This is for whichever Monkee needs it this morning . . .
Love, G
Aug 102010
Aug 092010
Dedicated to Courtney, whose Journey of a Thousand Hills will end and begin, here. At exactly the right time.
You’ve asked for an update from Sister, and here you are.
She is working hard, very hard, and I know that she’s weary, though she’ll never admit it. I also know that everyday she’s awed by Rwanda’s beauty and her people. I suppose there are worse ways to live than in a constant state of exhausted awe.
I love you, my good and brave Sister. And I’m thrilled that you’ve discovered a place as vibrant and colorful as you are.
Aug 042010
…for some reason we like to see days pass, even though most of us claim we don’t want to reach our last one for a long time. We examine each day before us with barely a glance and say, no, this isn’t the one I’ve been looking for, and wait in a bored sort of way for the next one, when we are convinced our lives will start for real. Meanwhile, this day is going by perfectly well adjusted, as some days are, with the right amounts of sunlight and shade, and a light breeze scented with a perfume made from that mixture of fallen apples, corn stubble, dry oak leaves and the faint odor of last night’s meandering skunk.
The Life of a Day, Tom Hennan
Today was a good day, Little Ones.
Because of our picnic blanket under the pink tree in the front yard.
Because of the colorful chalk scattered across the sidewalk, just dying to be held and used.
Because of our front porch and its space and its swing and its shade.
Because of wagon rides and laughing so hard we can’t hear ourselves anymore.
Because of quiet moments alone. Moments when I watch you and remember, That’s right. You are a whole person. Who needs some time to herself now and again. How strange and amazing.
Because of our baby insisting that she’s not ti-red. Till she’s going…
Going…
Gone.
Because of a big brother whose rapidly changing face, voice, and demeanor keep insisting that he’s ready for more. Maybe a big yellow bus, maybe a brand new school and new friends, maybe a little life of his own beyond our front yard.
But not today. Today he’s still ours.
Because of a little girl who makes me think: I should probably quit now. Because I will never, ever make anything more beautiful than you.
Because of a teeny one who has recently discovered that life is not fair. Because of a baby who is, officially, TWO.
Who now points at me in the midst of her fury and yells, “I SAD AT YOU, MOMMY!” And thus, the separation has begun. She has learned that not only am I not the solution to her problems, but perhaps the cause of them.
And so she flails and kicks on the Time Out stairs screaming, “I SO FWUSTWATING!“
To which I reply, “Oh, sweet girl. I just couldn’t agree more.”
Because, in our family, nobody suffers alone. Although I really wish they would.
Because all three of you were in the same place today. With not much on your minds, other than each other, and your snack, and the breeze, and When’s daddy coming home? and What’s for dinner, mommy? Which is cereal and pickles, for your information.
Because daddy surprised you and came home early. Because I left him a message at noon and said: You gotta come home, baby. You’re missing a special day. It’s TODAY, honey. And because daddy said, Okay, I’m comin’. And he did.
And because after the squeals and the hugs and the You’re HOME, Daddys! it was up the stairs and across the porch and Me first! and into the house to wash off the dirt and the chalk and the sweat of a delicious summer day. And because of pulling your slippery bodies out of the water and wrapping you in towels and smelling your necks till you wriggle away, and watching you scurry bare bottomed through the kitchen. Chasing each other. Always chasing each other. Sisters.
We have days ahead of us, my babies. Big, eventful, memorable, important days. But there will never be one more beautiful than today.
Don’t ever forget that.
Sweet Dreams.
Happy Weekend, Monkees.
