lately

Science Olympiad work and Ohio Wesleyan honors band
First Robotics open house and a homemade ferris wheel

s'mores with friends and so many art projects

Harry Potter books and algebra homework

antique stores and the Columbus Cultural Orchestra

snakes and bird nests and early signs of spring

kitchen noise

Allowing the almost seven year old to dice tomatoes is, in my experience, inefficient and inconvenient. But in between drywall repair and student midterm evaluations, Andy does not turn down an offer of help in the kitchen. There is white paint on his elbow and patience in his tone. And eventually there is a small pile of tomatoes.

All the walls here are still white; six years in and often the color feels like the most peaceful thing in our house. 

Someone is making music with spoons while pork and cheese are layered on fresh ciabatta in the Cuban sandwich assembly line. Someone is sitting at the table reading aloud jokes from a magazine and Siri is playing a vibraphone station and the dryer is humming. I imagine wasting energy trying to regulate the volume and then someone is actually applauding a plate of nachos. 

What a racket devotion is.

all you need

February continues the season of mostly homemade sunshine. 

An invitation to play at the library, mail full of hearts from Texas, red plastic collectors across the entire county - hand-me-down hope, all of it.

It's been fun, this year anyway, to participate in a holiday provocation to pass out extra love. To remember that pink is for humans who like pink, that every heart is a doorway, that love can be decidedly disorganized. And it's remarkable, really, that little things like paper birds and peanut butter lids and late-blooming amaryllis can provide a solid dose of bright optimism.

professional photos by Juliet Carey Photography at the Columbus Metropolitan Library

not made to be a crumb

Dear boys.

We drove to a nearby metro park today, to feel the warmth of the sun in winter. There's a word for that, one I didn't know until recently: apricity. It's fun to learn new words when you're in your forties. It's also nice to have time to take a family walk without frigid temperatures.
It was a meandering endeavor, and we stumbled upon treasures from bizarre to boring: a deer leg, a duck call, a laundry basket and a toothbrush and an old tennis shoe. We talked about moons around Jupiter and water on Mars, about financial literacy skills and the balloon from China, and we laughed and laughed about I don't even know what.

I want you three to recognize propaganda and to invest wisely and to chat easily about current events. And to laugh and laugh. I want you to know that it may be important to find people who are able to infuse a mundane activity with joy. It may actually be the most ironclad indicator of whether you want to spend time with those folks, whether you want to spend your life with that person. That, and if they like to learn new words with you.