month of beauty: Postcard from a Very Busy Day

All right, a postcard isn't quite exact. Postcards normally come with an actual image, something you can actually look at.

So, this is a mental postcard. You have to shut your eyes and imagine!

Well…Open your eyes, first. Then read my words. Then shut your eyes. And Imagine. In that order :)

Overcast day. Rain hovering.

Day brimming with possibility.

Time for Tennis!

Imagine the court, the links in the chain fence, the green fake turf, the cockatoos flying overhead. The pretend hawk tied to the light poles to scare away the cockatoos.

Imagine my girl running for the balls. Backhand! Forehand! Run in for the volley! Imagine my boy hitting smash after smash. Now serving. Now picking up balls with these long plastic tubey things that are really fun to wander about with (imagine me doing that for the hour as the kids learn tennis-y things).

Tennis lesson over. Time for the Library!

Image standing in the community centre, asking about renting a room for a possible class I might be doing. Another class! This time non-fiction. Should be a lot of fun. Imagine the kids laughing and chattering beside me. Imagine old men wandering by with their library bags and grey shorts.

Imagine the noisy library where we scope out the reference section. Might work for an essay class—it's the only quiet corner here. We know the librarian. She's a neighbour and she's lovely. Imagine two women chatting. Imagine my girl finding a book about cloning animals and my boy finding a book about breaking codes. Imagine all the lovely books wafting out words like a scent.

Library visit done. Time for Lunch in the Gardens!

Imagine a huge tree shaped like broccoli. Imagine long roots meandering like sleepy snakes, wood chips and leaves making a crunchy carpet. Imagine a picnic under the branches which lean down all the way to the ground, so people looking in can hardly see us. Imagine how my husband works in the beautiful old building nearby and we get him to join us for a magical fifteen minutes. Imagine the Cosy.

Lunch finished. Time for Homeschool Drama Group!

Imagine children running over the grass to the little theatre in the woods. Imagine how you can't see this either, from far away. It's like a secret garden, with a wooden stage, built around actual trees. Imagine game after game after game. Imagine children pretending to do Olympic sports; imagine children from 5 to 15 pretending to compete in a triathlon, every part of it, all in s l o w   m o t i o n. Imagine the laughter, ribboning around the tree trunks, up into the leaves, startling the sparrows. Imagine the delighted parents and the dads taking photos. Imagine kids red-faced and happy-tired. Imagine.

Drama Group complete. Time for Hot Chips by the Beach!

Imagine a mum and her two zipping off to the cafe by the Harbour. Imagine the chips coming fresh with salt, chips too hot to touch so you grab them gingerly and try to bite teeny pieces off without burning your tongue. Imagine lovely soy hot chocolates for a boy and his mama, and lemon sorbet for a girl. Imagine people watching—a whole troop of police officers coming in for food and the three of us thinking up a story to go with them. Imagine the sea and the seagull with a single foot, hovering in the wind.

Hot Chips eaten. Time for Art Class!

Imagine heading to the room above the art supply store. The room we've been coming to for six years for lessons with the lovely Anna. Imagine how whenever the kids do any art at home, they say, "I need to show this to Anna." Imagine the focus of five children, bent over paper clipped to boards. Imagine how they work on sketch after sketch, Anna raising the bar just a bit higher and a bit higher and asking them to reach. They always want to reach, for her. Imagine a teacher who changes children's lives.

Art Class ended. Time for Circus Class!

Really? Really? Yes. Keep imagining, please, because it's so lovely. Imagine a boy and a girl and a father this time, joining the evening juggling class. Imagine a boy making a breakthrough with juggling clubs, and a girl getting the hang, more and more, of moving these objects through the air. Imagine a man delighted, just to be there with his kids.

Circus Class complete. Time for Home!

Yes. Home. Finally. Imagine walking in, and sniffing. Lentil Bolognese! A mama is waiting with hot dinner, just made. Imagine the news. "And mum, I learned this! And I did this! And it went like this!" Imagine a boy bouncing bounce balls and talking and talking. Imagine a girl quickly reading another page of a much-loved book as pasta and sauce is ladled onto plates. Imagine the dinner conversation, words darting about like hummingbirds.

Dinner gobbled. Time for Bed.

Imagine the soft arms around a mama's shoulders. Imagine kisses and sleepy last things said. Imagine the mama reminding the kids that she'd be waking them early the next morning. For the next adventure. The next lovely thing. Imagine the drowsy dark. Imagine smiling, to hear how much beauty there could be in a single day, and how much more there is to come.