Yesterday was the most wonderful day! It was
a completely ordinary day, but as so often happens in life, the ordinary can be
truly extraordinary.
To begin with, it was positively glorious here in
New England, sunny and about 75 degrees. After 9:00 Mass, my husband and I ran
into some of our oldest and dearest friends in town--friends who've known our
boys since they were knee-high to a grasshopper--and caught up with them over
coffee and doughnuts.
In the afternoon, son #2 (who'd gone to a later
Mass, as had his slugabed college-aged youngest brother) drove up from his
apartment about an hour south of here to spend some time with us. He brought
his overflowing laundry basket with him, but that was okay with me. He's
getting so independent and almost never does that anymore, so having the
opportunity to do his laundry for him was almost a...I was going to say "treat,"
but that makes me sound like a lunatic. Let's just say it was a pleasure to get
to spoil him a little and send him home with piles of clean, neatly folded
clothes.
While we were waiting for son #2 to arrive, our oldest son and
his wife Skyped with us, and we got to see our adorable almost-one-year-old
granddaughters toddling all around their house. Those girls are so unbelievably
beautiful, precious, adorable...there aren't enough adjectives. When we're on
Skype, they come close to the screen sometimes and smile at us. We could just
eat them up.
Doesn't this sound like a great day so far? But it wasn't
over yet.
When son #2 got here, we watched the Notre Dame v. UVA lacrosse
quarterfinal game, which my husband had DVR'd earlier so that we could watch it
with him and his brother. My husband and I sat with our sons in our "new room"
(we've had this room--which used to be our garage--for about 7 years now, but it
will always be new to us) and enjoyed some snacks and beverages while we cheered
on the Irish together. In a gritty contest between two well-matched teams,
Notre Dame pulled off a 12-10 win to move on to the semifinals.
Could
things get any better? They could.
Son #4, who was on a long road trip
from VA to MA, called several times to chat with us while he was stuck in
bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Jersey Turnpike. Son #3 sent a series of texts,
along with photos, giving us updates on his weekend fun--which included playing
in a men's league lacrosse game and scoring 4 goals.
I've blogged several
times this year about adjusting to an empty nest after raising five boys in this
house, but I'll tell you: the nest didn't feel very empty yesterday. Two sons
were with us in the flesh, and I felt the others here in spirit. My cup--my
nest--overflows!
As I was standing at the kitchen sink after the game,
cleaning up the mess I'd made putting together some raspberry cobbler for my
husband (because the day hadn't been perfect enough yet), I glanced out the
window. I always love the view from the kitchen window, because our yard is
bordered by thick woods that give the feeling that we're out in the country
instead of minutes from downtown. The trees look beautiful in all seasons; and
while our woodland view might not be as spectacular as the lake view my husband
had growing up, we know how blessed we are to have it.
The view I had
yesterday was particularly lovely, though, because of the two brothers who were
standing in the yard with their lacrosse sticks, playing catch. Watching them
out there, smiling and talking as they lazily tossed the ball to each other,
filled me with so much happiness. Such an ordinary sight--one we used to see
all the time when this house was filled with growing boys--but extraordinary to
me.
I think Zac Brown (my new
favorite singer) said it best when he said, "Life is good today."
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