pieces and ponderings

It’s August…the 29^th exactly…my 320^th month-a-versary (see earlier post).  It’s hot out…though cooler today than yesterday.  The grass in our yard crunches because it hasn’t rained in a while.  I’m concerned about child number 4 having football practice this afternoon in such heat…but, I’m a mom and it’s my job to be concerned about such things.  And this afternoon I will go sit outside in the heat while child number 5 has a tennis lesson…but, I’m a mom and it’s my job to sit in the heat when children have such lessons.

Some of my flowers around the yard have withered because of the heat and the fact that I haven’t watered them as regularly…because it’s August and life got crazy in August.

But the Lantana in my front yard is looking good…in spite of the heat…in spite of the lack of water.  And the Lantana in my front yard is smiling so brightly with its yellow flowers that butterflies from all over are coming to visit.

I love butterflies…flutter-bys, as some children call them…and some adults like me.  Watching butterflies is a peaceful thing to do.  Watching butterflies makes me forget how hot it is and all of the things on my to-do list that I have yet to to-do.

We think of butterflies as coming in the spring…and I guess that they do…but there are lots and lots of butterflies that come to our place in August.  As I’ve observed the gathering of butterflies over the last few days…I remembered an August long ago…when child number 2 was in kindergarten and would get out of school at noon and children numbers 3 and child number 4 would ride with me to go pick up their sister from school.

To pass away the driving time, which was only about 10-12 minutes…but sometimes even 10-12 minutes needs passing with preschoolers, child number 3 and I would count butterflies.  There would be bunches of them fluttering around the roadside flowers and bushes.  It was a fun thing to do…a peaceful thing.  Sometimes we would count 100 butterflies…that’s a lot of butterflies…that’s a lot of gentle, peaceful creatures helping us pass away the time of hot August days.

And though I’ve already taken a butterfly-break today…I might take another one…and go sit on my front porch and watch dozens of flutter-bys fluttering by.  It’s such a peaceful thing to do.  You might want to take one too.