grasshopper guts are bright yellow-green...

Just one of my observations from this year's jaunt to Sturgis for the 69th annual rally. We've done the rally four times - and NEVER found the grasshoppers to be such a problem! We take the back way into our campground - through the country - and found when reaching camp that the camper was loaded with grasshoppers. It didn't end there.

I had grasshoppers hit my ear, my forehead, my forearm (left a mark!), and my legs. The bike was so full of grasshopper inards that when sitting at stoplights, or in line, we could smell them baking onto the engine. Every year there is something that sticks out, this year, the bright yellow-green of ill-fated grasshoppers on my shoes, my pants, and everything we owned....

a quiet friday night

I got a chance tonight to enjoy some of the Blessings in my life. After dinner with family, I weeded the garden, enjoyed some fresh peas (is there any better taste?), and ventured inside. The last few days have been off and on with storms, and the sky seemed unpredictable at the least - large black clouds interspersed with beautiful blue.

Being only 8oclock, I brewed a cup of raspberry tea, grabbed my new book, and headed out to the deck to enjoy the evening. The air had cooled down, bringing a strong wind. In my mind, the wind was my mom, letting me know she was there, giving me a hug. I have been thinking about her so much again lately. No particular reason, but I do like to think she was sitting on the deck with me tonight.

Lots of different birds added their songs to my night. The little house wren was out and about, as well as some robins, and some beautiful orioles new to my yard this year. It was good to see the absence of the jays, as they always seem to bully the others out.

I don't know a better way to spend a Friday night. The cool breeze, the clear air, the smell of the no-longer-thirsty lawn and flowers, a wonderful cup of tea, and a great book. All surrounded by my yard noises, the neighborhood noises, and mom.

I stayed out until I could read no longer. The darkness of night turning me in. 70 pages of my wonderful read, and a cup of tea later, I'd had a perfect quiet Friday night.

Independence Day...

Sitting on the hillside watching our town's fireworks on Saturday, it came to me. People all over our amazing country were doing the exact same thing.. Towns big and small, gathered for one night, gazing into the night, watching the explosions of light. I could picture families sitting at lakes, in bleachers, all coming together to celebrate our independence. It's the one thing that ties all of us Americans together. It's part of our identity.

solitude

I found myself this evening with an unexpected surprise..solitude. With my husband at work, and the carnival downtown luring my kids, I have the house to myself.

My oldest child is now a senior, one year before she leaves the nest. My son, five years later. I've gotten several glimpses at "empty nest" like tonight, and I have to say that solitude is not a bad thing to me.

I finished decorating for my party tomorrow. I weeded the garden. I weeded the flower bed. I took breaks reading my book and enjoying an iced latte. And then, I cut fresh lettuce and spinach from the garden for my dinner.

Solitude in itself is such a gift. In today's world, so many of us rush around day in and day out, from one thing to another. Transporting kids, watching them perform, going to work, doing the shopping, and all of the other countless things we do.

It's not easy to find down time, time to just exist. To enjoy a fresh salad, to read a good book, or to just sit. I challenge you each to find some time to enjoy the solitude. Regain that gift of time to yourself. It is truly a gift.

A New Normal

I love my drives to work in the morning. It always seems like my "thinking" time. This morning, as I passed the cemetary where my mom is buried, I realized that what I thought would never be ok three years ago has become my new normal. When Mom died, I knew life would never be the same - I'd always miss her. I didn't see ever "getting over" her. But I realize now that those changes just move us to the next step in our lives, to our next "normal".

It doesn't matter if it's a move, the loss of someone, a job change, someone else moving. I always feel like my perfect life is being destroyed. I always feel like I love my life, just the way it is, and a change is going to ruin that. But as I get wiser, I see that each change is molding me into a new shape, that new normal.

In the span of less than a year, I lost my mother, left my store, and had my best friend move three hours away. I was pretty sure at the end of that year that it was over. Life as I knew it was done. And in all honesty, it was. Because it has to.

Can you imagine if our lives never changed? If we didn't make new friendships? Didn't try new things? We would not be the amazingly intense, complicated people we are! Each of those changes brings new dimension to our frame of reference, to who we are.

There is no doubt in my mind that I am a better person than who I was before May 9, 2006. I'm not saying that this journey is easy, because it's not. But I'm beginning to appreciate all of my "new normals", and who they are making me into.

holy shit

Sorry if I offended anyone with that title, but the story must be told...

While re-doing the landscaping in front of my house, I moved a beautiful stone bird house to a hook in between the bedroom windows. This house, never before occupied, has been rented now by a pair of House Wrens, who I found out last night, have since given birth. I love having the birds chirping outside the bedroom window in the mornings, my wake-up call before the alarm.

We are in the process of finishing the border around the house, and last night set out to lay the last of the pea gravel. Because of recent rains, we decided not to drive the truck on the lawn, so I had to shovel the pea gravel into the wheelbarrow to transport around the house. My son was helping for a bit, actually just being chatty (very little actual labor came out of those hands), keeping me company.

He was the one to inform me that there were babies:

"Mom, did you know the birds in the house had babies? I can hear them tweeting!"

"Make sure you stay away from the house, honey. They will want to protect those babies, and we don't want them doing anything to them. ok? "

Time elapses.. Several more loads of pea gravel walked past the birdhouse to be laid. As I'm rounding the corner, I see my son (age 12, taller than I) bending down, about 3 feet in front of the bird house, trying to peer in and see the babies.

All of a sudden, that little House Wren (all 4 inches of him) swooped out and got my son on his head.

"HOLY SHIT" was all I heard.

I of course started laughing hysterically, until I realized what he said. When I questioned his words, he dropped his head, ashamed of what he'd said. I of course just laughed and told him he deserved everything he got from that little bird - I'd do the same if there was a peeping tom outside YOUR window.

Hopefully it was a lesson learned.

summer break as a mother of two...

During the school year, my morning is pretty hectic, getting up early enough to be ready for work before the teenage daughter and pre-teen son take up the shower and bathroom. So summer break for me means not having to rush! When I get up, the house is quiet. I get so much more done.

This morning my DH and DS left at 5:30am to pick strawberries, so there was a little more hustle and bustle around while I was getting ready. I rushed around, packing all I needed for work, filling my thermos, and getting out to the car.

Imagine my surprise when I turned on the car, and the clock read 6:06.

In my rush, I'd forgotten that it was summer, and that I hadn't been rushing around my kids getting ready for work. Needless to say, I don't need to leave for work at 6am. So I went back into the house, made some breakfast, and enjoyed my found time.