Peonies

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open --

pools of lace,

white and pink --

and all day the black ants climb over them,

boring their deep and mysterious holes
into the curls,
craving the sweet sap,
taking it away

to their dark, underground cities --

and all day

under the shifty wind,

as in a dance to a great wedding,

 the flowers bend their bright bodies,

and tip their fragrance to the air,

and rise, 

their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again --
beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.
Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
and softly,
and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?

- by Mary Oliver

Laughter

The earth laughs in flowers.  — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Simple Things

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and the sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.  ~ Kahlil Gibran


 





Maria & Abby asked me to take some pix of them before Maria left for the summer.  Here are a few more!

Maria Maria Maria

So many songs about Maria...


I took this of Maria soon before she left for Colorado.


The next day, she packed it all up to leave the next morning...


She stood by John one more time...and she's off for the summer.  Godspeed to our dear girl!

Flash Back 255

July 2008, Maria & John at Chicago O'Hare... Maria getting ready to depart to Spain

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, actually.  Letting go, and all.  Maria left for Colorado for the summer this week, too.

Love Thursday

Our family celebrates Edward's graduation!!!

The Queen Mother's Birthday Portrait

The Queen Mother with her new puppy, Bailey

I took this last weekend when mom & dad visited for Edward's graduation and to celebrate turning 70.  Bailey is her maiden name, so appropriate for a puppy!  Bailey is cute, but he likes to lick me.

Auf Wiedersehen, Edward!

Ed graduated from Calvin on Saturday and left Monday morning for a summer practicum working at TRW in Koblenz, Germany.  He returns in mid-August for a few days before grad school at Notre Dame.  We had to make an event of the morning trip to the airport because it's the last time our famly will be together until Christmas.  You see, Maria will be leaving for the fall semester in Peru before Edward returns. And so, I had to take their photo one last time in front of our house.

Last time till Christmas, no big deal...







Then it was time to start boarding, but always time for a few more shots...




At last, the time arrived, but first smile for Mom,



then start to go,



 then hear her say, "Eddie, one more"


then turn into a silhouette...


We watched him go off through airport security and saw that he had to take his shoes off.  The last we saw him, he just had his socks on, so as we walked out, I texted him to ask if he had put his shoes back on.  John & I laughed at the irony of asking that of our son who just graduated with a degree in Computer & Electrical Engineering.  Yes, we probably asked him 100 times if he had his passport, but maybe more to check ourselves.

Of course, we stayed to watch the plane take off...


...and off he went.

Calvin College, Class of 2012

Edward graduated from Calvin College this past Saturday.  What a great and beautiful day to celebrate!  The Queen Mother & Opa came up for the weekend and we had a wonderful time.


I took his photos with friends afterward, but I especially loved this one with 2 math professors and his fellow math club buddy.


Edward, Calvin College, Class of 2012

Flash Back Friday 254

Happy 70th to the Queen Mother today!!!

Love Thursday: My Girls

Maria came home from Calvin last night, tired after exams; but the girls did a quick pose for me for Love Thursday.  She's home for a week till she leaves for another summer in Colorado!

*Becoming*

Always be in a state of becoming. - Walt Disney

Thirty Fifth Annual Fifth Third River Bank Run

That's a mouthful!  This race is the championship 25K in the country and the largest.  John ran the 25K for the 7th time with 7000 other runners this past Saturday.  They also have a 5K and 10K.

John with some friends before the race.


I took this one at the start, but I didn't have my camera at the finish when he came in at 2:00.53. His best finish ever!

The Lottery

This past weekend, Bridget played Tessie Hutchinson in a very disturbing play, the Lottery.  Tessie is a rather free-spirited woman who arrives to the annual lottery late.  Her name is drawn from the box, so she is the one in the town who gets stoned.  And they do it quickly, heartlessly despite her cries that it isn't fair!  Bridget did a wonderful job bringing out the emotion of the character, though it was heart-wrenching to watch.

















It was hard to watch, but I'm happy to report she came out alive and smiling for the curtain call.