365 April

5/26/11

throwing "helicopters", maple seed pods, its difficult to see them in the picture, but of course, I love this photo of my boy!

5/25/11

a party at the park. who knew we all had such great hula hooping skills?

5/24/11

5/23/11

at first I thought they were transporting the porta-potty to a new home. then I realized they just bring it along with them.

5/23/11

5/22/11

5/21/11

the rapture

5/20/11

5/19/11

5/18/11

5/17/11

5/16/11

5/15/11

5/14/11

5/13/11

5/12/11

last track meet. I'm so proud of her!

5/12/11

decisions

5/11/11

5/10/11

just like my grandpa, "I'm gonna whisker you!"

5/9/11

handing out bike helmets to the third graders.

5/8/11

5/7/11

Inauguration day for our new president.

all lined up, gowned and hooded.

5/6/11

5/5/11

5/4/11

5/3/11

5/2/11

post race breakfast

5/1/11

4/30/11

4/29/11

4/28/11

4/27/11

4/26/11

4/25/11

4/24/11

4/23/11

4/22/11

4/21/11

4/20/11

4/19/11

vanilla ice cream, extra whipped cream.

4/18/11

4/17/11

4/16/11

playground shenanigans. no stitches!

4/15/11

4/14/11

4/13/11

4/12/11

4/11/11

4/10/11

4/8/11

4/7/11

4/6/11

4/5/11

4/4/11

4/3/11

4/2/11

4/1/11

spring break

Spring break 2011 at Bradenton beach. We spent a great deal of time riding the waves in the ocean, walking on the beach, playing Memory and Set, reading. A perfect vacation.

Yay! The circus came to visit us.

Fortune for the day:soon you will open a coconut!

Bananagrams

playing Memory

Yum, Mr. Bones Barbeque

South Florida Planetarium and Manatees

LOVED LOVED LOVED the boogie boards!

It was a BIG storm!

Fishing trip

an attentive friend

Sam caught a sheephead...

and thought it was YUMMY!

feeding the seagulls

Ice cream by the pool in Tampa

Dinner, last night.

early out

Early out for the kids, a day off for me and a trip to Iowa City for all of us. The kids visited S at work, then we picked up Greta and headed to Dick Blick. At the park, rock climbing and art lessons. Dinner with G and John and Hu Hot. The s'more dessert, very entertaining, worth every penny. No injuries were sustained.

Marshmallow cooked in the shape of a bird!

s seems pretty singleminded, G, all over the place

G read us the s'more directions. No waving flaming s'mores, no poking anyone in the eye. Be nice to your sister.

Thanks for such a nice day guys! xoxo!

from the tao

More wise words sent by treasured friends.

fire cools.

water seeks its level.

(from the Tao)

reflection by Deng Ming-Dao

No matter how extreme a situation is, it will change. It cannot continue forever. Thus, a great forest fire is always destined to burn itself out; a turbulent sea will become calmer. Natural events balance themselves out by seeking their opposites, and this process of balance is at the heart of all healing.

The process takes time. If an event is not great, the balancing required is slight. if it is momentous, then it may take days, years, even lifetimes for things to return to an even keel. Actually, without these slight imbalances, there could be no moment in life. It is being off balance that keeps life changing. Total centering, total balance would only be stasis. All life is continual destruction and healing, over and over again.

That is why, even in the midst of an extreme situation, the wise are patient. Whether the situation is illness, calamity, or their own anger, they know that healing will follow upheaval.

Rumi, Guest House

(translation by Coleman Barks)

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

Some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and attend them all!

Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture, still,

treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

poems from Marie

These are poems collected by my beloved Marie. I wish not to tax my life with forethought of grief and to look for the warmth on my back to calm me and make me glad.

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry

I was sleeping, and being comforted

By a cool breeze, when suddenly a gray dove

From a thicket sang and sobbed with longing

And reminded me of my own passion.

I had been away from my own soul so long,

So late-sleeping, but that dove's crying

Woke me and made me cry.

Praise to all early-waking grievers!

~ Adi al-Riga

Do not be surprised that the return of the light lifts your spirits. Do not be surprised that warmth on your back calms you and makes you glad. Feel your spirits lift as the sun rises higher in the sky: this is part of you, this snaky gladness, part of who you have been for a million years. Find the warm places; do not expect them to come to you. When you find them, stay there and be still. Be still and watchful. In this quiet, taste the air. Lick up the taste of it. Listen. Listen with the full length of your body against the ground.

~ Wild Comfort: The Solace of Nature by Kathleen Dean Moore