Happy new week, and happy Monday after Mother’s Day to my friends!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend – whether you were celebrating, being celebrated, or both – and that you’re feeling refreshed and restored going into the week.  (And for those of you for whom Mother’s Day is hard for any reason – I see you, and I honor you and send you virtual hugs and strength.)  This was definitely a good one around these parts.  On Saturday, we drove down to Mason Neck State Park – my favorite Virginia state park – for a hike.  It’s becoming a tradition to hike at Mason Neck on Mother’s Day, and it’s also becoming a tradition to roll into the park and be surprised to find that the annual Raptor Festival is going on; this was the second time we’d wandered into a parkwide celebration of birds of prey at Mason Neck.  Because both of my kiddos are obsessed with raptors (Nugget loves bald eagles, and Peanut is a falcon kind of girl) you’d think we’d actually plan this – but it’s always serendipity.  Anyway!  We did it all – hike along the Bay View Trail, playground stop, fishing in a baby pool, strawberry shortcake donuts from a mini yellow camper van, horseback riding, and two raptor demonstrations starring five different owls.  (More stories to come on Friday.)  I was glad to get some outdoor time in on Saturday, because Sunday was rainy and gross.  Obviously we went to the aquarium, which was bumping.  (Steve said it must be the destination of choice for ocean-loving moms on a rainy Mother’s Day, and I think he was right.  This ocean-loving mom had a great time.)  And the spoiling continued when we got home, as the kiddos presented me with a new life jacket and a beautiful boxed set of Jane Austen books.  I’m so grateful to have them, and while it’s nice to know that my hard work and sacrifices are appreciated – I felt like I should be thanking them for making my life so full and sweet.

Reading.  It was a lovely, if slow, reading week.  On Wednesday evening I finished up Good Omens, just in time to discuss it with the one member of my book club who showed up.  I think we might be fizzling out… But the two of us had a lovely chat about the book, sipped some rose and ate spanakopita, and it was delightful.  On Friday I finished up Factfulness while Steve was out with a friend, and over the weekend I’ve been slowly making my way through Travel as a Political Act, which I am loving (and trying to savor).

Watching.  An episode of Parks and Recreation here and there is just what the doctor ordered.  (I know as soon as Good Omens drops I’m going to be throwing everything else aside.)  Oh!  And the trailer for Where’d You Go, Bernadette – anyone else seen it?  What did you think?  I’m excited, although some of the lines in the trailer (like, “I think my mom just got so focused on her family that she forgot about herself” and “The answer to your problems is – get your ass back to work”) made me furrow my brow a little bit.  It seems like the screenwriters changed the story a bit, but maybe the trailer is just… off.  In any event, I hope they do the book justice.

Listening.  The highlight of the week in listening was – I finished up The 46 of 46 Podcast!  Really enjoyed it, and it made me want to get back to the mountains sooner than later.  (I don’t have any Adirondack trips planned, sadly.  And spring and summer are booking up fast.  But maybe this fall?  I need to get back to Saratoga to see my grandmother sooner than later, too.  It’s been a few months, which I don’t like.)

Making.  Soup for the week – hurray!  I always feel more grounded and less scattered when I have a big container of soup to ladle out for lunches during the week.  This week – potato, cabbage, gardein beefless ground, and a blend of tomato soup and homemade veggie stock.  YUM.

Blogging.  Another book review coming at’cha on Wednesday, and more about the Raptor Festival on Friday.  This is the time of year when my family fun posts and recaps start to heat up – what can I say?  I love me some summer fun.

Loving.  I’ve probably plugged for the International Rescue Committee before, but I just love their Rescue Gifts.  The kids dedicated gifts of school supplies for Christmas gifts to their teachers, and after recently – on a whim – looking IRC up on Charity Watch and discovering that they have an A rating (way to go!) I decided to send newborn baby kits to Zimbabwe in honor of my mom and her dear friend (who is like another mother to me) for Mother’s Day.  (I thought of Hans Rosling as I purchased the kits – he spends quite a few pages of Factfulness arguing that the most impactful thing anyone can do to bring more of the world out of poverty is to dedicate resources to improving basic primary health services.)  It felt wonderful to do something that I knew would make a difference to another mother, and my mother’s friend sent me a lovely email telling me how much it meant to her to receive the IRC’s notification that I had dedicated a newborn baby kit in her honor.  Warmth all around!

Asking.  What are you reading this week?