Off to See the Wizard

One of the many advantages of teaching (albeit a superficial one) is having the luxury of beginning your summer weekends on whichever day you so choose.  This week the adventures began early Friday.  I have been blessed with a summer I've absolutely enjoyed.  For many, this is a given.  For me, I've just recently learned how to love summer again.  I walk without flinching through the burning cathedral of the summer. My bank of wild grass is majestic and full of music. It is a fire that solitude presses against my lips. ~Violette Leduc, Mad in Pursuit

Today was spent with my middle daughter, Ally.  She is smart and funny and we had a great time in this setting.  The water was fabulous...and could the day have been more beautiful?  I think not.  I spent the entire afternoon soaking up rays and perfecting my dive from the diving board.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy breaking the water from above.  As we prepared to leave (hours after our arrival), it became apparent that Puggles (the resident pooch) had carried off my sandal and enjoyed a bit of it as his snack.  Dang, that was a sweet pair of shoes!  I suppose this means I'll just have to go shopping for more.  I can't say I'm disappointed.

A woman with a child rediscovers the world. ~Pam Brown

For dinner, Ally and I enjoyed one of our favorite meals...Arris' pizza topped with Greek ausage, accompanied by a tall glass of ice water with a slice of lemon. There is no better pizza on earth. None. If you've ever visited this restaurant, you know I speak the truth (and I do so love to be right!).

A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world.  It kniows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.
~ Agatha Christie

As day journeyed slowly toward dusk...to darkness...Ally and I settled in with good friends and family to watch an outdoor movie on the Capitol lawn.  The movie is one of my favorites, The Wizard of Oz.  The beauty of the evening rivaled that of the afternoon.

The sun begins it descent...

...as the crowd settles in.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, and meet the young lady who fell from a star." ~Glenda, the Good Witch of the North

Oh, the summer night

Has a smile of light

And she sits on a sapphire throne.

~Barry Cornwall

And then came the scene that always scared me as a child...

...the Wicked Witch appears along the Yellow Brick Road.

"A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others." ~the Wizard of Oz

The evening was incredible.  The transition of the sky was like a series of subordinate clauses reaching into the night.  The air carried a breeze which even the bats flying near the dome seemed to enjoy.  As Ally and I walked to the car following the movie, I turned for this farewell photo...and was reminded of this: 

What children take from us, they give.

We become people who feel more deeply,

question more deeply,

and love more deeply.

~ Sonia Taitz 

I love you, Ally. xoxo