Life Savors

tea
Tea is the best way to start a day, perfect as a mid-afternoon treat, and wonderful to soothe away the worries of the day at day's end.

walks on the bog
Every time we walk the bogs we find treasures...whether it be an elusive deer track, a confidence shared, or ruby red berries collected along the way.

the beach
Nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to sinking your bare feet into the sand at the edge of the shore, listening to the waves, and just wandering down the beach for what seems like forever before turning around to head back into the real world. I cherish the times I spend at the beach.

snuggling
I am a snuggler. I think feeling someone else pressed up against my side makes me feel secure and safe. It could be one of the kids, Joe, or even the dogs. I am tickled that I have passed this snuggling trait on down to the kids.

 

the thrill of perusing the library shelves in search of something to read
I never get to read a best seller when it's actually a best seller. Instead I aimlessly wander the stacks of the library and emerge with six or seven possible treasures. I am rarely disappointed and have discovered some favorite authors with my willy nilly approach to book choosing.


a cat in my lap
It's been years and years since I've had a cat that really LOVES to curl up in my lap. Miss Charlotte not only loves it, she follows me around and the instant I sit down, she leaps into my lap, curls into a ball and purrs like a freight train. I am in heaven.

magazines in the mailbox
I adore magazines and get several in the mail that are just for me. Each time they arrive in my mailbox I do a little leap and click my heels together in happiness!

hunting for heart shaped rocks
Treasure hunting never gets old. I can spend hours sitting on the beach amidst a pile of polished stones...sifting them through my fingers, hoping to find one that happens to be in the shape of a heart. I have heart shaped rocks lined up on windowsills and piled into glass jars in my kitchen. I even have teeny tiny ones on a heart shaped dish above my sink. Looking at them while I do the dishes makes me happy.

                             

a warm quilt on a cold day
The best quilts are made for you with love and our favorite is well worn and warms you up instantaneously despite being a bit threadbare. Must be all that love woven into the fabric.

 



walking hand in hand with a child
The child can be mine, a beloved niece or nephew, or one of my daycare friends. Clasping that small, soft, warm hand slipped into my own with love and trust is something I could never get enough of.

Maine: by the numbers

7: days spent at the lake in Maine

                          

                            

37: bags of Humpty Dumpty potato chips consumed in those 7 days
6: bags of Humpty Dumpty potato chips we bought to bring home
5: nights there were sleepovers with cousins in cabins or tents
2: nights random nieces appeared on my doorstep at bedtime
0: number of times I heard "I'm bored."
1847: collecitive number of mosquito bites
1: nights I had to make dinner
3: movies enjoyed under the stars

                          

0:number of showers the kids got in 6 days
17: rides in the boat

                          

3: number of boat rides where Sam got to "drive"
359: rocks the kids painted that we had to haul home

 

5: time I got up each morning
4:beds in our cabin

                          

0: number of nights Sam slept in a bed
6:number of nights Sam slept on the recliner
7:spectacular dinners AND desserts
1: trip to town for supplies
4 (okay 5): trips to town for alcohol
2: nights we heard moose

                                    

6:nights we heard loons
5: days spent sitting by the lake
1: day spent on the party barge
1:spectacular, amazing, relaxing week

                                   

78: times I remarked that this was the BEST VACATION EVER!

                                              

sporting their red, white, and blue

 

 

 

so this happened

and we have been basking in the non scheduled life ever since. 

missing him

 

He never wore a bruins hat and she certainly does not look much like him at all. But when she looked my way that morning with her hat perched on the top of her head, in exactly the same way he used to, I saw my Dad.  It struck me so hard I had to gasp.  Tears unshed stinging my eyes.  I'm glad I can see him in glimpses, but I'd much rather have him here, sitting beside me, looking ridiculous in a too small hat, and making me laugh. 

her x rated history project

 

Teresa had to design a brochure for a made up pioneer town.  She featured the village eatery on the front.  I nearly wet myself laughing at the name of the restaurant...the Little Red Pot of Hotness.

play ball!

Watching my older daughter play softball has never been particularly exciting.  Our town's girls softball is very laid back. That's not the problem.  I tend to like this approach.  There is less cut throat competition and more camaraderie.  When your kid isn't athlete of the year, this approach is more fun and less stressful.  The girls spend more time discussing what cheers to do while waiting for their at bats, and less time following the game.  They shriek and cheer as loudly for a foul ball as they do for a home run.  They encourage each other with "you are the best pitcher EVER!!!! You're awesome!" They have even been known to hug each other, while on the field, after a particularly exciting play.  But even I have a limit to being relaxed about sports.

Teresa enjoys this softball more for the social aspects of the game than the actual game itself.  This year she waffled about signing up to play.  In fact, I went down and signed up Kate only, because Teresa was leaning so heavily towards not playing.  I never pushed it, just asked her if she wanted to play and left it at that.  Finally on the last day possible, she asked me to sign her up to play.  I have regretted it all season long.  It has been painful to watch her.  She looks bored out on the field.  She will watch a ball roll by her. Really! Watch it go right by her, not even a few feet away.  When I ask her why she didn't get the ball she replied, "Mo-um! It didn't come to me!"  Her coach has to tell her to put her glove on while she's playing.  Seriously?! And when she is at bat, she stands there with the bat on her shoulder and watches every single pitch go by without moving a muscle.  Sometimes she gets lucky and gets walked.  But many times she just strikes out.  Finally about half way through the season I had had enough.  Why was I wasting my time sitting there watching her "play", if she couldn't be bothered to even make an effort?  So as she walked out to the outfield I called her over and this was our actual conversation.
M: Next time you get up, swing. the. stinking. bat.  If you just stand there, I will make you walk home.
T: You're mean!
M: Yes I am. Now get out there, keep your glove on, and don't chew on it.

I felt a twinge of guilt that I wasn't being more supportive and blah blah and so on. But next time she got up, wouldn't you know, she swung away.  Swung the bat hard.  I wish I could say she hit it but she didn't.  She struck out.  The other parents must think I'm certifiable because I was clapping and cheering like she hit a grand slam.  She has kept on swinging and after her next game she very proudly told her Dad she got a hit.  It was a foul ball but still, a hit. Apparently, she asked to play catcher, and surprisingly enough she's not that bad at it.  At least she keeps the glove on and out of her mouth when she's catching.

Her last game of the regular season was the other night and I had to miss nearly the entire game because of a school event.  I arrived at the field and she happened to be up at bat.  Girlfriend swung that bat like she meant business, made contact, and got herself a double.  I didn't think anyone could be more proud of her at that moment than I was.  I was wrong.  When she came home the entire team piled off the bench screaming and jumping up and down and hugging her.  The coaches all had high fives and pats on the back for her.  Her team lost the game.  But you wouldn't know it.  They were celebrating anyways.  Because Teresa finally hit the damn ball.  You gotta love that.