The State of Life

Mornings have been brilliantly clear at our house. I usually leave between 6 and 6:30 a.m., so it's still dark, and Orion, which has always been my favorite constellation, has been riding right overhead every morning. Venus has been just above the hill to the east, so bright that it looks like a stadium light. It's frosted once so far this month.

Lucy is loving her second year of preschool, and also loving the mornings she gets alone with mom!Joy, now that Maddie is in first grade. Maddie had her to herself for almost three years until Lucy showed up. Now it's Lucy's turn for at least a little bit of prime parental attention real estate.

Maddie enjoys first grade. She has a great teacher. She's starting to make some friends, which is good, as her best friend moved away over the summer. Second time that's happened to her. She's playing soccer again and is liking it much better this time. She's a cold weather kid, like I was.