The Homestretch

I am wildly, emphatically, gleefully and eagerly counting down the hours to the last day of school, probably even more so than my children are.

Summer vacation, I can practically taste you.  And you are sweet like watermelon.

Here's what I want to do:  NOTHING for at least 2 weeks.

I want to live in my swimsuit and flip flops, read books and have lazy, lazy, lazy days by the pool.

I want to do so little, that by the end of August we are all bored out of our skulls and can't wait to get back to the chaos and over-scheduling that seems to pin us down every fall and hold us in place until the beginning of June.  I want to get some rest and recharge my batteries.

I want my kids to be outside, playing and using their imaginations and bodies.  I want them to live in their swimsuits and to get muddy and to come home at night feeling like they've adventured and had whole days with no where they had to be.  I want to ride bikes, camp, toast marshmallows and sit on the beach.  We are going to spend two weeks in Naples with my parents and I am really looking forward to being at a beach where you can swim.  The Gulf is as warm as bath water and you can be over your head and still see shells on the sand clearly.  Some people do not like Florida in the summer time, but I think that they are nuts!  I love it.

Lately, life has been work, work, work, drama with the kids, work, work, work, work.  I am rushing from one place and get there late, only to rush to my next place and arrive late.  I am WAY too busy for my own good.  This week was especially taxing and emotional because, out of nowhere, Lila began experiencing (what I can only describe as) separation anxiety.  She has not had this happen since pre-school, and even then it did not last more than a few days.  This entire week was drenched in tears, unfounded fear and anxiety for Lila.  I had to take her out of school one day, meet with her teacher over and over, see the pediatrician and meet with the principal of the school. Also, I needed to be present in the school for most of the day, a few times this week.  I had to take her out for lunch and sit with her at recess.

It had me wondering, am I doing more harm by being present?

But I'm glad that I did it.  When I would show up for lunch and recess I tried not to hover too much.  I just sort of sat there, so that Lila knew that I had kept my word and feel comforted by my presence, but I did not get involved with her conversations or games.  At first she was very clingy, but by Friday she couldn't have cared less that I was there.  So, I guess that I did the right thing on this particular occasion.

Being a parent can be so tricky.  My instinct was to swoop in, grab my daughter and tell the school that they should send her work home to me for the rest of the year and that I will do it there with her and turn it in.  But, I think doing that, in this case, would have taught her avoidance and escapism.  So, I knew that there must be a middle ground.  There must be a way to help her feel supported and comforted, while still teaching her to work through her anxiety and fear.  This time, this worked.  We got through the week.  I am hopeful that next week will be better and that the following week will be celebratory!  Then the school year is over.  7 more days!  It's the homestretch.

I can't help but wonder what amount of this anxiety is about the change of NOT moving?  Lila is almost 8 years old and this is the longest that we've lived in a house since she was 2.  This is the longest that she has been at one school.  This is the most relationship development that she's ever had with people outside of her family.  I know that a month or so ago I looked around my house and freaked out a little bit.  The yard needs more maintenance that we've given it.  We have an accumulation of "stuff" that we need to toss... like school papers and cards and the house needed a closet cleaning and reorganization.  My initial thought was, "we really need to move soon."  Because every year for the past 4 years we've moved before we even had the opportunity to completely unpack.  But this time we are not moving.  We are staying in our rental house until we are ready to buy a house of our own.  And we probably won't do that that until Twitter goes public.  So, it could be awhile.  For the first time ever, we are settling in.  And I am wondering if some of that adjustment will be uncomfortable in its unfamiliarity.

Sunday in the yard

My friend Siet sent a bunch of seeds awhile back and we planted most of them.  One I veered away from because it came with a  warning.  It should be up and away from my pets because it's poisonous.  Because Sherbert Holler is a fierce, curious, warrior cat who spends much of his day outside, protecting our home from unwanted birds and human pests, no plant is safe from his consumption.

I decided to nail a basket to our pergola and plant this flower there.  I can't remember its name (and have thrown away the envelope that it came in) but it's supposed to be pink and fuzzy and quite pretty!

I think that once these pet killers sprout they'll look really beautiful there.

I don't know what to do with the side of my yard.  Maybe I'll just let it be wild.  I have a geranium that is larger than any geranium I've ever seen before!

I also have a huge mystery plant that is so pretty but I have no idea what it is!

And my little peach tree is really working hard.  We have three peach trees.  One of them is quite large and is next to the lemon tree in the very back of my yard.  Two of my peach trees are small and on the side of my house.  I didn't know what they were until a neighbor told me that they bare the sweetest peaches.

But  my big, exciting news is that my little yellow pepper (remember I said that these were the hardiest plants in my garden) sprouted a flower!!!!!!!  How cute is my little pepper baby?
















I can't believe how quickly my garden grows and changes.  I am a little bit overwhelmed because I feel like I can't keep up with everything.  The weeds alone are out of control.  Weeding the front yard is something of a full time job, but the rest of it renders me exhausted.  That said, when I see something new poking through the soil or a pepper baby maturing I feel so satisfied.  I love how my girls are participating and we're all working together to keep snails out of the garden and monitoring the progress of all of our plants.  I had to move a few succulents today because they've been getting too much water from the hose while the girls play outside.  It's been in the high 70's and 80's every day here, so the girls have been cooling off with the hose pretty regularly!  It's great for the kids, but not the succulents!

aRt

Concord is great.

There is a big movement towards children's art here in the east bay, which makes sense because this is such an inspired place!  It's hard not to want to make things when you are surrounded by beauty.

There is a small cottage near our school.  The sidewalk in front and yard are scattered with creative signage and colorful, staged, homey pieces of functional art.  It's called the aRt Cottage and you can read about it here!

Upon entering I had this feeling that I was standing in the coolest place ever.  The house hasn't been gutted and transformed into an open floor concept, as you might imagine a gallery to be.  Rather, it's still very much maintained its cottage appeal, offering small rooms that are minimally and artistically furnished, as something on display in a museum might be.  You have the feeling that a you are within the art when you are inside the cottage, and thus sort of feel that you are an actual part of the art... like a living character in a series of portraits.

Each room is beautiful, fun and really quite happy but not cluttered. There is just enough inside each room to understand the purpose of the room and little enough so that you don't feel someone is supposed to live there.

The backyard is small and otherworldly.  There are tree stumps with painted cushions and a large fire pit.

The aRt cottage caught my eye because I noticed a sign that said there would be children's art classes available there in June.  I went in and just fell totally in love with it.  My girls instantly felt comfortable there... so much so that Bunny suggested that we get a realtor and try to buy it.  To say it was a really  nice place to be, is not being fair.  I can't really explain why, but it just had a nice feeling about it.  It was definitely a place that I'd like to make a part of my children's lives.

So, I've signed them up for classes.  During the week of June 18th they'll go to 3 one hour sessions at the cottage and may even make a fairy garden.  The best part is that all materials are provided to them and it only costs $10 per session!!!!