April, Come She Will

I have been lagging in my blogging. Our lives have been a series of routines and everyday doings, nothing that has seemed notable. But Spring has blown in this week with the coming of April, and now even the everyday seems festive, or is at least tinged with the excitement particular to Spring.

So here are a few things which have been occupying us.

First, I've managed to get Miles into a swim class, something I've been meaning to do for a long time. Having grown up making regular trips to Lake Ontario, with a pool in our backyard at first and then a community pool to which I always had access, I am not used to having to go out of my way for swimming opportunities. But Miles' experience has been different, and I found I was going to have to enroll him in a class if I wanted to make sure he could swim.

I remember being astounded as a child that my Grandma had never learned to swim. I'm a little better able to understand how easy it would be to avoid learning! But I am determined they will both be water babies, as I was.

Miles is in a regular Saturday "minnows" class. Don't be fooled by his solemnity here; he's loved both sessions from start to finish. He gets this big silly grin as soon as he gets his body in the shallow end.

Practicing blowing bubbles

He's been so proud of himself!

Bad luck for Adele; the class for her age group is full. She will have to content herself with ruling over an army of sea creatures (a souvenir from our National Aquarium trip) in the bath. She knows ALL of their names by sight (from Right Whale to Beluga, from Whale Shark to Sting Ray).

"That's Marine Queen to you, soldier!!"

 

In other news, I had perhaps the greatest Tuesday at my job to date last week, when an interpreter colleague got me into Emmanuel Jal's performance AND sneaked me backstage to meet him after the show! 

You guys, I was overcome at shaking this man's hand. Jal's message is so inspirational. He was a child soldier in South Sudan, has lost most of his family to that war, and has seen some of the worst things a person can see on this planet, yet he has so much joy and purpose. He told the roomful of listening middle school students that they, too, could be peace soldiers if they educated themselves and learned to love and forgive. I really recommend his music and his ted talk, and that you all see him if he's ever in your town! Emmanuel had some questions for Marcy about American Sign Language (he could see her pretty well), He's really into yoga, and supports and promotes the non-profit, Africa Yoga Project.  So he and I got to chat about the benefits of yoga. Then he found out each of us had multiple children and were working full time too and he said, "Wow. Respect. Women are so strong. They are goddesses, really."

I made sure to remark that I'd find life a good deal harder without my equal partner husband.

 

It snowed about 4 inches the day that Emmanuel Jal came to Blacksburg, that 25th of March. Winter held on ferociously. It made one last offensive on Sunday and gave us a dusting of snow.

March 30th.

Still, we knew its days were numbered, with a confidence I'm not sure my dear Rochesterians have been able to feel, with their 8" on the ground!

Take heart, New Yorkers. Spring is coming. Aslan is on the move. 

Down here we have had two straight days of temperatures over 70 degrees. It has been intoxicating; it is like living inside a miracle.

Remember that shot of the snow on these mountains from a couple of weeks ago? We have a bit of a different view these days!

Trees were white and pink and purple today that were bare and colorless just yesterday.

We have blossoming trees, people!

Look! Buds!

The daffodils are here to stay.

The duck pond is getting a bit pastel.

What's that, green in a deciduous tree??

See if you can spot the dandelion next to the brook.

Getaway to Mountain Lake

We married in 2006 on the first of April. It was not a holiday, there was no convenient spring break going on, nothing to make the day particularly convenient either for a wedding or for an anniversary celebration.

But the date was ours. And so it is still. This means, though, that our anniversary celebrations, especially since having children, can be tricky to arrange. People willing to take our kids on for an overnight are a small, very special group. Fortunately, this year, help came to us. The Grunert Grandparents were so generous as to include an overnight at our apartment in their own anniversary/spring break travels this past weekend, so Jon and I could nip away and enjoy some precious, precious time alone and away.

 Another nice thing about our wedding date is we can often celebrate it in March and get "off peak season" rates with few crowds at our destinations.

That's not to say leaving these guys was completely easy to do.

More in our handholding at the library season. This one includes Spot as intermediary.

 Miles has started swim lessons as of this Saturday, by the way! A class that had been full opened up. I'll be sure to get some pics of him as soon as I can, as he's having a BALL in his "minnows" class at the rec center.

