During a fourth grade writing class this week...we put our chairs in a circle
to talk about the year...what we have learned..how we can keep writing. It
was a nice time of dialogue...and I pointed out something that we had not
talked about before...when is our best time to write. It was interesting because
they all had their own ideas already well formed...their favorite times for
writing.

As for me...it is easy..it has always been my favorite time to write...the
moment between day and evening...twilight. One of my favorite storytelling
t-shirts has a wonderful phrase on it..."The hours between the ending of day and
the coming of night belong to the tellers of tales..poets, singers."

Right this moment it is twilight...evening dusk of sapphire and mauve and the
faint light of Jupiter appearing in the Southeast. My neighborhood is quiet
as the last of the folks and children are heading inside. It is not a TV
neighborhood...we call ourselves the artist district with a musician, a
cartoonist, a visual artist, and myself. I like knowing in other houses art of all
sorts is being examined and created around kitchen tables or cluttered desks. The
children play games outside...hide and go seek..swinging in old swings hung
from trees...scooters and bikes...but it is all quiet activity.

Spring is slow in arriving this year...usually sweatshirts and jeans. We had rain most of the day, but I still took a Sunday afternoon walk...the
trees shook raindrops down through the dripping trees...I imagined all of the
neighbors taking comfy naps after dinner.

There was no nap for me. The house at White Picket Gardens is still home to
Aaron and his family, Karen, babies, Matthew and Jonah. We are going on our
fifth week, and all still live to tell the story. It has taken a while to
adjust to each other...our styles are so different. Matthew and I usually share
the breakfast table together at 5:30...that is when we have our most serious
talks. (He is 3)

All in all...I have learned carpets can be cleaned....curtain rods look
artistic when hanging like an upside down rainbow...getting up at 5:30 on Saturday
gives me a great start to the day...baby bottles are just as easy to wash as
wine glasses...I am not too old for hide and seek (where did he put my
sunglasses, coin purse, shoes?).....lifting a 25 pound baby many times a day is just
as effective as lifting my weights that I USED to lift before family moved
in....mud does wash off....so does spaghetti....and that I like coming home to
someone who misses me.

As for family news, my three sons are in Honduras, or so we think they are.
They left from Miami yesterday morning and none of the wives have heard from
them yet. The girls are calling each other to see if anyone has heard, but so
far nothing. Karen is ready to get her passport and fly to Honduras and bail
Aaron out of jail. (Sorry Tonya and Kristin, you will have to get your own
husbands.) I hope those boys have good excuses not to make the promised
call...I wouldn't want to deal with any of their wives!! The trip is to catch
butterflies, mount them and bring them back to the United States for their
collections. They have been collecting butterflies since they could walk....but I
never dreamed their hobby could take them on such an adventure. I'll report back
next week.

Besides family and school..I have put miles on the jeep for storytelling this
month...sometimes it is as if I earn my living driving....sometimes I stop
and tell and story or two...but mostly I drive. It has been a good spring
season..lots of work, lots of good work.

It has grown dark during my writing...purple dark...shadow and silhouette
dark. Time for books and bedtime and sending wishes for good work out to all of
you.

Take a moment this week to walk through your neighborhood after dark...to
listen to the late spring creepers...feel the rain on your face...and be grateful
if someone you love is welcoming you home.

Lou Ann