Yesterday was one of those days that you wish you could bottle and make it last. So that you could have it when it's a bad day--open it up, feel the relaxation and peace and love and joy, then put the cap back on quicly, so you can use it again.
We drove up to see my SisterfriendM and her hubbyG, in Decatur. We were returning my nephewJ, who had spent the night with us Sunday night. We got there and took a tour of the place, with the kids dragging out artwork for me to see. Oh, and we had to tromp out to the garden to see the radishes. And over to the fruit trees to count the peaches that are coming out. PapaC and G sat on the back porch and babysat the brisket on the barbecue and drank beer. The women all fluttered around, getting the rest of lunch ready, while answering kid questions and shooing them out of the kitchen. Oh, and drinking a Mike's Hard Lemonade or 2....
Lunch was phenomenal--10 people around the table for brisket, baked beans, potato salad, fresh watermelon and fresh pineapple, bread and butter. To die for. The heavenly banquet will have to go some to beat a meal like that. Laughing and talking. Kids eating too much bread and butter and not enough of their "real food." No one caring all that much.
Then adjourning to the living room to sit around with our feet up and another adult beverage in hand to talk and laugh and gripe and grin. The time to leave came too soon, too soon.
And one of the things that made it restful was that SisterM and HubbyG allow no television in their home Monday through Friday. They watch videos occasionally. They watch TV on the weekends. But there was no distraction of extraneous noise. The adults talked without glancing over to check the score. The kids played with no argument over which channel to watch.
It was what our house was like when we were homeschooling. Busy, involved, noisy with good noise, quiet in the spaces.
I didn't realize until yesterday how much I had missed that. How refreshing it was. How fun it is to sit at a table with friends and just visit.
I have to put it back into my life. Yesterday was a precious reminder of what I'm missing--and what I need.
Now, if I could just bottle it.......
You make me miss Texas! Perhaps you might hop up and enjoy a few noisy/quiet moments with us? I promise I'll have a cold Mike's Hard Lemonade or 3 on hand. But you'll have to bring the brisket. They don't get brisket here.
Oh, I wish we could! I've never been up there. Now, how could I get a brisket in my suitcase?
And don't you get, like, moose brisket up there in the great white north????
We miss you!