No matter the spin you try to put on this summer, I can say without question it has been a bummer.
Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for my family and our continued good health and happiness, but the ceremony and sacred of summer this year is all but gone. I miss having the freedom we all had just 5 short months ago.
Still, I try to do some things, like walking with my Penny on a local path. I was really stressed this morning and just had to get outside. Penny found a small piece of bark that was smooth and told me to stroke it, that it would be comforting. My girl is wise.
Of course these girls are my saving grace. They make everything fun, and their laughter is music to my ears and balm for my heart. Every kid ends up in this fountain, either getting in on their own or getting lifted in by a willing Uncle. I have to scrub it regularly, because I can't keep the little hands out of it, and because the birds depend on it as a water source. The chance that the girls will lose interest is not good. They are water babies. They do have their own little pool and water table, they prefer the forbidden!
Our days are filled with walks and naps, snacks and Daniel Tiger. Stevie likes to clean, and this stainless steel fridge hasn't been clean since delivery. What's the point? Little fingerprints are cute.
The oaks are filled with acorns, and the sidewalks crunch under my feet. I talk to the girls and tell them about the trees, give them branches to hold. Even the hottest days have cool nights. We need rain badly, especially the trees. We weathered the derecho that swept across the Midwest with just a few leaves and twigs to clean up and nary a raindrop. In Chicago, hundreds of trees were lost.
Do you know about That Tree? It is a Burr Oak tree that Mark Hirsch photographed everyday for a year using his iPhone. Sadly, the tree was blown down in the derecho as it passed through southern Wisconsin. Tyke and I had hoped that someday we would go and see That Tree in person when we visited Galena. The tree was in a farm field outside of Platteville, Wisconsin. Unfortunately that never happened and now never will for me. I love trees, always have... In fact during our wedding our friend and celebrant of our Mass, Father Tom mentioned how sad I was that the tree right outside the rectory was cut down. Wish I remembered everything he said. I feel so bad for Mark, the photographer and friend of That Tree. Trees are tremendous!
"The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green
thing which stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity, and
by these I shall not regulate my proportions; and some scarce see nature at all.
But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself."
William Blake.
My favorite weed the Queen Anne's Lace put on a great show this year.
Speaking of weeds, can you believe how big these girls are getting?
My house, is now our house and looks like mayhem most days. These girls are full of life and love, and having son Jon and Charlotte here is a comfort. Charlotte started Law School this week. I know she will do great. Kris and Doug and Penny are here often to help with the girls and visit. Mike and Amanda get together with the siblings for sushi (as Tyke would say, "I don't eat bait.") and eat other strange things and laugh and talk. The fact that they choose to hang out together is sweet. I know that Tyke would be so happy that their relationships have only gotten closer.
Yesterday when I wrote this I was waiting to hear about the installation of Tyke's memorial bench. Then in the afternoon I received an email saying it had been installed on Friday. I got the girls, just up from a nap in the stroller and walked over. I will talk about our visit and our plans for a dedication ceremony soon. A couple were sitting on the bench when we got there. It was a very emotional afternoon. The path it is on was one of our favorite places to walk together in every season. My grief is still close to the surface, but I know Tyke would have loved being remembered this way. This bench is a special place to remember him for me and the whole family.
Thanks for stopping by.
Enjoy this beautiful day.
Love, Penny
