March 14

With the exception of a quick jaunt to the mother ship with my girl late this afternoon, I hung around the house and spent the day thinking about what I need to do before we move (though admittedly it didn't result in much action). And I felt stir-crazy.

It rained on and off all day, and at one point the sun came out, so I did what I always do when that scenario presents itself and went outside to look for a rainbow. And voila, I found one.

There's something reassuring about rainbows, so I was glad to see it there, arching its way across the sky in the distance.

March 13

It's definitely a strange, strange time. Courtesy of COVID-19, our school district decided today that kids will go to school on Monday, retrieve books and whatever else they'll need, and then return home for at least three weeks --through Spring Break-- for "distance learning." I could worry over how much actual "learning" my children will do while constantly in each other's faces or how hard it will be to get them to focus or how they'll probably render me a complete lunatic, but I won't. Nope. Tonight, I'm going to open these Monopoly tickets I've been hoarding.

I'm going to hope for free donuts and coupons that I'll actually want to use. Although I'm always praying that the best outcomes will come to fruition, this evening I'm thankful for the blessing of silly distractions --like little grocery store game tickets-- that make the ills of the world fade for a short time.

Now come on -- mama wants some donuts!

March 12

It's been a crazy, crazy week. I think we're probably all collectively --to one degree or another-- stressed over COVID-19 and its implications. But even amid the panic, it's important to be calm and kind and rational. And as strange as it may seem, it was this tank top that reminded me of that truth this evening:

I bought it last week at Walmart because, well, because it screamed at me to buy it. (Let's just say that I do love my sparkles so I totally buy into the message.) It is important to spread joy however we can. So... do that. Be the person who helps out a neighbor or calls a friends who's feeling isolated. Be mindful of those you know who could suffer adverse effects from being socially distant from others, and give him a call to check in or shoot over a text to say hi.

God's got His hand on what's going on in this world; we just need to remember to be there for each other in the small moments and to spread the sparkles, so to speak -- even when we can't really be there.

March 11

Isaac umpired his first game tonight. His first-ever paid gig, in fact. Here's my cute little working guy between innings of the match-up between the AA Pirates and Red Sox:

Although he wasn't calling balls and strikes this go-round --that'll happen in a few weeks and I'm sure I'll be a mess when it does because man alive, adults can be mean sometimes-- he did serve as the first base umpire, which meant he spent the game patrolling the area between first and second.

Isaac has something of a poker face at times --especially when he's concentrating-- so as we walked back to the car post-game, I wasn't sure what the response would be when I asked him how he'd liked it. But I smiled to myself when he replied "it was fun!" and said he was looking forward to doing it again soon.

As I've said ad nauseum, there's really nothing quite like getting to watch my kids do things they love to do. It's one of the (many) big blessings of parenthood and I am grateful.

March 10

Adam turned 42 today. Since he had work and the kiddos had school and baseball and he and Abby had dance, the celebration window was limited, but we made it happen. There was Zachary's pizza (his dinner pick); a lemon cake made by Abby, frosted by me, and decorated by Isaac and Brady; and a small stack of carefully chosen presents. And there was this:

Although I'm sure we've forgotten to a time or two over the course of the past 13 years, we've taken a version of this image on just about every birthday we've celebrated in this house. And as I sat there setting up my phone to snap today's iteration, it occurred to me that this would be the last one we'd take in this spot with those precious pieces of artwork drawn for and by Logan and our other kids on the wall behind the couch. Though I'm looking forward to all of the new memories we'll make in our new home, the thought was a bittersweet one.

Still, I'm thankful for new beginnings -- like new homes and birthdays that signal new years. And I'm thankful for my hunny.

March 9

Isaac had a baseball game tonight (as will be the case many, many times in the weeks to come so get ready). The White Sox fared better today than they did over the weekend and wound up blanking the Red Sox 6-0 in a super-speedy 90-minute affair. Isaac singled in his second at-bat, and made his way around to third base, which is where he is in this image.

I have no idea what his coach said to him after he arrived at third, but I do know that whatever the words were inspired my boy to do a strange little dance right there on the line. And that little dance, of course, made me chuckle, because it was a lighthearted, happy little jig. And it's always a blessing to see my kids enjoying life.

March 8

I love it when I run into people I've not seen in a while.

With that said, Adam and I were rounding the Sports Park today (as we so often do while the boys are at baseball clinic) when we came face to face with Brady's second grade teacher and her baby. I hadn't seen her since the beginning of the school year and I'd never seen her little boy, so I enjoyed the encounter. I'm a personal contact kind of girl, so those surprise meet-ups are always blessings. (And I'm always down with meeting cute babies, too!)