Marching forward

We're up early. This is unusual. Typically, we try very hard to get up because we want to, not because we have to. And we deeply dislike a morning rush. For Ed, this is the way he has always been. For me -- it's the relief I feel after years of morning frenzy -- to get the kids up and out, to get my lectures written and delivered, etc etc. But today is the exception: Ed has early work commitments and I have a stack, a pitiful stack of chores to run through before my afternoon pick up of Snowdrop.

So, early breakfast...






... followed by cheeper care (they're back to hovering by the farmhouse all the time!)...





...and off we go!

I would like to believe that I accomplished a lot today, but apart from weekly grocery shopping (which always makes me feel great, in the same way that I'm sure it made my grandma feel great to stock her larder so that no one would ever go hungry), I merely relived the tedium of picking up a clean slate laptop (new operating system, all programs and data erased... thanks, guys) and worked through reconfiguring all that had to be reconfigured.

For the first time ever, I was late (by only four minutes, but still...) picking up Snowdrop. (Never try to update an operating system on the run.)

On the upside, I am, for the time being, done with all this silly stuff. I can go back to important tasks, like picking up fallen logs and spreading wood chips on a flower bed expansion.



When I pick up the little girl, the heretofore cloudy skies clear. It is an omen. We must go to the playground!






Happy girl, happy moments of outdoor play.






As we walk from car to farmhouse, I hear the unmistakable call of the sandhill. Have they returned??






This calls for a celebratory hug and kiss. The cheepers partake.






Once inside, wreath comes on, heart opens up, stories flow.






We partake. She so wants us as props. Here we are, waiting at the hospital. It's been a day of accidents. We must wait our turn.






Clever Ed thinks he might slip out for a while if he claims duty calls. But no! She assures him that there are no bathrooms in this hospital.






I mean, he may be clever, but she is one step ahead of him.






And now it is evening. Snowdrop is long gone. Ed and I ate take out sushi. My feet are up, the new computer sits waiting. Such a relief to be looking ahead to the peculiarities of March! At times sunny, at times cold and wet, but I know this much: in a few days, we can start looking for the emergent tips of crocus flowers.