May Book Report: An Invitation Forward

Eleven years ago this June, my happy world exploded with the break-up of my then-partnership.  I’ve long since re-covered and rebuilt my family and my world in a way that brings me tremendous happiness, so this isn’t a post about that long-ago break-up.

It is a post about this book.

Thrush Green was the first solace and respite I experienced after a miserable break-up.  That break in the misery of the smash-up of my world gave me much-needed moments of peace.  For someone who had always found comfort in books, one of the worst things about the break-up was the period when even books, my nearly lifelong companion, could not calm my savage feelings.  And then, desperate for something, anything that was a distraction, I picked up Thrush Green.

It’s the first in a series of stories set in that magical English town.  The novel opens on April 30 and closes at bedtime on May 1st.  During that day, the much-anticipated Curdle Fair comes to town.  As the day unfolds, the reader is introduced to the town and the people who live there.  Their lives and concerns are both happy and sad but most especially they are ordinary.  In this, the book finds its power as a story.  Each time I read it I am reminded of the ways that our concerns, big and small, are important because we matter.  I suppose that’s an obvious conclusion, but to me it’s not always been obvious.  Thrush Green brought me that realization in an enduring fashion.

Reading the book reminds me of both the power of a good story as well as the truth of the adage that time heals most wounds.  Time and Thrush Green healed my broken-heart.  These days, the book reminds me to be gentle to both myself and others; to find a blessing in the every day; and to embrace that blessing as a sign of hope for a better future.

I needed that in my personal life in 2006.  I need it now in the realm of politics, which seems more disheartening every day.  Thrush Green reminds me to be vigilant in my caring and also to be patient in the face of distresses both big and small.  At the close of novel, the matriarch of the Curdle Fair muses that she always feels better after a visit to Thrush Green.

I feel the very same way.  

Summer Quilt

It’s been a really lovely Spring around here, with nights cool enough to warrant keeping a down comforter on the bed a little later than usual, largely because I am the sort of person who like to sleep with my windows wide open to the evening chill.  I do this so that I can snuggle under the covers as I sleep and hear the birds chirping when I awake.  But nights are pretty steadily in the 50s now and so a few weeks ago, I switched my Spring duvet for my Summer quilt.

I’ve had this quilt for nearly 15 years.  It’s soft and just heavy enough to rest close around me during cool evenings.  When the Summer air conditioning season arrives to stay, the quilt will feel cool as I slip into the bed at night, but it will ward off the chill of the a/c.  This quilt says Summer to me and I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome all that the season brings, including a little extra time under the soft covers.

Headin' Out to the Back Deck

My back deck is the back yard equivalent of the front porch, an alternately sunny and shady place to relax and enjoy the outdoors.  We spend a lot of time out here in the warmer months.  But over the last few years, the large back deck has been in need of some TLC.  In mid-April, the back deck was power-washed and repaired, in preparation for staining and sealing.

Then it rained and rained and rained so it was several weeks before the job was completed.  Finally, there were enough sunny days to stain and seal the deck.

Now it’s done and the results are lovely.  The deck is back in business as relaxation central and it’s more welcoming than ever.

The months ahead will see a lot of lazy days spent out here.

That’s happy!

May Shows Off

Inspired by the abundant rhododendron blooms, my peony is making an impressive display of its own.  Just a few weeks ago, the tight buds were seeking the sun.

This morning brings beauty in abundance.

That’s happy!

Sanctuary

When the milder weather comes to stay, I want to spend all my free time outdoors.  In May, when Summer is in view but the month is a busy cacophony of tasks that must be completed to close out the school year, the front porch lures me for moments of quiet relaxation.  On these days, the chance to sit in my rocking chair, smell the violets, and see all the flowers in bloom feels like a quiet sanctuary where I can rest my busy mind and re-charge for the tasks that lie ahead.

I slept nearly 11 hours last night and woke up this morning to sunlight and time to linger over my coffee and flowers on the front porch.  That’s happy!

Manchester Everywhere

I spend my days in the company of Middle Schoolers.  Their concerns and interests are, to some extent, mine.  In this way, I remain sympathetic to their experiences and needs without losing sight of the bigger picture.  When I think of the children at the Arianna Grande concert in Manchester, it’s very easy for me picture those adolescent fans.  They were over-the-moon excited to see someone they idolize.  12 , 13, and 14 year olds live in the moment so fully that some of them likely had no idea what was happening when trouble blew up.  

And then one craven event exploded their world.  Some children died; many more survived but will forever have memories of an experience that showed them that the world is a scary and unpredictable place.  

