Spring impromptu

Confession: Though I am quixotic enough to dream of intimate tea parties on the lawn, complete with parasols and petit fours, in the meantime this is how I do time with friends—

Hey. Any chance you wanna stay for lunch when we do that photoshoot?

I’ll make egg sandwiches and iced coffee.

Yes! you can bring your homemade granola bars. Yum.

We’ll send the kids down to the creek and lie in the grass shooting photos of maple leaves against the blue sky.

We may or may not be able to hoist ourselves back up again.

Who cares?

Kids in cut-off jeans and crocs will have accidents in undies, go bobbing for earthworms in an old tire and come up with a faceful of slime, sort of accidentally slip and fall into the creek, and all talk at once. Mommies will do gymnastics in and out of their chairs supervising whose turn it was and who started screaming first, insist on everybody taking three more bites before running off to play with the puppy, squeeze in a surprising amount of chat, and dissolve into near-hysterical giggles at surprising times because they don’t get out much* and feel a little giddy.

This is an intimate tea party, Mommy-style.

I may be wrong, but I think that later in life, when I meet my friends in our quiet living rooms or a posh café for lattes and expensive salads, I will think that nothing was better than the good old days, with impromptu picnics hodge-podged out of what was in our fridges at the moment.

It’s spring at last, and the sun has been out for a whole glorious week. I’m spending hours and hours on new projects, trying to sneak in my laundry and housework on the side, completely obsessed with digging holes in the dirt and poking things into them.

Writing feels extremely pointless.

Jesus has been very good to me.

Happiness is a whole lot messier than I thought.

What does spring impromptu look like where you live?

*****

*I don’t get out much is my favorite excuse for brain glitches of any kind. Though not strictly true, it is true in the way I mean it.

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jenniupnorth
10 years ago

Ah, Shari, you described it soooo well. I don’t “get out much” either and sometimes when I do it’s a goofy sight. I’m hoping to be a real embarrassment to my teenagers one day, and I’m pretty sure at this rate there’s a very good chance. 😀

10 years ago

Yes, what is it about this beautiful sunshine that makes me feel like writing is the last thing I want to do?

Jenn
10 years ago

A clean front window (for about two hours before new handprints smudged it: adorable), play dates with the neighbor kids, sunglasses, moldering leaves raked out of corners of the garden, baths more often to scrub dirty toesies.

Carla
10 years ago

Ha, ha, you know what mine looked like yesterday. It also means more walks around town and sitting on the porch to fold the laundry.

Rachel S
10 years ago

Good reminder to keep it simple!

Shaunda
10 years ago

You are a delightfully kind and beautiful hostess in the middle of messiness.

Spring impromptus for me include:

quick grilled suppers
walks at Woodcock
trips to the park
neighbor kids
washing sheets in the middle of the afternoon….just because I can’t help myself.

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