Gratitude

I'm such a lousy blogger that I forgot to bring a camera on our early-morning visit to the Washington cherry blossoms last week. So imagine, if you will, standing under a canopy of translucent Yoshino blooms that both glowed from the gentle sun shining through them, and shimmered and flickered in the reflections off the Tidal Basin... all of this against a cloudless blue backdrop.

Less famous, but equally delightful, is the Awakening statue at the tip of Hains Point. On this day, its appeal seemed especially broad: toddlers sat on the statue's teeth and fingers while high-schoolers dared each other to jump off his knee, 12 feet down to the ground.

It was a much more successful visit than we had any right to expect, especially with three little boys along for the trip: we found parking on the Potomac; missed the crowds; soaked in the day's best light and springtime warmth; and were home by mid-morning. And wouldn't you know it, the remainder of that week turned rainy and increasingly cold. "Lord, you give us what we need -- and sometimes so much more."

A few days later, I caught a nice picture of the unseasonable weather: I'm not sure when the DC area last saw snow in April, but there it was. I took this out our front window as we were waking up. (Click to see the full-size picture.)


With all of our sickly grass hidden under snow, the front yard looked pretty inviting! Hopefully this spring & summer we'll get it to look nice even without snow on it.

Tonight we took in another Washington-area delight, a Bowie Baysox game. There's something magical about a baseball diamond bathed in electric lights under a richly hued evening sky.

Because this is the Minor Leagues, the mood is calm and relaxed; the playing is great but the stakes are low; and tickets are cheap or free. We had comp tickets, so we didn't mind leaving after the 3rd inning (!) to get the boys into bed. Well worth a return visit.

Curse your blessings

Nearly all the things I complain about -- lousy job, cranky kids, ragged yard, squeaky bicycle, etc. -- are closely tied to rich blessings: gainful employment, a loving family, a nice home on a lovely cycling road, etc. Some years ago I coined a snide little hymn: "Count your blessings, Curse them one by one / And it will surprise you what the Lord has done..."

So, amidst the tempest 'n' tumult described earlier, it's been interesting to review the good things that were happening. Here's a list (call it "Ebenezer" if you will):

• Little T.Mo (8 months old yesterday) is learning to (a) sit up and (b) hold his own bottle. This is not just cute: it frees up Mom & Dad to do other things, like sweep or eat or sometimes even think.
• I finally dejunked the garage -- so thoroughly that it's sheltering not one but both cars (they'd been out in the rain / sun / hail / snow for months, maybe years). Our second car (... motor vehicle ... ok, minivan) has about 3" clearance front and back, and 1/64" (really!) under the tandem bicycle. It's a beautiful sight.
• My lovely Quicken Queen (and brand-new blogger) wrestled our taxes into submission: we're expecting a refund worth about a month's wages. (Note to self: revisit withholding.)
• Several geeky-glee moments: I finally downloaded the latest Fedora Core (6) Linux and installed it on our Frankensteinian kitchen computer. (*) I also snagged a Handera 330 (the nec plus ultra of handhelds) on eBay. And, thanks to a work-related visit to George Mason University, I got to shop at Micro Center (supermarket for geeks) in far-off Fairfax, VA.

... I'm sure several more items will occur to me as soon as I click "Publish." So ... to be continued, probably.

(*) This computer deserves its own blog. Starting with a motherboard and CPU from an office trash-heap, and a wood gift box at home; inspired by the world-famous Humidor PC; I got to tinkering. I'll post pictures when it's finished (... in 2010).