Haiku to you, too!

So it's Lent, and I've given up beer and wine (indeed, all alcohol). The irony here is that my kids have given me plenty to drink about if I were in that frame of mind, not the least of which was the "I would hate to have to suspend them," conversation I had with the program director at AfterCare today.

I don't get mad. I keep Lent by writing Haiku. Why? I find the energy is better spent that way, and I am also pretty good at it.

I've written about 3 dozen of them between last night and now; some highlights:

My kids do know how
to wind me around axles
I beg for mercy

the edge of the cliff
draws ever closer; I wish
my brakes worked better

Haiku therapy
Allows me to keep Lent by
venting spleen by hand

wrath of mom is good
enough to get older son
to empty washer

I got off a couple of other good ones, but they are in my other e-mail account.

Salve to my soul was a voice message left for me from a very dear friend. "I thank you for your kindness to me. I love you guys, and I know I am loved by you guys, and there is nothing better on this side of heaven than that."

And in other news, I am working with Nic on track. He likes it, even though he came in last in all his heats on Sunday. He wants to get better, and fortunately I am in decent enough shape to help him get there. The kids on the team are nice to him, and the coach so far has been very kind and supportive. And both kids learned a thing or two about shot-putting today.

Thankful for all the kindness that surrounds us, even when things don't go exactly as planned. It's all good.