Of Cherries and Hikes

I love June.
The smell of honeysuckle.
The promise of a summer stretching endlessly.
Eating outdoors.
So much to look forward to: the beach, summer trips, berry picking, no school.

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We had a super-day last Friday. The weather was beautiful. The big kids were off from school and I took a half day off from work.

We started out with an early morning hike at a near-by park. The hike was awesome - we saw and smelled lots of honeysuckle, we discovered some neat ruins of a building near the trail (that we've missed on all the previous hikes), the kids got to run ahead and explore (spiderwebs, fish in the stream, holes in the ground, flowers next to the path, old uprooted trees). I really need to do this more often - nothing is as calming and relaxing as a walk in a forest (a solitary walk in a forest is great, too, but not always possible).

While I worked, kids were occupied with chores, reading, and practicing their instruments. After lunch, we headed to a local orchard and picked cherries. They were crazy expensive, but the experience was fun. Kids got a kick out of a ride in an open-sided wagon. The trees were just the right size for easy picking. Plus, we got to pass by peach and nectarine trees - with fruit ripening on the branches (fun to compare these to our baby orchard at home).

We then visited the farm animals - I thought the kids had outgrown the goats and the ducks, but no, they had a blast. We also dropped by my parents and visited with them for a bit (kids got fed and we shared cherries and a sunflower from the orchard).

The kids packed the pool bag before we left that afternoon (the joys of having big kids - they can do all this useful stuff!), so we were all ready to head to the pool. We picked up the youngest from daycare and then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the pool eating cherries, hanging out at the tennis court, and going into the water for short periods of time. The water was cold - forcing myself to jump in was not a pleasant experience! Once you are in, its fine and C (she is 4) and I had a blast! She is so eager to swim and completely unafraid.

My husband joined us with some take-out sushi and tennis rackets. The kids had a couple of melt-downs, but that not surprising after such a busy day. I am really terrible at tennis (actually, I am really terrible at sports in general) but playing with kids is fun and they don't mind my lack of skills.

What are your favorite things about early summer?

Weekend Report

We had a crazy weekend with 2 separate trips to urgent care. Still, we managed to do OK.

Brief overview of what got done:
Saturday
Shopping for groceries
Baseball game
Trip to urgent care with the youngest (split lip)
Planting honeysuckle and butterfly bush
Cooking breakfast/lunch/supper

Sunday
Farmer's market
Fun dance program for all 3 kids/exercise + socialization for me
Planting 4 trees
Husband's trip to urgent care
Older daughter's piano party
Cooking breakfast/lunch/supper
Reading to kids

What didn't get done:
Folding laundry
Cleaning out attic
Attending Craft Fair
Board games


My husband hasn't been feeling great - he's had this borderline fever (temperature just barely above norm), headaches, severe back pain, fatigue. He could barely walk because of the back pain and nearly passed out in the shower (that was scary!). We figured he probably pulled his back and just needed some rest, so he stayed home and rested, while I did the shopping and took our kids to E's last baseball game.

At the baseball game, our youngest fell and split her lip. The cut was deep enough to make me wonder if she would need stitches and worry about possible infection. Also, it was in an awkward spot - right in the corner of her mouth, and every time she would eat something it would open up. After the never-ending baseball game (it lasted almost 3 hours... and our team lost... but my son was thrilled he wouldn't have to play any more baseball, possibly ever) we had lunch and I called my parents to ask them to stay and watch the older 2 kids (they ended up taking them to the pool). My poor husband was hobbling around, afraid to make the wrong move that would cause excruciating pain.

So, I took the youngest to urgent care (first time ever!). C was awesome - we colored while waiting for our turn and she very patiently allowed the nurse to take her vitals and the doctor to examine her, and then said to me "We had to go to all these different rooms* - this is very confusing!" Turned out, stitches weren't necessary (after it stopped bleeding, the cut didn't look so deep any more). The doctor prescribed  her some topical antibiotics and we spent about half an hour at a local CVS waiting for her prescription to be filled and looking for a heating pad for my husband's back. C also got a new toy car - she looked through at least a dozen cars before deciding which one she liked the best, and I figured we may as well get some enjoyment out of mostly ruined afternoon.

After we got back, my husband decided he felt well enough to very carefully cut the grass (tractor is broken - again! - so he had to use a push-mower). He seemed to be feeling a bit better. C. threw a tantrum because she didn't get to go to the pool with grandparents. Then we did some gardening (usually, my husband does all the digging, but this time my son and I had to use the shovels) - we had some plants that absolutely had to be put into the ground - they've been sitting in pots since last weekend and weren't looking so good.

The next day (Sunday) we had to plant 4 new trees (my husband ordered them on line a couple of week sago and they arrived 2 days prior... had to be planted or they wouldn't survive). My son and I did most of the digging. It started raining while we were on tree #2 - fun times! But we got them all in: a cherry, an apple, a peach, and an apricot.

And then my husband found a tell-tale bulls-eye rash on his thigh. Freaking ticks. So - the second trip to urgent care was my husband getting treatment for Lyme disease. One intramuscular antibiotic shot and a 21-day course of oral antibiotics. His back already feels much better and he has a lot more energy, but he is really anxious about getting persistent Lyme disease with symptoms that will never go away...


*Waiting in the waiting room, then feeling out paperwork in one little room, then back to waiting room, then a cubicle for vitals, then back to the waiting room, then finally a cubicle with a stretcher where we waiting for the doctor.

Weekend Report and Musings on Stress

We had a whirlwind of a weekend. There is a big part of me that is really craving a calm, relaxing weekend, where I can go for long walks and smell the honeysuckle, daydream, and read. There is also a smaller part of me that is constantly poking and nagging to get stuff done, and to do xyz with the kids, to plan family outings, to see people. This weekend was sort of fail/fail on both fronts. There was one thing after another of activities and chores. Everything felt so rushed and I couldn't just be in the moment - because there was the next thing coming and I needed to think about how we were going to get to that next thing. In spite of feeling so very busy (and there were 3 times the normal amount of events and activities this weekend), and, objectively, getting a lot done (planting the garden!), it feels like we didn't accomplish much. Funny how the reality and our feelings of what happened have so little in common.

I need to sit back and just stop... stop the rushing, stop worrying, and just allow things to happen and allow myself to enjoy the process... And yet, I feel so bad and so anxious about wasting time right now. There is this short time period when I can enjoy the outdoors before it gets too hot, and then it'll be hot and humid and unpleasant, and I am going to regret wasting the whole of June on... who knows what (escapist books? daydreaming? dawdling?)

What got done:

• Older daughter's Piano Guild
• Older daughter's Dance Recital
• Piles of laundry (washed, folded and put away)
• Cooking for the week
• Eating outside every single day, no mater the weather
• 1 game of Clue
• Friend's kid's birthday party
• Board meeting at the synagouge
• Planting vegetables in the garden
• Planting 2 berry bushes
• Shopping for food and plants
• Reading 
• 2 episodes of Sneaky Pete
• Went for a morning walk with my son

What didn't get done:

• Cleaning out the attic
• Switching clothing around for me and the kids
• Work
• Reading The Chosen with the kids
• Getting up before 7 am to exercise
• Planting honeysuckle and butterfly bush