About the Children

Image by Mary Clark from Pixabay (Altered)

Last night I received a text from my six year-old grandson. It was later than he would normally be up. The text contained a meme about loving me, praying for me, and keeping me safe from the Corona virus. It made me sad to think what must be on his little mind. We chatted over text for a bit and then I asked him if he was ok. He said yes, but I know him. When he reaches out to me late like that, his mind is active. I am sure he got the meme sent to him and he forwarded to me.

It all makes me think how hard this is on the children. It also reminds me that I need to check in with them more often to give them some semblance of normality. As grandparents, it is easy to think that we are ‘bothering’ them or disturbing their crazy schedules, but what if they yearn for us as much as we yearn for them? Our texts last night closed with a promise we would talk today and a few exchanges about loving and missing each other.

One of my grandsons is a senior this year. It is a tough reality. No spring breaks, no prom, and no graduation. Even the outlook for college in the fall is questionable. Will there be a dorm experience for college freshmen? SAT requirements are being waived in some schools. Many children are choosing to take a gap year rather than paying tuition for online classes. If they do, what are the prospects for interim jobs for these kids?

One of our granddaughters is a swimmer. No practice now. Athletics will suffer and for someone pursuing future athletic scholarships, this hurts. She had lined up a lifeguard job for the summer. That will likely not happen either.

Another granddaughter is now taking guitar and piano lessons via Zoom. I guess it is part of the ‘new normal’. She says it is working well, but I know the lack of social interaction makes it less enjoyable.

I think back to these times in my life, when I was a young teen or an older teenager. It would have been a tough and frustrating way to live. Putting myself in their shoes makes me see it a little more clearly.

I just paused because my grandson FaceTimed me. I knew he was lonely when he sent me a text me last night. We chatted for a bit and will talk again after he does his school work. These are difficult times for them.

We did ask all the grandchildren to choose a fun book and we will have them shipped from Amazon. We wanted them to have something of their choosing – it does not matter what as long as their parents approve. Even comic books, graphic novels, sudoku, crosswords, sheet music, or sticker books. It’s all about having a break from the norm.

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One Liner Wednesday – Ain’t It The Truth

If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.
Yogi Berra

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One Liner Wednesday is generously hosted every Wednesday by Linda Hill. Rules and ping back here.

Tuesday Baking, Birds, and Other Things

I am a little tired this morning. It’s my own fault, though. I discovered a documentary on Hulu last night on Margaret Atwood. I knew it was too late to start it, but reason does not always prevail in my world these days. I admire her as both a writer and an activist. Her power of keen observation and the way she applies that observation to her work is something I must be careful not to envy too much. I guess we must all have that one author that pulls us in.

Speaking of authors and writing, I logged onto my library account last night and put two ebooks on hold: Becoming by Michelle Obama and Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. One I plan to read with my friend Lauren as an ‘online book club’ and one was recommended by my friend Molly. I have not done much reading during this pandemic so it will be nice to settle in and read some.

When I woke this morning I was excited to see an email from King Arthur Flour. My flour finally shipped! I have 5 pounds of all purpose white and 5 lbs of all purpose wheat flour on the way! I managed to buy SAF instant-yeast from an online store – Waffle Pantry. So, I once again feel comfortable about baking some bread.

Yesterday I made a single 9” layer cake. You may remember I wanted to try and recreate a cake my grandmother used to make. She made a one-egg cake with a black walnut and brown sugar glaze. I was able to find a couple of recipes online I felt like trying and I must say, it turned out pretty darn close! The cake is unbelievably moist and the taste of the black walnuts took me back to my childhood. It is amazing what memories our senses can trigger. Black walnuts have a very distinct and earthy taste — they truly are one of the tastes that whisk me back to another place and time.

These are the recipes I used if you want to try either of them for yourself:

Easy One Bowl Yellow Cake
Broiled Nut Icing

Let’s talk AirPods. I love using them if we ever need to go out because it reduces my need to touch my phone. Siri will read me my text messages and send me text messages and even make calls for me, all with my phone in my purse. Last week I opened the case and dropped one on the floor. It bounced, then disappeared. I was so confused. Well, I got down on my knees in the kitchen and discovered there was a space under the cabinets on the back of our kitchen island. Frustrated, I told hubby, then proceeded on to the post office. When I came back, hubby was able to get his hand into the space and had the AirPod in his hand but then it slipped out of his hand and he heard it hit the floor — under the island behind the toe kick. 🙄 It is now unreachable unless we do some deconstruction in the kitchen.

The hummingbirds are definitely back, although I have only seen one or two males so far. We have two pair of Rose Breasted Grosbeaks that frequent the feeders every day. They are here during their migration but we do not typically see them stay around all summer long. They are a little aggressive at the feeder, happily lingering there and chasing other birds off. The bluebirds are also here every day. The Bluejays also make their presence known.

I have been pulling all my art supplies out of the nooks and crannies in which they have been stored. I have large pads full of gesture drawings from old Life Drawing classes which I am finally going to throw away. There are a few drawings that I will keep, but most are charcoal and do not fare very well after years of storage.

That’s about it for me. I will leave you with a little Moody Blues on this Tuesday. Enjoy!

 

Writing Challenge Invitation – #FUN20119

Welcome to another writing challenge invitation. It’s time to be creative again.

The instructions are as follows:

1. Write an uplifting or funny short piece. The goal is to lift spirits.
2. Use the hashtag #FUN20119 (today’s Julian date)
3. Pingback to this post or leave a link in the comments to share your stories here. (If you have never commented on my blog, links will need to be approved.)
4. Below you will find several ‘gifts’. Choose one or several to include in your writing. You must choose at least one.
5. Have fun!

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Number #1

Use two of these words in your story: ephemeral, quintessential, effervescent, resplendent or histrionic.

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Number #2

 

 

 

 
Use one of these colors in your character description: ebony, alabaster, smoky or teal.

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Number #3.

Use this photo as inspiration:

 

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My Hundred Day Journey To Personal Transformation And Evolution

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My daughter has found her way back to blogging again. Their life, like so many others, has been turned upside down in this pandemic. Still she perseveres.

This child of mine is so brave and I bear witness to her soul searching and discovery. When it is sorrowful or painful for her, it is tough to watch. I am so glad we have healed the wounds of our past and can lovingly support each other as we step through the next leg of our respective journeys.

Two Moms And A Toddler

When I look at my last blog post and see that I haven’t written anything since February 17th, I am simply dumbfounded. I knew it had been a while but I had no idea it had been that long. How do I begin to explain my absence for over two months? With everything going on in the world, you would think there would be no shortage of things to write about and you would be right. But, in my world, there’s been a shortage of time, energy, and motivation to sit down and write about…..well….anything.

Global pandemic aside, there have been some major changes happening in my life these past few months that have caused me to slow down and, in many cases, take pause to evaluate and recalibrate.

So…where to start? How about January – the beginning of the year and the beginning of the changes?

In late January…

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