return to a schedule

Holidays disrupt. In the best of ways, of course, but still, chaos reigns. I'm always asking -- so who is where and at what time tomorrow? But once school resumes for Snowdrop (and her parents for that matter), we are back on track. For example, if it's Monday morning, Sparrow is at the farmhouse. I'm ready for him, the young family drops him off, everyone is where they should be.






Even though, really, it feels like March outside. Rain, dismal, dreary, wet. The ground is partially frozen, which means that clumps of ice remain. Walking requires balance and dexterity. And the rains keep coming down.

No outdoor play today. I bring the boy inside and spend some time getting to know him again. I saw him all the time during winter break, but I was rarely with him alone. Today, he and I take a fresh look at each other.

As always, he is happy, grinning his social grin, engaging you with his quiet charm.






Routine would have it that we begin with breakfast -- mine and Ed's, but Ed is still sleeping upstairs and I decide to do what I pretty much never do: eat breakfast without Ed. After all, I have Sparrow to keep me company. Why wake the big guy?






The little guy is patient with my meal...






But of course, he wants his own "second breakfast."  Here's that happy face again:





Catch it now, because it quickly goes away when you coax him with solids. He's one of those babes who will forever love his little bottle. Spoon feeding? He resists.

But otherwise, he has grown so much! He is a big guy and I notice those extra pounds as I lug him from one place to the next. He is also more energetic and I can see that a fence is going to be needed pretty soon to keep him out of trouble.

The morning passes quickly. (Can you tell that Ed is feeling nearly in top form again?)






And the rains come and go and come again...

The schedule going forward is slightly kinder to old Gaga, in that Sparrow goes home just before I pick up Snowdrop. This feels quite luxurious, as schlepping both kids around, especially with all the winter coats, boots and school gear is not easy. So this winter (if you can call it that), I'm with just Snowdrop in the afternoons.






The little four year old is happy to be back at school and happy, too, to be with her more aged playmates here at the farmhouse!






(conversation at the table...)














Yep, Ed is up and playful once more. She is delighted!





(In a game of hospital, he says -- so, you're a doctor and I'm a doctor too? She says -- exactly! They go off to negotiate the medicine dosage for one of their more seriously ill patients.)






Evening. It's still wet out there, still peculiarly March-like. But my mind isn't on that right now. Weather is, of course, vitally important for so many reasons -- climactic conditions sustain or destroy life, after all. But what's not important is whether I would prefer snow to rain, sunshine to cloudiness. Those are whims. Storytelling threads. I'm thinking tonight about the roughness of the first few days of 2019 for so many out there, some whom I know, but many more who live in places I've never even heard of. And how privileged I am to have had a gentle set of days thus far. Oh, to not mind the irrelevant! To love deeply and generously, always! In whatever weather conditions are presented to you on any given day. Got that one under your belt? Good! Carry on then.