Blustery and Still

Between trips, outings, garden maintenance, and birthday preparations, life feels quite blustery right now. In fact, I am constantly losing and looking for things like shoes, keys, bathing suits, wallets. Always a sign.

More reason to be still and think of little things that I love:

• I love the way when John stirs in the night, all I have to do (sometimes) is touch him to let him know I'm there, and he settles back to sleep.

• I love the way June, in her "summer" wool skirt, puts her arm around John when they ride in the burley, always.

• I love the way all day, Clara cannot stop her kinetic self: flipping upside down on the trapeze, "doing" the splits whenever anyone approaches (to solicit a response, of course), turning in circles in the pool until she swallows a gallon of water, doing backbends in her bed until she falls asleep, potentially in a backbend.

• I love the way Will's brain is constantly working through tension: sweetly helping his sisters with things while also asserting his domination; determining how he can best negotiate getting a root beer float, honey sticks and maybe even a popsicle in one day; listening to Narnia tapes and flexing his muscles, sure he channels a lion spirit.

• I love the way Jeff leaves us a note every morning before he leaves for work, with a joke directed to each kid. Will reads it first, Clara memorizes it, then "reads" it to June.

So while we are packing tons of summer into our summer, I am thankful. There is so much to love.