The difference a day can make

Yesterday...

Today...

Yesterday was beautiful. Not as warm as Sunday, but sunny and bright and warm enough to still be barefoot and free, and we spent most of it outside. Today started out a little rainy, so we spent the morning at the library and came home with books on Spain and stickers for building a spring garden. Calvin decided to finish up his folder on the middle ages with a pictorial how-to for making glass and a picture of knights jousting. He finished reading his book on knights, we read more Oz, he made his sticker garden, and that was about when the sun broke and we rushed outside to enjoy it.

I know spring is coming. The daffodils finally starting blooming today and the cowbird is back. I think I heard him on our walk a few days ago, too, his beautiful water-like tone, but I couldn't be sure, and then there he was today at our feeder. He is one of my favorite harbingers of spring.

Oh, and doves on the roof, sparrows in the tree, kid on the lawn, me in the driveway with a book. That was today.

Train station

We took a trip to the train station platform, because no matter how many times my brother has visited us by train he always travels too late at night for Calvin to take in the pleasure of welcoming or seeing off a friend or loved one on this, his favorite mode of transportation (which he has never actually experienced). There is something neat and old fashioned about listening for the horn to signal it's coming, and then it's going, about watching for a first glimpse of the headlight coming around the bend, and then a last glimpse of the caboose around a different one. It was somehow a more meaninful parting, a more organic way to send off travelers, who were actually going to Spain and not, obviously, ultimately by rail. Then, because we were on the topic, on our way home we stopped by the AAA office to pick up a map of Spain (and used our membership for something other than the assurance it provides against being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire). I see us spending some time in Spain next, don't you?

Playing with cameras

Cortney cam:

Calvin cam:

Ahhhh....

I've been waiting for spring, but it was summer that visited our neck of the woods today.

I woke up early this morning, awakened by a gray sky before the rest of the house was even stirring, and it felt like vacation for some reason. The fog was so thick I couldn't see the neighbor's house, the morning was dark, and I just felt an immense calm and joyfulness. With everyone else still asleep I picked up my book for almost an hour of quiet reading before I heard our door click open and the pattering of feet racing up to Jon's side of the bed, and the day was on.

Jon made breakfast, I played with the new camera, and Calvin danced through the house. It was a late start, but not a lazy one. The boys practiced the piano, we did some straightening, I ran—outside for a change—and while Jon taught, Calvin and I spent the entire afternoon in the sandbox, playing with sand, discussing birds, and listening for sump pumps. He played individually, too, while I read my book again and enjoyed the soft, warm breeze on skin that has felt only layers of clothing for too many months. We were barefoot. We were happy. It was over eighty degrees here today, and brilliantly sunny.

We grilled dinner on the deck and ate it there. We went for an evening hike in the meadow, hoping to find deer, but only finding their tracks. Calvin was so dusted in sand and splattered in mud that he played in the bath before bed, splashing around while I read Oz aloud. I'm still practicing with the new camera, but so far I like what I see.

Old camera (with Nikon f1.8 35mm lens, unedited)...

New camera...(with Nikon f1.8 35mm lens, unedited)

The boy is in bed now, and was asleep before we adults had even made it downstairs I think. I agree with him. The fresh air and sunshine leaves me feeling deliciously worn out and my skin flushed and warm. Tomorrow it is supposed to storm, and if any thunder arrives tonight I'll consider that the perfect cherry on top of our perfect Sunday.

Working on it

If spring is about moving forward, about cleaning, and about renewal, we're taking all of that very seriously right now.

Calvin is on a juggernaut's path of mental absorption. His reading has taken off, he's all over math concepts, and the middle ages have become almost a passion.

Last night we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with extended family and met the newest, tiniest addition.

And today we spent an entire day taking care of a few issues around the house, like the broken dishwasher (that makes hearing music or TV, when we want to watch it, all but impossible), the un-backed-up sump pump (that visits my nightmares every spring along with the torrential rains), and the frustrating camera (that has begun to stick only when I really, really want it to work).

But while spring may be about renewal, all of that renewing business is pretty exhausting. With the camera issue taken care of, though, and the promise of warmer weather in the works, there will probably be a plethora of pictures and stories to share tomorrow. For now, good night and good luck.