It's a girl! (I'm a mother-in-law)

I'm delighted to welcome Sarah to the family. I'm also pretty tickled about my new role. I enjoyed playing "mother of the groom" last weekend, and look forward to visits from them in the future.
Life is good.

There is beauty in every season

Every year I look forward to summer. I crave the warmth of the summer sun and the chance to be lazy for the few days which are entirely too hot for work. I love lemonade, fresh strawberries, capris, and warm summer evenings. I enjoy canoeing, hiking, and swimming outdoors. I appreciate the chance to stay home, sleep in a little, and work on projects which I can't touch all school year. I'm delighted to work for 10 days with little people at Camp Hope. I relish the chance to explore new places, to visit distant family, and to learn new things.

The problem is that I resist the approach of autumn. This is foolish. I love the fall colors, the crisp mornings, the smell of woodsmoke, and the taste of pumpkin spice lattes. I enjoy seeing Orion in the morning as I get up before daylight to head out for my run. I'll admit that I don't enjoy running with a head lamp, but I do look forward to weekend runs on the Greenway. I love fall sweaters, hiking at mid-day, the adventure of geocaching, and coming home to the smell of warm soup and fresh bread.



When fall ends and winter approaches I look forward to Christmas lights, Egg Nog, evergreen trees, candles, cross-country skiing, snow falling, and two weeks of fires in the fireplace. I look forward to seeing family, hearing carols, reading new books and cheering on the Canadian team at the world junior hockey tournament.








About the time Spring break rolls around I look forward to the craziness of coordinating our school teams for the Campus-to-Campus half marathon relay, to helping haul gear for the ski-to-sea race (some day soon I will be a participant instead of just a spectator!), Easter, green grass and daffodils. I don't look forward to March Mudness, but even on the gray days I know that the last of the snow will melt, the mud will dry, and the days are getting longer.




This year I look forward to graduation - for the OKAA class of 2011. I've been especially close to this group of students since they were in grade 7. All those short, silly, high-pitched little boys (and one long suffering girl!) have grown into a fabulous group of young men and women. I know they will go on to have interesting, rewarding, helpful lives, and I wish them well.







I'm also looking forward to seeing my youngest graduate from university this next June. She is a good friend, a great student, a joy to her patients, and a loving great-granddaughter.

With all of these blessings and events to look toward, I really have no reason to miss summer. However, I really wish it was warm enough to wear capris and a tank top, sip lemonade and sit on the porch reading a good book.
Only 8.5 months until July!