Mushrooms, Pears, & Rain in August

“The hardest thing of all to see is what is really there.”

~ J.A. Baker

These are the things that made me happy in August:

Biking to the firehouse to vote

In a garden that the deer ate up and the heat left haggard: coneflowers

Sunday afternoon in August, watching the dragonflies

Cardinals game with the whole family in seats far above home plate, two home runs, and the smells of fireworks and popcorn

Long afternoon reading at the library, watching a storm roll in, then driving home in the rain

Barrett standing among all the weeds in the garden, eating a pear, and waiting for me

Morning fog and a fairy ring of mushrooms

The kids excitedly recapping the Boxcar Children stories they read before bed, reminding me of all my favorite parts

Gentle summer rain

Tuesday afternoon research while Trent learned a new piano piece down the hall

Huddy in his new cowboy hat and boots

Sunday afternoon cornhole in the church field

Getting coffee with three young moms and hearing them talk about the struggles of motherhood with so much laughter and joy

Waking up Monday morning to an inbox of emails encouraging me in my writing

Picking a pear off the tree for breakfast, dew on my feet

All the kids at the bus stop (which happens to be the end of our driveway) on the first day of school

Picking a bouquet of marigolds and coneflowers from the garden and putting them in a glass on the kitchen windowsill for Mom

A fresh pack of no. 2 pencils

Listening to Harry Potter while I cross-stitched

Chopping carrots, celery, and sausage for kale soup for Papa Larry’s birthday

Getting into a rhythm of playing piano again, and how my fingers fall back into line after a few days

Leanna cutting my hair short in her little kitchen

After a hot August run: turkey on pita and iced coffee

The way waffles hold maple syrup in their pockets

Mr. Fritz’s funeral, which only made me happy because he’s so happy now– happier than he’s ever been; church folks sharing their memories of him, like how he played the harmonica and ate breakfast at Wimpy’s diner and made friends wherever he went

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