40 • American PreSchool

American PreSchool

This picture is so wonderful because their faces are not just blank "happy" smiles -- I could write volumes about what they're each thinking. What do you imagine what the little thought bubbles would read? Oh yeah, and the kid biting into that cupcake in the background is pretty awesome too. =)

39 • Spray me!

Spray me!

I'm back. I have more to say about that, but for now, a photo for your viewing pleasure. Thank you to those of you who kept checking in over this last month's hiatus. I am glad to be back!

38 • Yum

Yum

This evening provided a stark juxtaposition of food. We started the night at a restaurant, where the meal was expertly and meticulously prepared with attention to both taste and presentation. A pinch of this, a gentle warming of that, a searing of this, a sprinkling of that. Our bellies were nourished, yes, but also our taste buds and our eyes were entertained and delighted.

And then we went to see Oceans, Disney's new documentary about underwater life. Again, our eyes and ears were delighted -- it was stunning to see. But I couldn't help noticing how differently food was portrayed in the animal kingdom. It was snatched, swallowed whole, with little attention even to removing, say, the shell from the baby turtle. At best, a creature might break the leg of the crab to suck the meat out -- but another creature just vacuumed the bottom of the seabed, sucking up not only green grasses but also sand, debris, and surely fecal matter from other fish. Food was nourishment -- in fact, I would say it was a barrier to enjoying life, because it was the primary task one had to accomplish. Whales traveled literally thousands of miles, meanwhile shedding hundreds and hundreds of pounds in hunger, in order to find their feeding ground in the north.

It all makes me a little less grumpy about my not-so-difficult task of preparing three certainly-more-delicious-than-any-of-that meals every day for my family.

37 • Gold

Gold

I was thinking about the Robert Frost poem this week, Nothing Gold Can Stay.

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leafs a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

It seemed particularly appropriate as I walked past these beautiful lilac trees yesterday -- all the sweet smells and charming colors of spring last such a short while. Lilacs bring vivid memories of my Yiayia Jennie, my dad's mom. She loved lilacs, and had them her yard. The smell takes me right back there, eagerly bringing stems of fragrant flowers into her kitchen as if they were a brilliant surprise. She too was gold -- as we all are. We come, we radiate (we hope!) joy and beauty to the world around us, and then we fade away. We are stunning, and we wilt. I don't mean it to be depressing -- it is just the truth. A reminder to enjoy it while it is, because at some point, it won't be any more. And if we don't notice, see--experience--this gold that surrounds us, it will vanish and we won't even have the memory. How grateful I am to, even for a moment, be back in Yiayia's yard tossing lilacs like confetti across the grass, or peering through the water-glass vase of purple petals as the adults talked over coffee. Nothing gold can stay.

36 • Yawn

Yawn

We all feel tired from time to time (some of us more of the time than others). This tiger's yawn not only looks tired, but a little angry as well. It's such a great visual for when the alarm blares at you before dawn, or the clock seems to be stuck at 4:00 (both for those who work and those who anticipate the workers to come home), or when you're waiting up for your teen to come home in the wee hours of the morning. More tired than angry, but wouldn't it be great to have teeth like that to flash when you felt like it?

35 • Spring

Spring!

Forgive me for not being able to decide between these two photos. I am absolutely in heaven walking around the neighborhood, drinking in the scents and the gorgeous colors and textures of spring. How the earth does love to welcome the warmth of the sun after a long, dead winter!