and then it's Monday all over again.

Despite everything, life always does aim to return to normal... Sometimes you wish it would, other times you wish it wouldn't, but it doesn't ask for your opinion: it pushes toward its own equilibrium.

We feel the tug toward normal today.

Breakfast. For sure.






And of course, when it's time for me to pick up Snowdrop.

Funny thing about the girl: her report card thus far notes that she has only skipped one day of school this year and I must note that that day was when her parents took her to Chicago.

You would think, therefore, that the girl is never sick. Not so! But I suppose you could say that she is only really sick on weekends or vacations. She struggled over Thanksgiving and rebounded soon after and by Monday, today, she is happy as anything to be back in school.

And delighted to be at the farmette afterwards.
















Inside: top priority is building towers and making the Duplo children sit.






There!






Kindness calls for feeding Duplo baguettes to the the stuffie cat.






The day, as nearly all days that she is here, ends with quiet play with ah-ah. Me, I am hugely frustrated as I try to purchase air tickets for a family trip next spring. I spend hours on this project. Hours! But Snowdrop and  Ed bring me down from high levels of exasperation. Life is better than being angry at a computer that's too slow or an agent who doesn't really know how to make things work smoothly for you.






The regular repetition of tasks, days, and events is a good thing. For us it is more than that -- it's the essence of a grand life.