Theater Camp and Momo

#1 - The quick look back for reassurance from the sweet man's oldest daughter when I dropped her off at theater camp.

#2 - Both of the girls' excitement in meeting two new friends each and sharing what they learned their first day when I picked them up.

#3 - They have an end of the week theater showcase Friday afternoon. I looked into the details of it and started thinking about fitting it in my week in case they wanted me to see it. I figured maybe I'd ask the sweet man to ask them, so they could answer him honestly. If I ask them it would be hard to say, "No I don't want you there." However, I didn't get the chance because one of the first things the oldest said to me when I picked them up was, "Are you going to come to the showcase Friday?"

#4 - The theater day camp, just happens, to be located a couple miles from where I live, making it convenient to help out with drop-offs, pick-ups and a possible attendance a the showcase on Friday.

#5 - Reading Momo (By Michael Ende) to the girls and the sweet man as they prepped their lunches and snacks for tomorrow. It was late, and a time that often includes bickering, but Momo took care of that. I've been waiting months to have the opportunity to share this book with them.

Grapes of Wrath

#1 – I woke up and finished reading The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I haven’t read a “classic” in a long time and this is one that came to mind when I was at the library. Certainly different than what I usually read, I was impressed again and again by the stories on its pages. Powerful, poetic, tough and inspiring.

#2 – I was curious what type of ending Mr. Steinbeck would put on the story as the ending to many stories in the depression wasn’t a happy one. I expected him to pull a surprising punch of some sort, and he most definitely did.

#3 – I was going to ask my sister-in-law to send me a photo she took of my nephew and I on a day when our wardrobe just happened to match. Today she gave me a print of the picture without my asking.

#4 – Dancing to the music with my nephew on my lap in the kitchen, every once in a while he’d lean his head back and look up at me with a big smile.

#5 – Making my 5th recipe I’ve enjoyed from Weeknight Vegetarian, a book I have from the library. I had dinner ready for me before soccer tonight and leftovers for tomorrow.

Beach Ball

#1 - The beach ball floating away from the swimming area. Though nobody seemed to be concerned or care, it gave me something to rescue. Could I get there before it blew too far away? Would the weeds become too much? Would the wind pick up?

#2 - The sweet man and I had a few writing prompts we'd written in the winter that I asked him to bring to the beach. We pulled a couple to write on and he said, "We should do this more often. Make a jar where we put prompts."

#3 - I almost gave in and decided to work the farmer's market on a weekend we had a tentative camping trip planned, but luckily I'd sent an email earlier to the board director and she already had me as unavailable on her calendar.

#4 - All the sweet little touches I got at the beach - a kiss on the shoulder, a finger on my thigh, a hand on my belly.

#5 - Seeing a turtle laying eggs, from a distance, burrowing in the sand, burying. And the young woman who almost ran over her on her bike, but didn't.

Bonus discovery - I looked up a video for treading water techniques after discussing it at the beach and discovered that at least part of the reason I can swim longer than the man I'm dating is NOT because I'm in better shape, but rather, because he uses the most exhausting method for treading water.

Art Gallery

#1 - Was it the beautiful morning, being outside my usual neighborhood, or the fact that for the first morning in a week I wasn't responsible for a 4 & 6 year old? I'm not sure, but I was thrilled to have the impulse to go for a jog first thing this AM.

#2 - Going to an "art gallery" in the sweet man's living room discussed and presented by the artists themselves (his children).

#3 - Hearing about the oldest's end of the year school camping trip.

#4 - After the exhibit, putting the artwork on permanent display in the "Peace Corner" room.

#5 - Reading The Wretched Stone (highly recommended picture book) by Chris Van Allsburg and Nothing to Do by Douglas Wood to the sweet man and the girls before bed in the newly space.