Okay, so what I thought was going to be a very quiet week turned out to be anything but. Anyway, it has been a week to remember and a week of memories — and a week of joy.
To recap, Beatrice went missing — “once I was lost, but now I’m found…” She had a few scratches and had lost her collar, but other than that she was happy to be home and we were happy to have her back, especially my son. Once recovered, son and dog went home with a few tips from dear ol’ mom. First of all, he may think that finding his wife’s pup was enough to get him out of the doghouse, but he’s young. What does he know?
We took pictures of the pup until we had a few that were worthy of framing. Now, if the boy is as smart as I think he will have the puppy picture framed, maybe a nice bouquet of flowers and a clean house when his wife returns from her parents’ house on Monday.
The other son, his wife and our granddaughter are leaving to go home today. It was fun. The baby is precious. The wife is beautiful. And, the son — well, he’s still our son and we love him.
Woodstock memories are all around. All of us old dogs who made the trip to New York in 1969 had a little get together yesterday. We will probably remember more about yesterday than we do about Woodstock. But, as we looked back at those days we can remember believing that we were going to create a better world. We were anarchists of a sort. We had new ideas and were full of love for the world and a hope for peace. Well, just look around us. We were spending our time looking for a better future and yesterday we spent our day looking back at “the good ‘ol days.”
Funny, isn’t it? Most of us are looking and hoping for what is to come or looking back at what was. Few of us are happy with the present, until it is past. I guess that’s the one thing I am so thankful I learned early in my life. Live in the moment. Live now. We cannot change the past. We cannot control the future.
I suppose I must qualify a bit of my previous statement. We cannot control the future, but we can lay the path for it. We can direct our efforts toward that which we desire. Oh, I do hope you get it. I’m really too tired today to go deep into philosophy.
But, anyway, while the youngsters in the neighborhood are looking to the future, especially those who are heading off to college — and those beginning high school, too — and while Mrs. Hildebrand and Miss Bessie are reminiscing about the days of singing in the clubs and hanging out with jazz musicians, I’m going to take my morning coffee and go sit on the front porch.
Oliver is out there waiting. I still don’t touch him and suppose I may never. But, I do believe we have an understanding of sorts. He waits on the front porch every morning now. I go out with my first cup of coffee and a handful of dry cat treats. I sip my coffee. He nibbles his treats. I lean back in the chair as I rock and close my eyes. Oliver takes up his position next to the column and stretches out, occasionally nodding off. Maybe for a few minutes every morning both of us are at peace with ourselves and with the world around us. Now, that is something to be thankful for.
View from the Front Porch
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I have had to work very hard to “learn” to live in the moment-and now, there isn’t anywhere I’d rather be. I love hearing about your Oscar-you communicate “ensemble” for sure.
After the levees broke, all the walls and fences were down behind my house on Columbus Street. All the little feral kittens and cats seemed to make their way to us and I would feed them every day. There was one tiny brindle one that I fell in love with-a very scaredy cat-big blue eyes-I teased that we had “petit dejeuner” together every morning-my coffee and their crunchies. She would eventually almost let me pat her head. But, I do have some great photos.