A few years ago I had what remains, simply the best piece of coconut pie I’ve ever had. It was gooey, crunchy and perfectly toasted. Imagine coconut creme pie offered up in the format of a pecan pie- Voila! Perfection! It had followed on the shirttails of a delicious standard Southern meat & 3 meal at a local restaurant that we hadn’t taken the time to try in the previous 3 years. The building was completely unadorned, the name with a Diner in the title, the list of vegetables long and full of starch and the patrons were actually adorned in their church clothes. The mac & cheese- exactly how I like it- crunchy on top- eggy enough  in the middle but with a good amount of cheese actually mixed into the noodles. The cafeteria style turkey and gravy happily strewn over mashed potatoes at my request with tasty sweet potato souffle on the side and the yet unknown to me pineapple casserole. The more I ate, the happier and more animated I got. The glow lasted the rest of the afternoon only fading as I did into my cozy sheets that evening.

During the piece of pie, Lovey looked at me, shook his head and coined, ” A melt-up to be sure….”

Indeed. I look forward to these, what only can be organically described as estrogen surges now. And this weekend one was in full progress. The greatness of these for me is I feel naturally content, heart bursting with domestic bliss and rightness. It started with what hasn’t happened in months. I woke up naturally, to birdsong and a tightly snuggled toddler cleaved to me. No alarm, no bad dreams, no headfog. And it lasted through the weekends chores, through the gathering in the local park with some of my favorite families in a mad hunt for eggs, a happy market run, an afternoon’s cupcake decorating session with Zu, a lovely dinner at Lovey’s co-worker’s home with company and gorgeous children to thrill Zu and the Quail, through the next morning’s tantrums resulting from us all staying up too late, the perfect of afternoon brunches on our porch complete with nature’s pride bursting into an oil painting around us, an at-home egg hunt and photo session with the family, the afternoon’s tantrums fueled from too much sugar and a lovely evening meal of crock-pot Easter ham, gorgeous spring asparagus with browned-butter sauce, rich carrot-bake and hearty fresh rye bread and butter from our local bakery.

The chores; not too overwhelming and even better- complete.

The food, deliciously simple and spring like.

The tulips in a pastel rendition of my heart.

The children, clad in Easter bonnets and finery.

The metaphors, only slightly overdone, much like the ham.

The perfect end to a week spent celebrating Momma’s proud achievement of a promotion to a new administrative position at work. My new position is an opportunity to advocate for the examiner, for the family and quality of work. My daily thoughts can  bend in a slightly broader view of the agency, policy and procedure in a format that is still somewhat familiar. I am thrilled with this new opportunity and can’t wait to get started at the end of the month. My guess is this was the other inspiration for my lighter view of life starting this weekend. Joy!