May you walk slower this week into the end of the summer so you can notice the nudge of the Spirit pointing to love even in the close of one story and the opening sentence of another.
This summer I spent an afternoon by a creek and watched a crawfish try to maneuver a bone into its den. Being shocked at seeing a crawfish nurturing a bone - this tiny thin whitish fragile looking stick with bits of flesh still clinging to it - I gently caught the crawfish in a bucket so I could take a closer look. Yep. Bone. So I gently returned this large swarthy fellow to the creek bed. But in doing so I startled him with the shadow of my bucket and he dropped his prize and scuttled backwards into him cave. Seconds later a marauding band of three tiny crawfish crept toward the floating bone. One by one they grabbed it and tugged it toward their side of the creek. Mortified that I had deprived the large swarthy fellow of numerous meals, I grabbed a stick and gently nudged the bone within range of the large crawfish’s den. Again, only seconds passed before a snapping claw emerged, grabbing the bone and pulling it under the rock. I never felt the time pass. The only sound was the chattering creek. It was a glorious roll poly moment. Of course I felt guilty for depriving the tiny crawfish of a meal, so later I brought them some leftover noodles. This time they did not unite in their effort to gain the prize; each grabbed the first piece that floated their way and pulled it off to a private spot for eventual consumption. I love afternoons like that. No clenching in any part of my body.
Yes. The tornado is real. I feel this blessing for the end of summer in my cells as we head into our end of summer camping trip. I can tell that I am in major overwhelm lately, so I alternate between frantic productivity and numbing. Reading novels voraciously, binging whole seasons of shows, researching random stuff, nail art youtube... all ways of shutting down. I'm hoping this trip will be true roly poly time. A week to downshift and be present outside of the tornado. Hiking in the redwoods. Watching the dogs running on Dillon beach. Playing cards by lantern light and telling stories by the fire. Then back into the tornado.
Happy birthday. I hope your time off is wonderful!
Thank you for the piece. As a mother of pre-school or soon-to-be-school children I love the part about the teenagers, because it gives me hope that it won't be as dreadful as I fear. And I appreciate the part about the espressos, because I fails so many times at that that I sold the machine and acquired an automatic one. 🙂
Beautiful. I resonate with so much of this - especially wanting to read happy, gentle stories as the rest of life is challenging enough. And the reading glasses! 😂
This summer I spent an afternoon by a creek and watched a crawfish try to maneuver a bone into its den. Being shocked at seeing a crawfish nurturing a bone - this tiny thin whitish fragile looking stick with bits of flesh still clinging to it - I gently caught the crawfish in a bucket so I could take a closer look. Yep. Bone. So I gently returned this large swarthy fellow to the creek bed. But in doing so I startled him with the shadow of my bucket and he dropped his prize and scuttled backwards into him cave. Seconds later a marauding band of three tiny crawfish crept toward the floating bone. One by one they grabbed it and tugged it toward their side of the creek. Mortified that I had deprived the large swarthy fellow of numerous meals, I grabbed a stick and gently nudged the bone within range of the large crawfish’s den. Again, only seconds passed before a snapping claw emerged, grabbing the bone and pulling it under the rock. I never felt the time pass. The only sound was the chattering creek. It was a glorious roll poly moment. Of course I felt guilty for depriving the tiny crawfish of a meal, so later I brought them some leftover noodles. This time they did not unite in their effort to gain the prize; each grabbed the first piece that floated their way and pulled it off to a private spot for eventual consumption. I love afternoons like that. No clenching in any part of my body.
Yes. The tornado is real. I feel this blessing for the end of summer in my cells as we head into our end of summer camping trip. I can tell that I am in major overwhelm lately, so I alternate between frantic productivity and numbing. Reading novels voraciously, binging whole seasons of shows, researching random stuff, nail art youtube... all ways of shutting down. I'm hoping this trip will be true roly poly time. A week to downshift and be present outside of the tornado. Hiking in the redwoods. Watching the dogs running on Dillon beach. Playing cards by lantern light and telling stories by the fire. Then back into the tornado.
Happy birthday. I hope your time off is wonderful!
Thank you for the piece. As a mother of pre-school or soon-to-be-school children I love the part about the teenagers, because it gives me hope that it won't be as dreadful as I fear. And I appreciate the part about the espressos, because I fails so many times at that that I sold the machine and acquired an automatic one. 🙂
I loved this gentle reflection and blessing 💕
What are your favorite gentle books that you’ve read this year? I’m always on a quest to find more gentle books!
Beautiful. I resonate with so much of this - especially wanting to read happy, gentle stories as the rest of life is challenging enough. And the reading glasses! 😂