Today turned out to be a busy day in our household. I had thought about doing some yardwork and then taking a walk. But things turned our very differently.
First I spent some time reading the responses to my post for today: Egg Sandwiches At the Beach With My Daughter. I hit the jackpot today with this post and got so many wonderful responses from people who talked about their own mother-daughter rituals, or moments with other significant people in their lives that this post reminded them of. I also think that because it was Saturday and everyone had a few moments to be more leisurely that I got more responses than I otherwise would have. Whatever the reason, I am pleased.
After finally pulling myself away from the computer to get dressed, I began to pick up the assorted piles we always seem to accumulate during the week no matter how much I fight it. It’s like an incoming tide that I can’t stop no matter how many dams I build! One thing led to another…folding laundry, cleaning up breakfast and lunch dishes, opening the mail, and before you knew it, it was 1:30.
I stepped outside to ask a carpenter friend who’s replacing a wall of shingles on our house if he’d like some coffee, or iced tea.
Just at that moment my husband stopped doing his yard work to ask if anyone would like an apple turnover, which he announced is his Saturday ritual. We all said “yes” and off he went to collect them.
My daughter was busy in the back yard setting up a work area to photograph the jewelry she makes to sell on Etsy, a site devoted to people selling their own crafts.
This season she has made tiny bird nests in silver or gold, with eggs in them of different colors, and fashioned them into adorable necklaces. (Please let me know if you want one; they’re reasonably priced and make the perfect gift for your favorite “girl(s)).
My husband returned with sfogliatella, Italian clamshell pastries, because the apple turnovers were all sold out.
We took the tarp off our patio table and dragged it to the center of the patio where the four of us, me, my husband, my daughter and our carpenter/friend took a tea/coffee/pastry break together. I was able to grab a photo of my “favorite place to blog” as we sat and talked about our recent holiday trip to Germany, trading tidbits of information. His wife is East German and he lived in Berlin a while ago, so he was eager to hear about our experiences.
Half an hour later, as a chill set in about 3:30, we ended our conversation and prepared to return to our various tasks. My new dove friend arrived on schedule on the garden wall to let me know the afternoon was passing quickly and I needed to finish whatever I was doing.
Back into the house to check on the thawed ground turkey breast I’m using to make turkey tacos for dinner and, of course, a stop to look at the computer screen to see if there were any more comments which there were.
Now I’ve answered those and there’s nothing left to distract me from the vacuuming I must do today. The dust balls are getting as big as tumbleweed in my house. So that’s my Saturday, so far. A day completely unlike how I imagined it, but very satisfying in its own way.
Teaching for Life 