It was a good day for Saturday chores. The boys cleaned in the basement and later raked leaves outside. The front of the house has returned to that state of looking simultaneously well used and well neglected. I don’t even know where all this stuff comes from or why I can’t seem to be one of those women who weeds and cleans.

They replaced the roof last summer before I had a chance to realize what was happening. There were just a few days where guys were here tearing off the old roof and then replacing it with the exact same color that was on there before. So there was no dramatic visual change or intentional choice to best match with the siding that will be hopefully next sometime in the summer or fall.

These are the kinds of things where you wonder what you’re supposed to feel and have to eventually end up back at that place again where you’re feeling grateful. The kids played outside in the yard and the rest of the sap was boiled in the side yard. I walked around barefoot and laid on the athletic field benches, calmed again by the sun.