The Summer Day

Perfectly true, on this summer day.


The Summer Day
by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

"The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver, from The Truro Bear and Other Adventures: Poems and Essays. © Beacon Press, 2008.

...

I notice, looking over last several posts, that I'm a fan of the ellipse.

Not Complaining... Much

The weather, which had brought us the coldest spring in many years (colder than Siberia, we were told), has turned. Yesterday it got into the high 80's, today we'll hit 90.

I shouldn't complain. Summer, right? It's supposed to be warm.

Unfortunately, I am a wilting flower who only blooms in the 70's.

The GOOD thing about the heat, is that it will start getting the lake heated to a tolerable temperature. This afternoon the plan is to take my first swim in preparation for the July 26th tri I've committed to. I will be wetsuited, but 64 degrees is still pretty cold.

Surfacing... again.

I'm here! I'm alive! Where the hell did 4 months go?

This is where I've been for the last few months. I PM'ed a major redesign of the site and worked harder than I have in my ENTIRE life. Harder, actually, than I want to work EVER again. But it's done, and I have my evenings and weekends back again. And it's good.

And yes, the irony of working for that particular client is not lost on me. If any of my co-workers (whom I love dearly) find their way here and discover my secret, I can only hope that my dedication prompts them to forgive my inability to forego that which I dearly love. The heart wants what it wants.

Be Very Afraid...

That's what we're hearing from the Hillary camp. As this terrific video points out - we've heard it all before...



(snagged from Betsey at My Whim Is Law.

Oh what a world it seems we live in...

I was wasting some time walking down memory lane tonight, listening to old tv themes one of which was from ABC's Wide World of Sports. Anyone my age remembers the opening montage... "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat." And we remember the image that played along with the agony, a spectacular ski jumping crash, the guy spinning wildly out of control. It's etched, forever, in the mind's eye.

So I wondered - whatever happened to the agony of defeat guy? Was he seriously injured? Did he go on to jump again? Is he still alive? Now - and this is where the amazing part comes in - it took me less than 10 seconds to find the answers to ALL of those questions, thanks to google and wikipedia. It's a great story - go read it.

But then it struck me how absolutely amazing of a time we live in. When I was a kid, if that question had popped into my head, the answer would have been... "Yeah, hm. I wonder." Short of going to the library and checking the microfiche (do they still have that now?), there would have been no way to find the answer. My kids will never know a time when such a wealth of information is more than a few keystrokes away.

Absolutely amazing.

In Loving Memory

Our sweet girl Aggie died today; I was with her when she breathed her last. She went at home, quietly, and I petted her gently the whole time. Her absence leaves a far larger hole than you might believe, considering she was a cat who really didn't cotton much to being touched, or given much attention at all - she spent a lot of time in the basement (hence her nickname "skulky"), or sleeping on our bed. But she was our family, and we loved her, and we miss her. Goodnight little Agammemnon, rest well.

   

And Much Fun Was Had...

pineapple classic - before the start
Originally uploaded by spencerUW

Well, it didn't rain, we didn't drop our pineapple, and we had a freakin' blast. Our team finished 123rd out of 251 4-person teams overall, and 25th out of 76 female 4-person teams. We all finished at just a sconce over 35minutes. and our combined finish time was 2:20:28.

We wore cute t-shirts decorated by kids in the Comet room (with sewn on comet trails of red and gold) and started the race with silly plastic caps (which sadly came off once the sweat started).

The obstacles were fun - tires to run through, a balance beam, a couple of walls to climb over and nets to climb under. My personal favorite was throwing the pineapple through a tire on top of a wall. I got it through on the first toss, and my teammate Elizabeth caught it expertly.

Thanks tons to everyone who donated (and it's not too late, in case you meant to but didn't get around to it... I can collect 'em through the end of November).

A Pineapple a Day...

So, this whole triathlon thing has led to me becoming slightly insane. It apparently wasn't enough to just do the thing and get it over with and return to my previous inactive life... no, for some strange reason, I've continued to train, and have this idea that I want to sign up for a 5K every month between now and next tri season to keep me moderately motivated to continue running through the winter.

Much thanks for this goes to my friend Shar who shows up at o'dark thirty a couple of mornings each week (if it isn't raining) to take me running at Green Lake, and who - when I say "are you SURE we should sign up?" peer pressures me past my resistance.

Which leads me to the reason for this post. On November 3rd, I am going to participate in a 5K race, along with 3 friends, on a team we're calling "Faster than a speeding Comet roomer" (all of our kids went to the same preschool where the 4-5 year-old room is called the Comet room). It's not your ordinary 5K... there are obstacles that have to be overcome, and we have to do it while carrying - I kid you not - a pineapple. It's called the Pineapple Classic, it's a fund-raiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and I am collecting donations on my very own donations page.

Come on - if the thought of me running (probably in the rain), climbing over things, and lugging a pineapple around doesn't motivate you to give some money, I'm not sure what would. I will even post a photo after the event, possibly even of me.

Food For Thought

Rumi - Guest House

This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.