TheBanyanTree: Happy Mother's Day

[Margaret R. Kramer]

It’s 44 degrees and raining this morning.  Everything is so green from all
this rain.  Grass that was cut last week is already ankle high this week.
If this rain ever stops, the whir of lawn mowers will be heard over anything
else for a few days as people try to catch-up on their yard work.

Yesterday’s rain was not a steady rain.  The sky would clear out, in fact,
we had brief glimpses of sun, and then would get dark again, signaling the
beginning of a another downpour.  It was like having hope followed by
disappointment.

Ray and I did our usual Saturday chores, and then headed downtown to the
Farmers’ Market.  We wore our winter coats, hats, and gloves.  The wind was
up and it started to rain as we walked towards the market.  Fortunately,
most of the outdoor market is under a large roof, so no one really got wet,
but it was so cold.  Even though it wasn’t near quitting time, a lot of the
merchants were packing up, because they were turning blue.

We bought a few plants and then got out of there before we turned blue, too.
It’s an interesting drive for us since we live closer to downtown St. Paul
and we are west instead of east of the city.  We made mental notes of the
various businesses as we drove along.  It’s been fun trying to find where to
shop in our new area.  It’s been fun to see real businesses instead all the
chains we saw in our suburb-like area.

We just live two blocks from the river, and if it ever gets nice again, I’m
going to ride my bike down there and ride on the trails.  I finally got my
bike adjusted so my knees don’t hurt as I ride, so now I’m ready to rock and
roll.

In spite of the rain, time marches on, and it’s Mother’s Day.  A day that
mothers are supposed to rest and have the family worship at their feet.  In
some ways, it’s just another day for me.  Ray and I will have breakfast,
then I’ll go to workout.  Susan told me her parents are joining us for
dinner, so I’ll need to buy another Mother’s Day card and a gift for Susan’s
mother.  When I get back from working out and shopping, I’ll probably work
on getting some pictures into photo albums.  We’re going to have dinner at a
small Italian restaurant towards downtown.  It’s one of those “everyone
knows your name” places.  They don’t know mine, but they might after a
while.

If it stops raining for a few minutes, Axel and I will go for a walk.  He
doesn’t care if it’s Mother’s Day or not.  He doesn’t worship me as his
mother, but as the leader of our pack.  So maybe it should be Pack Leader
Day instead.  Most mothers are the leaders of their packs . . .

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so
it's all right.
~Maya Angelou