The Busy-ness of Home

There were worms all over our driveway this morning.  It rained a lot last night, so they were looking for a dry escape.  They find that all right but dry out to crusty critters, only to be swept away as lawn fertilizer.  I wonder why they make the same mistake over and over again.  I also wonder why the many birds that live here don't feast upon the banquet they offer every time it rains.

I returned from Seattle on March 19th, a Monday night.  All seemed well on the home front.  Layne took care of dinners by taking the kids out almost every night to eat.  Wow.  I thought they would be a little sad to see me back home, but they said they actually missed eating at home.  So good!

Daughter-in-law Dorothy arrived Tuesday evening.  She and I have been running every day since then going through her new home (just 12 minutes from us!) and getting all that is associated with a new home taken care of.  It has been a very busy time.  She goes home tomorrow after spending 10 days with us.  Dorothy is one of those people that is so very easy to have around.  We've had fun.
Here she is, in her new kitchen.

Gerald brought Frances with him last week, on Wednesday.  They will be with us for yet another week.  It is a joy to have them here with us too.  Seth has been dreading their visit as he knew his long hair would get the chop once his mom was here.  And he was right.  In spite of our efforts at trying to talk her into preserving his flowing locks, she would not have it and cut it herself.  Sad day.  Poor boy. 

Otherwise I think the kids have enjoyed having the folks here.  Between shopping with Frances and shopping and errand running with Dorothy there has been little time for anything else.  But it is Spring Break, so it is a good time for not worrying about my own stuff.  Responsibilities are suspended, for now.

Our natural world is changing.  The neighborhood is beginning to blossom forth, beginning with daffodils.  Spring is on its way and the magical transition from dead looking stuff to a beautiful resurrection, turning our world into green, has begun.  Life springs forth.  It takes me in.

 

A Seattle Escape

Some months ago daughter Jessica asked if I could stay with their kids for 2 1/2 weeks while they went to Europe, to celebrate her 50th birthday.  Hum.  2 1/2 weeks seemed like such a long time.  Would Layne be OK handling the kids without me?  Would the English program work OK without me?  I put off committing to the whole time but finally agreed to do it.  Jessica shortened the time to two weeks and that clinched it.

So I came, over a week ago now.  As it turns out, Layne is having a fine time with the kids.  He transports them to their various activities just fine and has been taking them out to dinner just about every night!  I wonder how happy they will be to see me back home again with that kind of thing going on!  The English program is doing fine without me too. 

It was snowing when I got here...in Seattle!  Apparently they've received an unusual amount of snow this year.  It has warmed up since, but it is still cold.  I layer to keep warm and sometimes sit in front of the fireplace to thaw out!  Here's how the front yard looked when I was first here.

Being here has turned out to be a very pleasant respite from my usual busy routine at home.  I am alone almost all of the time as the kids are in school, sports, and Miles works most nights.  I am loving so much time all to myself.  It is restful, meditative and productive.  Even when the kids are home, they prefer their devices to visiting.  I've had a couple of sweet conversations with them, but they are not prone to give them out routinely. 

Miles and Peyton "devicing" and doing homework.

Audrey visited this past weekend.  What a pleasant thing to have her gift for visiting.  We had a lovely time.  Gemma also came home from college for the weekend.  So it was filled with plenty of chatter and bonding.

Chris and Jessica text often and include pictures of their adventures.  It's pretty wonderful to be able to communicate so well from so far away.  Here they are in front of the Roman made aqua duct, that after hundreds and hundreds of years, still works.  I'd love to see that in person!

The time is passing quickly.  I'm surprised by how much I am enjoying it.  I like the kids, I like the place and I like the time that has opened up to me.  What fun to awaken each morning, get the kids off to school and have the whole day before me with no demands.  I can decide how to use each minute!  Its a gift.

English and Ordinary Things

In January Layne and I were asked to take over an English as a Second Language class for a group of refugees.  We have been teaching there and now we are in charge of what is being taught.  That has taken over our lives for now.  There is English....and more English...and even more as we work to organize the mountain of material we've inherited and write up a curriculum through the end of April, when we will stop for the summer.  Gerald helped clear my mind regarding curriculum.  I've decided that the thing to do is concentrate on conversation rather than grammar.  Understanding and speaking are the most important things I think, and the first language skills to acquire.  So I've come up with an outline of conversations to take us to May.  We teach at an apartment complex that rents mostly to refugees.  We have up to 15 students and I love them all!  I want very much to give them the best possible experience with English.

I can hardly think of anything else.

Here is a shot of the apartment complex where we teach. You can see Layne unloading some of our English materials.

Seth and Angelica just get more and more involved with things.  Seth is on a community basketball team now.  Here he is at one of his games.  Practices and games means lots of driving.  He's got his learners permit but not his license so Layne keeps busy transporting him.

Angelica is involved with even more things; piano, dancing and now track.  Getting her to events means even more driving. Wow, keeping up with kids takes some doing.  But we enjoy them and feel grateful to have them in our lives. 

Angelica performed in a piano recital this past week.  She did a great job.

Having the kids with us brings lots more activity and upkeep.  But they are pretty good at helping.  Here's Angelica busy with dish duty and Seth enjoying the happy task of dumping the garbage on the compost pile, in the cold and snow.  Note his bare feet!  Notice also how straight Angelica's hair is.  She's having fun flat ironing her lovely curvy hair into stick straight.  

And so there are no great adventures of late, just ordinary, challenging but rewarding life.