After swim class, we made a trip to the library and nearby little garden.

There are crocuses! Snowdrops! Spring is underway whether the snow we expect tomorrow likes it or not!

"You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming." -Pablo Neruda

There's some new construction downtown. When your town is as small as ours is, every new building changes its overall appearance. We can't wait to see these handsome buildings completed!

 I explained to this little girl very solemnly that Mum and Papa would be going away for one night to the mountains. She listened seriously and asked only that we "remember to pet the mountains."

We did our best.

Jon was surprising me, so I didn't know where we'd be landing. It turned out to be the famous "Mountain Lake" Lodge, where Dirty Dancing was filmed.

Can you see the Lake?

 I couldn't either, at first. It's apparently been noticeably receding for a couple of decades, part of a centuries-long natural cycle of waxing and waning.

 Jon liked this natural bench a lot.

 There's the lake:

 Or what's left of it. One of VERY few natural lakes in Virginia. It did strike me as sad, as I am from a land of abundant lakes, that this is what they have left of this one.

The Lodge. 

Oh look, Jon, I had already lost my earring at this point.

We didn't care. 

Sunshine made the wasteland beautiful

I have a thing for totem poles, even those whose native American legitimacy is ... questionable. 

For Dirty Dancing fans, here is a corner where nobody puts Baby. 

 Here we are fresh from a HUGE gourmet dinner:

 After dinner, we ambled out to the fire pit to enjoy the sunset and the bird noises.

 Chilly, but gorgeous. The mourning doves made a whole atmosphere.

Good night!

....And Good Morning! Look at my breakfast. Look at it. 

 This was our table.

 The dining room is a gorgeous, spacious stone room that played classic jazz and swing endlessly. We sat by the window at dinner and breakfast and watched the birds at the feeder, spotting jays, juncos, chickadees, doves and blue tits.

During breakfast, we strained our eyes to make out the first flakes of a surprise snow.

 It was short, lovely, and infinitely preferable to the cold rain we'd expected. If it's not going to be warm, it might as well snow, is my motto.

 In the morning, we took an explore:

We poked our noses in this Dirty Dancing memorial cabin. Because, why not. 

 Next, we satisfied my curiosity about a building labeled, "Mary's Barn."

It turned out to be a dance floor with a jukebox on the lower level...

...And a game room on the upper level!

We had a great old time playing pool, air hockey, ping pong, and fuseball for well over an hour while the snow fell. 

 For a one-night getaway, we could hardly have asked for a more beautiful, peaceful, and cozy time together. We feel so grateful.

On the way back: we descended about 2000 feet to Blacksburg's elevation of about 2000 feet above sea level.

 The landscape thrills even in early Spring.

 Upon reaching Blacksburg, we decided upon an old favorite for lunch.

 Gillie's wasn't nearly as crowded as it usually is on a Sunday! We didn't even have to wait to sit at the bar...

 When we got in at about 1 we were greeted enthusiastically by this guy:

 Even after one night away, I missed them. A night's uninterrupted sleep gave me a badly-needed recharge for an afternoon of play and exercise.

So far, I'm doing it. Thanks to support and unexpected blessings, my 2014 word, ALIVE, is a true motto for my days. I'm so very grateful.

The Far Edge of Winter

I took these photos of snow on the mountains on March 18th. You can see how spring comes first in the valleys and creeps up the mountains.

Spring is officially here, and we are beginning to know it. Daffodils are budding and blooming, some trees are budding. There have been crocuses. We expect snow next Tuesday, but it will be one of those weak spring snows with songbirds shouting absurdly throughout. So I think we will endure.

Jon is planning a night away for tomorrow night, to celebrate our eighth anniversary, which is a bit more than two weeks away. Grandparents Grunert have volunteered to spend the night with the kids, so we can fully enjoy it.

There are disadvantages of having an anniversary at this time of year. There is no convenient holiday nearby, and the weather is usually chillier than one would like.

Still, it is ours. I will always remember and associate with my wedding day this time just before Spring takes hold, where everything hangs in the balance, and the watching hosts of songbirds pretend to be in suspense.