Time

J called last night and things where he is right now are, quite simply, better than we could have imagined. Hungry people are being fed, those who've been fed are feeding others, and, well, things are happening. For the kids and me, the weather is sunny and cool and we've had no daddy-is-gone catastrophes. There are many things for which to be thankful...

In honor of beautiful days everywhere, we decided to do math out on our front porch this afternoon. The wind ruffled our workbook pages and the clouds made shadows on their bright white surfaces. We added and subtracted to the hum of woman-chatter, far-off car horns, and carpet sellers' songs as they hawked their wares on the front path beneath us. We let our eyes wander off multiplication tables to watch a grandmother tend a baby, and a monkey leap off a high tree and on to a roof.

We took the time to ponder and it was good.