seven and forty-one

these two. born on the same day. the last day in july. thirty-four years apart. the Mister still deflects on this day saying george was his best birthday gift. and i really can't argue. a human gift. really is there anything better? does hallmark have a card for that? "for the man who has everything-give him a kid".

happiest of birthdays to the first in my life, my Mister and to the last {but not least}, my baby boy. may you both know how very deeply yet imperfectly you are loved by the likes of me.

now excuse me whilst i frost a chocolate birthday cake with kit kats and m&ms. it's tradition.

a grateful, 

gf xo

From the library of:

he wanted to stop by the library to see if he could find a book. and when this struggling reader of mine mentions those four letters b-o-o-k, i move heaven and earth to get him one-stat. 

so i casually {and with much exhaustion after a day of doctor appointments and failed errand running that sapped the last of my juice} pulled into the drive of our local and very tiny library. 

every time we visit the library{which isn't nearly as often as we ought}, i am reminded of how extremely fortunate we are to have such a wealth of written words at our very fingertips. free. it's really embarrassing the privilege and decadence. to walk in off the street and have the latest best seller there. waiting. free. 

and even though i definitely don't know what the latest best seller is because i am unfortunately not as much of a reader as i would like to be in addition i am a profoundly slow reader {which must be why i love, love, love reading to my children} i still appreciate finding books like little bee and the latest anne lamont work sitting pretty on the accessible shelf. 

so there we were. me and him. looking around a bit overwhelmed. he had a title he had his heart set on-and wanted it. desired the next in a particular series. but the shelf didn't bear the fruit of such a craving. i picked up my library holds and noticed a book with the words that i knew would get his literary engine revving. first name sherlock. last name holmes. i tossed it his way. 

his impatience is from my side of the family. he wasn't interested and kept looking through other books. picking up a clive cussler. i kept trying to point out he was in the wrong section. he's 10, not quite an adult.

i checked out my books and added a couple that were recommended reading from my well read friends. giddy. still awestruck that i was able to take these treasures on loan for 3 weeks just cause i have a flimsy library card. by that point this young lad of mine had read through the first few pages and decided that this was indeed a worthwhile venture. and yes, i gloated-to myself-and danced a little jig-to myself-{the 12 year old had already chided me earlier about my lack of social skills when it comes to impromptu breaking out into dance-in public!!!}

so off we set with our books and a grateful sense of excitement. for the rest of the day, this not-so-lover-of-literature boy of mine sat confined to this piece of cardboard and smyth sewing engrossed. "i've already read 4 chapters!" 

let me shed a little light. this is the same boy who didn't catch on to reading til he had cleared the height requirement for most amusement park rides. he's the boy whose frustration and impatience have kept us in one little science book for going on two years now. but he is also a boy whose mother knew that eventually like eeeeeeeevvvvvvvvveeeeeeeennnnnnnnnttttttttuuuuuuuuaaaaaallllllllyyyyyyy he would make his way to the wonderful world of reading. and he did. fiiiiiinnnnnnaaaaaalllllllyyyyyy. 

his favorite way to read-lying on my back

just in time for the next in line to commence. and like a really good book that begs to be reread, i will begin to teach the youngest to read so that he can be unleashed into the land of imagery and imagination. wish us well on our travels, will you? with our newly minted nashville library cards, the sky's the limit. and speaking of nashville, 
if you live in the area, come for a visit. we have a little pink wagon filled to the brim with free books that we no longer need. free to you. no 3 week return. no library card required. 

yours in the written word,

xo gf

are you there, blog? it's me, girl friday.

hello. it's me. the long lost writer, girl friday who took a hiatus from writing-here. i call it a creative pause. 

in these months since our move i have been afforded the opportunity to savor solely and souly my surroundings. and as much as i wanted to jot down my thoughts in paragraphs and prose, i was just too selfish with my time. o, that fleeting-never-enough-priceless commodity. 

time. a four letter word that can be used and abused. i have tried to do the former. purposefully. 

using my time to reconnect with long-not-lost friends. mourning. listening. laughing. sipping. watching. wondering. crying. resting. traveling. gazing. and grabbing the last bits of summer before life turns upside down. from an easy unscheduled pace to the sound of alarm clocks {for the first time ever}. the bustling of book bags as two of mine leave the homeschool nest. more on that later.

so dear ones, who have written and stopped me in person to ask, "where are you, writer friend?" i am here. looking around. thinking. culling more material to process and ponder and eventually share. and boy do i have loads to share. i have two months of stories and happenings that are begging to be written and a phone teeming with photographs i will gladly force upon you. 

happy to be back. 

yours still, 

xo gf