all the balls

Spring baseball and tennis seasons are winding down, but this month always tends to require so much hussle. May makes me feel like we're just one minor logistical hiccup away from a breakdown. We've all been trying to keep a lot of balls in the air lately, learning to occasionally let the rubber ones drop without serious consequence - they typically bounce, not much harm done. Juggling priorities, especially at the end of a busy school year, it's good to be reminded that certain things are most important (the glass balls, stuff like mental health and relationships) and to practice managing time and energy accordingly.

good baseball photos by Mike Donahoe

happiest days

The piano recital coinciding with Mother's Day is an annual favorite but to be honest, these boys are at the center of every happiest day.

Cheers to all three performances!

Tucker: Schumann's Grillen
Tolliver: Spanish Rhapsody
Hank: Desert Caravan

a Sky of Paper Stars

Hank carried home more than a dozen books in his backpack yesterday, after 4th graders walked to the library. How lucky are we to live in a world where people spend time writing fiction for the rest of us to enjoy?

Mary Oliver says the world offers itself to your imagination.

Books help us consider all sorts of realities. Once we consider them, can we construct them?

A few weeks ago Hank read a novel about a Korean family that included a paper-folding legend. For hours after he finished the story he folded and folded and folded until he had his own jar full of stars.

Not sure exactly what to do against this current iteration of the apocalypse, his effort seemed like a decent use of time.

Tucker is writing a research paper on woolly mammoths and dire wolves and the ethics of genetic engineering. He created a resume and is applying for summer jobs, auditioned for honors choir and section leader and is studying for Advance Placement tests. He still helps the historical society and knows arbitrary facts about obscure songs and finds time to spend with friends. I see him walk through the world and wonder, Could I be more relaxed and nice? His behavior indicates access to some cheat code for the universe: chill and be kind and it will all work out... He did not inherit this breeziness from me.

We are doing fine, fascism notwithstanding. The lilac bushes are in bloom, each branch in rivalry.  How lucky, to live under the same canopy of sky as scented flowers and these remarkable boys? Tolliver has been preparing a new outdoor living arrangement for the garage turtle. He's given careful thought to all sorts of details, and gently introduced her to her new digs last night. Turns out a really effective antidote to low level anxiety may be to sip sun tea and watch your child nurture nature. I know what books and art can do for imagination, and I find myself interested in what love might do for it too.

Grandview in Orlando

Tucker traveled by bus, overnight, to Florida with the band and orchestra programs earlier this month. While he enjoyed marching down Main Street and taking part in an instrumental soundtrack session, he had the most fun hanging with friends at the parks. Among Tuck's favorite attractions were Disney's Space Mountain and Tron, and the Jurassic World VelociCoaster at Universal, plus dining at Toy Story's Roundup Rodeo BBQ and the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater.

belated

Hank waited nearly a month, after the musical and through spring break, to celebrate turning NINE with friends.  He and the girls made butterfly pea flower tea and played board games and enjoyed pizza and cookies from vendors at The Little Grand.

Revue

Hank participated in the annual talent show (the Bobcat Revue, for kindergarten through 6th grade). He played the harp in a trio with friends who dubbed themselves The Chamber Pots. And Tolliver accompanied Nora on the piano, playing a duet called Have a Ball!