Lemongrass, Learning, and the Lull of Rain

The house was still and quiet when I woke at 3:30 this morning, the kind of silence that makes you want to just breathe it in for a moment before starting the day. I felt lighter than yesterday, as though the weight I’d been carrying had loosened its grip overnight. After getting dressed, I drew my tarot card — Perfume. A comforting presence… a reminder to pause and notice the small sweetness in the day ahead.

a fond memory. sweetness. a comforting prescense. attracting a mate. demure

Outside, the rain whispered against the windows. The forecast promised more of it, which meant the goats would stay in and the farm stand would remain closed. Dinner was already planned, so there was no rush there. Instead, I turned my attention to the clipboard — a mountain of laminated sheets waiting to be sorted. Two hours later, with the pile finally tamed, I gave the stand cam a quick clean even though it wouldn’t see any use today.

duckweed confetti

I moved on to my starter, feeding it like an old friend, and then began the slow rhythm of working through the dogs. I wasn’t sure if I had the stamina to do them all in one go, so I spaced them out with small household chores — a quick wipe-down of the bathroom here, some website settings adjusted there. By the time the last pup’s tail wagged off for the morning, the house had begun to stir. The girls had just woken up and were curled up in front of the TV, waiting patiently for breakfast, while Charlie was blinking his way into the day.

lemon grass oil in crockpot

While they ate, I set the crockpot to work infusing lemongrass oil for salve and readied the stand mixer for muffins. Once their room was tidied, we gathered for our read-aloud, the rain providing a steady backdrop to our voices. We watched a couple of videos on killdeer, then worked through a matching worksheet. From there, the girls breezed through an ant anatomy page, anthill anatomy, and a STEM activity about ants. We rounded out the morning with India flashcards, a bit of history, and their India timeline before they sat down to a lunch of warm mac and cheese and slipped off to nap.

The quiet hours of nap time were my chance to move at my own pace. I checked on the muffins, stirred the lemongrass oil, and later poured the golden infusion into tins, transforming it into fragrant salve. A little more cleaning, a little more progress — and soon it was time to wake my sleepy crew.

The afternoon carried the scent of spices. The girls dove right back into their India packets, starting with a spice-sense activity, while Charlie began pulling together ingredients for an Indian spiced tea. As the aroma filled the air, they moved on to coloring sheets and then to dinner, their little feet padding up and down the hallway in play until bedtime came calling.

choco chip muffins ready for oven

With the girls tucked in and the rain still murmuring outside, the adults sat down to our own dinner. I tidied the living room one last time, then turned my attention to Persephone’s summer scrapbook. Page after page, I could feel the season unfolding again — the laughter, the dirt-smudged cheeks, the sunlit moments. I made it halfway through Aria’s before my eyes grew heavy, ready to let the day go and start fresh again tomorrow.