. Silly me...I should have known that they wouldn't last that long.

While some of us are excited for the things that come in the boxes (golf shoes and boat shoes), the rest of us just love the cardboard.

A trip to the library this week. After checking me out, the librarian wished me luck. This is an ambitious stack for 3 weeks even for me, yet what can I say...I feel rich...blessed...blissed.

I also stopped by the farmer's market. I didn't have much time. I was on a mission to find strawberries. I failed. I did come home with the prettiest green beans though and a reminder to myself to refrain from buying produce at the grocery until further notice.

This is the first tomato from our plant. It will become a BLT soon.

$5 bunches of glads and this sassy ginger.

Lunch still life. Fresh fruit salad and iced tea are perfect on a hot day. I finished this little memoir. I liked it. It feel honest to me.

Watching softball instead of television most nights. Although we did tune in to Sharper Things this week. I read the book and I love Amy Adams. I love watching #6 score more though.

My in-laws who are super fans (and people).

Tigger Leo & Peanut Quincy.

Golf girl. 

weekending

we were blessed with an absolutely beautiful weekend.

that was a very good thing because our plan was to spend all our time outside.

we had a softball saturday. 

lil played a regular season game in the morning.

the all star game was in the afternoon.

our girls represented the lady knights honorably and were victorious.

they also had lots of fun.

that's the best, most important part.
these players are maturing.
they're of the age where they can quickly work as a team with flexibility and enthusiasm.
it was inspiring to watch.

immediately after the game, we made our way to windmill beach to swim before gloaming.

lake michigan was warm.

i almost walked right in and under.

almost as in i may have turned around a couple times and then i think i screamed when i submerged, but it felt amazing.

clear the cobwebs from your head refreshing.

this girl didn't want to come, but then she did.

the draw of the lake is powerful for this water lover.

i think she was happy she made the decision.

teddy spent the bulk of the weekend caddying.

there was evidence that he made a frozen pizza (crumbs) and fell asleep watching his favorite crime dramas on the couch (nest of blankets).

the neighbors put on quite an impressive fireworks display.

we headed back to the beach after wings and burgers on the grill for the best view.

then the girls curled up on the couch for a movie

while the boys made a playlist for their upcoming golf tournament.

sunday we picked up lily's friend for a day at the beach.

the girls are two peas in a pod, or rather two fish in the lake. 

we didn't get home until 7 o'clock.

we were sandy, sun-kissed and spent.

it was good to see our ted.

we made a pot of pasta for dinner.

forget the sunday sauce...thankfully we had a jar of ragu in the pantry.

there were a million things i could have should have done over the weekend,

but i don't regret the time i spent with my family.
the thing is...
i never do.

Confession

We spent an idyllic day at the beach Sunday. The skies were sunny and the water was warm enough to be invitingly refreshing. What that means is that the girls were able to stay in for hours with only minor numbness and a few short breaks in the sun until feeling returned to wayward fingers and toes. They were in so long that it went from kayak to boogie board water. They were waiting for the waves to roll in. Patience paid off.

They're both strong and smart swimmers, yet I watched them like a hawk from my adirondack on the beach. Mike took over while I read a few chapters or when I took a walk along the shore. It occurred to me that I'd really be helpless to help them. I'm an okay swimmer, but I'm no lifeguard. I'd be a witness. I'd be able to tell the story. That didn't feel like enough as I sat there watching them go further out in search of waves to ride without a single fear. I said a prayer. Prayers never hurt. 

On this day I felt a certain relief when the 5 more minutes 5 times expired and we were packing up for home. I can only explain it as that sense that we dodged a bullet. There are hundreds of bullets in our every day, but some days you feel their sight trained on you. 

Lily started to cough on the ride home. It caught my attention. When I looked back at her, her face showed worry. Fear. I hid mine. She's easy to alarm. She had burning in her chest, some shortness of breath and discomfort. She'd swallowed some Lake Michigan water. Of course she did. She spent 5 hours in the water. But I was remembering that bullet and not willing to feel safe yet. I Googled dry drowning as soon as we got home. Yes, it's a thing. A pretty scary thing.

