When he was small, my youngest son had a habit of filling his pockets with treasures he encountered in his daily adventures. I didn't always understand the value he saw in his chosen objects -- really, how many rocks and sticks could one boy keep? In his eyes, though, each one was beautiful and important. Life is just like that on a larger scale, isn't it? We gather up the precious bits of our experiences and save them all to learn from and enjoy later. Perhaps you'll find a little something here that you'd like to keep in your own pockets. Thanks for visiting.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Birds, frogs, and some other stuff

This week has been insanely busy in both predictable and unpredictable ways, and while I had planned to write something here before the Easter weekend arrived, I am now realizing that it is already Thursday evening, and my brain has half gone to sleep from fatigue, and the other half of it is reluctantly trying to decide whether or not I should go and intervene in whatever wild and crazy game it is that the boys are playing in the basement before some kind of "incident" happens, and I just know that there will be nothing particularly intelligent or useful spilling out of my mind onto the screen in front of me anytime soon.  So just in case you're having a week like I am and could use a little lighthearted reading, I'm simply going to "empty my pockets", so to speak, and share with you some happy things that made me smile in the midst of all the madness this week.

The birds are back.  I spotted a cheery little robin in our front yard one recent morning, and our walk to school has been made more lovely all this week by the sounds of the summer birds who have been returning one by one to our neighbourhood.  Today I even had to stop my car on our street to let a pair of mourning doves finish crossing in front of me, and though I was in a hurry, I didn't at all mind waiting for them.  These little feathered friends are such a welcome sight after the cold and quiet winter months; their songs make my heart feel light and free.

Losing the winter boots.  Speaking of light and free, I decided this week that I didn't really care how cold it was outside, as long as it wasn't snowing, I was ditching my winter boots and donning some less cumbersome footwear.  To walk in shoes after so many days and weeks of clomping about in heavy boots feels like cloud walking.  Heavenly.

Frogs.  Will came home from school one day this week with a backpack full of frogs.  Not the living kind, thankfully (although I wouldn't put that past him!), but an origami kind that his teacher taught him to make out of colourful paper and that actually jumps when you press on its back.  It was a fun surprise to see all of those frogs come spilling out of Will's school bag, along with his excited stories about how much he had enjoyed making them.  And because Will is such a great little teacher himself and showed me step by step how to do the folds, I now have a bright paper frog of my very own, too!


Sleep talking.  Last night when I peeked in on Noah just before I went to bed, he suddenly bolted up in bed with his eyes still closed and told me he was looking for something.  I played along (because Noah has a habit of talking in his sleep and the resulting conversations are usually pretty hilarious).

"What are you looking for?" I gently asked him.

"I'm looking for those things...."  he muttered.

"What kind of things?"

"The things that go on your hands."

"Mitts?"

"No.... those things for your hands... um...."

"Gloves?  Are you looking for your gloves?"

"No, the things you put on your hands to make them go faster.  Oh, you know, those things.... why can't I think of the word right now?"

"It's okay, Noah -- I don't think you need anything for your hands right now.  Why don't you lay back down and go to sleep, okay?

"Okay."

These late night chats give a pretty fascinating peek at some of the stuff going on in Noah's brain (is he working on an invention to make his hands somehow work faster?!), and I always make a point of remembering them and telling Noah about them in the morning, because he thinks what he says is funny.  As usual, this morning he did remember having bits of this conversation with me as part of some dream he was having that completely made sense to him at the time, and we all had a good chuckle over it at breakfast.

Easter bread.   I received a surprise package in the mail yesterday.  As soon as I pulled the parcel out of the mailbox I could smell the wonderfully familiar scent of anisette wafting towards my nose, and sure enough, when I gently opened the lid, inside I found a loaf of my Grandma Deresti's special homemade Easter bread, and several of her delicious genettis.  I could feel my Grandma's love pouring out of this very thoughtful gift she sent us all the way from Sault Ste. Marie, and thinking of her and of "home" made me feel warm and happy.

 
Tulips.  There may still be snow on the ground and gray clouds in the sky, but a fresh bunch of brightly coloured tulips on the kitchen table has me seeing sunshine and spring everywhere.

 
Looking ahead.  It's Easter weekend.  All of the running around is done for now, the boys are off school for four days, and we are happily awaiting family (Matt's sister Rebecca and her family) who are coming to visit for the holiday.  There will be lots of talk and laughter, good food, egg hunts and a trip to a local conservation area to see some baby animals and some maple syrup being made.  The best thing about a crazy busy week is how much you appreciate the slowing down that eventually follows.

Here's wishing all of you an Easter weekend filled with moments that make you smile.  :)





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