GRATITUDES:
1. My kid’s phenomenal talent
2. Deep breaths
3. Watching the trees leaf out
4. Patches of wildflowers along the highway

I’m still riding a bit of an emotional high from yesterday afternoon, when Basil won Best In Show for their painting that was entered in the New Braunfels Art League’s Teen Art Show. They competed against many other very talented kids from other area high schools. Basil got a phone call late Saturday afternoon from someone at the gallery who persuaded them to attend the reception on Sunday. I overheard some of the conversation and heard the woman say that it would be worth it. (Basil had their phone on speaker, so it was a bit hard to miss.) I am SO PROUD OF THIS KID. Not only have they been accepted to many art schools nationwide, some of them quite prestigious, but now they’ve got this new honor to add to their collection. Wow. Just… WOW. My kid. This one right here. I’m one extremely proud mama.❤️❤️

I have inadvertently trained my family to be on heightened alert when they hear me sigh deeply. I like to breathe. It feels really good to take a deep breath and then let it out in a big whoosh. Unfortunately, I also do the same when I’m really exasperated, so that explains everyone’s nervousness when they catch me sighing. I also used to do this while sitting at my computer at work – I tend to hold my breath a bit while working in Illustrator or Photoshop – and I would invariably be asked by one of my co-workers if I was okay. Geez, I’ve unintentionally traumatized a small legion of people simply by breathing!

We’re experiencing spring a bit early this year. The trees first began showing buds a couple weeks ago and now they’re almost past their catkin phase, exploding in bright shimmering greenery. The bluebonnets are also nodding their sweet little heads on the freeway verges, parkways and medians, sharing space with adorable little flowers that resemble pink buttercups or maybe small Iceland poppies. I wasn’t expecting much of a wildflower show because we’ve had so little rain but almost everywhere I look, there’s a flash of yellow, pink or bright lavender blue. The blanket flowers will start a bit later and last until the heat gets too intense, but I’m enjoying the beauty of the earlier bloomers while they last. I missed nearly the entire spring show last year due to being in the hospital the whole month of April so this is a real treat.

News update: Basil was accepted at CalArts!🎉🎉👏👏🎈🥳