This picture is from last week, on one of our evening wood-haulings. I caught Bracken sitting for a rare moment (usually running around) and just staring into space a bit. By that point in the day, I think he had worn himself out from all his activity. He likes to move and be busy. We all do. We had just finished picking some blackberries while Jeff split some firewood.

Recently Jeff expressed concern that the colder season is approaching and we had yet to prepare firewood. We’ve been really behind in the firewood department this year. There’s still wood to cut and split down below from earlier this season. We have had so many other things demanding our time and attention that it kept getting put on the backburner. So I suggested: why not haul up one wheelbarrow load of firewood each day and put it in the woodshed? That way, one step at a time, at least we would be making progress. And one wheelbarrow load a day was something we could manage among all the other things. So each evening we’ve been bringing up one load of wood. It’s a start.

I actually look forward to that time each day, when the day is winding down and we have some outside time together as a family. After we fill up the wheelbarrow, Jeff splits some more wood. He has been splitting as much wood as he can so that it will get dried out in the sun, while we still have it. The wood has all been curing pretty well with the hot summer we’ve been having.

One evening we found this:

We like friendly little snails (as long as they are far away from the garden.) Bracken and I watched as this one crawled all over my garden glove while we relocated it down below. Bracken insisted we put it by the blackberry patch. Good life for a snail I’d say, living in an abundance of berries.

In other news: my suitcase is packed. I just have a few last minute things to add. (And lots more to do around the house.) Last week I had haircuts scheduled for Bracken and I. I was proud of myself for being organized and having them scheduled the week before we were to be leaving. I hadn’t had my hair cut in a salon for a long time, maybe seven years or so. All I need is a trim, so my mom usually does it when she visits. But I wanted to feel “fresh” for our trip and not have to worry about having my mom do it there. I felt pretty fancy and the idea of getting my hair cut at the salon sounded almost luxurious.

Our visit to the salon didn’t go exactly as planned. I got my hair cut, but Bracken didn’t. When it came time and we set him in the chair while I held his hand, he burst out crying and said “no, no, no.” He seemed genuinely afraid. We got mine cut first. Jeff walked him around the block. We tried again. Still no luck. To be honest, I felt a little frustrated and a little annoyed by it all. I had a schedule. I really wanted to get his hair cut before the wedding. Bracken was going to be the ring bearer and his hair was starting to get in his eyes, a hair cut was something that felt really important to me at the time. Bracken had gotten his hair cut twice before from the same guy and although he didn’t really love it, it went fine. So I felt puzzled and really surprised. I hadn’t expected Bracken’s reaction at all. The man said we could call back another day if we’d like and try again. I wasn’t sure when we’d make another trip to town. I was afraid to try again, what if Bracken reacted the same way? As we got into the car, I felt guilty for feeling disappointed. I felt like I wasn’t being a very graceful mother and that I needed to be more understanding of Bracken. I was just surprised and needed a moment to wrap my head around it all. If he didn’t get his hair cut before the wedding? Oh well. Not the end of the world. A hair cut was really not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Hair cut by me and risk a lop-sided do for the wedding? No thanks. Try again the next week, right before we left? Perhaps. I decided to embrace the mantra “roll with it.” Sometimes I like to plan, but life likes to surprise me and reminds me to be flexible. Sometimes when we need a little help being more flexible, we need to take a deep breath, relax as best we can, and just say “roll with it”, don’t we?

P.S. Today we did indeed try again and he got his hair cut after all, just in the nick of time. It felt like a miracle, thanks to a patient hairdresser (who happened to be very good with kids), a wooden giraffe, flexibility, and a whole lot of creativity.