It seems to me that the safety of our children should surely be something that we can agree upon despite our differences.  I write this while knowing that my own national leadership is fully prepared to cut programs to ease child poverty, leave poor children without basic healthcare, deport the parents of vulnerable immigrant children, currently jails children of color at far greater rates than others, and tolerates police abuse of young men whose skin is darker than my son’s.  It’s all unconscionable. 

I know it’s not the same as exploding a bomb at an arena filled with kids, but some days that’s exactly how it feels.  The slow motion destruction of vulnerable children is no better than a single explosion intended to kill.  We need to remember that more often. 

Saturday at Costco: Why Do I Do This to Myself? edition

Whenever possible, I make my Costco run on a weeknight, when the overcrowding potential is low.  But so far May has been too busy for that and this morning found me using the last of the half and half for my coffee, an event that could signal the apocalypse.  Needs must, as they say.  So I headed to Costco.  The parking lot was full and I abandoned my car in the first parking spot I could find, girded myself, and entered America’s favorite shopping warehouse.

The only advantage of Costco on weekend is that you will see some things that amuse.  Usually, it’s in the form of atypical sartorial choices, but today's weirdness came in the form of inexplicable shopping choices.  In list form, then:

1.  A woman with her entire cart filled to the brim with hot dog buns.  There was nothing else, including the actual hotdogs.  Surely she was there with a friend whose cart contained the requisite hotdogs and condiments?  I looked but never saw a companion cart.  I want to know the rest of this story.

2.  A woman with a case of Vienna sausages.  I’ve always assumed no one ever bought these.  Today proved my wrong.

3.  A long line of Indian people looking to try out a Costco-sized display of pre-prepared Indian food.  By the comments, I gather that the chicken tikka masala was pretty good.  This isn’t particularly odd, but there is delicious Indian food everywhere in New Jersey and it’s all available for take out.  I wouldn’t solve that problem for myself via Costco.

4.  An unfortunately detailed conversation between a long-married couple about their need to try a new brand of better-quality toilet paper.  I get it, but maybe have that convo at home and then come to Costco and make a final selection in silence?

And my favorite sighting…..two little boys, about 5 years old, daring one another to enter the cold-storage dairy section, and laughing with delight at their bravery.  They were cute as a minute and a reminder that joy can be found in the mundane.  Today, they were my joy.

In the interests of full disclosure, my cart is pictured below.  The sweet peppers and raspberries were impulse purchases.  Cream for my coffee needs are met through mid-June; thank heavens for the world of ultra-pasteurized dairy.

From start to finish, I was in the store for 30 minutes, which has to rank as impressive on a Saturday and is a testament to list-based shopping.  Parking lot extraction took 7 minutes and reminded me why back-up cameras were invented (JT’s car has one but my wagon does not).  When I started my car, the song on my randomized iPod playlist was Roxy Music’s “More Than This,” which seemed a tad over-enthusiastic about Costco.  But I made it out alive, and for a Saturday at Costco, I’ll take it.

Looking All Grown Up

JT took the lovely A to the prom on Thursday evening.  Before the festivities began, the two of them put up with a significant amount of parental fussing.  Most of it happened in the form of pictures.  There’s a lot of advance preparation that goes into such a night and there were plenty of parents on hand to document it all.

JT typically doesn’t enjoy having his picture made, but he was a patient subject, perhaps because he’s quite fond of A and her wish is his command.

They looked quite dapper together and even in yesterday’s unexpected warmth, they managed not to wilt.

Oh to be young and lovely!

When I picked them up early this morning, they were happily tired and announced that JT had danced (and enjoyed himself!….thus disproving the Sassafras Family Law that dancing is only to be attempted after multiple cocktails).  The prom king and queen are sleeping off the festivities now.  Later today, they will begin studying for final exams.  But they had a lovely night to remember.  As for me, I didn’t cry when I saw my boy all dressed up and looking so grown up.  

I expect I’ll save that for another day.

Pretty Package

I love to wrap presents and tie on cheerful ribbons.

That’s happy!

May On the Front Porch

My front porch in May is a transitional project, awaiting the arrival of flowers on Mother’s Day, a tradition that T began and that I very much enjoy.  In the meantime, I made a posey wreath for the front door.

By Mother’s Day, there is enough warm weather to enable most of my indoor plants to travel outside for the summer warmth and sun.  The shefflura grew like gangbusters all winter; I’m hoping that my drooping fuchsia recovers this summer.

I have hanging baskets of New Guinea impatiens with vinca vines.  These are the loveliest baskets I’ve ever chosen and that T helped me pick them out in a steady, cold rain is proof of how spoiled I am.  

I’ve a planter full of double begonias.

There are pansies, impatiens, a Gerbera daisy, and a pot of ivy.

May’s beauty is a lovely salve on long, busy days and I’m looking forward to spending some relaxing summer hours in this happy patch of loveliness.