New pictures (Andrew)

Thank you Kristin Chalmers for your awesome pictures!

Domesticity disaster

I'm a sucker for stuffed mushrooms.  They the first thing I order when I go out to a restaurant with them on the menu.  Could I make them? No.

Which brings me to what it is I "can" cook with talent and ease.  That list is pretty limited: meatloaf (recipe-less amazingly), roasted sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole, homemade meatballs when I have the time and patience, omelettes with lots of goodies in them, one or two kinds of chicken casseroles, grilled cheese sandwiches, and tacos. The list gets even more pathetic from here on in: English muffin pizzas, noodles I just have to boil, flavored noodles from a package, vegetables that just get steamed (most often in a microwave), frozen pizza, Perdue or Bell and Evans chicken nuggets, BLT's, and the cinnamon rolls and cookies that come out of a tube.  (On the plus side, I make awesome ketchup smiley-faces to go with the aforementioned chicken nuggets/tenders/strips).  I don't even own a spice rack and have 4 or 5 bottles of various spices in the cabinet. That's it.

Thank goodness my children are fans of fresh produce. I should grow apple and banana trees. They like to snack on cucumbers slices, Andrew would eat tomatoes by the dozen if I let him. Hummus and pita chips are a favorite, and I can wash, cut up, wrap in foil with some garlic and butter or olive oil, grilled veges like a pro.  Did I mention all my kids like salad?  Emily eats spinach leaves not under duress.

Some mothers have domestic talents.  I don't think I possess them in any area, although I find doing laundry cathartic and having an empty sink before I go to bed (thanks Andrea!) comforting.

Since I work a lot from home, I have improved my de-cluttering skills ten-fold.  Trash/recycling day is my most favorite day of the week.  My vacuum cleaner is slowly dying after just a year,  perhaps thanks to our cat and the fact half the people who come over are allergic to her, or at least her hair.

Is it too late to take those finishing school classes that teach young women how to be spectacular homemakers?  Probably 15 or 20 years too late.  Yet, my children have survived and we are overall happy. Maybe I need to buy myself a crockpot?

Sarah's Mother's Day "newspaper" delivery

Just when you wonder if you're a good mom who is making an imprint in your child's life, he or she comes up with something like this.  Sarah wrote this all by herself, she printed it out, glued it onto this morning's Sunday Globe with Kim's help, and brought it to me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a sweet card, and a croissant.

Mother's Day has never been the "Hallmark Holiday" for me that it can be for others.  I don't know my birth mother, who left me at an orphanage in India.  Nor is there an relationship with the other "mother" who adopted and then abandoned me.  I am so blessed to have a few very special women in my life who have helped fill the void.  The experience of being a real part of a church family contributes to the joy of this day....  so many lovely people, so much un-judging (ie: no one seems to care that I am divorced), caring during a scary and uncertain time.

All I ever wanted was to be a mom, and a good one.   Being a mother has made me more tolerant, kinder, gentler, and more patient (a skill I was lacking in).  I learned to lean on God during the times I almost lost Julia (she was diagnosed with mitochondrial disorder as a 3 month old).  I have both leaned on God and been very angry at Her during the ups ad downs of raising a child with Autism.  I was so angry with Her when I mourned for the child I lost nearly 4 years ago, almost alone.    I have no idea what God's plan may be for my life and what other journeys She sees me embarking upon.  Whatever they are, I will never lose sight of the fact that my children are more important than anything else.  The village they belong to loves them and Sarah's letter tells me I must be doing *something* right.

Happy Mother's Day!

Horn Pond and The Red Sox

With church in-between the two, we had a very busy day.  The Red Sox game was a surprise, and I am grateful for the tickets.  By some miracle, we found free on-street parking.  In a nail-biter, the Sox prevailed over the Mariners.  It was the kids' first Red Sox game and we had a blast, albeit the cool temperatures.  Days which are perfect in almost every way don't happen often, but, when they do, they cleanse my soul.