Snippets

1.  Work is a huge blessing. This morning I went jogging and then Grace and I went for a walk. Ande was giving some private swimming lessons at a friend’s pool and Calvin was mowing the lawn. We were late eating breakfast -cottage cheese pancakes (my, they are good—better than a crepe or pancake I think) –and Calvin dared grumble that there was no bacon. That fried me right ‘til we went outside and raked, hoed, weeded, hauled, burned, pitched, and picked. Sweat took the fight right out of me. Blessing one.

Joe and Ande brought tacos home from the farmer’s market, an unexpected and good surprise. After I showered, Calvin and I went to town for dog food, chicken feed, and ice cream. We picked gooseberries and rhubarb this morning so I made a gooseberry/rhubarb pie. Blessing two.

Any kind of fruit pie is edible if there is enough ice cream for the top. We sat out on the porch this evening rocking in the white rocking chairs eating pie. Weary. Happy.  Blessing three.

2.  My mother quit mothering when some of us were still young so I wasn’t quite sure what mothering young adults and adults would look like. I wasn’t certain if our kids would still need an active mother or for how long. Absurd. Mothering is like the sun. Just because you don’t see it for a day or two doesn’t mean you don’t need it, miss it, or want it. The sun and mothers nurture, warm, color, brighten, kiss, envelope, and strengthen and you need them be you 23 or 32. This week confirmed that wonderful discovery.

3.  Mr. Holland was a musician and he wanted to write an opus. Until he could earn enough money producing music, he taught it. He would carve out time to write a masterpiece, but things got in the way and the time was eaten by students, responsibility, family, life. Mr. Holland felt like a failure that he never composed a great piece. When he retired from teaching his former students came together to play the notes he had composed. The opus was in the people, not in the notes.

I had a Mr. Holland day this week:  I planned to work on a class. I need to finish my degree sooner rather than later. I sat down to study. A good friend stopped by and we visited for an hour or more. While we visited another friend called and wondered if I could babysit for a few hours while they took their baby to the doctor for an emergency visit. While my little friend and I made cupcakes for his family, another friend called and asked if we could take a last minute meal to a new mother that night. In the meantime, Calvin came home from work a couple of hours early so that he, Grace, and I could go to the temple. All the while, the class manual sat open near the couch.

As I climbed into bed, I wondered about the class.  Then I thought about my day. It was good. Very, very good. Far better and more meaningful than I had orchestrated.

4.  Twice Grace has solemnly said, “I didn’t hear from Abe this morning. Blackout.” I assumed blackout meant not enough power for the demand so the power was shut down temporarily. I didn’t understand until today (during a blackout) that it means all communication to the outside world is cut because there have been casualties and until the next of kin is notified, no one is allowed to communicate off post. Oh. Sobering. During those blackout hours spouses wonder if it is they who will receive the dreaded call. Though she feels an inner peace, it is still no wonder that Grace hates blackouts.