It is late and yet I am feeling so grateful for the moments of the day. We rose in the chilly morning to catch a quick cup of coffee and and a bagel from MickeyD's and then off in a glorious charge to the fruit farm. We arrived with a few other young mothers and their charges in tow. We met with our tour guide and she helped us to understand how an apple tree starts and produces 85 different varieties of apples. The children were from 4 months up to the professional five year old. Due ti illness and such several of our group were home in bed. Then we were literally off to the golden delicious section of the orchard to twist twist twist our apples to fill the bags of our cherished fruits. I do believe the photos can say what I am too exhausted to coherently put together in sentences.
We had a big breakfast at Bob Evans and went home to make sweet apple crisp, some homemade bread and delicious chicken pot pie filling to dip our warm bread into and sop up all the juices. I said "we" but really I was spoiled by Erin because she and Cole did all the cooking for our Autumn feast. Ken went to teach his classes and we put our little ones down for a nap after being out in the fresh air this was relatively easy today. Instead of resting ourselves Erin and I relaxed on the couch and had time for a warm intimate conversation about "mother " concerns and what we are working on on the next couple of months. In the last five years I do not think we have had such a luxury to have 90 minutes to sit down, stop and chat with one another. Simple pleasures.
Dinner came and went and before we knew it it was time for us to head home to Newark. I hope you enjoy the photos and tomorrow we will have energy to fill in the gaps. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart
