It's my departure day and so I am both busy and a tad sad. (It is always the one day of any travels where I am reluctant to let go of all that I love here.)
Breakfast...
One more glance out (from the porch) at the garden, which will likely have almost no lilies by the time I come back...
To the left (of the center screen post)...
To the right (of the center screen post)...
A smile at the froggie -- don't worry, I wont snip you off!
An appreciative look at the colors of summer, now approaching an autumnal palate...
And now a quick pack (though I have been thinking about the little bag's contents for a long time as this trip is going to make demands on me clothes-wise), a trip to the dentist (I know! what a swell kickoff to travel!) and then a Snowdrop pick up.
I cannot spend much time with the little girl -- my flight leaves later this afternoon, but I also cannot let go of this precious time where I enter her little world by the cubbies, where she always sits and waits for my arrival.
When I come back, the school year will have ended. Come September, she'll be joining the bigger kids in the main school building. I feel as sentimental about having this last pick up here as if she were my kid! The teachers report on her day (she's been so cheerful and happy this week -- they tell me now and I just smile and smile), they praised and encouraged and comforted her. It's been such a great year for the little one!
A final photo on the steps...
And now we have time for one adventure, just one and it cannot be long...
Playground! Swings! I'm a bird, gaga!
At the climbing structure, a little boy tells me, or her, or both of us -- this playground is for kids between 5 and 12.
Says who? I ask in my best "don't mess with gaga" voice.
The sign over there.
I read it. The structure is in fact recommended for that age group (bizarrely, as it's actually quite simple and small), but I don't correct him. Snowdrop however chimes in -- I'm actually a little girl, she says in all earnestness. (She uses the word "actually" as frequently as I do.)
I smile at her. You're getting to be a big girl!
Oh fine, big girl, we can pause for a coffee shop treat!
You are growing up, Snowdrop!
And then it's a blur and a rush to get back to the farmhouse, throw the bag in the car and drive with Ed to the airport.
Where am I going? Well, to Poland for now. Though not initially to Warsaw. Tomorrow night, I should be in Łochów.
Breakfast...
One more glance out (from the porch) at the garden, which will likely have almost no lilies by the time I come back...
To the left (of the center screen post)...
To the right (of the center screen post)...
A smile at the froggie -- don't worry, I wont snip you off!
An appreciative look at the colors of summer, now approaching an autumnal palate...
And now a quick pack (though I have been thinking about the little bag's contents for a long time as this trip is going to make demands on me clothes-wise), a trip to the dentist (I know! what a swell kickoff to travel!) and then a Snowdrop pick up.
I cannot spend much time with the little girl -- my flight leaves later this afternoon, but I also cannot let go of this precious time where I enter her little world by the cubbies, where she always sits and waits for my arrival.
When I come back, the school year will have ended. Come September, she'll be joining the bigger kids in the main school building. I feel as sentimental about having this last pick up here as if she were my kid! The teachers report on her day (she's been so cheerful and happy this week -- they tell me now and I just smile and smile), they praised and encouraged and comforted her. It's been such a great year for the little one!
A final photo on the steps...
And now we have time for one adventure, just one and it cannot be long...
Playground! Swings! I'm a bird, gaga!
At the climbing structure, a little boy tells me, or her, or both of us -- this playground is for kids between 5 and 12.
Says who? I ask in my best "don't mess with gaga" voice.
The sign over there.
I read it. The structure is in fact recommended for that age group (bizarrely, as it's actually quite simple and small), but I don't correct him. Snowdrop however chimes in -- I'm actually a little girl, she says in all earnestness. (She uses the word "actually" as frequently as I do.)
I smile at her. You're getting to be a big girl!
Oh fine, big girl, we can pause for a coffee shop treat!
You are growing up, Snowdrop!
And then it's a blur and a rush to get back to the farmhouse, throw the bag in the car and drive with Ed to the airport.
Where am I going? Well, to Poland for now. Though not initially to Warsaw. Tomorrow night, I should be in Łochów.
