Even within my heart and personal life, I have days rife with longing and grief and fear, where tears come easily. I can't speak for you, reader. I won't assume anything about your life right now. But my aim in writing about life's little things is to add a little lightness, if I can...

The other night, I pulled out a melamine tray, plated our dinner (egg casserole), and grabbed a sparkling water. We laid out our favorite thrifted picnic quilt (I think it was my mom's find a long time ago). Cooper ate ground beef and blackberries, took sips of our sparkling water. We left our shoes off, enjoying the feeling of bare feet in grass--all three of us...

Since I lasted posted about finished projects, I finished two pairs of socks. First, a pair of slipper-type socks for Nicholas. I have only ever knit toe-up socks twice, both times with this pattern. Nicholas has already worn them a few times...

On Friday, after lunch, we loaded up the car and started the drive, listening to podcasts and chatting. I knit on my pink socks. Cooper napped, and then woke up happy. We unpacked and settled in a bit, once we arrived to the adorable rental house...

I made breakfast and coffee, I checked messages from a few friends who knew this day was meaningful for us. Cooper and I ran errands, he waved and said "hi," in his soft voice to everyone we passed and held on tightly to a penny while he sat in the cart. As we loaded up the car, I saw a mom and her little boy parked close to a construction site so the little boy could see the construction vehicles closely. And then we spent time in the backyard, the three of us, observing (from a safe distance) baby bunnies in our yard, Cooper leading his daddy around by the hand...