A line cast, a hope followedSunday, July 25, 2004
We went for bagels this morning, and then across the street to the Hillsdale Farmer's Market to take advantage of some of the region's wonderful summer produce.
We bought two huge artichokes from Tillamook, 3 ears of white corn, a bag of glorious mouth filling bing cherries, a few donut peaches, a bag of assorted Sungold (yellow cherry-sized), Lemon boy (yellow large), Brandywine (red) and Ferris Wheel (pink) tomatoes, a lemon cuke, assorted green, yellow and purple beans, a pint of blueberries, two pints of late strawberries, and snow peas.
There were dogs (a favorite was Bailey, a flat coated retriever, 10 years old and so sweet), babies in strollers, shoppers in wheel chairs, lots of smiles, lots of samples, sunshine, and folk music.
Our second stop was the party store as my son's birthday is soon arriving and we needed invitations. Things got a little out of hand when the kids started trying on Hawaiian leis, silly surfer hats, and singing corny songs to the monkey Tiki god drink holder. The check out man was not amused. I bought a Hula Party CD on sale. It has the Banana Boat song. Need I say more? We came home with some more silly lights for the front door, and a straw hat for mom.
The last stop was the parking lot car wash, high school kids in shorts and tank tops washing cars for their school fund raiser. I'm a sucker for kids washing cars. They had Queen cranked up loud on the portable CD player. Queen? What's up with that? And my daughter wants to buy "Summer Breeze." Yeah, it's the same exact one from 19 seventy what? How funny! If I dig in my old records collection, bet I can find it for her.
We're now engaged in laundry and the complex task of figuring out last names for the invitations to the birthday party. Which of the four Kyles is it? Which of the two Tylers? He wants to assemble goody bags, but I'm making him wait until the morning of the party. It's a tradition.
This is a pretty typical Sunday for me with the kids. Today, I'm working on paying attention to the little moments of joy in each part of the day. Mindful of the exact blush of pink on the tomato. Aware of the play of tart and sweet on the tongue as the blackberry melts. Enjoying my kid's playfulness. Thank full for the plenty of the earth, the warmth of the sun, the gift of health, the smiles and good moods all around me, fun things to look forward to. Typical day, but so full of life and happiness. Hang onto this when the days are more care filled. Remember tomorrow promises more small moments of joy. Practice practice being aware.
