April 15

I've had a composter for a few years now. I haven't been particularly diligent about keeping its components balanced, so the decomposition process has been inordinately slow. Still, I've continued adding coffee grounds and water and eggshells and clippings from my gardens as I remember to do so. I just rarely look inside (because honestly, I don't want to see the mess).

Today, however, after I added some more greens and cranked the handle a few times to mix it all up, I opened the top and peered inside. And what I saw filled me with joy. 

In the very bottom of the container, I spied a clump of beautiful, dark brown, crumbly material: in all, it probably amounted to a few cups of nutrient-rich compost. But to me, it looked nearly perfect, both because it took a long (long) time to make, and because I know it will benefit my plants in the future by giving them what they need to produce a bigger, better harvest.

It's kind of lovely to me that we can take otherwise useless bits and pieces, mix them together, wait, and wind up with something beneficial. If God can make old apple cores and coffee grinds useful once again, just imagine how much more useful He can make YOU if you're open to His guidance in your life.

April 14

Brady had an appointment with the orthodontist this afternoon, so Isaac drove him over to the office after school and I met them there. (Isaac probably would've been fine with waiting for Brady and then driving him back over to school for practice, but it's not his job.)

They were sitting in the Explorer in the parking lot when I arrived, and when I looked over at them, they were both mewing.

So I got out of my car, went over to the passenger side, and gave Brady the food he'd asked me to bring. I thought it was a good opportunity to take a fun candid pic of them together, but they foiled my effort: every time I lifted my phone, they simultaneously mewed.

I gave up after a few attempts, and chuckled aloud at their weirdness. And I also thanked God for the umpteenth time in recent history for their relationship.

April 13

Although I'm not impressed with Target's clearance pricing more than a week after Easter --still at 50% off for candy? Boo!-- I took a trip down the seasonal aisles during my run through the store this morning.

I have an affinity for Peppermint Patties, so I was pleased to find a bag stashed among the peanut butter cups and jelly beans. (Which I also like. But I already had some.) So I bought it.

And later in the day, when I opened the bag, I fully enjoyed my chocolatey-minty treat.

Sometimes it's about the little things. So today, I'm grateful for clearance sales and sweet treats and Target runs.

April 12

Although I do not love pollen, I do love signs that point to Spring's arrival.

It was mainly the cherry blossoms on the Mall growing up, but it's also the extra-chirpy birds that sit outside my window during the (fortunately not usually too early) morning hours. 

And it's also the rose bushes in our yard. We have white ones out front that flank the garage and red ones out back, and every year, I'm struck by how beautiful and vibrant and full and fragrant they become when the temperature rises.

So for that gift --for the gift of natural loveliness that is so often inherent in the change of seasons-- I am grateful.

April 11

Although there were moments when rays of sunshine broke through the clouds today, it was a mostly overcast, rainy Saturday. 

That made it a good day to sit and watch baseball on the tube. As raindrops pattered against the surface of the pool outside the window, we took in a doubleheader: a win for the A's in the early afternoon and a win for the O's in the early evening.

We haven't had much rain in recent months (which isn't a great thing since the winter is supposed to the rainy season here), so the weather today was a blessing. And I am grateful for the renewal that the moisture will bring to the earth in the days and weeks to come.

April 10

It feels like we're on a train that's moving at breakneck speed toward graduation season. But I'm trying to gradually complete tasks in order to keep myself feeling marginally sane. So given that Abby graduates in one month (a month! Four years goes by in half a blink) I called her restaurant of choice in Wheaton this morning to make grad night dinner reservations. Check!

And then after I loaded Brady up with cleaning supplies (because he told me he wanted to work on his bathroom sink again), I headed out to have breakfast at Jim's with Nikki and Pam.

I had a great time sitting in a little booth with them (even if Nikki did sneak her way into paying the bill... you've declared war, bestie!). We ate and talked about what's been going on in our respective lives. 

Although the food is top notch (and I recommend the Doug omelet, if you like bacon!), the biggest blessing of the experience was time with two wonderful, intelligent ladies. So for that, I am thankful, because good friends are often hard to find.

April 9

I decided, for some reason, that today would be a good day to clean (most of) the baseboards on the first floor. We have a lot of baseboards. So now I am tired and my arms hurt.

But at least the boys enjoyed another day of their Spring Break week. Isaac made a truly enormous breakfast consisting of protein pancakes, eggs, and bacon (the leftovers of which are on the plate next to Brady) and then a little later, they settled into the living room to play some Mario.

I was in a post-cleaning stupor by this time, but I could still hear them laughing from my resting spot in the bedroom. And it made me grateful to God --once again-- that they have one another and that their relationship is strong.