Perpetual Astonishment

This might be my outlook, this month:

"Every spring is the only spring -
a perpetual astonishment."
- Ellis Peters

It seems every time I go outdoors, I catch a glimpse of some new bud or green thing that wasn't evident some hours before. This week, that Spouse o' Mine will return from down south, having waltzed Matilda for nearly three weeks. He will have missed the lilacs, the tulips, the forsythia, the daffodils and the smoke which defines rural Kansas in the springtime.

He will have embraced the plucking of passion fruit off the vine in the backyard for snack (he has already told me so), acquainted himself with the Aussie version of the Pancake Ride (cycling), the Gold Coast beaches with his family, reuniting with college mates, and much more. He has spent time with his three siblings - something they have not done "as a family" for decades.

What a great family reunion.

When he comes home: A day later, we welcome a Nigerian family who will stay with us as we get them settled into their 4-month life in the US, and as the husband conducts his work with that Spouse o' Mine. We are already acquainted with Sam (the husband/scientists), and now we will welcome his wife and their son.

The following week, we will welcome collegiate cyclists from who-knows-where, as they arrive for the K-State cycling meet. I love this weekend!

And two days after that, I drive west (for too many hours), pick up the Bride & Groom-to-be, and we will spend a week in Breckenridge, getting a feel for the vows. And reception.

A full month, this April.