Morning. Good.

This morning is a
dip-pretzels-in-the-jelly-jar-breakfast kind of morning,
a coffee-in-the-hot-tub start
uninterrupted by crows discovering a bit of meat in the compost
or by a Siamese alarm clock demanding food.
We watched the shadows shorten,
the frost disappear from the yard,

Twoey waits

a deer venture into the field,
the crazy starling
bring yet another load of sticks
to the downspout.
Shouting didn't deter him.
Twoey the cat
climbed up the twigging
to investigate the possibilities
but soon gave up.
A beautiful-but-frustrated cardinal

Frustrated cardinal

flew from oak to birch
still hoping for a mate.
He has spent the last two weeks
frightening the identical cardinal
who lives in our window reflections.

The Gouger

May is full of good mornings.
Two bent-kneed hours-old fawns

stagger across the dirt road
following their mother.
The rock man we call Gouger
now stands in a fragrant cloud
of wild pinxter.
Nearby,
a red-tailed hawk
glides over the road.

Dubec Road fog

Yesterday
Den squinted at two eagles,
dots in the sky.
Other mornings,
fog obscures all but the closest branches.

Monday morning
was especially good.
We were awakened

Small visitors

by small voices
and then small hugs
as Anna and Lucy spent the night
so that Bop could take them
to see my first grade's performance
of Peter Pan.
Never was Hook so nasty,
Tootles so endearing,
or Pan so enthusiastic!
Before the show,

Velma's bleeding hearts

Peter introduced each classmate
to his hundred-year-old
great great grandmother
who is living proof
that we DO grow up

Heart, bunnies, earrings, ballet shoes, paintbrush

and that life can be a great adventure.

During morning recess yesterday,
Madeline and Lara
ventured into the wetland edges
to gather huge bouquets
of buttercups.
We dissected them for science,
then compared them
to the pink bleeding hearts

in the vase on my desk.
These flowers from along our walk
were transplanted years ago
from Velma Bargerstock's garden.
When Den was a boy,
he'd walk to Velma's for a visit
and a cup of coffee.
She'd pour hot water
through the same grounds all day.
Her bleeding hearts
have been on this mountain
for over a century.
We pull the hearts apart
into bunny slippers,
earrings,
ballet shoes
and a paintbrush.
There is yellow pollen paint
on the paintbrush.
God's creations are amazing.

Peace,
Sue and Denny

One Elmo Doll, Two Red Shirts, Three Black Bananas, and Four Rubber Bands

The grandgirls came to stay with Bop and Grammy this weekend.
Lucy saw the new Elmo doll
sitting mid-staircase
as soon as she came in.
"Emmo!"
Elmo was a Goodwill find,
probably donated because he refused to sing.
He swam through the wash cycle
and thumped through the dryer
and emerged with his ABC song.
Who knew?
Lucy loved dancing while Elmo sang,
again
and again
and again.
After supper,
Elmo once more refused to sing.
I thumped him against the couch a few times.
The bad news--
and the good news--
is that his voice never returned.
He still is a good cuddler.

We took the girls
to an Eagle Scout spaghetti dinner fundraiser.
Always put red shirts on preschoolers
when taking them to spaghetti dinners.
It's not a bad idea for adults, either.

Anna Banana turned three black bananas
into banana bread
while Lucy squished chocolate chips
into Aldi sugar cookie dough.
While the house filled with delicious smells,
I, the mother of sons,
found four rubber bands
and put the girls' hair into pigtails.
"What do you say when Grammy puts your hair in pigtails?"
"Ow."
"What do you say when Grammy takes your hair out of pigtails?"
"Ow."
We went to visit my mom in the nursing home.
Mom seemed to be unaware of the girls
until we put Lucy
on the wheelchair's footrest.
While Anna and I pushed,
Lucy greeted everyone we passed,
and when we came
to a stretch of empty hallway
Lucy wanted to go fast.
Pigtails were flying
and Mom was holding on to Lucy's arm tightly.
Perhaps a thought surfaced:
She could fall off.
When the ride was over,
I had to peel Mom's fingers from Lucy's arm.
They both were smiling.

Mom and Lucy both enjoyed the ride.
They both are extremely cheerful people.
And now,
they both wear pull-ups.
Lucy's pull-ups give her freedom
and the thought that she is a big girl now.
Her experiences are limited
and there is so much she doesn't understand--
she was shocked to learn recently
that she will grow up.
Anna understands about growing up.
When she read Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten
she talked about going to kindergarten next year.
Olivia and the Fairy Princesses was harder for her to understand,
and I had to help with "corporate malfeasance."
I understand the adult humor in the Olivia books
but infinity
and the trinity
baffle me.
Our understanding
is limited
by our lack of experiences.

During Lent
we think about giving things up.
Mom has had to give up walking.
It was not her choice.
But God,
who created black holes
and bobcats
(Lucy calls them "Bop cats.")
and beryllium
chose to be limited to a human body
to break the rules of death.

On Easter morning,
coming soon to a planet near you,
we will celebrate
the thumping
and muteness of death
with Elmo dances
and bright colors
and good food
and hands raised
with

the spring wind
in our pigtails.



Blessed Lent!