Wind, Weather, and Jazz

Folk wisdom says children and animals are the best barometers. I’ve come to believe it. Every time the weather turns, there’s a slight uptick in nervous energy in my children. On blustery days like Monday was, it’s as if they inhale the essence of the breeze, becoming as free and wild as the wind itself.

They have a blast on those days. Me, not so much.

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to rein in the wind, but I never have much success. All it really does is make things spin faster. With all that energy, it seems they should be able to do something productive. It is a certainty that it is next to impossible to funnel that power into, say, math homework. Even the stretching exercises that normally relax us and help us focus turn into frenetic free-for-alls that eventually lead to screaming and barking—because what goes up, must come down. (The barking is from the dog. Mostly.)

It’s difficult for me to maintain course in the middle of it. It’s kind of like trying to walk a straight line in a class two hurricane—not impossible, but very difficult.

It was made even more difficult in that the weekend was gorgeous. The sun was out, the temperature was in the 60s, and my husband was home. We were relaxed, productive, and happy. We even took on the planned but somewhat impromptu project of painting our kitchen, making it through the primer and first coat by Sunday afternoon. 

A before photo of our kitchen wall color.
I loved the color, just not in our tiny kitchen space.
I'll eventually be able to post an after photo.

Monday was something of a shock.

Tuesday was calmer, more productive, indoors at least. Outside it was like a four-season sampler. Clouds, rain, sleet, hail, snow, sunshine—we got it all in the space of only a few hours. My children, being the interesting creatures they are, threw on their coats and dashed out to frolic in the hail. Hey, we’re social distancing. Anything unusual is exciting.

Despite the wild weather, we made it through a pared-down version of the school day (think the three Rs) and I used the afternoon to put a final coat on the kitchen.

Today is Wednesday. We’re not doing as well as yesterday, but we’re still doing far better than on Monday. Despite the date on the calendar, it feels more like early March. It is April Fools Day, though, and it’s as if the weather is saying, “Fooled you! Here’s some snow.”

Inside, we got a little sidetracked. While my son was practicing piano, he accidentally hit a cool-sounding chord.

“That sounds like jazz,” I remarked.

“What’s jazz?” my children asked.

Of course, if you are introducing someone to jazz, you begin with one of the greats. I began with Miles Davis. Now the smooth tones of that trumpet master are reverberating through our home. The scent of fresh-baked cinnamon bread is wafting from the kitchen. We all feel pretty chill (not my son; he never feels chill). However, that makes me more inclined to curl up with a cup of coffee and Wolves of the Beyond rather than spurring my children on to great academic heights.

We’ll do what needs to be done today. However, it will feel less like running a marathon and more like floating down a lazy river. We’ll reach our destination in our own time.

Have a blessed and very chill Wednesday.

My latest sourdough experiment was sourdough brownies.
I got the recipe from Common Sense Home. I have to admit that I'm not
thrilled with it. The taste was good, but it separated into layers, which I've never
had brownies do. It's probably operator error, or the fact that I had to substitute for
solid baking chocolate, so I'll try the recipe again, but I'll also keep looking.