medial // caesura

who said yesterday's post made her sad: Here's D's haircut:  one thousand gifts #36:  barbers/hairstylists who make haircuts special for D I hugged Ben as I helped him out of the van today and whispered I love you in his ear.  He responded with a kiss on my cheek and a smile, "I know.  You always love me."  one thousand gifts #36:  Ben's little arms around my neck, a kiss on the cheek, and a child who knows he's loved After playing with clay yesterday and praising the clay figures crafted by my youngest boys, Knox beamed and said, "This is the best day EVER!"  one thousand gifts #37:  joy in creating Today we planted a seedling in the front yard.  When I told the boys, how proud I was of them.  Knox tackled me with a hug.  one thousand gifts #38:  being knocked over by affection D helped me prepare for Kindermusik today and loved every minute of it.  one thousand gifts #39:  the li...

Funny how yesterday morning everything seemed golden, blessings everywhere I looked.  Then the afternoon. . .nothing especially bad, nothing really good, just the quotidian, the ordinary stuff.  But it was too much.  My eyes glazed over--I lost the ability to see the joys, the God-gifts. All I could see was a house that needed cleaning, clothes that needed washing, food that needed cooking, and children that needed attention.  D was lethargic, rubbing his head like he does when he is in pain.  He didn't eat much after-school snack either.  His balance was off--several times when he did get up he nearly fell down the stairs, or in the garage, or walking in the yard.  He couldn't tell me what was wrong.  I took him to get his haircut (one of his MOST favorite things in the whole world to do) to get ready for inspection Thursday and that cheered him momentarily. After supper, I bathed him because he had had an accident.  I was heading toward...

Today's gratitude-filled moments : #23 Ben's vocabulary:  small, sour grapes, spearmint gum, medium salsa = "sFIcy" #24 Knox' acting:   pretending to be a bird and peck the food off the ground  #25  Dee's joy:   raising his arms in praise to "Better is One Day"

a wall of books--not in an office at work, but at home where I can scan the spines and relive the places I've been in my mind and heart.  I don't have a Kindle, a Nook, or an iPad. . .I'm sure I will one day, but for now I like the heavy boxes, the musty smell, the cumbersome collection of physical books. In college, I used $20 bills as bookmarks occasionally; so near the end of the month, I may leaf through some books from college on the shelves in my bedroom, just in case.  The other night, my husband was looking for a classic to read, so we got out a few of my boxes of books from my teaching days.  It was fun to leaf through those. . .D's certificate of baptism, my Auburn diploma, pictures of a best friend and me from high school showchoir, a thank you note from a group of ESL students written in seven different languages, a photograph of my godson as an infant (I just saw a homecoming pic of him on Facebook yesterday!), a picture of me when I was three and my you...

Yesterday, a brave man said this to me.  He said it with difficulty-- not at the words, but because speech is hard to produce.  He said that back when he could walk, he rode horses and it helped with his coordination. It made him think of D and wondered if he had ever tried horse therapy. We had just arrived at school after D's visit to his rehab pediatrician.  This man, after retiring from his work at the court house, now in a motorized scooter, works as a security guard to keep an eye on the high school kids.  And he does an excellent job.  Half the time, when no one else knows where D is (he likes to visit other classes), Mr. Brian knows.  And he knows D likes to push the buttons on his electric scooter, so he'll unplug if he sees D heading his way.  I had been having a pity party for me and D on the way home from the doctor.  The doctor was alarmed at the loss of muscle mass in D's hands.  He had not seen him in 9 months and though D'...

Here are yesterday's and today's gifts I want to remember: #14 the way my son painted with the intensity of Ed Harris in Pollock: Knox painted his Reading Fair Project last night with sweeping strokes, spackling almost here, and rubbing in curlicues there.  Brilliantly done.  His backdrop matches the mysterious unpredictability of the ocean.  He commented how he liked using a bit of green, as he stood on top of the quilt draped over the air hockey table and created his masterpiece.  Blue, turquoise, and green paint speckled feet, arms and clothes.  A brushstroke on the wall here and a splatter on the trampoline there.  Who cares if he places?  #15 the response to the style exercise in which my voice students made "Amazing Grace"  beautifully unique:  haunting, sweet, and heavenly. #16  playing Candyland with Ben today for lunch, using fruit chews and Teddy Grahams. #17  D anticipating the opening of baseball season like a ...