mowgli

over the past few months, ander and i have encountered a particularly calm, large, curly-furred dog leashed at the coffee shop near where we attended tae kwon do. (that feels so strange, referring to it as "having attended," rather than "still attending." we have no sense of if or when that school and the adaptive program will resume in the future. we can only hope that it will. so much of the world has been disrupted already, and it's going to change even more.)

each time we came out of class we would look for the dog. ander was pleased that the dog never seemed to bark or jump or lunge or even, frankly, to stand up from its prone position on its blanket or on the ground. each time we saw him we would come a little closer, ander always a little hesitant to test a new boundary line. and slowly over time, oh so slowly, always with my gentle reassurance and encouragement and modeling the action and letting ander decide when he was ready, he actually reached out and petted the dog. ander was especially brave one day and let the dog sniff him with a soft nose; he was rewarded with a gentle lick on the fingers.

we were fortunate to meet the dog's human companion, who said the dog's name was mowgli. having a name we could refer to made it even more of an exciting part of our saturday mornings to look for mowgli and offer a pet on the head.

i don't know if we will ever see mowgli again. i'm glad we have a photo, though, that we can look at when we talk about our fond memories of him.

this is fifty

happy birthday to me!

the necklace is a gift from steve and ander. it's a little silver wren, my favorite bird (such a powerful, determined chirp from a bold little ball of feathers). on the back there is the engraving "pie tastes better" to remind me NOT to stick birds in my mouth.

ander decorated my cabin-in-the-woods and held a family surprise party for me in his minecraft world. and that was after he let me sleep in this morning!

artemis is making me a pie from scratch. raspberry. with a buttery crust. i can hardly wait to eat it. oh, and he's making mac and cheese from scratch all by himself so that i don't need to worry about feeding people at dinnertime today. what wonderful gifts from his heart and hands!

yesterday's walk yielded some beautiful blossom photo opportunities:

all things considered, this is a great way to entire my next decade of life on earth.

sidewalk sentiments

someone in my neighborhood suggested using chalk to make art for people to see when they go on walks. i happen to have a stash of sidewalk chalk and a desire to bring a smile to someone's face, even for a moment.

i thought for a while about how to convey a clear message of lovingkindness and am pleased with the result. it extends from our driveway to the driveway of our corner neighbors. (speaking of whom, i hope to get to know them better somehow. they moved in maybe a month or so ago and i had the chance to meet a couple of the kids. i was excited to learn that there were boys around my own sons' ages, hopeful that we could establish some friendships. the dad owns an indian ice cream factory in the next town over and brought us a box of their creamy frozen treats. we've waved at each other as we get in and out of our houses to go someplace, but i have yet to meet the whole family. now that we all have been voluntarily homebound for over a week, i'm not sure if and when it will happen.)

anyway, i shared it on facebook and know that it had an impact on some people there. it's supposed to rain tomorrow. when the weather clears and is dry, i'll make something new.

springtime is here

it is clear to me that springtime is here. i just have to walk one block from my home in any direction to see it, smell it, hear it in abundance.