hope makers, all of them

The thread, the brush, the instrument, the oven -- hope makers, all of them.

The boys rediscovered Grandma Eleanor's old balalaika and threw together a bedtime band with every stringed instrument in the house, making music well past 10PM.

Tolliver has a new favorite muffin, almond poppy seed, which almost helps him forget how desperate he is, most nights, for midnight pizza.

Tucker tackled an original drumline cadence before band camp, and with some guidance from Grandpa Rod he composed a pretty impressive new score.

Hank has moved from balloon animals to Rainbow Loom bracelets, past duct tape and back to LEGO stop motion videos, constantly creating.

Making things - a painting, a sentence, a garden, a meal, - can feel like a miracle. My creativity tends to shrivel in the heat, but I am reminded that it may be possible to mend myself through making. This summer, especially, the boys seem to be realizing how the act of creation helps us handle the world and ourselves.

related: currently reading (after hearing about it via For The Good of the Order on Kelly Corrigan Wonders) Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford, and aiming to value using my hands as much as my mind...