Years Are Minutes

I'm home alone on my last Wednesday before summer vacation. I didn't even realize that today I packed Lily's last lunch of 7th grade. I'm glad it was a good one. She's not a breakfast girl. She loves lunch. I love marking beginnings and honoring endings. My baby girl is almost an 8th grader. I'm not a fan of the getting older part always, but this is a school year that I'm ready to leave behind. And yet I wrote honestly in her journal yesterday that I am awed by her grace, strength and maturity. Add to that resilience too. She excelled in school again this year despite the drama, and I am just so stinking proud of her in school, on the mound, in life.

I made Teddy a couple almond croissants this morning and sent him on his way for his English exam. He took my car and I expect to get a call soon asking if he can golf this afternoon. Some of his senior friends are trying to put together a tournament this week because they, of course, do not have exams. My baby boy is almost a junior. Lately, I've been waking up in the middle of the night worrying about him leaving home. It may be a tad premature, but the thing is that I know years are minutes. I've got two minutes.

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They can make their own breakfasts and lunches, but the truth is that I like to do it. They're only mine for such a short season that I want to take care of them and spoil them as much as I can so long as they appreciate it...me. Scarcely a meal goes by that I don't get a thank you from both of them. She also thanks me for making special trips to Trader Joe's for avocados, and he thanks me for keeping all his uniforms clean. Truthfully, I hear thank you at least a dozen times a day. It's my love language.

And the thing that they hear at least a dozen times a day is I love you. You know you can never say those three words too much. I say it even though I know he's an independent teenager who towers over me and is rarely home. I say it even when...especially when...she's annoyed with me because I'm her mom and when you're almost 13, moms are often if not usually annoying.

The thing is...I'll annoy them and invade their space to the end of time to let them know how proud I am of them and how much I love them.

weekending

at the risk of sounding like a complete broken record...

the weekend was a winner and filled with softball/baseball, golf and good times with friends.

saturday we woke to rain, but eventually it went away and just as soon as it did...ted was bound for the course.

lily celebrated a classmate's bar mitzvah in style.

she was stunning.

ted was out with friends so mike and i went to the beer garden with our neighbors.

it was a beautiful night to sit out under the trees and catch up over cocktails.

sunday we were all slow to start.

but eventually the summery day went like this...

breakfast

yard work, which the cats supervise from windows and doors in between naps.

a trail side walk along the river with my guy where the aroma of wild flowers was a sweet surprise.

family dinner.

 one of my favorites: balsamic glazed chicken, pasta aglio e olio with extra aglio, and a simple caprese salad.

with my favorites.

life is good.

weekends are the very best.

Grateful Friday

Today I give thanks for...

I survived the week. It was a really long short week. Gritty too.

What doesn't kill us...doesn't kill us. Amen.

The NYT crossword puzzle, which can, at times, be rather cheeky and difficult.

Things that make me think.

Stepping out for a bowl of tikka masala soup today with a friend. I didn't want to go out and I didn't want that soup, but as it turns out they were both rather delightful.

Friends and comfort food.

Watching Ted play baseball last night. I L O V E  L O V E that the team is reunited. They truly are a force of very talented goofballs to be reckoned with.

Teams of friends.

Right now he is golfing with teammates after baseball practice after school. I am quite awed by his constant devotion and energy.

Passion.

Our baby birds are peeking out of the nest and soon they will take flight. This is definitely an allegorical premonition of my life, and I think that's why I'm so fiercely protective of them.

Honesty.

An after school shopping date with Lily this week. She looked so cute in all the dresses she tried on that I thought about buying her several despite the fact she's a more sporty girl these days, and these were rather pricey. We did mutually agree on an adorable, affordable number for an event she'll attend tomorrow.

Seeing her shine.

Sons and daughters.

My little life with my big loves.

weekending

memorial day weekend is when we usher in that summer state of mind.

although it is not yet officially summer, you could have fooled me.

the weather was perfect...cool mornings, warm days, crisp nights.

and we filled our time with quintessential summer doings.

i give you highlights and evidence.
see...

hear...

1. the boys go from window to window following the critters in the yard and then they go from door to door begging to get out. peanut spent a stretch rolling around in the grass in the sun in heaven. absolute nirvana.

2. teddy wasn't home much between baseball and golf and work which was umping this weekend. pretty typical life of a teenager. i mean sweet life.

3. lily pictured here likely snap chatting was busy too and typical tween. she had a date at the mall with a friend one day. they had lunch and shopped for books to read this summer. i was just thankful she didn't come home with any bath and body works product. buying books with her own money...now that's a girl after my heart.

4. the truth is that ted spent most of his time golfing. he had 3 different golf matches on monday alone for a total of 45 holes. 45 holes on the day before a tournament. an important tournament that i was able to spectate. 

5. naps in the middle of the day with the smell of fresh cut grass and animated sound of birdsong wafting through the open windows are daily pleasures for the cats, and sometimes weekend indulgences for the rest of us.

