Friday Night Routine

Friday is the day of the week that feels the most like summer. This is the day when I try to take it easy; you won't see me washing windows or tackling some domestic project. The mornings are left open for backyard play. In the afternoon, we go swimming at the pool and have pizza delivered there for dinner. I let the kids get popsicles from the snack bar. We go home all fed and tired out from swimming, get changed and then watch a movie. I take some time for myself at the kitchen table, sort the mail and write out the week's bills. I make a cup of tea and read a magazine. There's no rush or bedtime hurry. By nine o'clock the movie is over and the kids have brushed their teeth. I wonder, can every night be this simple?

But really, this smooth sense of mothering is no easy task. Did I fail to mention that our youngest child cried for nearly half an hour because he didn't want to go to bed? He has been staying up so late, sometimes until eleven, and the child rarely naps! It can be exhaustive, dealing with his amped up behavior. I understand him, I do, as I too am energized by the cool night air. I have become an expert at the ten minute power nap. I wonder, what would life be like, living fully rested?

Lonesome Wholesome Goodness

I made a box of muffins for breakfast the other morning. Typically, the kids squabble over who gets to add what, whose turn it is to mix and who gets to spoon the batter into the tin. For this lovely batch, I did it all myself. It was no easy feat, distracting them with orders like:

"OK, you guys can pour yourselves some drinks."
"Now, who is going to get out the jelly and a small spoon?"
"Sweetheart, could you set out the plates please?"
"I think we need a fresh stick of butter."

When it was all said and done, the breakfast was simple and delicious. I cut up some apples and sat back with a nice hot cup of peppermint tea. I ignored the soaking dishes, and I pretended not to notice that the floor was speckled with drifts of flour. A sweet calm surrounded me and a veil of acceptance draped over my shoulders like a pair of sparkling fairy wings.

As a mother, I will never escape this lovely cycle of nurturing. It is my one truly obvious purpose in life: to care distinctly for my offspring. As the female head of household I must remember, the soup that I make for my family is intended to nourish me as well.

a backyard mushroom

a photo taken by my daughter

Here is an example of a very young cluster of paw paw fruits. Paw paws are North America's largest native fruit.

Testing, One-Two-Three

I am attempting to transfer photos from the camera onto the computer. Though I've made it this far, I wish I had an assistant.

Weekends in Early June

There is a heat wave coming on. I can feel my mind preparing for it. Tomorrow my body will begin to adjust. I think of how I can protect my offspring from getting too feisty in the heat. I think back to how I kept cool as a child. We had a clubhouse set up in our garage. The floor was a concrete slab, and the walls were made of grey concrete block. We would open up the bay door and sit on metal chairs inside the shaded structure. There were piles of National Geographic, and so began my love of other cultures. We would sit and read for hours, all the while drinking lemonade from paper cups and crunching slowly on the ice.

I long to replicate that structure. I imagine myself marking out a spot in the backyard, right alongside another shed. I would have to clear the land of any brush and vegetation, dig the footing with a shovel, dig and mark the foundation, set a series of plumb lines (is that what they are called?), check that the excavation is level, mix up some mortar in a wheelbarrow, put on some masonry gloves and lay the block foundation, score the seams evenly and check every side with the level. There are probably some other steps in between. It is fun to imagine all of the work that it would take to make a little concrete building in the shade.

Every year a few key discussions about coping with the heat are had:

"Should we get an air-conditioner? Just a little one, for the upstairs bedroom? "

"No, the window fan set on intake pulls in the cool valley air just like AC."

"Should we join a pool this year?"

"Yes, definitely."

There's talk of camping in the back yard. The kids want to light a bonfire, melt chocolate and marshmallows, stay up late and run around. I'm open to the possibilities of the summer.