again i’ve found myself updating the preschool blog, diving in and out of facebook every day, getting cozy with instagram folks, but not recording here.  but this is where my mind’s voice meets my eye.  where i notice the things i wait for.

i’m writing from the front porch in a pretty idilic moment.  a cold local beer from a friend, chicks pecking at the grass while the cat circles their cage, eliza considering it her work to keep him away, micah updating his games on the ipod, naomi inside doing periodic table homework while listening to the country music station, jerry at the store getting flowers for school along with milk and syrup for our breakfasts, ground beef and potatoes simmering in several tablespoons of garlic and cumin to be added to our taco salad tonight.  it is a snapshot of all that i am grateful for.  along with these snippets caught on phone.

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new pigs and a donkey moving in to walton school.

he is sooooo soft.  who knew.  i think i want a donkey now.

visiting martha, she comes right to the fence for a cuddle.

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my mondays are preschool kid-free days.  i go there at my usual 8 am time, but it’s just me, npr and a room in waiting.  while there are many mondays that i wish the chairs were already set up or the sculpture from the previous week was still in place, this job is my dream come true.  every monday is a palette to work from.

the school year is coming to a close…we’re on letter y, which will be followed by z and then a couple weeks of crazy goodness.  amazing.

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it wasn’t long ago that i would be done with parenting at 7:00.  i was the one doing most of it during the day, so jerry would take his turn in the evening.  the kids would be bathed by then and jerry would take them up for books and putting to sleep.  these days, naomi outlasts us.  the dynamic is different, but i am keenly aware that these are days to be treasured.

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the power of women, the gift of laughter, the release in breathing from the belly are lifelines for me.

the care of these women have changed who i am…inside and out.

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i felt a nearly three year old’s hand on my leg this week and in my core i knew i would not forget the honor of that moment.

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the animal kingdom-ness of this home brings me mostly joy.  the smell of chicken poop was not joyful, but as of yesterday, they have moved out to a temporary coop in the garage and their poop smell is a distant memory.

micah and eliza “rescued” an injured baby rabbit.  there was some forced hydrating before he scampered away without our cats noticing (we hope).  the perceived need of the rabbit soothed my children. the tenderness of my children soothed me.

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food.  drink.  my gratitude runs deep.

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i’m grateful that i can run in silly short strides 2-3 times a week without shin splint pain.  the sound of my feet on a dirt road means something new to me.

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the poppies bloomed.  one of the things i wait most for.

and even in the action of spring, the crazy chaos of older-kid family life, there is a lot of waiting.

i’m glad for that.