Extraordinary in the Ordinary

The greens of spring. Basil in bottom left with sweet potato vine and squash plant.

It’s a busy week. I’m up early making my list. Lil’ Buddy comes down the steps, hair tousled. He’s ready for the day. I turn from my spot on the couch and notice that out the window it is quietly raining. Steady drops and misty. I mention the rain to him.

“Oh! My plant will grow! Let’s go look! Let’s go see my basil!” The basil he planted in a tiny cup with his Sunday School teachers. We crack open the door quietly so as not to disturb sleeping siblings or nibbling backyard bunnies. And we see, in the first light of the day, yes, basil is several inches tall!

Our feet wet on the patio. Our day starting with the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Late morning it’s still raining gently. Yet we need some flowers for our kitchen table (thanks to a prompt from our Handbook of Nature Study newsletter). One girl hops out the front door. She and I notice that the hydrangea is just starting to get color. Tips of blue.

A grandaddy long-legs appreciates the hydrangea blossom too.

She clips and gathers hydrangeas. Roses too.

Arranges.

Then, she needs to see what the backyard holds. Others head out into the late morning sprinkles.

And though our celebratory end-of-the-school-year days of drama productions, spring choirs singing and puppets performing don’t allow time for sketching and journaling…We look closely and marvel at the oakleaf hydrangea during our lunch. We see all those little flowers behind the blooms. The rain drops on petals.

And we talk of our long-stretched summer days ahead. {Pause for relaxing sigh.}

Plenty more opportunity for noticing Extraordinary in the Ordinary just like this morning’s flowers and things growing in the rain.