Mother's day – Maka Knows

It’s been busy for the last few weeks in our household.

Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day was an all-weekend long affair as each of my children stopped by to visit on different days. This holiday has always felt a little uncomfortable for me. I love spending time with my kids and my grandkids, but I must admit that parental holidays always feel a little like your family is being pressured into worshiping at the altar of Mom or Dad with each child bringing their offerings to please you. I would be just as satisfied if they came over to do laundry or to hang out and play video games. I just like having them around. No gifts required. This said my favorite part of this year’s holiday was getting my first hugs from my grandkids in over a year. Vaccinations are a wonderful thing. Get yours if you haven’t, you won’t regret it.

One of the offerings to the altar of Mom, fingers crossed I can keep it alive this time

In remembrance of Cleo

While Mother’s Day was a bit of a high for me, it was tempered by a big low. We said goodbye to our family pet of 17 years, Cleo. A tiny little cat who ruled over our house like an evil overlord. It’s oddly quiet without her. I still fight with the occasional bout of tears when I find myself missing her constant meowing and puking on my laptop. She was an obnoxious cat, but we loved her more than life itself.

Her companion, Mila, a passive aggressive tortie, is still trying to figure out where her cranky friend has gone. To be fair, I understand her apprehension as this is the third pet to have gone missing from her life in the last year. We lost Lexi, our dog to diabetes last June and Haku moved out with my youngest daughter in November. However, she seems to be ready to move on. Apparently, two weeks’ worth of mourning is sufficient, as this week she has started assuming ownership of Cleo’s favorite sleeping spots, including my husband’s lap.

Miss Cleo, we love you, we miss you and we will see you on the other side.

Cleo, letting us know the wash needs to be done

How does your garden grow?

Spring is a time of renewal. We have started planting the garden in anticipation of long summer nights spent outdoors. This is always a challenge for us. We love our house, but we have a deficit of yard space. You see, our house has no back yard to speak of. It backs directly onto a park. On the plus side it cuts back on mowing and yard maintenance, but the lack of privacy is a bit of a downer.

To help you visualize this… take two apartment patios x two and paste them together lengthwise and this is our backyard space. With the pandemic rules being so… flexible, we need space to socialize with family, so I have set up a small table with two chairs and a vertical staggered planter with flowers, herbs, and lettuce and called it good.

In my front yard I am growing tomatoes, carrots, strawberries, and flowers. To be fair, I only expect the flowers to survive. I am great at growing children but plants, not so much. Still, I soldier on as I enjoy puttering around out there and my war with the aphids is nothing if not a little humorous for my husband. At present we will call the state of affairs — so far, so good. I’ll let you know if reinforcements are needed.