Lovely Little Things, 29

A few of this week’s lovely little things.

summer’s last bits

When you go back to school after most of the country, you get to live in this limbo for a bit. Fall is right there with it’s backpacks and luncboxes but you can still spend the afternoon at the pool if that’s what you so choose. So we did. We met up with some old friends that we’ll never see as much as we used to or want to and we bounced and splashed and, of course, spend a good amount of time eating goldfish while wrapped in towels. This week I can’t decide if I really, truly, do want Fall or if I want more last bits of summer. And the internal conflict is strangely lovely.

a little bit of everything, sort of balanced

Monday was one of those days. Lots to do, appointments to keep, new ones to make, summer camp to get to, friends to see, and work to do. And it all happened just as I’d planned for it to in a weird little balanced way. When I was working full time, out of the house, I used to argue that no single day would ever be balanced. Something always popped up to throw it all to the wind. Now that I’m a jumble of working and staying and being home, I’ll argue the same just as strongly. And, as I fell into bed Monday night, I’ll even go as far as to argue for my health and sanity, no day should ever be perfectly balanced. Monday came as close as we could possibly get, I think, and it was lovely.

new parks

They sat in the swings and watched the trains, Amtrak, regional, cargo , go chugging by. And they could have stayed there all day, just watching the cars clack along the rails in this otherwise quiet little space. Except that the sun beat down most relentlessly. I’ve lived in this area for ten years, raised kids here for almost five, and feel that I’ve got my finger on the pulse of the park scene. I know where the good ones are, when to go to each one based on time of day, day of week, and strength of the sun. But then we find (or Miss N. introduces us to) a new one and I spend the evening slotting it into the rotation.

favorite words

Happy, long, weekend. I hope you’re enjoying this cluster.