A late List Monday

We had visitors and then yesterday our internet was out. It's still out, actually, and I suppose I'll have to call our provider if it's not back to rights by tomorrow. But today the sun is shining after what felt like a long stretch of gloomy days. Soon Clint will be on block leave. The kids have a week and a half left of school. And the flowers are blooming along the fence in our yard and everything is conspiring today to make me happy. Don't you love those days??


Things I Want To Be When I Grow Up*


1. Author

2. War Correspondent

3. College Literature Professor

4. UNICEF Ambassador

5. Pre-K teacher

6. Bookstore Owner

7. Midwife

8. Dog Rescuer

9. Portrait Photographer

10. Travel Show Host


* In random order and without regard to practicality.

The Glory of Coffee, and the Season of the Farmer's Market Begins

Every morning must start this way. The deep, smoky smell of coffee beans scooped into the grinder, the loud whirl of the motor grinding them for brewing. Cold water and coffee grounds producing that dark cup of liquid. I need to sit, quietly, with my first cup of coffee in the morning. It's a time of savoring and gearing up for the day. The early mornings before I get the kids up to school are my favorite. In the fall or spring, when I pull on a sweater and enjoy my moments on the sun porch. In the winter, when I sit under a blanket on the couch and curl my fingers around the hot mug. Summer, seeking out a few minutes of relative cool.

I've cut down on my java drinking. Most days I only have one (not precisely small) cup when I rise. I used to drink at least half a pot every day, maybe more. But it's that first cup in the morning I could never, ever give up, nor do I ever wish to.






The weekly farmer's market is open again here in northern New York, and I am so very, very happy about that. I made it this morning before the rain and came back with three bags loaded with my goodies. It's been very cool and overcast here this week. I'm actually wearing a sweatshirt right now. I'm not complaining about that, though.





The kids are perfectly happy to eat all their fruit fresh with no additions, no sugar, nothing. But I did get all that rhubarb, so I think a cobbler is in store for us.

I'm calling this List Monday

Because I really enjoy making lists. I usually do this with paper and one of my special, specific, don"t-you-dare-take-this-off-my-table-or-lose-it pens. But I saw this on another blog. Another list lover writing lists once a week, as a writing exercise. And I liked it. I liked it very, very much. So...




Very Small Things That Make Me Happy


1. dog greetings and dog smiles

2. red shoes

3. sparkling wine

4. baby cheeks

5. hellmonkey (aka, my offspring) chortling

6. striped socks

7. sharpening pencils

8. sun porches

9. my husband smiling at me

10. clean sheets, on my big iron bed

Friday- This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

(tradition from SouleMama)

Sometimes, usually after maybe our third month of intense snow during the winter, or when it snows in late April, I forget how really beautiful it is here in northern New York. Even the snow is beautiful, lying quietly on a brisk and hushed night, fat flakes falling from the darkness. And then spring comes, and then early summer, and we're driving along on our way to have a Saturday night Japanese dinner in Syracuse and Clint pulls over to the side of the road because we've just spotted an amazing cleft of rock and a waterfall. And I hop out of the car and take a picture of it. A few days later, I download it onto my laptop and open it full-sized on the screen, and I remember.

Yes. It's so beautiful here.

Promotion

Today we attended my husband's promotion ceremony, and the kids pinned his captain's bars on him. They were so excited, and I was so glad we were able to attend this one. In so many ways, military kids serve just as much as their soldier parent(s), and they didn't even volunteer. My kids have birthdays that their dad can't be here for, and holidays and sport games and all the little life in between. They move when the Army tells us to, they switch schools and make new friends and hang new pictures on new bedroom walls. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot that is positive about our life as a military family, and all those hard things are usually a trade-off for another exciting thing, but they still have to do it, and it is not always easy. Kids are so resilient. But my two have handled so much, including this recent deployment, with so much grace and I am so proud of them.

I'm also proud of Clint, of course! Aside from all the success he has in his career, I'm just plain proud of how hard he works and how much he cares about his soldiers. He has always, always worked hard to take care of us, in the Army or out of it, and we couldn't ask for more.