…post a daybook.

Right?

Well, though I have plenty of post ideas, I have a feeling that it will be either a no posting day or a late posting day if I don’t just use these handy prompts. So, in the interest of capturing real life, here goes.

Outside my window: Chirping birds and, ah, cool breezes! After a week of unseasonable heat, the cool we’ve had for the last few days is refreshing.

Rambling thoughts: Ah, the dog days of summer are here. And we have been busy and not busy, which seems to be a uniquely summer phenomenon. I am finding peace in the un-rhythm, though also starting to plan for the rhythm to change and the routines to kick back in.

In thanksgiving: For small puffs of fur. For daughters who insist on goodnight kisses. For reading aloud to others.

Folded hands, bowed head: For a colleague of my husband’s and his wife, who just lost their full-term baby. Please join me in praying for them.

Kitchen meanderings: That’s what I’m doing in the kitchen: meandering. In the cool mornings, I bring my laptop out here after prayers and enjoy the ambiance. How had I forgotten that this was my favorite place to write?

Nose inserted: I’ll be reading Don Quixote until my children graduate from high school, I think. I’m slowing down on it, though, and reading Pilgrim’s Progress in earnest, along with Going Public: Your Child Can Thrive in Public School.

Recent reads: I just finished A Broom of One’s Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning and Life, by Nancy Peacock, last night, on the recommendation of Dorian. I really enjoyed it, and was glad I paused in some of my other reading pursuits to pick it up. Other recently finished books: Our Jewish Roots: A Catholic Woman’s Guide to Fulfillment Today by Connecting with Her Past, by Cheryl Dickow, and an old favorite, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, by Lewis Carroll.

Around the house: The kids are still sleeping at 8:00, which isn’t so unusual lately. They got to bed verrrry late last night (again) and I’m thankful that they will and can sleep in a bit. The sink is full of soaking dishes, the washer awaits replacement, and things are, basically, quiet.

A favorite thing: The soft weight of a sleeping child’s head on my shoulder.

Plans made, possibly kept: This year, the county and state fair are back-to-back and almost simultaneous. Due to some other commitments we’ve had, we won’t be (and can’t be) as involved as we have been in the past, but we did go to the county fair last night and plan to go to the state fair this weekend. The talk of the fair year, among our eldest young lady (age five), is when she will be old enough to show. She doesn’t know what she’ll show, mind you, but she knows she wants to show. (Or she thinks she does.)

Food for thought: “I don’t know how it works exactly, but something about opening my mouth and admitting what I’ve done wrong is a crucial step toward healing and reconciliation. It helps me see myself clearly.

“In this way, Confession isn’t something I do for God. It’s something God does for me.”

From “Why I Go to Confession,” by Elizabeth Esther

Worth a thousand words: The new “deadly duo” (because we need a critter dog, and if one’s good, two are better…right?):

This daybook inspired by Peggy’s work.