Thursday, December 3, 2015

Quiet Day


The weather is grim today, old oak trees take on new symbolism as their twiggy fingers reach up to the gray sky. The rain we got yesterday cooled things down a bit and I didn't sweat on my walk which was nice although the scenery was a bit dismal.

My husband is coming home tomorrow. I am going to make Ropa Vieja with venison in celebration of his return. I have never even had this dish but it always sounds so good. Usually made with beef and olives and spices, I will substitute the venison for the beef. I have gotten in touch with a friend of mine who had a Cuban mama for a good recipe.
I am not going to go anywhere today. I am staying right here in Lloyd. I am happy about that. I seem to have been so busy lately out in the world, and that is good and that is fine but sometimes I simply have to stay put and be alone. It is my way.

Jessie and Vergil and Gus are on their way to Colorado and I got this picture early this morning.


Jessie said they asked for Gus a seat on the flight to Denver and they gave them one. So here is the little guy, strapped in. I love that he got the window seat. Here's another picture. 


He's just two months old and this is his second trip out of the state. He appears to be a good traveler, taking things in stride, as he does. I got to hold him a lot yesterday and he is content to be held against me, to let me sing to him, talk to him. When I was holding him at the Goodwill while Jessie tried things on, a man stopped and said, "It's like holding his mama when she was a baby, isn't it?"
Tears sprang to my eyes. 
"Yes, it is," I said.
"That's what my mama always said about grandchildren."
His mama was right. 
I am going to miss him while he is gone. The need to hold him has become only stronger as gets older. I cannot believe that in just a few weeks, there will be yet another baby, a girl, for us to hold and love. And that by this time next year, there will be two toddlers, making their way around this old house, discovering the hallways, the stairs, the many, many places to hide. The other day as I was pulling laundry from the laundry basket I had a flash of memory of the way Owen used to put my shoes in that basket and I would find them when I went to do the wash. I remember the way he used to help me carry the basket to the laundry room and I would let him, setting my pace to be as slow as possible so that he hold on to the handle and feel useful and how he would want to help fold the laundry which looked so simple but which was trickier than he had thought. As so many things in life are. And yet...we learn. 
Gibson talks a lot about how he is growing. "I getting bigger and stronger!" he says, and of course he is. All of them are. Even after raising four of my own, I am gobsmacked at the way they grow, bigger, stronger, wiser. Every day. 

Miss Camellia who is fully feathered again has stuck her head through the hole in the screen, looking for cat food. She does not come in, but the Chi-Cha's have the courage to come through the hole and eat the food. 


I am never really alone here. 

And even when I do not leave Lloyd, there are roads I travel. 


That hen has beaked up every Friskee in the damn bowl. 
Aw well. To the brave go the spoils, or whatever that saying is. 
She better lay me an egg today. 
That would be about all of the excitement I would wish for. 

Love...Ms. Moon

12 comments:

  1. Adorable pictures. I would have sworn that is a rooster with all it's pomp and feathers.
    What kind of chicken it it? I have chickens too but nothing that grand looking. Have a lovely day with your family.

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  2. It's a bleak and chilly day here as well.It cannot decide between rain and snow...the river is full and the yard is mud. I wonder if there are any spots of good weather between here and there. I am going to bake cookies and make chicken soup.

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  3. How I love coming here to visit you in Lloyd every single day. Sometimes, it is not until I am in bed at night that I finally have a moment to be here with you. I reach for my phone and read what you have written that day, because I never feel as if the day is complete until I have visited with you. No one can ever tell me that these connections we make here are not as strong and tender as anything in the non virtual world, because of course, we all live in the non virtual world, but we connect through this magical portal. I am so grateful for it. I get goosebumps, honestly, as I watch you with your grandchildren, these wonderful beings that through you I have the privilege of watching grow up. I remember, too, when Owen wanted to sweep the house for you, and when he used to brush your hair, and the way both he and Gibson play house so gently, because they are so well and gently loved. I hope our family will be as blessed, that I will be able to see my children married to people they love, who love them, and who I can love fully, too. I can hardly wait to hold my own grandchildren, and to watch them grow. You show us every day how it's done when love is the language. I am so grateful for you, Mary Moon, and for yours, too. (And since I can't write this on my blog, I'll tell you: My son was in the kitchen with his girlfriend this morning, and they were talking about how many children they will have, and I managed to contain myself because, well, it's exciting to contemplate! And she's lovely, and best of all, she gets him. Will they be each other's person for life? I don't know. We shall see. What a journey this is! Like I said, goosebumps.)

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  4. What a thing for that man to say! No wonder you teard up. *I* teared up and I'm 39 and my youngest is EIGHT. Gah.

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  5. Another beautiful post Mary. Gus is such a darling baby, and gosh he is growing fast. Such a tender comment the gentleman said to you . I think this when I nurse my great niece and nephew and remember when it was their mama I cradled. The cycle of life .

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  6. A little teary here, too. And Angella - how wonderful that your son has found someone who gets him, whether this is "the one" or not; a good choice now is a good indicator that his thinking processes are in good working order for future decisions, too :)

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  7. Did I use "good" enough times in that comment? sheesh

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  8. Manzanita- Nope. A hen. And in fact, quite a small and plain one. But a bold one!

    Big mamabird- If I had had one good reason to bake cookies, I would have done the same. Winter. Dang.

    Angella- Oh my god. The glory and beauty that your grandchildren will be! You are not going to believe how much you love them. I can't even begin to describe it. Nor am I able to fully describe how grateful I am that you are a part of my life. You are rubies in my treasure box. You are the hand I hold on to when I feel I am drowning. I am eternally grateful we have found each other.

    Jo- Love is visible, isn't it? And how grateful I am that that man stopped and told me what he was thinking.

    Leisha- Yes m'am. And even as we age and grow older, we are still so capable of holding and loving the new babies that come into our lives.

    Jenny_o- It is ALL good. I swear.

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  9. Tears sprang to my own eyes when I read what that man said. What a lovely soul he must be.

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  10. Birdie- Yes. And he was trying to buy hundreds of books for children. I don't know exactly what for, but I think it was for some organization. What a good man.

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  11. I love so much your quiet and filled to the brim with love and everything else days in Lloyd. I never tire of reading about your days and your thoughts.

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  12. The way you describe your grandchildren growing up, and the love that you get from them and give them, reminds me of the flipside of the sentiment that I expressed this morning in my post about the troubled state of the world. When you don't have kids it's too easy to only see the negative. When you have them, they help remind you of all the good things amid the bad. Don't you think? (I still don't really WANT my own but I can appreciate your perspective! :) )

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.