A Wise Pig

Today, I listened as a harried mother described the craziness of her last week. At one point, she described a task that I know was initially intended to be fun, as one more thing to check off her list.

Tonight, as I sat reading Poppleton in Spring, one of many tales of about our favorite literary pig, created by our current favorite author, Cynthia Rylant, I wished that this mom was reading with me too.

In the story, much to his friends chagrin, Poppleton decides to spend the night in a tent in his backyard.

The best part of the story reads,

"He carried all of his quilts out to the tent. He had a flashlight and a pillow and some good books. And long after everyone else was asleep, Poppleton was still up. Sometimes he was reading. Sometimes he was thinking. And sometimes he was just paying attention. Poppleton loved spring at night. In the morning, he went back into his house. He had a cup of cocoa and some buttered toast. Then he went to find Cherry Sue. He showed her the new flower that had opened up while she was sleeping and he was paying attention."

I hope that we can remember sometimes in these harried days, to "just pay attention." Imagine all the new flowers we might see.

Vacation, Finally

After our vacation was postponed, I was a bit surprised when it was actually time to go to the airport. The girls were wonderful travelers. They read, they drew, they shared snacks with their Easter presents...





When we landed, the wait at customs was long...Fortunately, the stranger beside us was putting on a happy face.



The wait to check in was also long...



But fortunately, it looked like the wait was worth it!

Happy Easter

Still a little sleepy...






Happy...


Katherine's basket...



Caroline's basket... And Jan Brett's new book, Easter Egg, is the best Easter book I have read since The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes. And that is saying something...