Draft 2021

This summer Iowa has suffered a drought of epic proportions, as has most of the country it seems. We made the decision early on to only water our tomatoes and basil; even so, watering that small area of the garden deeply once-a-week increased our water bill by nearly 20 dollars. But watering did the trick and we've had a reasonable tomato harvest. Basil loves the extreme heat, so it produced well also. So far I've frozen 25 quarts of pesto and maybe 10 of tomato sauces. It was too hot most of the summer to spend much time outdoors, but we hosted numerous garden parties nonetheless. The birds loved garden-watering days, often lining up along the puddles waiting their turns. Must have slipped on the soap It was well worth the extra money just to watch the show!

So, I was doing pretty well "embracing" my life and circumstances this week. Until yesterday. I could feel the tendrils of pain slowly forming from below my right shoulder blade, up through my shoulder, encircling my neck and relentlessly making for my head as early as Tuesday morning. I stayed positive, though, working to maintain a cheerful demeanor. But when I woke up yesterday I was in the clutches of one of the worst migraines I've ever had. Somehow I managed to get all the dogs up and out, fed, and the two youngest to daycare. I picked my daughter up from campus on the way home. She has lots of doctor's appointments and doesn't have her own car. By the time I got back home I knew I couldn't drive again. No way, no how. So I stumbled back to bed, popping some NSAIDs on the way. And it was a crash of epic proportions. Somehow I swam my way through the pain back to consciousness to take her back to campus. Back at home, I forged through the torment long eno

The house is quiet today. Two dogs are at daycare, the old dog is sleeping, and most, if not all, of the cats have found their own little spots of sunshine for napping. Right now I'm the only human at home. I just finished a bunch of cleaning, organizing, and fur-gathering, ate my lunch and am almost ready to exercise. But it's so quiet. I was never one of those moms who couldn't wait for the start of school in the fall. I missed my children terribly when they were gone from home, and I still do. Each year now brings such monumental changes. My oldest son is in his last year of graduate school. Younger son, though he lives at home, works odd hours and is usually either at work or asleep. My oldest daughter is braving her disability and living on campus this year. And my youngest daughter. Oh, my youngest! This year she is gone full days, taking four high school classes. I remember everyone's first days of preschool but hers might have been the most difficult for me. As

Mom! Mom! Mom! Hey, Mom! So I'm steeling myself for another week-long business trip. No, I don't get to go anywhere; as usual my job is to stay home and man the fort. It's hard to believe I've been doing this for nearly 25 years now. It's been almost 20 years since we moved here to Iowa and my husband took this high-travel job. In most ways it isn't nearly as difficult as it used to be - 6 cats and 3 dogs do not equal four children under 9. I look back on all those years of mothering and the many weeks of going it alone and I wonder how I managed. It's like I've always said: you do what you have to do. One lesson it took me far too many years to learn is to recognize that my life at any given time is largely the result of choices I've made. There were many, many times, when I was dealing with toddlers and diapers, school-age kids and multiple pets, that I felt as if I had no choice. I was viewing my life as a series of obligations that I struggled ag

Sitting outside this morning with the dogs, the air is humid, but cool. I'm even wearing a sweat jacket, though not for long. It must have rained a wee bit last night as all the lawn chairs are wet. I had to gather towels and a large blanket to keep my rear dry. My second very large cup of coffee is drained; I contemplate a dash into the house for another, but the droning of freeway traffic in the not-so-far-away distance overlaid by chirruping of crickets is, oddly, too peaceful to disturb. This breath of cool air is a relief, a herald of cool September mornings soon to come. The plantings in the yard are ravaged by this summer's drought, but flowers still bloom and the basil is ready for another harvest. My dogs frolic in the grass, tug-of-war over a stick their only present concern. A slight breeze and the leaves on overgrown century-old trees rustle gently. I'm tired and not really looking forward to a day of puppy-watching and errands. My husband is traveling yet again

How I spent my summer vacation Long time, no post. I'd like to imagine I've been off on some incredible European tour; perhaps touring ancient monasteries in Romania, a quick trip to Vlad's castle, and a couple weeks spent on the Black Sea. But I've really just been home; mostly sitting on my couch. I'm one of the world's champion couch-sitters, so I should get a little credit for my accomplishment. This summer, as in most of the U.S., it has simply been too hot to venture out of doors. Here in Iowa we've had weeks of 100-plus degree days and it's been unbearable. And, fter all, the couch is where the air conditioning is. All that sitting was not solely idle - my daughter and I spent a good deal of time working on our various artistic ventures while listening either to NPR, college lectures on American history, or a recorded book. I've managed to finish both a gorgeous throw made entirely of locally spun and sourced wool as well as an afghan made ent