Decisions, Decisions

Decisions, Decisions

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We leave tomorrow for more than a week in Seattle and environs, so the dust is flying. Among the items on my packing list is one that recurs on every packing list: book. The singular is deceptive. Often this means books.

Sometimes I’m dragging school work along.  And I used to pack work reading, which falls into the general category of books. Neither one of those this time.

Today’s task is simpler, though not without challenges. Today I need to find a good book to read, as in just read, as in for pleasure. Ideally, it would be a medium-sized paperback. Long enough to last me but light enough to keep my baggage allowance where it needs to be. 

I’ve dipped into the home library and found House Made of Dawn, by M. Scott Momaday, which I haven’t read but have always wanted to. It may come along. Also Crossroads, by Jonathan Franzen, a hefty library book, which I’ve listened to but not read in hard copy. 

There are still a few hours to think about this. Decisions, decisions. 

(Book packing with help from a young assistant.)

Potential

Potential

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It’s a day for flowers, for corsages and nosegays. And at my house, it’s a day to admire the climbing rose, poised to begin its spring show. 

The buds are primed, some have popped, others are ready to.

It’s also, then, a day to celebrate potential. For Mom, who always believed in our potential. And for my daughters, whose potential I was privileged to see, treasure and help shape, for all that lies ahead for them. 

Happy 100th!

Happy 100th!

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Today would have been Dad’s 100th birthday. He missed it by a little over nine years. I like to think he would have reveled in the day.

A milestone that once seemed impossible to reach is no longer such a feat. I’ve known a couple of centenarians and a slew of nonagenarians. Dad was briefly one of them, almost 91 when he passed away. 

The last time Dad was at our house, he loosened his tie, grabbed his cane and took to the dance floor. It’s a good way to remember him on his birthday … or any day.

A Benediction

A Benediction

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The first thing I notice is the scent. The air is perfumed, mid-May incarnate. Early honeysuckle? I don’t think so. Viburnum perhaps?  I inhale as I walk, which supercharges each step. 

The next thing I notice is the mud. It’s been only a few days since I last walked in the woods, but it’s rained hard since then, and paths that were packed are now spongy, pliable.  My boots leave an impression. 

The stream is gurgling. The forest has greened and expanded with the much-needed moisture. It has moved up and out. It holds me as I walk, sifts its stillness down, a gift, a benediction.  

I Brake For Goslings

I Brake For Goslings

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It’s not just drivers who have to swerve, hit the brakes and, of course, stay on their side of the road. Walkers have similar obligations. 

When I’m hoofing it on the W&OD — a bike/hike trail frequented by walkers and cyclists and yesterday, strangely, by a motorcycle going 60 miles an hour — the key is to avoid sudden changes of “lane.” There are signs that remind us of that fact: “Be alert and predictable,” they say.

Last week, on a Franklin Farm stroll, my goal was to stay clear of mother goose and her adorable goslings. Luckily, she let me get close enough for a photograph.

The Renegade

The Renegade

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As the semester ends, the deconstruction begins. Random print-outs are tossed or tidied. Papers are filed. Library books are gathered and returned to Georgetown.

Since I live nowhere near Georgetown and haven’t had class on campus all year (all via Zoom), this is a big deal. I was so proud of myself that I had dropped them off a few days before they were due, combining their return with a trip into D.C. on Saturday.

But yesterday, my bubble was burst. A stray had hidden itself underneath another book on my desk. Luckily, it can be returned … by mail!

(This wasn’t the renegade volume. I remembered to return this one — but only after I removed every sticky from every page.)
Of Roses and Crowns

Of Roses and Crowns

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Over the weekend, a day bracketed by rituals. One ancient, the other “only” 149 years old. 

I woke up at 6 a.m., early enough to catch much of the coronation of King Charles III.  The choirs, the sixth-century prayer book, the procession, the golden carriage. A glimpse into the Middle Ages.

And then, at 6 p.m., the Kentucky Derby, with its come-from-behind, 15-1 shot Mage. More rituals: the call to post, the starting bell, the breathless commentary of the Run for the Roses. 

We measure our lives by rituals and routines, but I’ve seldom experienced such an oddly juxtaposed and striking pair of them.

(Photo of King Edward’s crown courtesy Wikipedia)

My Man

My Man

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A late post, but I can hardly let the day pass without acknowledging that it’s the 190th birthday of the composer Johannes Brahms, who I once described (cringe) as “my man” (see profile).

That may be flippant, but I have always loved Brahms’ symphonies, concertos, chamber music and other works. I even try to play some of his piano pieces when I’m feeling confident. 

What caught my eye this evening was this rather studly likeness of Brahms, based on a 3-D render, created by artist Hadi Karimi, who uses 3D modeling programs to recreate artists of the past using photos (if there are any), portraits and death and life masks. 

In the text that accompanied his Brahms creation, Karimi said this project was relatively easy because by the mid-nineteenth century photography was popular enough that there were several taken of Brahms. For this rendition, Karimi pictures the composer in his 30s. Quite a departure from the bearded fellow we usually see. 

(Top photo: Hadi Karimi. Bottom photo: Wikipedia)

Feeling the Pull

Feeling the Pull

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Writing and weather has kept me mostly inside for the better part of two weeks, and I’m feeling the loss of woods and sky and birdsong. 

Late yesterday’s walk was a reminder of just how much. The bamboo forest. The creekside trail. Everything green and glowing from the rain and chill. A new tree down to clamber over. 

It was a pleasure to tromp through it all. And this morning, as I watch bluejays dart and a fox scamper home, as sunlight pools in the shady yard, I feel the pull of the outdoors again. 

(No, this was not taken in the Virginia woods. It’s an Irish robin posing on the isle of Inishmore.)

  

Out of the Zone

Out of the Zone

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One of the most noteworthy things about this new phase of life is discovering how much I must force myself out of my comfort zone. I’ve always done this to an extent, but I could always count on paid employment to do the rest, especially my last gig.

Now I must make myself do the hard things. What are these “hard things”? Don’t laugh. Driving home on narrow country roads in the dark so that I can be with a bunch of people I work with but almost never see. (See yesterday’s post.) Practicing finger exercises and learning new piano pieces s-l-o-w-l-y because otherwise I won’t learn them at all. Taking tough classes. Making new friends. Forging new trails. 

The key word here is new. It’s not always easy but it’s almost always worth it.