Poetic Family Walks

This Moment

A Friday ritual. A single photo-no words-capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember.

*inspired by SouleMama

Blueberries For Me

Earlier this summer (much earlier) we did some blueberry picking.  (Just file that under the list of posts that never got written.)  You know we love our seasonal pick-your-own outings.  Blueberry picking is especially fun for me.  Blueberries are my "obviously God love me" treat.  The little blue fruit is one of my absolute favorite foods.

A few years ago I got to take a lovely trip to Maine.  I had blueberries with every meal, except one, and that meal was sad indeed.  On the last night of the trip I ordered blueberry pie with my meal, like I had at every other meal during the trip.  Shortly after ordering our waitress came back and told me that they had run out of pie.  I almost started crying.  Seriously.  I love blueberries that much.

Now I admit, a Maine blueberry and a Southern blueberry are two different things.  But each is wonderful in its own way.  If you've never been blueberry picking before you really have to do it at least once.  Though I promise you'll be hooked once you've gone.  There is nothing quite like eating a blueberry picked right from the bush.  Hot from the summer sun, it's a burst of sweet juice in your mouth.  Absolutely delicious.

When we pick blueberries I can't help but quote "Blueberries for Sal" as I move along.  Not only do I love the book, it also turns out that my kids pick blueberries much like Sal.  Three blueberries in the bucket...kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk. And three blueberries in their mouth.  Then they eat the three blueberries that were in their bucket as well.  All the while, I'm working silently, filling my own bucket, thinking about ways to preserve the blueberries so that we can enjoy them for months to come.  I guess Robert McCloskey knew a thing or two about mothers picking blueberries with their children.

Even with the children eating their weight in blueberries, we managed to come home with three gallons of fruit.  It helped that my mom and grandma were helping us pick. One adult per child made the chances of getting home with a decent amount of berries a little greater.  All in all it was a wonderful day with very delicious rewards.

Summer Came, Summer Went

I find it hard to believe that school starts next week. I really feel like the summer has just begun. Spending the majority of two months on the road apparently makes time go by very quickly. Since May, we have traveled over 5300 miles. No, I am not exaggerating. I just did the math to be sure. My car has a permanent fast food, melted candy, beef jerky smell. And I'm pretty sure I can drive from one end of Tennessee to the other blindfolded, not that I plan to try. It has been a tiring summer, but it has been fun. It was wonderful to spend so much time with people we love.

Now we are home and getting ready for the fall. Oh, the fall. The word alone brings a deep, contented sigh to my lips. Fall is coming, I can feel it in the breeze. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We still have one week of summer vacation left. The perfect time to remember the highlights of this very memorable summer full of family and parties, rivers and silliness, and Legoland thrown in just for the boy. Yes, this has been a good summer.

S'mores

The first of the season...

Goggles In The Kiddie Pool

I love that they wear goggles in water that's not even two feet deep. Sicily is the the only one who can get her whole little body under the water. Analiese's feet hang over the edge if she stretches out. They have to sit cross-legged if they get in together. Each summer brings a little more height pushing them out of the four foot circle. But this is the only escape from the unrelenting heat, so they find a way to make it work. They come into the house only to grab a Popsicle and then jump back in. Our water bill is probably going to sky rocket this month because they dump out the water as soon as it begins to warm up and fill it to the brim again with the icy water from the hose. I like to stick my feet in right after they've filled it. The cold shoots up my legs giving me a few minutes of relief. Then I go back into my unairconditioned house and sweat and watch them play. The boy, who has grown to be only a few inches shorter than me, sits beside me in the kitchen and we wish we were three feet tall with goggles on our heads.

The Summer Solstice Has Arrived

The Summer Solstice arrived this morning bringing with it long rays of sun. So begins hot days when all goes quiet after noon except for the clicking song of the cicadas. These days cry out for popsicles after breakfast when sweat is already dripping from foreheads. Heat wraps tight around the body as we slowly bake in the hammock trying to move as little as possible. The sprinklers stay on not to water the lawn, which we've all given up on, but to water the children as they run through sending excited giggles into the air. And I find the desire to sing hymns arises as I cool myself with a paper fan like an old woman in a centuries old church.

This is the time of year when night is our playtime. The short nights that blink with fireflies. The night is when the children want to run around with friends playing tag and riding bikes. This is when we sit on the back porch, grill our food, and watch children play. Summer nights are when the breeze comes in through windows across half naked people melting in bed. Bringing with it sweet, relaxing relief.

This is what the solstice brings to those of us in the South whose air conditioning decides when it wants to work. Oh, and that would be us. Well, at least the water works. I believe it's time to bring out the sprinkler.

Happy Solstice! Enjoy the sun.

And Summer Break Officially Begins...

Lazy days with nothing to do

Sleeping in

Running through the sprinkler barefoot

Sun-kissed freckled noses

Popsicles

Fireflies

Ice cold lemonade

Bubbles

Hot from the sun tomatoes

Heat exhausted sleepy kids collapsing in bed after a day well played

This is what summer is to me