Celebration

Last night, my patient, helpful, long-suffering husband and I worked through the uprushing dusk to string the first phase of Christmas lights on our house while our daughters held hands and danced in the grass.

We were invited to an astonishingly delicious dinner at our neighbors' house consisting of course after course of breads, dipping oils and vinegars, italian appetizers, grilled pannini, and homemade mac & cheese. To drink, our hostess made her favorite concoction of pink lemonade, vodka and beer. It's quite fizzy and light and it was a good thing that we only had to walk home.

Our neighbors gave our daughters gifts and said how lucky they feel to have us, a feeling that is deeply reciprocated.

This morning, I dropped off a couple of bags of snacks for my younger daughter's second grade class. Every few weeks, when her teacher runs low on supplies, I add boxes of cereal bars and tubs of cookies to my weekly shopping. It's not that hard, but the kids are so happy. I guess the ones whose parents don't send a snack along with them get really hungry before lunch.

When I carried in the bags today, the whole class said, "It's B's Mom (that's my name to them). Hi B's Mom. Yay, Snacks!!" And broke into a cheer and applause. Two or three girls rushed to hug me. I was the anti-hunger hero. I am so happy to be able to do things like that with my daughters and their classes.

My job consists of sitting in my own home and typing a grant proposal while listening to Christmas music and watching the sun spill through the trees in my back yard. (And burning water, don't forget that part.)

Today is my dear friend's 37th birthday and she never looked more beautiful or vivacious. I know her life is only going to get more wonderful from here. Happy Birthday, A!!

Another wonderful, talented friend and I had the best, hours-long conversation yesterday about writing, publishing and book ideas. What fun to be part of the planning/thinking process. I really can't wait to read what she's going to write next!

There's a lot of good stuff in my life every day. There just is. I'm so glad and grateful for that.



(Do you think "uprushing dusk" works as a description? Is uprushing even a word? I don't think so, but I like the sound of it all the same.)