Love in a Diagram

This sweet little piece, “The Universe and Forever,” is by Wendy MacNaughton, who says, “I make diagrams to help make sense of things that are incomprehensible and overwhelming, too big and complex. In this case, love.” True that. Happy Valentine’s Day, lovebugs. (Click on the image to see a larger version or to order a print.)

I caved and gave the boys their Valentine’s gifts yesterday. To their surprise and elation, they unwrapped the last Star Wars movie they didn’t own (Empire Strikes Back) and a starter box of Legos. I’ve shied away from Legos all these years because I didn’t think they were 1) ready to play with such tiny pieces and 2) ready to keep track of such tiny pieces. Both last night and this morning I found beetle-size pieces in the living room carpet, on the tile floor in the kitchen and in the bathroom (really?). Even though I gave CLEAR instructions to play at a table where the pieces to be contained, Legos have popped up in other areas of the house already. I’ll endure it, though, because those boys played with their Legos for two hours straight.

And playing for two hours straight was a huge help to me since I’ve started packing. We leave Amarillo in less than three weeks, so I’ll be splitting all of my time between the book, packing up the house and maintaining some level of race training for the half marathon in early April. A contract has been on the house for two weeks, though I’ve only just started acting like it. Between you and me, reader, I’m a little nervous. You know when something is too good to be true and you’re so sure it’s going to be yanked away at the last minute that you’re reluctant to accept it in the first place? It kinda feels like that.

However, if it’s not going to be yanked away, I want to be prepared! I’ve already packed a good chunk of non-essentials and will tackle the semi-essentials bit by bit. We’ve also secured a rental house in Knoxville, and I’ll admit to you that I probably look at it two or three times a day online. The house backs into a wooded area thick with trees and grass. There’s a deck off the back of the house that looks onto it, and in the wintertime when the leaves have fallen, you can see a small range of the Smoky Mountains in the background.

Springtime is coming, and I couldn’t be more glad. It’s time for a new season.

 

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