As the five o’clock hour ever so slowly approaches, I have to send a shout out to my new friend.  Mike, we’ve really just met, but today, I call you friend. 

This day’s been a doozy.

Updated:  I thought soon after I posted this that I should have included a recipe, and then one of y’all even asked for it (great minds…) so here it is:

-one cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves

-1/2 cup firmly packed parsley sprigs

-1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan

-1/4 cup pine nuts

-1 large clove garlic, smashed

-1/4 cup olive oil

In food processor combine basil leaves, parsley, parmesan, pine nuts, garlic and 1/4 tsp salt.  Pulse in food processor until paste forms.  Stream in olive oil until you reach desired consistency.  One little note here…I generally leave out the pine nuts, and have often used only basil, no parsley.  It is lovely just the same.  You may need to adjust the amount of olive oil you add if you do this.  Play around with it and make it how you like–you won’t be sorry! 

Summer is wonderful with all its tastes and smells, and then cometh Autumn.  Now, I LOVE Autumn–it’s my fave.  however, the fresh herbs tend to whither away pretty quickly once the weather turns.  And there is nothing like fresh basil to transport you back into summer, even on the coldest of wintry days.  I generally have so much basil I don’t know what to do with it all.  So what I do periodically throughout the summer is make pesto.  Pesto freezes very well–Just put it in ice cube trays for the perfect sized serving, freeze it, and then you have “summer” all year round!  And folks, it’s not just for pasta…you can use it as a dipper for grilled chicken, a marinade or rub, you can flavor soups with it.  I even plop a dollop of it in the middle of the kids’ spaghetti plates.  They LOVE it!  Give it a try!

Go to Rocks In My Dryer for more things that work!

Today I received this from my little boy:

“Dear Mom, I love you very much.  I think you are the best mom ever.  I am never gonna forget about you.  Love William.”

What a tender, sweet little soul he is.  I love you, too, William.  More than you’ll ever know.

There was a whole lotta this going on today…

 Poor little William. 

Sticky little fingers.

The mourning dove on my window sill.

Sunshine after a day and a half of rain. 

Henry’s freckles.

Coriander.

A mowed lawn.

 Pink tutus and bare feet.

Even the dirty socks that are always on the floor.

I woke up this morning to the sound of the birds singing outside my window.  I thought of her and the song lost it’s sweetness.  She lost her battle on Thursday.

I am just a person who knows of her.  I did not love her.  I didn’t carry her in my belly for nine months and give birth to her.  I didn’t hold her, and watch her first steps, and hear her first words.  I didn’t blow bubbles with her, or hold hands with her or hear her giggle.  I didn’t have dreams for her. 

I can’t imagine…

I am troubled today.  In the midst of the everyday here, my mind and heart are focused on the mother of a little girl in Cleveland.  The mother of a little girl that I have never met, will never meet.  The mother of a little girl that is dying.  Her little girl is seven years old.  I have a seven year old little girl, too. 

The message from my girlfriend was that her niece was in the hospital, that things were spiraling out of control and that today they would probably have to “make some decisions.”  She said she was going to Cleveland “to say goodbye.” 

My heart aches for this mother.  How do you do this?  How do you say it is okay to let her go?  How do you hold her hand for the last time, kiss her forehead and smell her hair for the very last time? 

How do you walk away from her lying there, with the knowledge that you will never see her again, and fight every urge to wrap your arms around her and carry her home?

How do come home again, without your little girl? 

And walk into her room.  And smell her pillows.  And see her artwork.  And her ballet shoes. 

How do you get through Wednesdays, the day she had ballet?

How do you ever ever feel that you can live without that little girl in your life?  How do things get back to normal?  Do they ever? 

Next Tuesday I will chaperone my daughter’s 1st grade class on a school field trip to see a play. 

Next month, she will have her very first dance recital.

Next year, I will watch her make her first communion.

In a few years, I will teach her how to put on lipstick and eye liner, and how to drive a car.

I will cry along with her as she bears the weight of her first broken heart. 

I will take her to get her hair done for the prom.

I will cry as she walks across the stage for graduation.  I will cry when she leaves for college.

