Pancakes, Finding your Thing... Life, death and meditation

This morning Mathew, Megan and I got ourselves up and drove over to the middle school.  Time for the Fall Sports Showcase! 

And pancakes, of course. 

I casually remarked to the owner of this cool pancake grill that I thought that might come in handy around my house and he started popping pancakes up in the air with no warning at all. 

I caught every one. And it made me laugh...what would he have done if I hadn't even tried to catch them?

After a quick meeting, we went outside and watched the kids run a lap or two around the school. Megan is running this year and she's really fast! I think she's found something that makes her feel like she has a place. I can't wait to go to her first meet.

While the race was going on, Mathew was out and about taking photos for the yearbook. He persuaded the principal to let him drop his 8th grade Reading Seminar class and take a full year of Yearbook, provided he keeps up his grades.  I am so happy that he is doing something he enjoys and has found a niche.

We headed home and started in on the housework and yardwork...even though we have had loads and loads of rain and the yard is a super swamp.

I noticed that the tomatoes I planted aren't producing much and something has happened to my parsley.

But hey, that rogue mulberry tree that sprouted up in the raspberry bed is really doing well. It doesn't care that I dig it out every year and spray it with death chemicals...it just pops right back up the next spring and reaches for the sunlight.

And how about this random sunflower in the blackberries? Why would I want actual blackberries to eat when I can have this majestic flower sucking up all the nutrients and giving the flies a comfy perch from which to keep an eye on the ripening berries.

Unidentified squash, anyone?

Lush, cascading weeds?

So, it would seem that I have a knack for only growing things unintentionally.  Maybe next year I won't plant summer squash and some big, gorgeous beets. And perhaps I won't plant an artichoke bush.

If that doesn't work, I could always have the littles give me meditation lessons.