What You Duning, Grampie ?

As I write this entry this morning I hear the echo of the question Paige has asked many times a day in the last few weeks to either Grampie or Monkey."What are you duning,Grampie? What are you duning, Monkey?" Following along behind us she constantly asks us what we're duning. Good question Tiny Toad. My July days have been filled with doing many things. Yesterday Meg and Cody took the girls and went to visit friends in Halifax. Being alone and looking at the full day of uninterrupted hours to do anything I wanted was wonderful . I worked away at doing household chores with no "Monkey" interruptions . Oh how I will miss those, but the echoes will stay in my mind. Burton and I found ourselves filling the silence with what the girls would be saying .Today when the sun comes out I will get to the garden. I will fill wheelbarrow loads with the weeds that have gone unpulled.I will have quiet hours to let my mind wander. This morning I found myself longing to get back to my writing. I have not had time to give it any thought, but I look forward to getting back to work. August approaches and just like in my teaching days I feel the tug of September. I am anxious to get to the editing of The Memory Chair. We hope for an April launch. I have been selected to do a tour in May for the TD Canadian Children's Book Week. I will be told in a few days which province I will travel through and will be thrilled wherever the tour takes me.I am so thankful that neither Burton nor I have any trouble filling our days .On our PEI trip Chapin mentioned several times about being on vacation and stated that Burton and I were not on vacation because we are retired and on vacation everyday.I will give him that and would be the first one to say how wonderful retirement is but I would also say how wonderful it is that that stage does not mean sitting on a chair with nothing to do all day. Our days are full, our weeks and months ahead hold the promise of more of the things we love to do. For me there are more words to write , more opportunities to enjoy. For Burton there are more trees to cut, more animals to raise. Together there are more days to enjoy what our efforts have provided us ,the family we have created and the good health we now enjoy. "What you duning ?" We are duning just fine, THANK YOU very much!