farm suite

Small and likely irrelevant secret: I have 48 posts in draft from the missing five-plus years. The short(er) version: In five years, two of our beautiful children have become adults and made new adventures for themselves performing and choreographing and photographing around the world. One of our children became an athlete in ways I never could have expected, lettering in the foreign worlds of cross country running and swimming. Our youngest, it turns out, is a baseball player. Never fear, though, the theatres are still our home, because our youngest girl is a dancer and performer still. ALSO in that five years, I was lucky enough to see Paris and Amsterdam. Right after that I made a huge change from homeschooling mom and became a library director at the prettiest little library I know. That change meant our three kids still at home started to attend public school in our small town. My husband made a huge change too, and closed his consulting business to become an engineer for that small town. We finished the attic into a "home library" that actually sees a lot of use as a sewing room and game room. 

In five years, our farm has lost a pony, a beloved ewe, and three dogs to that disappointment known as "animals don't live long enough." There's too much heartbreak in the passing of Dolly, JJane, Molly, Murphy, and Lucy. Samwise the Morgan gelding holds court with a newer generation of hens. We await new goats and lambs. This last year's wildfires and pandemic meant no spring chicks but our little flock of orpingtons cluck and peck their brave way. My garden is smaller and more productive. I have a notebook full of plans for permaculture beds, fruit tree guilds, and old-fashioned hedgerows. We planted oak and fir trees and a crabapple just this fall.

Since we last visited here, the world has changed as have we all. Blogging seems to have found a new purpose, though, and I'm here for it. I'm here for the hope of connection and the hope of figuring things out via keystrokes.

In a pandemic time: My world travels consist of upstairs to downstairs, passing the maps, British mystery shows, novels set in foreign lands.

School is made of books, virtual D&D, coffee on couches and political discussions at the breakfast table. There is more to say about this unlikely return to homeschool, but that's a series of posts.

Days are less busy. Dance and theatre and sports are on the longest pause of our lives.

We will emerge changed.

We will emerge.