I like having time to think through my Giveaway and to plan something meaningful, but sometimes the fact that I didn’t have time to focus on it means that I had a good day accomplishing other things. Thankfully today went well and was busy and full, but this morning it hadn’t looked like it would go that way at all.

I had had a plan. My brother Alan would be here for the day on a brief stopover before heading to San Diego tomorrow. My son Theo would be in camp all day, so I would be able to get a substantial amount of work done writing some exhibition labels while Alan worked on his projects. That was the plan anyway, and we all know what can happen to the best-laid plans. Yesterday I discovered that I was too late to register Theo for the camp I’d planned to send Theo to for today and Friday. His friend was going to be there and it’s apparently loads of fun. So this morning, today was gaping open in front of me like an abyss. I had to keep Theo entertained somehow without screens or friends while I got some work done. After begging to have a play date with a friend – any friend – Theo thankfully came up with an ingenious plan. “Why don’t you take me to the Lego store and buy me a kit? It’ll keep me occupied for a few hours.” Although I am not supposed to be buying too much stuff, the idea of being able to get two or three hours of work done while Theo quietly built something was smart. And if I could work had and finish what I had to do in a couple of hours, it would actually work out cheaper than camp. It worked. We bought a Star Wars “Jedi Interceptor” and Theo worked away at it while I plugged away at my exhibition labels and Alan had a rest. We were all done in time for a late lunch, and then amazingly, Theo did his math for an hour and then a piano lesson. Not all days have been going this smoothly this summer, so I am thankful for the blessing of a day without too much stress, arguing and cajoling.

After dinner, I was left wondering what to give away. As I had been going through my CDs recently, I had a few contenders. I had already done my walk this morning so I decided to walk down the street and leave an offering of a CD of medieval sacred chants called Wings of Wisdom under the beautiful Chandelier Tree near our home, a gift to someone looking for some peace and calm and a thank you to the universe for granting me some today.