School’s out. The ice-cream man jangles his jingle, enticing the kids with the lure of after-school treats. A neighbor, strolling down the uneven sidewalk, stops to chat on someone’s stoop. Birdsong competes with the singsong voices that drift over the tall backyard fence. Sporting a stylish apron, I hang laundry on a makeshift clothesline while a little boy plays in the dirt.
I am dreaming that I am the mother in “Leave It To Beaver.”
No, I am awake.
This is my life now.
At least part of the time.
It does seem like a bit of a warp.
If I let myself, I can catch scents and glimpses of my early childhood. Dick and Jane playing in the yard while Mother hangs the laundry. The smell of sunshine on drying clothes. An image of myself, age 6, flying down the hill to intercept the ice-cream man before he leaves our street. Diaphanous curtains blowing in the breeze from windows left open all day.
Simplicity.
The work is hard, but the life is simple.
How often I have longed for simplicity in the past. How hard and how fruitlessly I have tried to achieve it.
But now, it is here. It is a gift.
One that came at a very high price, and through a means I would not have chosen.
Nevertheless…
“Tis a gift to be simple…”
Maybe this will be my lucky day and I will figure out how to 'post comment.... besides, writing to a stranger on line is a bit weird. And the other part of the brain is intimidated to put mouse to screen and follow someone as eloquent as you...add it all up and responding is pretty near impossible.
ReplyDeleteFew of us can even begin to comprehend the enormity of your situation...financially, emotionally, spiritually, or for that matter, physically. And I imagine that being the inspiration for so many is wearing pretty thin.....but for those of us out here who ARE inspired, we thank you for sharing your thoughts on this journey called life.
Well stated...I second that !!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your encouraging words.
ReplyDeleteThey mean more to me than I can express.
bless you!
kim
Kim,
ReplyDeleteI passed this post along to a friend who lost her father last year. Like me, she was amazed by your eloquence and profound insight to dealing with grief. Thank you for being a light in the darkness!
Many Blessings