My Every Day

Lately, my days are lazy and long. By the time I get home from work, the evening stretches before me like a gift. Darian is home from camp and I have her for a whole two weeks before she flies off for another adventure with the boy. 

Once home, I make supper for the kids and then join them at the table while they eat, laughing and chatting away about nothing and everything. About the time the dishes are done, Tami bops in from checking out her house. 

“Doesn’t anyone want to see the paint? The walls are done,” she’ll say. Or, “Hey, our cabinets are in! I want to know what you think…” …or a litany of other things.

Her house is in the final stages now and it won’t be long before they are truly our next door neighbors.

I can’t wait.

Most evenings, Tami and I walk over together to inspect the progress on the house and talk about various aspects. It’s beautiful. It will be a fun place to visit.

Every day.

Afterwards, we change clothes and head out on our walk down Pecan Street. Most evenings, Craig is out working on his cars and he will holler something obnoxious at us. Tami is quick to holler back and I just grin and wave. Tami has been friends with Craig and Missy since time began, I think, so she knows them well. Once in awhile, Carlos will be out working on his house and we will wave as we walk by. “Hey, Carlos!” He waves back enthusiastically and I always feel a bit badly for him because I know he doesn’t remember our names. It’s all good. The only reason I remember his is because I purposefully wrote it down after I met him so that it would be engrained in my head.

Carlos and his wife Joleen (like the song) recently moved here from Illinois and they are busily remodeling their home.  We met them recently when they rode their bikes down to check out the new house being built at the end of the street. They are cute neighbors.

We walk down to where the street deadends, do a loop around the block, and then head back down the street towards home. 

Repeat.

Piper joins us for the first loop, but when we head off for the second, he pulls toward home. He’s had enough of that Texas heat, thank you very much, he says.

When the sun is just beginning to sink over the horizon and dusk has settled in for the evening, Tami and I head out to my back porch to water my plants. She hangs in one of the rocking chairs with her tall glass of ice water and talks to Piper, occasionally throwing his ball, while I fill up my watering can and soak my flowers for a bit. A little bird has built a nest in one of hanging pots and has five little babies that have hatched in there. I always rattle the pot a bit before I water it as otherwise she flies out frantically when she spies my presence and has almost hit my face a few times.

That’s fun.

After a bit, Tami and I head back in and settle down for a game or two…or three…of Rumikub. It’s my favorite game and if you haven’t played, you should. If anyone is around that enjoys games, they’ll join us. We laugh and accuse each other of cheating and play until we’ve had enough or until it’s after 10:00 — whichever comes first. And then Tami grabs her keys and heads out the door for the night.

And I head to bed.

I don’t seem to accomplish much during these lazy days. Sometimes I work on my photo albums as I literally have 15 years of photos that need to be organized.

Yeah.

15 years.

Since Jace was born.

And sometimes I may watching an episode of something, or read a couple of chapters in my latest book.

I’ve been known to throw in a load of laundry or two…or do a few other housekeeping chores.

But mainly I am just relishing my days, and giving thanks for the bounty of goodness that has become my every day.