Saying Goodbye and Saying Hello

Just yesterday, Eloise asked me, "Mommy, why doesn't our trees don't have flowers on them anymore?"  She was referring our pear trees out front that blooms delicate white flowers which blow down like snow in March.  And I tried to explain to her that the seasons had changed.  That was spring and this was summer, leafy, green, warm, summer.   And even though I love summer and imagine that she will too, officially saying goodbye to the pretty decor of spring was a little sad.  

The seasons are changing here on many fronts, not just the weather.  The girls are getting bigger.  We're wrapping up another year of school, the piles of papers coming in, the library books desperately screaming from the nooks and crannies of our house...Return us, or else.  And this mom, seeing the time pass, feeling tender for all of it, and yet needing a little more, a playground of my own, with mental challenges and adults to play with.  

It was in the aisle of Whole Foods the other day that I saw it.  Eloise was in the child's seat, hungry, asking for a snack.  I opened up the bag of salted pretzel sticks, gave her a few, and put one in my own mouth.  And strolling the aisle like that, in my sweat pants, a baby in the cart, and an open bag of pretzels, ended something for me.  I'm not sure what exactly.  But I'm thinking things will start to get a little different around here.  I hope you'll stick around to find out how.

In the meantime, we're saying hello to summer, and on the blog, I'm thinking I'm going to continue celebrating, but for the summer it will be about celebrating less structure.  I'm going to be writing more free form, maybe talking about things that are a little outside the realm of family and celebration.  But we'll see.  I'm also going to give myself some time to recharge, and I hope you do too.

Happy Summer!