Tales of the Ordinary Days

From Ben's phone The adventure has begun. Ben and Mom. Mom and Ben. A quick trip planned in a short timeline. But life is short and time, a treasure. So we are off on our adventure. The idea of a getaway began 19 days ago when Ben sent me a text at 2:51 a.m. on a Saturday morning. I quickly surmised that my middle child, who doesn't like to miss a party, was creating his own party. Coincidentally my blog post the day prior was on his brothers spending a week together in Denver without him on Grant's spring break. It was tempting. Very tempting. We hadn't seen my parents since last May at Ben's graduation. Although time is a scarcity these days, I bit. My counteroffer was that the trip would have to fall over a long weekend. An excited Ben called his grandpa the same day to seal the deal. I was just as excited. I missed my parents. Spontaneous quick trips many times hold pleasant surprises and the best memories. With a 19 day window to take off, I sec...

View on my drive to our morning run Today was an ordinary day in Omaha. Amen to that. I have missed my sleepy, but satisfying days aglow with Midwestern pleasantries. I now sit in my art room sipping on a Leinenkugel's Grapefruit Shandy as Nat King Cole croons to me from the spinning vinyl. Windows are cracked with the sound of boys playing basketball as background noise coming from the front drive. Basketball also plays on the big screen in the living room with a big and a not-so-big boy tracking their brackets. With bellies full of a take out meal of wings and chicken baskets, my two oldest have set off with friends to enjoy a Saturday spring night. Life continues to hum for us in Omaha. Home. I began my day with a run through Boy's Town with my running gal pals. Our routine of coffee complimented with shared bananas and peanut butter followed. This same routine with a varying cast of characters has gone on at the same spot for over ten years. Some years it has been...

Next week is Spring Break for Grant. And he's spending the week in Denver with his brother, Zach. Although going to Denver wasn't a surprise, spending the whole week was a late-breaking development. Months ago we planned a weekend in Denver that including friends from Omaha. Recently as I was mapping out details of the trip, Grant looked at me confused. "I'm only going for the weekend?" With my confirmation of this being fact, Grant said nothing with a hint of disappointment in the air. Last weekend, I was going through the same detail mapping with Zach. Completely independent of Grant, his response was near the same. "Why can't he come for longer? Isn't he off all week? He can play my X-Box and hang out while I'm at school. And then he can hang out with me at night." Feeling tag teamed, I paused a bit over an idea that escaped my planning brain. Yet it didn't escape the thoughts of my bookend sons. After some circling ...

Mom, Aunt Joan, Ben, and Zach enjoy a quiet moment after the winning bid Our piano has a long and loving history with my family.   It began at the Elmer Pick home in the early 1950's. This piano was handpicked by my Grandpa Elmer's sister, Sister Aiden. And, yes, she really was a 'sister' under both meanings.  Four of Grandpa's sisters chose a life of service as a nun as their vocation . The story, as I have been told, is that the musically gifted Sister Aiden went with Grandpa to the piano store and carefully played each piano until she choose the perfect one for her brother's home.                 The Pick "Sisters" This same piano now sits in my living room.   My mom and her eight siblings were taught on this piano at their childhood home in Remsen, Iowa. It then traveled to the farm as my grandpa retired from his life as a vet to begin his life as a farmer.   The piano ultimately followed...