Clump #187:  Clear out wire basket of assorted junk that had migrated into son’s bedroom.

There I go, anthropomorphizing the clutter again.  Ahem.  I shoved this stuff together when clearing out our kitchen desk.  And it was before Christmas this year, when I was frantically readying for a party.  No need for carbon dating.

Oh, my poor heart strings!  Today is our son’s birthday, and when I turned over the picture frame on top I was overwhelmed.  It was a photo compilation my younger sister had made for another birthday years ago. Here’s a portion of it, a little blurry, like my eyes right now:

My memory of driving our son home from the hospital is of all the trees in bloom.  It was as if the whole world was celebrating.  Today was a gem of a day, and I was fortunate enough to go with some friends to a Japanese tea ceremony at the Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia.

We learned about the four elements to strive toward in the tea ceremony: purity, harmony, respect, and tranquility.  They were all present.

We were served a sweet wrapped in a young cherry tree leaf that had been fermenting for a year …

and a lovely bowl of bright green macha tea.

The beauty of the setting was exquisite.

Even without many leaves.

One tree was perfectly pink against a perfect blue sky.

We were all struck by the elegant simplicity of the place and of the ceremony.  No extraneous movements or things.  I include this photo of a musical instrument in honor of our musician son:

Everything had a place and a purpose.  I will try my best to remember.