all things go

Last night I realized that Gabriel's spring break extended into today, which meant I would not be working in the morning and he would not be returning to his regular routine after all. It also meant that we felt a bit abandoned and straggling, as if we'd stayed at a party way past its natural conclusion. The food, drink, guests and good feelings were already memories; what were we still doing there?

All three grandparents visited over the weekend, during which we celebrated Gabriel's birthday, my mother's birthday, and Easter. There was lots of good eating and drinking, playing outside together, snuggling over stories, visiting with neighbors, digging in the dirt, and - oh yes - sweets galore. This morning Mike's parents packed Frances up in their car and headed back to their house, where she'll have some special time with them over her spring break. Then Mike went to work. Gabriel and I sat in the empty house and sized one another up with crestfallen looks on our faces. Just you, then?

At first my boy whined and complained about the lack of special stuff to do. I was less than sympathetic (I felt the same!). He eventually rallied and played with his new sports equipment, until the second ball in two days fell into the black hole under our deck, lost forever. The wet sheets whipped my face rudely as I wrestled them into submission with clothespin on the line. I ate too many Easter cookies after lunch. Oh, the afternoon stretched so bleakly before us!

Until we decided to take the brand new kite to St. John's. And explore the boathouse (why haven't we before??) and sprawl lazily on the pier, telling each other boat stories. And run across the green lawn, buffeted this way and that in the springtime elements, sunswept and windswept and much, much better.