Lately.

The fireflies are out. They make Asher catch his breath.

So, apparently, are the bears:

And because my obsession with wildlife signs seems to just be the recurring theme for the summer, I’ll tell you that I did look up the bear (for anyone that’s interested, I do all of this ‘looking up’ in a book called Medicine Cards, it’s similar to tarot cards. I don’t take any of this as a gospel, but do often find some food for thought in the various messages that are associated with the animals, so no harm, no foul. I’d rather read wildlife signs than my horoscope, keeps things spicy. And I do love a good sign.) Annnnnnyway, so I looked up the bear after this one lumbered through our yard yesterday and here’s the piece that I pulled out to think about this week: 

If we choose to believe that there are many questions to life, we must also believe that the answers to these questions reside within us…The Bear…indicates that you have to search within to fulfill your hopes and aspirations, or to find solutions to your problems. Bear is concerned with the reaching of goals. Just as a bear withdraws from the outside world when it hibernates, so should you withdraw from your entanglements and seek refuge within…

I’ve rattled on about pregnancy enough for a while, so I’ll keep this to a minimum, but I do think that being pregnant is a strange mix of being both a very public and profoundly private event. The growing belly is a siren to the world, announcing this intimate time and inviting strangers in, but there’s also the quiet relationship with the baby and the deep solitude that comes in that communion. For me, I like this bear’s reminder about using this internal time to seek resolution and relish turning within. There’s something comforting about remembering to think of this time as a kind of hibernation, isn’t there? I told you I love a good sign.

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Company. My stepmother in particular has always referred to house guests as company, and I just love that. We kept good company last week with a visit from Drew’s mom and aunt (Jo Ellen–JoJo to the under 10 set–is on the left and Aunt Gail is on the right), enjoying just being together. The ladies took in all that Charlottesville and the surrounding area has to offer during the day and we would reconvene at night for the simple pleasure of just hanging out. Drew’s family is exceptionally good at telling childhood stories which are all uniquely funny, so even though I know a lot of them, it never gets old to laugh along. I think it’s their Louisiana heritage, but the Walton family did not shy away from finding a good time growing up, and we’re all the better for it.

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I ate three watermelons last week. In theory, we shared them, but the truth is, I ate almost all of them. My conscience fares better if I just suck it up and announce these things publicly.

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Asher had sixth disease last week which mainly meant a high-ish fever, an eventual rash, and some extra long snuggling time. It didn’t really affect his mood much, and he’s going to finally return to school tomorrow as it took a while to hit the 24-hours-with-no-fever mark. We’re so relieved that he’s on the mend and that it wasn’t anything more serious, and I have to cautiously admit that there’s a certain super mom feeling that accompanies a sick kiddo. We haven’t had to deal with it much in Asher’s three years, but being able to rock him with a cool washcloth and know that, for him, snuggling close to a parent is the best medicine is a sweet feeling in the midst of the concern. Mostly we’re glad to see him back in action though. I knew he was better when I woke up to him poking me in the ribs at 5:50 in the morning yesterday and whispering in my face, “Mama? Do dinosaurs have freckles?”

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That’s the wrap up. We took in that wild super moon the other night, making a little more noise than needed in case that bear was still hanging around, and marveling at how clearly we could see each other in the darkness. The turtle is still hanging around in the flower bed, and Asher has given her the completely unexpected and totally unique name of Turtley. It’s summatime indeed.