She showered. Relaxed. The coughing abated. She ate some Tums. Dinner. She started to feel better. Look better. She was exhausted and headed to bed early. I slept fitfully and woke several times in the night to check on her as if she were a helpless newborn again. We barely spoke of it the next day. The minor sunburn was the lingering and visible complaint.

My confession: I was scared. I'm still feeling fragile. My mind went to all the worst possible places. I don't intend to write the words for the images I conjured. I simply cannot give them legs. Life.

Life is precious and precarious. We get up each day knowing nothing about what truly lies ahead. We have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst as best we can. We have to trust. There's a difference between being careful and being fearful. There's a difference between living in fear and going through life with measured caution. There's also a difference between YOLO: living life with reckless abandon, and living life with an appreciation for its fleeting fragility. I need the universe to know that I know what a gift each new day is and I'm only scared because life is beautiful and often too short. Amen.

Beaches, Backyard BBQ, Birdies, Bikinis, Being Together

 The month of July is the sweet spot of summer. We're in a groove even with spontaneous schedules and as much as life is speeding up, we're slowing down. This past week...these last 7 days have been quintessential summer. They've captured Miriam Webster's very definition of the season. 

We kicked off the month with a rather impromptu day at the beach. We were in the midst of a grueling 90 degree plus heat wave and Lake Michigan was calling. This great lake of ours is nature's air conditioner and the temperatures on the beach were indeed a good 10 degrees cooler, but the water was a rare kind of beautiful. It's unheard of that I can walk right in the water and under without fits and starts, but after a long walk on the windy beach that's just what I did. Of course, the rest of the crew - Lily, her friend and Mike - had already been riding the waves for quite awhile. We unpacked the car and the girls headed straight to the water. They got out only long enough to eat lunch. They spent hours in the water and didn't want to leave. 

  

  

Another great way to beat the heat is to enjoy the theater. Jess and I had a girl's day to see A Gentleman in Paris and a birthday dinner at Odd Duck. The show was entertaining, much of the music familiar and the dancing ah-mazing. The small plate dinner was a bit disappointing, yet it was fun to try a new place and be out on a Sunday night. 

There was little work unless you count dog sitting, which we don't, and lots of play.

The cats were certainly relieved when Kapuchi went home. I am missing that sweet little girl.

There was a boy's golf day, a father/daughter golf date and a father/son golf outing. Ted took the big boys, Lily had her first birdie and Mike got some pointers on his swing from his son. Lily and I shopped for cute golf attire. I'm starting to wonder if the new wardrobe is partially responsible for her interest in this sport? And I guess I cannot blame her.

Lily and Jess spent a day boating, shopping and eating in Lake Geneva. I'm ever so grateful that Jess helped Lily pick out a new swimsuit. She's been wanting a bikini and came home with an adorable and appropriate option. She hustled right in the bathroom to put it on and model it for me. I ordered 3 new bathing suits from Lands End. I think they all have to go back. Oh to be 13 again.

We hosted some friends and family on the 4th. It's been an annual tradition until last year when we went to the lake. That was not popular with our clan so we decided to go for it rather last minute this year. The Family Feud game we planned was a hit with the ladies and girls, the boys played a competitive game of croquet, the triple berry pie was all gone and rumor has it that some kids had 2 S'mores Cookwiches. For the record, I ate one the other day for lunch and had to take a nap. Fireworks were rained out, but the boys played a much safer game of cribbage in the dry house.

  

  

 Mike made us his family favorite ribs on the 5th. They were perfect to go with so many leftover sides. It was a low key day after. The heat finally broke and we were content to curl up on couches to watch movies and read books.

I had a long lunch with a friend in town for the week yesterday and another quiet night last night. Today we'll be back at the ball park. Lily has 2 games after a week off. Then we'll head to the beach for more bbq, books and being together. If I had to bet...fireworks too.