And all too soon, I will stand before her, straightening her veil and buttoning her dress, and watch her commit herself to the man she loves.

But that mother will be wondering.  Wondering what her little girl would look like.  Who she would have married.  What her babies would look like. 

My heart is heavy for that little girl’s mother.  Tonight, I will hug my babies a little tighter.  I will linger a little longer at their bedsides, and I will pray to God for another day to be their Mommy.  And I will pray for that little girl’s Mommy, who’s world will never be the same.  

Kate told me today that she learned how to do the Harry Diddle. 

“THE WHAT?!” 

“The Harry Diddle” she replied with a completely straight face. 

Then she proceeded to explain that it was a new move in tap class.  Who comes up with these names?  You don’t even want to know what was going through my mind…

Here is a Meme…I was not tagged, I’ve never been tagged…maybe someday.  That’s when you hit the big leagues, I think.  I’m still in the minors.  Anyway, here goes:

What were you doing ten years ago?  Ten years ago, I sat at a desk, staring at a computer.  Married and childless, and wondering when I was going to start my dream job of being a mommy.

What are five things on your to-do list? 

1.  Discuss Henry’s IEP with his teacher.

2.  Plant the last pink thrift.  And the hanging baskets.

3.  Dust.  (it’s been on the list for some time…oh how I hate to dust)

4.  Laundry.

5.  Buy flowers for teacher gifts.

What are five snacks you enjoy?

1.  homemade herb & sesame pita chips with homemade hummus

2.  oreos and milk

3.  green apple slices with parmesan shavings

4.  grape tomatoes

5.  cottage cheese doubles…especially the peach kind.

Name some things you would do if you were a millionaire.  I would buy a beach house.  I would invest lots, and I would donate some serious money to benefit canines.  I have a very soft spot for dogs, you know.  I think I might also take some nice family vacations…nothing extravagant, but we would be able to travel a little more than we do now.  Well, okay, a LOT more than we do now.  The rest would benefit other charities.

Name some places you have lived.  Never lived anywhere other than here…Virginia.

Name some bad habits you have.  Nitpicking.  Holding a grudge.  Not complimenting people enough.  I think the compliments in my head, but they just don’t come out of my mouth.  I’m a perfectionist. 

Name some jobs you have had.  KFC-yeah, that was the bomb.  That was my first job, I think I was 15.  Worked at a Montessori school, a frozen yogurt store, a library in college, and I did accounting. 

Name those whom you are tagging.  Okay, I’ll tag Citystreams. 

This one is a little different…this week we do what doesn’t work for me.  I’ve got quite a few of those, let me tell you.  But here’s are a few that really stick out:

1.  Eating food during mass.  I’m sorry, but I just can’t understand why people bring bags and containers of food for their kids.  Can they not go one hour without eating?  I once witnessed a woman rummage through her bag and whip out a bag of freshly carved ham for her boys.  HAM.  She looked at me and said “Whatever works, right?”  My husband and I still use that line and crack up.  We even jest about bringing bags of ham to Easter Mass, when we know we have to get there early.  

2.  Bringing toys to church.  I will probably get hate mail for this, but again, why people?  If your children cannot sit still for one hour(which I know is a long time for little ones) without something to amuse them (and believe me, I have several of these children) then attend mass without them, or stand in the back with all of us other people with the ants-in-the-pants children.  One time we tried letting the children bring bible stories to church, thinking that would be okay.  Do you know what they did?  They fought over who got which book.  Do you know what I did?  Bye bye books-in-church idea. 

3.  Wasting.  Anything.  Remember–waste not, want not.  

4.  Disorganization.  I’m feelin’ it right now.  If I am disorganized I will forget something, like why I went to the store (for pullups).  Until bedtime, when I remember that we are out of pullups.     

4.   Raising my voice to my kids (still working on this one).  I have found that if you talk in a very low, serious voice, they have to listen intently to understand what you’re saying, and it kind of freaks them out a little.  They know you mean business. 

5.  That curried split pea and potato soup.  Boy, did that not work. 

6.  Not recognizing the beauty in every day life.  I always wish I did. 

Head on over to Rocks In My Dryer for more useful and sometimes humorous things that don’t work!