Running around on a Monday evening

The rain didn't arrive last night. I must have had faulty information. It's warm here this morning and since my office faces east, I get a blast of hot air in my office for the next many months. My plants love it, especially when I remember to leave the blinds open overnight and on the weekends.

Last night I took Aaron to gymnastics. Aaron is in advanced gymnastics and his brothers Prince and Ernest are in the beginning class. Classes end the week before Memorial Day, so I should have Mondays free soon. They'll probably re-enroll for the fall session. This summer Aaron wants to play soccer. Not sure about the other boys since Prince didn't say anything about it last night. We got to the gym early and so Aaron and I sat on the curb and I helped him do his homework. It was math and I conquered third grade math a few years back. Third grade was about the time I decided math was the most difficult subject ever invented to torture small children in school. As I got older, I decided PE was invented by the devil, but math didn't get any easier until I was a sophomore in college. Go figure. For those who do not know, Prince, 12; Aaron, 10; and Ernest, 6 are my boys. Feta, 13, is their older sister. There are three older siblings at home, but I hardly ever meet with them. I do a fair bit with these kids, so prepare yourself to hear about them.

Before I picked up the boys, I stopped by to see Louise. I got her out of bed, which was shocking to me. She is about 33 years older than I am and she is a widow. She has one son and three grandchildren. I've known her for about 10 years and I have never gotten her out of bed before. She says she has the flu. Well she is on oxygen and so of course the flu sounds like a bad idea. Since I couldn't visit with her, I parked my car on 37th street in Des Moines and walked up and down the block three times. Walking South of Grand was my entertainment when I lived in that neighborhood and I miss it like a reformed smoker misses cigarettes. Holy moley. How do I explain that? I actually feel different walking there compared to anywhere else. I think that is mysterious.

Bryan got a Linden tree from a memorial service for his sister, who passed away last fall. It hasn't been planted yet, but it is beginning to bud. We need to do some landscaping, but we continually drag our feet on the decisions. I planted a garden last year and a couple years ago I transplanted/moved all the hostas from the front to the back. That's about it unless you count Bryan chopping down almost everything with leaves rather than needles! And so now we have a Linden tree, which throws great shade. I proposed three places for it, so we'll see what happens. I can't fault him for not moving ahead. Planting a tree is a big commitment for people who can't make up their minds about shrubbery.

Got a call from a dear friend this morning. She is having a baby girl! Congratulations!