For the past two weeks, my desk has served as a dumping ground for anything I didn�t have time to put away. Finally, I was forced to confront the disaster area, since last night, when I couldn�t find my property tax bill and therefore was stymied from finishing my taxes. The result, I have to admit, is pretty satisfying. I still have to sort through a jumbo bag of receipts, but things are looking a lot better.

It was great to have the whole morning to work. My husband took AJ for the morning. They bought food, played baseball, and generally had a bang-up time. When they came back, AJ and I spent a little time planting more pansies in a window box outside his room and drawing chalk pictures on the driveway. I traced around AJ � he giggled every time I drew the chalk between his fingers � and he finished the picture by drawing his clothes and hair. He then drew �speed lines,� as he calls them, behind his driveway image, as well as a long line from the very end of the driveway to the back of his chalk feet, which are located in front of the front porch. �That�s to show how fast I�m going and to show where I was running.�

Unfortunately, Chalk AJ has now disappeared in a trickle across the garden � the rain is falling steadily, as it did last night. The lawn is suddenly green again, as if the gusty wind had successfully breathed it back to life. Even the waterfalls seemed extra energetic this morning. And I saw the ultimate good spring omen � a female bluebird nestled in the brush by the pond.

After lunch, AJ heard the shrieks of The Girl Next Door, who was playing in her driveway with her brother, and ran to join them. They both shouted with joy to see him and the three ran around their yard, playing on the swingset, temporarily abducting a garden gnome, and having rocking chair races until I called AJ home to nap. It was warm enough for me to sit in my treehouse and watch the fun from above, while pretending to read.

And now, I must cheer myself up from my latest conference rejection � I�ve had a stellar run this year, and I really shouldn�t feel bad about this one, particularly since I made such a half-assed effort. But still, nobody likes to be rejected, and it would have been nice to be presenting in a job search year. But, now I can concentrate my efforts. I�m running out of distractions. At least until my plant order arrives.

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