6. i prefer to get up early and eke as much goodness as possible out of the day. if i'm lucky, the weekend mornings start with strong coffee and a good book. this weekend i got started on this stack of new and promising reads.

7. i made two pies this weekend. my kids love my french silk pie, and our friends sure did too. i love my triple berry pie made especially in honor of memorial day. i served it with a dollop of fresh whipped cinnamon cream and a scoop of french vanilla ice cream and it was prize worthy if i don't say so myself.

8. grandpa and aunt a. came to walk the course with me. we logged 5 miles following ted, and it was great to support him and fun to see him in his element. he had a respectable couple rounds and beat his opponents, but his team was not one of the two to advance to state. that's ok because he needs to be in school next week taking exams not in madison playing golf.

9. tigger leo on another perch watching the neighbor kids play hoops on our court.

10. we were invited to my dad and step-mom's for dinner sunday night. their yard is so lush and green and teeming with wildlife. it's such a woodland oasis.

11. 5 o'clock rose' equals happy hour indeed. pink wine is quintessential summer.

12. the baby birds are feathered and getting bigger. soon they will leave the nest. it'll be nice to open our front door, but i'll miss them.

13. one of peanut's favorite resting places. i've given up and i just let him be. 

14. we had friends for dinner saturday night and had such fun catching up, playing games like 4 square and fish bowl and curses, and eating a classic bbq. then monday, my brother and sil joined us for another textbook holiday weekend meal and another good time.

15. lily and her buddy bodi. i think i promised her she could get a dog within the year. see #11.

16. my dad made his famous chicken piccata and it was so good. he's so good because he made the kids chicken parmesan knowing they wouldn't care for the capers. it was the first fancy thing he learned to cook back in his single dad days, but i haven't had it in at least 20 years. it was worth the wait. 

Grateful Friday

Today I give thanks for...

Mike and Lily walked away from a car accident yesterday that very well may have totaled our car.

The other driver, who caused the accident, was also unhurt.

22 sculptures are being installed along Wisconsin Avenue. Yesterday I paused to watch the installation of the Calatrava on my way to the bank. It was quite something as is the buzz about the city regarding the abundance of public art.

This stands outside my building. It's called Mood.

Lily's Spring Sing. I was alone there and feeling a little blue about it. I was fixated on the fact that if my mom were here, she'd be there. That piteous feeling was none abated by the enthusiastic grandparents seated next to me, but then the first song the 7th graders sang, unbeknownst to me. was IZ's Somewhere Over the Rainbow and it felt like a hug. That's Cousin Carol's song and she's another one of our angels.

Ted's golf team advanced to regionals. Yesterday he had a PR on the host course. I'll be there Tuesday to walk the course with my dad and cheer him on.

A mid-week mid-day movie date with these two and a bowl of popcorn just because I could and also because the countdown is on to summer vacation when I will have little to no time to indulge my whims and fancies.

This marinade. Especially tasty on chicken bound for the grill.

A big pot of beef stew for the busy week. The weather cooperated and it was welcome comfort at the end of a stretch of cool, rainy days.

It was a foggy Friday.

It's going to be a decent holiday weekend and we have plans with family and friends in between baseball/softball and golf.

This book. I'm ready for a jump start. I'm officially throwing in the towel halfway through The Zookeeper's Wife because it is making me detest reading.

This documentary. So sad.

This video. So funny.

weekending

1. lily had a couple good practices, a boring, but necessary cpr class, and a really fun bat mitzvah for a friend. 

2. the boys spent time watching birdies and chipmunks and bunnies from their favorite perch.

3. when ted wasn't caddying or playing golf, he was talking about it or dreaming about it.

4. tigger dreams about so many critters.

5. peanut with cardinal curled up in another favorite spot on a cold and rainy saturday.

6. tigger at the trough.

7. it was a weekend of taking care of things around casa wags. we deep cleaned the basement, mike seeded the yard and i worked on a few photo projects that i'm excited for.

8. then after a long day hard at work, we went out for a date.

9. the company was better than the food, but our homemade pizza sunday night sure made up for our disappointing tacos on saturday.

On My Mind Monday

"Already my mind is a kaleidoscope. Years vanish. Months collapse. Time is like a tall building made of playing cards. It seems orderly until a strong gust of wind comes along and blows the whole thing skyward. Imagine it: an entire deck of card soaring like a flock of birds. A song comes on the radio and now I am nursing my baby to sleep, his sweet little body heavy in my arms. I am at a crowded party near Gramercy Park, looking into his father's eyes for the first time. I am burying my own father. My mother. I am a girl watching her mother at her vanity table. I am holding M.'s hand at Jacob's college graduation. I am playing with my grandchildren in a house on a mountain. The phone rings. The doorbell. I understand something terrible with a thud in my heart. The plane, the car, the train, the bomb. The test results are ominous. I am wheeling M. down a corridor. We are playing golf in Arizona. We are homeless. We are living in Covent Garden, where we often attend the theater. Pick a card. Any card."

~ Dani Shapiro

Hourglass