It seems that way! Birthday after birthday, mother’s day, weddings, Memorial Day. . .it’s an endless stream of parties and making food to take and figuring out gifts and cards and who is taking whom. The older I get, the less good at this stuff I become. Seems counter-intuitive, but there it is. I am NOT complaining. I’m just. . . overwhelmed.
Enough talk! More pictures!
Jordan’s birthday was last week, and we descended upon him in his new digs with dinner and pie and fudge.
I also climbed a tree. I am happy and quite gratified to say that I still got it.
The flip flops were not the best choice, but I was trying to show the boy how to do it and didn’t think that far ahead. I kicked them off once I got up there.
Then we celebrated my sweet niece’s first birthday. I love this girl!
My favorite one, from behind her chair, looking out upon the throng.
She was amazing through the whole thing. Chill and happy, curious and game. I just love her. My brother was amazing too—it was his first big party to host, and he was gracious and welcoming and he worked so hard. Our mom would be really proud of him, and so am I. To make it even more amazing, his beloved little dog, Shadow, had just died suddenly the night before the party! Jon was amazing.
And then, if you are all still with me, was Mother’s Day, a complicated day for me. I’ve been using the word “fraught” a lot in my journal to describe certain situations, and it works here too. Mother’s Day is so emotionally fraught for me.
Breakfast
a rose at church from my sweetest boy
Lunch at Aladdin’s
On the improved pathway, our afternoon mother’s day project.
It was a good day, a really good day. And I’m glad it’s over, and the week is over, and now maybe we can be normal for a few days.
Ya know?
Fraught. Fraught ?
Etymology
From Middle English, from Middle Dutch vracht or Middle Low German vracht (“freight money”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *fra- (intensive prefix) + Proto-Germanic *aihtiz (“possession”), from Proto-Indo-European *eik’- (“to possess”). Cognate with Old High German frēht (“earnings”), Old English ǣht (“owndom”). More at for-, own.
Pronunciation
(UK) IPA: /frɔːt/
Rhymes: -ɔːt
(US) IPA: /frɔt/
(cot–caught merger) IPA: /frɑt/
Noun
fraught (uncountable)
(obsolete) The hire of a ship or boat to transport cargo.
(obsolete) Money paid to hire a ship or boat to transport cargo; freight
fraught money.
(obsolete) The transportation of goods, especially in a ship or boat.
(obsolete) A ship’s cargo, lading or freight.
(Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
(Scotland) A load; a burden.
(Scotland) Two bucketfuls (of water).
Derived terms
fraught-free
Verb
fraught (third-person singular simple present fraughts, present participle fraughting, simple past and past participle fraughted)
(transitive, obsolete except in past participle) To load (a ship, cargo etc.). [quotations ▼]
Adjective
fraught (comparative more fraught, superlative most fraught)
(of a cargo-carrier) Laden.
(with with) Furnished, equipped.
(figuratively, with with) Loaded-up, charged or accompanied. [quotations ▼]
Distressed.