Mother's Day

Dear Maria,

Happy Mother’s Day! Hope your morning began in pleasant fashion and the day drifts along gently. Here, a few afternoon showers are popping up, but nothing too ominous. Yet.

The gardenias are blooming now on one side of the garden while the jasmine is in full flower 20 feet away. Makes the humid mornings and evenings richly scented. That would be understatement. Makes me think I should be sitting in the French Quarter with an order of beignets in front of me along with the morning coffee.

Max has been feeling puckish the last two days, even refusing breakfast yesterday, but signs of life are returning as he did eat a bit more than half of breakfast today and so the pup will recover. I suspect some foul something or other he was chowing down on out back Friday was the culprit. But, this morning walk out at the school found him bouncing along mostly. Dogs.

Went out and kicked some hulls this morning. The boat bug bites once again. One with sails, naturally. Having to adjust my sight a bit. Keep looking with 40-year-old eyes like a kid at the Tonka factory. Need to ease into more of a—oh, the more elegant phrase would be ease into becoming a gentleman sailor. One boat via craigslist has caught my attention, and I await word. Need to get back on the water.

I guess you are aware of the mass kidnapping of girls in Nigeria—and on this day of all days, hard not to think of the mothers of those children and how they cope with such a personal tragedy and national disaster. Of course, thousands of mothers here battle daily for the lives of their children, but we often lose focus on their individual stories when such mind-boggling thuggery, or worse, dominates our media.

And so my mind wanders and I wonder, so many orphans out there—are there enough mothers in this world to care for them. Fortunately, the mothers I know—those who have been long at the task of caring for children and now tend to grandchildren, those who are celebrating their first Mother’s Day, and those who are somewhere in between—hold their children close in their hearts.

Once again I am thankful to be part of a world that is, by and large, kept on its axis for many of us by so many great moms.

May today and the days that come be blessed for you and your family.

Yours, srk