Spontaneity, and a change of routine. Charlie woke me early. It was so warm and noisy with birds, I couldn’t resist sitting outside on the porch and writing my weekly Aim for Astonishing blog, which I sent. And then, Frank decided to drive to the French Bakery in Needham. I said, “I’ll come!” And then we asked one daughter, and she said, sleepily, “I’ll come!” And then we asked another daughter, and she, too, was not too sleepy to seek French pastries, and Charlie and Suzi would not miss this adventure, and we piled into the car and drove to Needham. On the sidewalk of the shop, we ordered our breakfast with extra baguettes to take home, and extra croissants to take home, and we walked in the heat of July up the sidewalk and found a table on the leafy common where all the Sunday people were relaxing. It was fun and delicious, and I was glad I broke from my routine. Everyone agreed to accompany me to Home Depot for some plants. So there was that fun too: a sale on shrubs that it was truly too hot to plant, but I got them anyway. Then, a family swim, and my son and his girlfriend and dog joined us. Delicious, relaxing Sunday. In the late afternoon, after watering my gardens, I made a nice relationship with a tall, gangly, dry needled shrub that I’ve never liked that stands outside one of our doorways. It has grown gangly and many branches are dead and rusty. We planted it some years ago because we wanted something green and tall for this particular spot. Not a good choice, and I’ve snubbed it. But today, on an impulse, I approached it with my new clippers and a stool. And I gave it a good clean up. And I felt the tree was appreciating this attention, I really felt it. And I began to feel affection and respect for this sharp needled survivor. I stood up on the stool, reached as far as I could, and cut the tops off where there was so many dead branches, and the tops came tumbling down, and by the time I was done, we were good friends. I got the hose and gave this friend a long, luxurious drink of cold water. Tomorrow, I will give it some fertilizer. And we will both feel better and better.