[This post was written April 2021]
Hello! Hi.
Ça va? What's new? What's happening?
Everyone get their taxes in? Anyone else feel like January was 14 years ago but every month since has flown by -- and that in one literal minute this whole school year will be over? Anyone else feeling like weight of the world is about to crush them both personally and on a macro level?
Any one else's grocery bills growing exponentially with no end in sight?
One of the purest joys of having four children (besides the grocery bill) is that I am on my THIRD CHILD -- t h i r d c h i l d -- learning to play the recorder in 3rd grade. This means … I still have another kid to go. (But don't you think the school should grant some sort of special dispensation to us parents after we make it through one or two kids?)
Anyways, Asher learned Hot Cross Buns really quickly. E, D, C, E, D, C. CCCCDDDD,E,D,C. But for whatever reason, he just wasn't getting the hang of Mary Had a Little Lamb.
Being a former student of the woodwind myself,
I stood in the kitchen and played it for him. E, D, C, D, E, E, E …
He watched me, took the instrument [of torture] back and tried again. Four notes in, he lost his fingering. “Show me again?” And I did.
We repeated this whole exchange a handful of times until I had to stop. (#sanity) So off he went on his own: EDCDEEE. Pause, start again. EDCDEEE. Stop, start again. EDCDEEEDDDEGG!
“Mom, I did it!”
He did it. And he did it again, and again, and again, until finally – he could play the whole song.
And now guess what? Mary and her lambs are everywhere. On the couch before breakfast. In the kitchen before my second cup of coffee. They walk to the bathroom. Hang out the basement. They even graze in our back yard.
In time, I know he'll move on, the way both his older brother and sister did. And I wont have to hear it again (until next year).
But there's something about his playing all around the house now that just makes me so happy.
No, it's NOT the SOUND of the actual recorder (I'd be pleased to throw that thing down a storm drain) but I smile when I hear him unabashedly tooting around – simply because he can. For the creative, magical joy of making something out of nothing. From his own lungs and fingers and that plastic little pipe with holes – music.
And because it didn't come easy, but now it does.
And isn't that something?
May we all take what we've been given, today and always, and even through the struggle, find joy in making something lovely (or mostly lovely) out of it.
xo
On The Bedside Table
As a general lover of books, WWII stories, and a self-proclaimed Francophile, this book was tres magnific. Glowing recommendation.
Cannot say enough about this book. It's theology written on an artist's canvas. I underlined a lot of the first half and almost the entire second half.
Ellie's (my dog's) brother's owner – did you follow that? – Kristie Anyabwile – wrote a book called Literarily, about how understanding Bible genres transforms our reading of scripture. A wonderful resource.
On a whim, got this dog encyclopedia from the library. The two youngest kids are OBSESSED. They're also breed experts now, should you ever have a question about Pugs or Swiss Mountain Dogs.
On The Menu
I've been trying to be very intentional with my meal planning but every week it's the same question: WHAT DO WE EVEN EAT? In case you need a few suggestions too, these have all been delicious:
Stuffed Shells – I beaucoup cheated with this one, using jarred sauce, feta instead of romano (because even when I meal plan I don't, like, plan plan, so sometimes I don't have all the right ingredients and make due with what's in the fridge) and dried basil instead of all of it being French -- I mean fresh. Père pardonne moi. But it worked and was delicious.
Ina's Asian Salmon. I've likely already shared this. It's good. I bake it in the oven though. (350 x 20 min but feel free to tell me that's too long, because I think it is.)
Thai Broccoli Salad. Just leave out the spice for kids.
Strawberry Arugula Quinoa Salad … except I basically made my own recipe. Used spinach, no nuts, added feta, and used a poppyseed dressing I already had. Also, didn't time things right so the quinoa was hot when I served it but it worked! Took it to our community group a few weeks ago and it was a hit.