It’s tough to be a Democrat these days, or let’s just say it’s tough to be a morally awake human being and to witness what is happening in the country we grew up in. No need to enumerate the many atrocities since we all know them. There’s a pall hanging over us all, no matter your vote, and yet we carry on. I find myself reflecting on what it might have been like to be a good German citizen in the 1930s. I’ve dramatically changed the way I take in the news in an attempt to protect myself from the pain and chaos, but worry that it’s wrong to do this, that it is analogous to turning my back on the suffering of real people. But I ask myself, “what can I do?,” and the answer has not come. I send money to those on the front lines when I can, and wait for an answer. Meanwhile: deep gratitude for the resistance that is out there; in many ways large and small, people are pushing back.
I moved to the country for peace, and every day I bask in moments that I sit with the trees, observe the landscape changes with the seasons, reflect on the lives of the bees and chickens and the dog in my care.
I appreciate my sister Vicki in a new and deepening way. We have never lived together, so it took a minute for us to find our groove, but we’re in it now and it’s a great blessing. Vicki tells me that our mom worried that we would break apart after she died, with a distant relationship, but instead we are accompanying one another through the 4th quarter of our lives, with all the details and particulars (and indignities) of aging. You cannot resist entropy; you might slow it down a bit, but entropy always wins. It is important to reflect on death and dying; the Buddhists have this right. Far from being morbid, it brings fresh appreciation to all that is, to every conversation, every bite of ice cream, every dog game played on the lawn, everything. It’s the truth of what is.
I’ve been working hard lately — hard work cannot be avoided in the late spring. Suddenly, the wildflowers are surrounded by stickers (or becoming stickers themselves) and the barbed grasses are up to the waist. It’s mowing time. I finally have a strong and reliable riding mower (a Cub Cadet! Cheeto Yellow!), but the mowing window is closing; as the weather heats up, driving a mower over dry grass becomes a fire hazard, and everybody switches to weed whacking. We need to use the weed whacker out here anyway because of the many granite boulders and trees that cannot be approached with a mower. Mine is electric, and it is my policy to stop when the battery does…the workers out here with the gas-powered whackers will go for 8 hours, but there is no way my body would agree to that. Ninety minutes is plenty.
In the garden, the tomatoes are in (mostly), and so are the peppers, but I have not planted everything that I hope to harvest in September and October. My body feels tired today, despite good rest last night, so I’m taking a hint and enjoying a day off, doing laundry, updating the blog, and soon, I’ll disappear into the sewing room.
In fact, I’m going now. More updates to come. I’ve been slow and irregular out here, I know, but I’ll probably do better in the future. No promises this time.
Be sure to check out the Quilting link. I’ve made some cool stuff lately, and I’m in the middle of several projects.
Thanks for reading!
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