Thursday, June 23, 2011

Let Us Be Grateful

My son just called me to ask if I was okay because it was almost eleven o'clock and I had not put up a post.

Now how sweet is that?

I told him that I was quite fine and indeed, I am. I just took a good walk and hadn't settled down to writing anything yet and then we chatted. Beside the walk I've talked on the phone to Mr. Moon and to Jessie and am feeling pretty good about life today. Don't ask me why.

I saw three rabbits on my walk. That was about the most exciting thing about it. That and the fact that I did not die either by heat stroke, snake bite, rabid fox bite, or drive-by shooting.
Lloyd is a crazy place and any of those could happen but of course, none did. I said hello to the man who sits in the truck at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 59. He has been doing this for at least seven years. Don't ask me why on that one, either. We nod at each other and say, "Mornin'," in a rather solemn manner. He does not talk much. To me, at least.

I also said hey to the guy who, when I lived in Lloyd thirty years ago, we called The Sheik because he always wore a headwrap like The Sheik of Arabi might have worn and he always sat under a tree at the crossroads. I think drugs may have been involved in that situation but now he just wears a hat and walks with a cane and is very pleasant.
"Don't get too hot," he said to me. I am a white woman who turns redder than fire when she walks in the heat and I probably do look alarming.
"Oh, I won't. I'm almost home," I told him. And indeed I was.

I am loving Lloyd today. It's the same as always but I am especially loving it with its giant live oaks, its peculiar characters (me being one of them), the fact that there are chickens here and goats and the post office is in the oldest still-standing railroad station in the state. The fact that the trees spread their branches over me and offer shade, both where I live and where I walk, the fact that it has offered me its dirt-breast to grow vegetables and flowers in. The fact that it is filled with birds of all sorts from the tiny finches to the hawks to the owls to the eagles to the Mississippi Kites which soar over my neighbor's house on wings of great length and strength, their split-tailed bodies like kites; yes, they are well-named.

You cannot get cable here or a pizza delivered but that is of little matter when you can grow tomatoes in your yard and can make your own pizza crust or foccacia bread to bake them on with basil you have grown too.

Yes. I am content today and Owen will be coming soon. He has so many new words that I can't believe it. "Mer-Mer!" he yells at me from the next room. "Play!"
And so we shall. We shall play and feed crackers to the chickens and maybe take a carrot to the mule and we will get very dirty and we will wash off and we will take a nap.
He may not want one, but he's going to get one anyway. I don't care how many books I have to read him, he's going to get a nap and I am going to take it with him.
And then Bop will come home and perhaps they will do something together in the garage, something manly, and I will make them something for supper. Something with tomatoes and maybe even eggplant because I have a nice, ripe one for picking.

And then we'll give him his bath so that when his mama comes to pick him up, he'll be sweet-smelling and gorgeous, perhaps running around naked.

Yes. I am having one of those moments wherein it feels as if for this second, right this second at least, I exactly where I need to be, living exactly as I should be.

Phew.

And if it only rains...well, that would make it all perfection. I am content and I am well and so are the ones I love.

Reporting in from Lloyd...Ms. Moon

11 comments:

  1. Perfection... that sounds lovely. I wish you much much more of it. (And send some my way?)

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  2. When you live where you are happy the world feels right. You get to know the small details, the people, the animals big and small. I may live close to town but you would never know that we are semi-rural with a completely feel different view.

    Hope your day continues just as it is now...

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  3. I am feeling the same as you this morning, it's all good.

    I think we may have passed by Lloyd on the I10 on our way from Graceville to Casey Key once back in the day. I checked google maps and it seems that is the obvious route to take.

    All the very best to you Ms. Moon and I hope your day continues to be serene and full of loving kindness.

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  4. I wish I could run around naked. It's too hot for clothes.

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  5. What a wonderful day. Glad to hear about Lloyd, sounds like a Southern Gothic kind of town, the kind of place you never get bored.

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  6. Wishing you rain. Doin' a little rain dance out in Portland, Ore., specifically for Lloyd, Fla.

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  7. I am having a good day here also. All the little things are what make me grateful. Lots of gratitude flowing today.

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  8. "heat stroke, snake bite, rabid fox bite, or drive-by shooting..."

    and that's a good day, right?

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  9. I'm so glad you had such a sweet day.

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  10. Mwa- Some moments are filled with perfection. They are rare and thus, more precious.

    Ellen- Well, of course for me contentment can never last very long. But I sure do cherish it when it's there.

    Andrew- And we are right off the interstate. You probably did. Hello!

    DTG- Amen.

    Kathleen Scott- Well, I don't get bored but I think that's because I am so easily amused.

    x-ray Iris- I'll take whatever you got!

    Syd- At least we're paying attention and being grateful when we have cause to be.

    Nick- YOU BET!

    Ms. Bastard-Beloved- And as always, you are part of it.

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  11. It sounds perfect Mary. I always feel much better after a walk. Thinking of you in the heat xx

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