Hello Sunday Letter friends,
I have figured something out about coronavirus. Not only does a world with coronavirus make time pass at lightning speed—I mean, it’s already the middle of MAY—but it also makes my arms flabby.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Truly, I’m not making light of COVID-19; this is me trying to make it down the road. The gravel washed-out, pot-holed road.
This past week was another rollercoaster for me. There were several days when I felt as though I might come out of my skin. And then other times, all was well and I was content to sit and write for hours.
The Lake
If you read last week’s letter, you know we escaped to the lake for a few days last weekend. And while it was wonderful to get away, it made being back harder. When I came home, I think subconsciously I had decided that everything would be back to normal. Instead, it rained and rained and here we are, still wondering what’s safe and what’s risky and whether or not I can go to the gym because, you know, flabby arms bring a whole other sort of dilemma.
And next weekend is Memorial Day weekend. I think of all the people who will be on the lake, and I want to go back. Yes, I have ants in my pants, and the feeling isn’t comfortable.
Passalong Peonies
Remember a few weeks ago when I blogged about passalong plants? This week, my friend Gail gifted me the greatest passalong plants ever.
Two passalong peonies!
One is white and one is pink. They were divided from her husband’s grandmother’s peonies. How special.
I gave her two containers of mountain mint divided from our garden. Mountain mint is a great native pollinator plant, but I think she may have gotten the short end of the stick in this deal.
Happy Birthday!
Tomorrow is my son’s birthday! I can’t believe Tate will be 27.
Since he lives in Denver, I won’t get to see him, but I’ll be thinking about him all day. Not that thinking about him is unusual. We always think about our kids, don’t we?
This picture. I was thirty years old holding a bundle of love in my arms. I had no idea the privilege it would be to raise a kind and compassionate son.
Empty Nest
I know you’ve been waiting to hear about the baby woodpeckers I posted about a couple of weeks ago.
They’ve flown the nest!
The picture at the beginning of this post is of baby pileated woodpeckers (photo by Harry Collins Photography/Shutterstock). We have a variety of woodpeckers in northwest Arkansas, including pileated, so this may be like the ones that were born in our neighborhood.
Of course, they left the nest when I was at the lake, so I never saw them. But I heard them plenty. For over two weeks, the babies chirped and twittered from deep inside the tree. It was as though the tree was singing.
The tree is quiet again.
I imagine the chorus of neighborhood birds is thrilled to have gained a few new jubilant members.
Things Momma Says
The closer I get to being a diabetic, the more I want chocolate.
***
Thanks for reading yet another Sunday Letter. Sometimes I wonder if I should take a break from social media and blogging and news (certainly!) and poke my head in a hole like a woodpecker. But then a new day dawns and the weeds need pulling and some small little blessing reminds me of all the good. Like fledgling woodpeckers and passalong plants and the birthday of my son who will always be my baby.
Cheers to a fruitful, sunshiny week!
Maybe I will bake a cake today. Flabby arms be damned.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Please don’t stop the Sunday letter! I read it faithfully and love the “back porch” flavor of it. It started me on my own Wednesday letter to my grown sons; going strong for over a year now. One tells me he pours his cup of coffee and sits down to read it on Wednesdays. It never is full of “news”, just glimpses into everyday life and my personality. I have you to thank for that connection.
Kind of related to “flabby arms”: after the first two weeks of quarantine where I think we all thought of it as a “break” sure to be over soon, I buckled down from the “break” eating and drinking. . I really focused on healthy cooking and eating and increased my walk time. So while I feel great and proud, that ol’ scale doesn’t budge one bit downward! Happily, feeling healthy is a far better outcome than worrying about did I lose a pound!
Thank you for being a faithful reader! I love that you’ve been doing your own version. That makes me happy. We’ve been trying to eat healthy but cheese dip keeps sneaking in.
You nailed everything that I am feeling and experiencing. Our youngest turned 29 on the 15th and his sheltering in place in Louisiana has upped my anxiety. However, we did take the occasion and had strawberry “shortcake” with whipped cream. Made us happy.
Yes, your cake looked so good! (Your whole meal looked great!) For Tate’s birthday, I sent him a rack of ribs and pulled pork from the Rendezvous in Memphis. Tomorrow we’ll figure out a way to celebrate together but apart!
Love your Sunday letters…please don’t stop!
Have a wonderful week, and I hope you’ll post a photo of your cake!
I feel like the world is spinning so fast I could fly off into space. I can barely keep up with the moments at time. My life though, has filled up during lock-down though. I’m watching my 2 yr old grandson full time & that takes almost all of my energy. Any free time I have on the weekends is spent in recovery.
I passed along some peonies yesterday & have more to share this week. It was simply glorious to see a few friends even at a distance.
My baby turned 27 in Feb…how does that happen!?
The birds have given me so much joy this spring. I have orioles in my garden & watching them at the feeders is the most fun. One female constantly hops on then off then on & back again….as if she’s thinking…’Just one more bite!’ They come flying around the house when the grape jelly is all gone & I love their songs.
I am not listening to news. Someone will tell me what I need to know. I’ve thought about dropping social media as well but it’s my only connection to friends & I just cannot go a day without it. I’ve been quarantined since the first of Feb because I was sick most of that month.
Happy Birthday to Tate! Gary’s Josh turned 28 yesterday. Both are fine young men.
Terry and I have been spending a couple of nights at the lake each week for a change of pace. It helps but I will glad when life gets back to normal.
Those heirloom peonies are special indeed. We had an abundance of pink blooms this year. I love cutting a few to bring inside.
We watched three baby birds In the corner of our porch get too big for the nest.. We knew they’d have to fly away soon, and like you, we missed their departure. The nest was empty by the time we got back from Hot Springs last week.
Don’t stop writing your Sunday letter!
I hope you continue your Sunday letter. I always look forward to it!
I always look forward to your Sunday letter. I, like you, have been restless this week after being at the lake for a few days, but I am all hunkered down again. Tate’s birthday cake has helped.