Like a Norman Rockwell picture....

On a breezy, cool, perfect Saturday our Latin Mass group had it's annual picnic at the park. Under the pavillon, families gathered at picnic tables. Men around the grill cooked and talked, kids played on the playground equipment, women chatted, set up food to share and kept eyes on their little ones. A softball game was played, horseshoes were thrown and one mom attempted to make homemade icecream in a can surrounded by ice and salt. It was a day like a Norman Rockwell picture, truly!

I didn't want the day to end, so many images to capture! Sweet friends with their polite children left me feeling very introspective and wistful. Here are a few things I absorbed...

These are the days that will live in our memories because they touch on so many of our senses. As I watched a bunch of children imaginatively hiding and traipsing through some tall meadow grasses they seemed like characters out of the Lion King. Other children rolled down a hill together at the same time, their giggles growing softer as they descended. I hoped that today would be imprinted on their minds , especially the way the breeze felt in their faces and hair. Surely they'd remember the way the grass felt soft as it cushioned their tumbling...the way the tall grass was actually scratchy, leaving marks on their arms? They'd remember the sounds of their friends laughing and the taste of all the sugary treats, and the smell of the charcoal.

My husband noticed how the teasing was always gentle on the ball field and these children always spoke to him so respectfully.

Lastly, I saw the most tender relationships. It is often said of homeschoolers that they are missing socialization. Is schoolroom socialization really indicative of the real world? Will you ever again be in a room of 30+ people all your exact age? No, the "real world" is made up of mixed age relationships....and here it was! Here, at this picnic all the children got along. Little ones were looked after by bigger ones... in enjoyment NOT obligation. My youngest son paired off with the oldest boy in another family to play different games. My 10 year old son spent the day with his favorite little toddler from another family. Friendship doesn't know age, kindness is not self-conscious.

Yes, it was one of those days you wish would never end....

I hope you got a wisp of that cool breeze blowing across your face this weekend too and that it tickled your senses alive!