angelbirdflies

Bodhi and I just returned from a road trip visit with my mom in Prescott and a spring break well spent.  The best part of a mama visit is that there are always abundant opportunities for my heart to both sing and grieve.  Bodhi was such an amazing travel trouper.  We spent one night in route at a hotel in Moab and a day marveling at the splendor of the landscape. See that tiny figure in the picture above. That is Bodhi right before I said "OH SHIT he isn't stopping and ran faster than I believed possible to his side. Breathless, we both stared with amazement at the valley below while I stubbornly clung to his collar. We arose before dawn and took these shots just after the sun rose. On the drive through Arizona we spotted a sign that read "Dinosaur Tracks" and made a u-turn to investigate.  We were greeted by several Navajo saying "We are real indians.  We'll show you real dinosaur tracks."  Thus began our rather odd tour of the landscape where Bod...

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." ~Rumi

I opened this carton of eggs after a recent trip to the farmers market and had to smile.  It is always nice to see an individual set apart, even in the fridge.

 We went for a hike in the wide hills beyond our back yard today.  The sun, high in the sky, warming the cold earth and quietly assuring it's inhabitants that Spring would come some day soon.  After a short while of walking through grasses bent low by the burden of a winter of snow. I hit the wall. I have no idea what exactly happens in moments such as these.  Owen says I start "charging down".  I literally stop, all systems put on the breaks and I simply have to lay down and often sleep it off before I can "charge up" again.  This happened today, just a half mile into our walk, and for the next hour the boys just played around me while I went in and out of wakefulness. It was such a treasure to lay there, without participating or interjecting, and just listen to their conversations.  Their mutual overlap lies in the realm of imagination and soon they were on an epic adventure: battling trolls hidden in bushes, seeking lost treasure amidst the tangle...

Bodhi has a large mouth.    The better to yell and be heard, to smile wide with enjoyment and to make bizarre faces to amuse and astound his friends.    He is proud of his big mouth and will open wide and show you his gaping maw whenever opportunity arises.    When he uses it to smile my heart melts under his sunshine.

I can’t often see him, but I can hear him. Beneath his breath he makes the sounds of battle, “psshk, pow, uggh, fsssssshhh”.  I imagine him, spinning with deft agility, wielding some deadly weapon, visible only to him, as he slays a bastion of invaders and nay-sayers.  He is transformed, no longer Owen, but Ace, with red hair, spiked and dangerous hanging heavy over dark eyes.  Once my dark haired boy of near-twelve, he is now a seasoned “ranger” carrying a plethora of weaponry and possessing the skills to use them. 

 I had a fabulous birthday- sweet and simple and surrounded by my two sweet boys. Owen and Bodhi helped make me gluten free Brownies and Owen made Aunt Bertie's lemon curd sauce to go with it...YUM. For my gift, the two of them (with ample mama support) made me a magical Italian feast in honor of my Grande' Cia and in celebration of ME. Bodhi decorated the table with hand made drawings and name cards and they took turns saying a blessing for me on my birthday.  Next, we feasted on polenta topped with kale, puttenesca sauce, capers and Parmesan and ate a homemade mozzarella salad (We helped make the mozzarella with Ricardo at the Deli Italia, click here to read about it ). The boys sang me several renditions of Happy Birthday and Bodhi did all the dishes!!!  Then he had the brilliant idea to take all the blankets we could find outside and snuggle together on the hammock looking at the night sky with its bright stars and round moon.  We toughed it out for over an h...