Katie and I drove to Fallbrook this morning, super-excited for our music class to resume! We had such an awesome time: Katie remembered the songs and sang along a little, was excited when the instruments and scarves came out, played her shaker eggs in beat today, and was incredibly helpful in picking up. When the teacher thanked her, Katie got the biggest surge of pride and happiness through her whole body. She loves to please, and her smile was a mile wide. Katie was genuinely excited to see Miss Kara, and returning to class after the holiday hiatus was a happy event for my daughter. I love that she loves class.
After ten weeks of studying variations on fiddle-based compositions, our next course of study is the use of drums. We received our new CDs and sheet music today, and so the studying begins. Our task is get to know all 25 songs as quickly and thoroughly as possible so that we can participate fully in our classes. I so very much love the Music Together structure; I cannot recommend it highly enough. Katie has grown musically right before my eyes, and I am so excited for this new drum course!
Back home, we played in the backyard for an hour or so. We found some "swords" and pretended to vanquish goblins that were drifting into the yard on clouds. Katie said they might try to take our (pretend) ice cream and milkshakes. We would hold hands and hit our swords on bushes and trees and the play structure, fighting the goblins. We made an encampment that we christened "River Base" behind our little waterfall/lake. Katie said that goblins can't swim, and so we reasoned that we would be protected by the water in back of us. I taught her a couple of She-Ra moves, and eventually we were able to drive the goblins from our land.
A little while later, my mom came over to watch Katie until Bill got home, and I went out to lunch with some good friends at Ponte Winery, specifically the Smokehouse Restaurant. Oh, I felt like I was somewhere in Tuscany, with the sunlight breaking through some of the misty day and falling on the grape leaves. Six of us ladies talked about life and did a little catching up. I loved my pizza of the day: an unexpected combination of four cheeses, spicy spicy peppers, pineapple, tomato, and very thinly sliced potatoes. Another revelation in flavor-layering. Delicious! It was certainly a treat to be a little off the beaten path, looking out at sprawls of land, savoring food as art, and sharing time with women I love. Many of us remarked that we felt like we were in another country somewhere. Magical.
Home again, Bill and I shared stories about the day, and I played chase/tickle with Katie upstairs before her bath.
I am thankful to life for another beautiful day, and I think constantly about how blessed I am to share time with those I love and who love me in return. I am a lucky, lucky person and I don't take any of it for granted.
