Monday, April 15, 2013

muskrat and love

Sometime late on a weekend night, my little one called me to let me know that she and her guy were engaged.

It's so interesting how someone's happiness can become your happiness so quickly! I love my girls more than earth itself and I sit here now and marvel how enormously lucky I am to have them partner up with men who are so fantastically, wonderfully good for them.

So there'll be a wedding ahead. In a year or so. And in the meantime there's the joy of sitting back and reveling in the sweetness of life -- their life and therefore (or in addition to) my life.


Now mind you, that's the big picture. If I am to consider the minutia of this day, I'd say that it was too deceptive! The morning is delightful, sunny, promising.


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Farmer Lee's sister is back, surveying the field toward the rear of the farmette, assessing the work ahead.


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We ask her if she would want more land to cultivate. We're fairly sure she understood the question. We think she said yes. Since Ed and I have chopped down the honeysuckle out back, more of the land can be used for cultivation.

The weather is so fine that I take Rosie to work again. But as I ride along, I think -- this is so lazy on my part. If I ride Rosie, I hardly move at all. And so I decide to park her just outside of the city proper and walk the remaining 40 minutes to campus.

Good idea! -- I tell myself. It's pretty along the lake.


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I spot the wildlife (an otter), I admire the view over the rippling waters.


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Fine. Okay. But somewhere in the course of the afternoon, the weather changes. By the time I leave my office, it's raining. Really raining. So now I have a forty minute walk in the pounding rain and then I have a wet Rosie waiting for me -- with the helmet dangling from her seat in such a perfect way as to catch all the rain.

I strap on the soaked helmet over strands of wet hair. The rain is relentless as I navigate Rosie carefully around the puddles. But it's okay! These are spring showers, right? We can expect April rain! And besides, somewhere in Chicago, there's one happy couple thinking, scheming about the future. Rain? How inconsequential! How utterly, in the scheme of things, trivial.


Late at night, Ed and I take a walk along the country roads that spin to the east of the farmette. It's cool and neither of us has much stamina and yet, spring tugs at us. Or maybe the events of the day, the good, the difficult -- all tug at us.

Spring is the beautiful season. Ah, were it to be so full of love always! For everyone.