Happy 40th Mother Earth!

the girls greeted me to celebrate Earth Day this morning driving in... well the others bolted when i pulled out the camera but this girl stuck around and let me snap a pic...

my Earth Day friend G. who organized lots of activities for us at work then still had the energy to go on our book club nature walk...

our hostess led us over the hills and through the woods to a creek and identified numerous plants and trees... i snapped photos and was constantly told to watch my step and keep up!

the ladies leading the way...

St. Francis, i believe, blessing our endeavor... we then went in for refreshments and a lively discussion of Olive Kitteridge and A Spot of Bother among other non related spring time nonsense...

i started this staff and friends book club almost ten years ago as a graduate project and it has so exceeded my expectations... every year ladies pull me aside and shed tears as they tell me how much it means to them... it is therapy to all of us... it's important to know people who are like minded, open minded, fun and challenging... these ladies laugh, shed tears, open their lives and say it like it is... i would never have guessed that when i asked them to help me that first year they would have not only stuck it out this long but spread the word and that it would have saved us all from life's insanity... cheers ladies!

this summer i will be joining 4 of these ladies for a week at the beach to just relax, read and enjoy life together and i can't put into words how much i need this right about now with about 5 weeks of teenage springtime hormones raging in the hallways... after down time and a summer of absence my heart does reset and i'll be ready to return in the fall but right about now i have the nagging desire to answer a questioning teenager too frankly when they ask "why?" not such a good idea :)