Mother's Day was somewhat bittersweet for my girls and I. We went to a good friend's house but after a few children there deeply hurt the feelings of my youngest sprite we left. The most difficult part of the experience was trying to explain to Charlotte why people hurt others. At home that night the girls and I climbed into my wood bed, lit a candle, and listened to Charlotte sing a sweet song about fairies sailing to sea. Whatever sadness I had from the earlier debacle faded into deep gratitude and wonder. Family, home, hallmark made holidays, love . . . it all is what we decide it to be. I used to be both repelled and fascinated with the character of Nora from Ibsen's A Doll's House. How could she leave her husband and children at the end of the play? How could she dance for macaroons like a trained monkey? Now after looking back on my twenties and thirties I realize that sometimes to become whole, one must endure endings: endings of marriages, endings of friendships, endings of professions. The good news is that with endings, there will inevitably be room for other doors to open. Leaving out of the door of the proverbial dollhouse . . . and into our own house.
This week we cook an easy Mexican dinner with bean tacos and cabbage salad, look at the novelty of braids, meet the sweet Minnie Mortimer, and more. The Local Rose is growing thanks to all of you. . . .
