Grand Kids and Critters

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Discernment vs. Mindlessness

How effortless it is to mindlessly accept whatever supports our own understanding and desire!  How challenging and yet freeing to see clearly, beyond that haze!

This afternoon I'm pondering the ancient voice of a man named John Climacus.  In a murky moment of dissatisfaction, when we see another as offensive or at least less likable than what we might prefer, we always have a choice - to believe our limited (probably veiled) perceptions, or to clear the view in order to investigate, study, and appreciate that person's strengths.  To focus beyond the immediate conclusion, give place to the mystery and glory of the divine love that created us both, and celebrate virtue rather than failure. To be discerning rather than mindless.

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"A discerning man, when he eats grapes, takes only the ripe ones and leaves the sour. Thus also the discerning mind carefully marks the virtues he sees in any person. A mindless man seeks out vices and failings. Even if you see someone sin with your own eyes, do not judge, for often even your eyes are deceived."

- St. John of the Ladder (John Climacus of Sinai, 579-649 AD)

Yellow Flag

Our highly valued piano keys are the real thing, ivory rather than plastic. They've seen lots of use, and even barely survived a surprise attack from an aspiring drummer-boy a few years ago that left the edges ragged and chipped.

Today we set about routine repairs: re-glueing some of those precious ivory tops that had peeled off. It was an easy job, but to ensure complete adhesion we must wait for 24 hours before the next at-home concert.

Since the pianist (my husband) is spontaneous by nature, and quick to sit down and play without thinking, he decided to post a little yellow banner as a reminder.

Sometimes I think we should buy stock in Post-It Notes, those flag-waving attention-getters that are help guide wandering senior minds.  They stick anywhere - on the car's steering wheel, the bathroom  mirror, the computer.  We use them a lot.  Like a lot a lot.  Which is why we should buy stock.  :-)

Outdoor Art

Unseasonal warmth drew me outside yesterday to snoop around the yard and garden for the first time in months. I walked our property snapping photos, drawn to investigate the loveliness of post-winter tones and shapes.

Today these details are again blanketed in fresh snow, while squirrels redecorate with their delicate tracks.

Valuable Time

Time passes.  It does not come back.

Today's seconds are passing-in-review, almost as if in a military parade. They march precisely and refuse to stop.  Each owns it special moment, the here-and-now.  I will not see any of these again.

Which means they should count.

What does it mean to make time count?  Should I focus on being happy? Productive?  Fulfilled?  Despite cultural bias, I think it is really not so much about me, but something else.

In recent months I've been shown anew what it means to add value to the lives of others as time continues to progress.  In every sense, time belongs to God.  That is what makes it so incredibly valuable, and what inspires me to hold what is most profitable front-and-center, right now.

"Compel yourselves: say the prayer, stop idle talk, close your mouths to criticism, place doors and locks against unnecessary words. Time passes and does not come back, and woe to us if time goes by without spiritual profit."

- Elder Ephriam of Philotheou (a monk on Mt. Athos in Greece) - born 1927

Simple Food

Sometimes simple food is the best, especially when it is simply prepared and enjoyed.  Like tonight's kale and pine nut salad, moist almond flour bread, and ground turkey chili topped with goat gouda and fresh cilantro.  Mmmmmmm.  Spicy odors and bakery smells merged to produce hard-to-surpass aromatherapy, and the flavors and textures melded into a superb, complimentary trio.

A simple cup of herbal tea rounded out the meal, enjoyed from a simple hand-thrown mug.

Sometimes it is exciting to be in charge of serving others a fancy, involved dinner with lots of extravagant variety. I've prepared plenty of those in my day.  But at this stage of my life, I prefer uncomplicated fare the most - simple, real food in a relaxed setting with my husband, where genuine gratitude is the most elemental, and yet also most profound, reality.

Summer Every Day

Bluebirds and orange poppies glow above our table every evening.  Custom-crafted by a glass designer to collectively shape a tiffany-style lampshade, they represent a unique kind of elegant simplicity.  Their artistic expression inspires a response. 

A yellow sun seems to glow warm behind each bird and flower.  This almost brings a summer day to life at any season of the year!  Tonight I reminded myself not to take this lampshade for granted, but to cherish it as a piece of lake heritage that began with the generation before us.  Hopefully it will be handed down to someone else who also “counts years in summers.”

“I count my years in summers -

Not that the other seasons are without recollections of their own,

Peaks and depressions in the landscape of one’s self.

And yet summer alone has always seemed the most vivid of seasons,

A refreshing, rich stop in the long year,

The time of greatest possibilities and promises.

And the fact that the promises of each summer are not kept

Leaves me with undiminished hope for the next one.”

-Life magazine, circa 1964

Ridiculous Roommate

A certain handsome (cough, gag) rubber pirate has camped out in our bedroom for over a year now.  I notice him frequently, my husband’s grown-up toy – a stocking stuffer from Christmas of 2014.

It's easy to slip your fingers into pockets on the back of this fella’s face and wiggle them, which causes his features to stretch and animate.  He opens his mouth, chews, bugs his eyes, bulges his forehead, and generally impersonates an animated ghoul (but not really, he’s just too corny to be evil).

When this scrunched, misshapen face is accompanied by a gruff male voice, it can turn fiercely scary as well as hilariously funny. Some of our younger grand-girls are terrified (or act the part, at least) by a single look! 

Well, here’s the deal. IF this guy is going to continue to live in our bedroom as a daily companion (and that’s a big IF), he needs a name.  How about Otto the Rat? Yeah.  I like it.

Cereal

I make our own breakfast cereal.  I know, I know…that’s sort of strange.

But I think it just makes sense.  Ingredients in many varieties of boxed cereals are not the best (honestly most are awful).  Also, packaged cereals are usually way overpriced. 

We think our homemade all-nut granola (no grains) is delicious, but we also like little squares made of almond flour, unsweetened dried coconut, cinnamon, egg, and stevia (and a couple of other incidental things).  I once mailed some of this cereal to a far-away family member, and he replied that it reminded him of his childhood favorite, Captain Crunch!

Shadows

Shadows stretch through the house, across floors and against walls.  They fall behind objects, marking darkened space.

And yet faith suggests these familiar objects, and everything we consider real, are just shadows of much greater Realities.

 “Corporeal (human, earthly, mortal, tangible) things are considered shadows since they can in no way be compared to the saving and holy gifts of the God of all.”

-Origen (185-254 AD)

Legacy

Legacies take various forms, and yet all are precious. 

I own one stitched in needlepoint by my mother-in-law a long time ago to cover her husband’s piano bench.  That bench and its accompanying parlor grand piano are ours now. I sometimes stop to study the flowery design with its happy pansy faces, and imagine her poking and pulling each stitch, just so. 

Her love of beauty lives on in her beautiful things, and her aesthetic appreciation continues to bless us and our expanding family - an intangible but very real legacy that touches us in deep, heart-felt places.