Sorrow

Today, I arrived at Mary's t-ball game and was greeted by a group of teary-eyed friends. One of them approached, embraced me, and told me that our beloved priest had passed away this afternoon. Very unexpectedly, of a massive heart attack. We are in shock.

Our incredible Fr. Slider has greeted us so warmly into this community. Our first week at St. Agatha, he made a special point of introducing us to several other families so that we would make friends quickly. He went out of his way to get us connected and involved in our new neighborhood. When Mary had her appendix out, he called our home asking how she was and offering support. He was one-of-a-kind. In more ways than one.

He was a married Catholic priest. Yes, married. Because he converted to Catholicism and then decided to become a priest after he was already married, he received special approvals all the way up to the Pope himself. And his wife, Jacque, is our preschool teacher. Beloved as a gentle and wise teacher. She helps our children learn impeccable manners and also teaches them to love art as she helps them create masterpiece after masterpiece, each suitable for framing. She is a treasure. To know she is dealing with the loss of her husband has me literally sick to my stomach.

Tonight, I tried to explain to the girls that Fr. Slider is in heaven. Lucy barraged me with questions. The most notable was: "So when does he come back to live again?" And I said, "Oh, honey, he doesn't. He is in heaven forever now." Her reply: "But Fr. Slider is the one who told me about Jesus dying and coming back again. Doesn't he get to do this, too?"

Oh how I wish! Today our little neighborhood lost an amazing man.

Tadpole Trekking

Despite all of the rain (oh, yes, there's still rain here. Mother Nature apparently takes revenge when you divulge secrets), we had a fabulous weekend. Time with friends, a family-room-floor picnic (did I mention it was rainy?) with Gram and Papa, and during the nicest stretch of weather, a trek down to the tadpole pond at Oaks Bottom. The girls loved seeing the little almost-froglets.

We capped the weekend off with some sunshine. And some bike racing down the street with our gang-- the fantastic four who live next door. What a crew!

Kindergarten Writing Workshop

At the beginning of the year, Mary's teacher told us that her goal was to transform her kindergartners into writers. As the school year winds down, it's obvious she accomplished her goal. With flying colors!

Here are a few samples. Watch out Buck Banter editor. You may have competition-- and soon!

Our Master Gardener

Last spring, my father, our resident "Master Gardener," gave me two small green plants.
"They are balloon flowers," he declared, and he promised they would bloom into beautiful unique flora. Well, halfway through the summer, they still looked like straggly green stalks.

Our Master Gardener assured me they would bloom, but perhaps not until the following spring. So I tended to these plants all summer, fall, winter, and spring.

For the duration of this time, they have looked like weeds, which have grown in size but never produced those unique, beautiful flowers. In fact, a friend asked why I was allowing such large weeds to grow in my planter box right outside our back door! See for yourself:
And so, we began to place bets on these flowers. Would they bloom by Easter? By Mary's birthday? In honor of Mother's Day? Or, had Dad played a joke on us and perhaps they were weeds after all? Every morning at breakfast, we would place our wagers on when the "weeds" would actually bloom.

After 14 highly-anticipated months, I'm happy to report we have our first blossoms. They truly are unique and beautiful. Thanks, Master Gardener!! Your reputation is safe once again.

"Nurse, it's an appendix!"

They say truth is stranger than fiction. I say sometimes life parallels fiction.

Mary is planning to go see the play "Madeline" in downtown Portland this Saturday with two girlfriends. For those who haven't read the Madeline book, she's a little girl who frowns at the bad, smiles at the good, and in the midst of a lot of clever rhyming, has her appendix taken out. (Miss Clavel ran fast and faster, afraid of a disaster...and the doctor dialed DAN-Ten-Oh-Six, "Nurse, it's an appendix!")

Yesterday morning, Mary woke with a fever, complaining of pain in her stomach. For most of the day, she was quiet and lethargic and didn't eat much of anything. By early evening, when she turned down one of her Aunt Amy's famous flower cookies, I knew something was seriously wrong. The pediatrician recommended watching her carefully overnight, as she had a few of the symptoms of appendicitis. This morning, I was that overzealous mother waiting in front of the pediatrician's office when it opened to get Mary in to be seen. (In my defense, they have only seen us for regular vaccinations in the past two years, so I don't have a reputation. Yet.) The pediatrician took one look at Mary and sent us up to Doernbecher Children's Hospital where every single solitary service is designed around children and their families (thank the Lord!). We spent the morning in kid-friendly cozy spaces waiting for an ultrasound, then surgical consult, and finally, prepping for surgery. Just like Madeline, Mary was getting her appendix out.

All day, friends have texted me, "How is Mary? How are YOU?" And we are doing fine. You see, Mary was cool as a cucumber all day. No anxiety, no tears, no meltdowns. She listened to the doctors, asked a few soft-spoken questions, and just went along with it all. So there I was facing the prospect of my baby going under the knife with a resident who looks all of 25. (Insert terrifying mishaps from bad Grey's Anatomy episodes here, and my wild imagination got very carried away.) And yet how could I melt down when my six year was holding it together? Well, I couldn't, of course. So I didn't.

We made the best of it, and read every chapter book in my bag, as well as a few the hospital loaned us. Her t-ball team dedicated their game tonight to Mary (her sweet pal Emma confided that she wrote Mary's name three times in the dirt whilst playing shortstop...can't say if any balls were missed as a result!). Our amazing friends who watched Lucy for us today helped Lucy and pals make darling get-well pictures for Mary, and even sent us back to the hospital tonight with delicious soup for dinner. Best of all, when Mary finally awoke from the anesthesia tonight, she got to have a midnight snack of pb&j and chocolate milk.

We're hoping she gets to go home tomorrow, but if not, something tells me she won't mind staying another day or two. Just like Madeline.

Now we are six

Mary celebrated her sixth birthday on Tuesday. She had a wonderful day, first celebrating at school. All of her classmates gave her a birthday necklace, each saying a wish for her as they strung their chosen bead onto her necklace. Then, she came home for a little celebration of cupcakes with a few close friends, and pizza afterward with Gram and Papa Buck. All in all, a big day of activity for our big girl. Six years old. Good grief. When did we enter warp speed?

May Day

Look what we found hanging on our front door when we returned from a wonderful dinner with friends! A Happy May Day bouquet. Anonymous, of course, as every May Day bouquet ought to be. Isn't it perfection?

We also must give a special shout-out on this day to our favorite May Day girl: happy happy to our sweet cousin Chiara who turned two today!