Mother’s Day

When it comes to feelings, writers often over-write. We embellish, write in circles, whip out florid phrases. All in an effort to tell someone how much they mean to us, when a simple, “I love you,” would do. Today is Mother’s Day in the US, and I only need four words.

I LOVE YOU, MOM.

Mother Sewing by Mary Cassatt

Mother Sewing by Mary Cassatt

[Intermezzo] Melt Away

Once Upon a Time, I thought preparing to move house whilst my husband headed out-of-state on an extended business trip was a fantastic idea. “I know! I’ll sort through and pack all of our belongings, edit a book, work on two short stories, create a few new web-sites, launch marketing campaigns for totally disparate projects, maintain a full freelance and blogging load, take the dogs on long walks several times a day, do yoga 5 times a week, and plan a fun event at a local gallery. I have the energy of an overzealous rabbit high on pure sugar. It’s just waiting to be harnessed. Nothing about this plan is the least bit wonky. Of course, I can cram-jam this ambitious laundry list of goals into a 6-week period. Because, because…I will it to be so.” The Chef hasn’t even left town yet, and I am already exhausted. All I want to do is take a scalding bath and weep, followed by 42 melting and aimless days in a fluffy, warm bed-haze.

John Everett Millais-Ophelia

Oh, hey there Ophelia!

Hello, Spring, I Was Just Thinking About You!

“Spring drew on…and a greenness grew over those brown [garden] beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps.”-Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

Spring by Alfons Mucha, 1896

Spring by Alfons Mucha, 1896

Orchard in Spring by Alfred Sisley, 1881

Orchard in Spring by Alfred Sisley, 1881

Springtime Landscape by Bela Ivanyi-Grunwald, circa 1910

Springtime Landscape by Béla Iványi-Grünwald, circa 1910

Spring Garden by Ervin Plany, circa 1907-1909

Spring Garden by Ervin Plány, circa 1907-1909