Untangling

Have you ever had one of those days?  A day when everything goes upside down, backwards, and seemingly gets so knotted up that you feel as if you will never be able to have a clear or sane thought again?  Today was one of those for me.

What do I do when my mind refuses to slow down and behave?  When too many choices come rushing at me, all demanding my attention?

I go for a walk.  Those of you who know me know that being outside is my great healer.  This spring has brought few if any days when I could get out for a long walk.  The rain, the sleet, the wind, the cold.  All of these conspired to keep me  inside and twiddling my thumbs.  Not good for my mental state, that is for sure.

This evening I went for a walk down to our north field and into the woods where we had timber cut last year.  Miraculous is all I can say about what I found there.  Dozens of tiny flowers, blooming away.  Clear yellow, bright blue, soft hazy mauve.  A complete rainbow of color and every shape and size in the book.  But most of all there are dogwoods.  One towers well over 30 feet above the sloping hillside.  The rest nestle in the crook of the gently rolling earth.  Peacefully, they seem to reach out and say "All is well."  Such pure white beauty.  And when you see them against the blue sky they dazzle your eyes.

I could have stayed there well after sunset but the terrain is rocky and rough back up to the road.  I have to watch my step.  Any little hole or rock may trip me up and send me flying.  But finding my way home, I kept that image of the clear white beauty of the dogwoods in my mind.  And not surprisingly, when I got home, my mind was at peace and my heart was calm.  All it took was a walk down where the dogwoods grow.

Escape

True confession time again.  Yes, I do not like housework.  And today, the first really nice, less-windy and more warm, sunny with a dash of clouds kind of day....yes, today, the temptation was just too much for me.  I left the broom and dust cloth, the Scrubbing Bubbles and the Windex, on the shelf and escaped.

Andy and I have always been a team, ever since we kept our 1950 Chevy Carryall running and half-way on the road when we were first married 50+ years ago.  I helped him change oil, put in new spark plugs, check the battery, install new hoses.  Whatever needed to be done was done in the driveway of our rental home there in Wisconsin.  Rain or shine, freeze or thaw.  There we were.

I am really good at being an extra pair of hands.  I can find a wrench.  I can dig around and unearth the oil can, the antifreeze jug, the needed piece of short wire that will hold until we get something better.  

Today was such a day.  I could see he needed help getting the disc on the tractor.  And I was his Girl Friday..or Saturday as the case might be.  Go get the oil can...and I got it.  Go get the socket wrench..oops wrong one...go get the RIGHT one.  (I'm a little rusty with reading that fine print on the sides of tools.  I used to be able to find them in my sleep.)  Find the right size chain to weigh down the front of our little 8N.  She is small but she is tough and ready for any job we have.

Finally he was ready to go.  Down to the garden he went with me trailing behind.  I was curious how our new-to-us disc would do.  I must say that it worked like a charm.

And the best part?  I was outside, on a beautiful spring day in the Ozarks, watching my husband do what he loves.  Worth every minute.  And a welcome escape.

Patience

I went down the road today to check on the dogwoods.  All the recent freezing weather has me in a tizzy.  I am in a hurry to see all the spring flowers and lovely trees in bloom.  I have no patience for spring surprises like snow and low temperatures that bite the petals on the redbud and ruin the peach crop.

But I have learned that patience truly is a virtue.  I am not a good cook, or baker, or seamstress.  The reason?  I am impatient.  Why does this wonderful dish take so long to make?  I'd love to bake this gorgeous cake, but two hours?  I think not.  Even cookies try my short attention span....get 'em in the oven, bake 'em, eat 'em...that's my plan.  And let's not even touch the topic of sewing.  My daughter can tell you about some disasters that I tried to get her to wear.  Rolling eyes and that 'come on Mom' look!  You get the idea.

However, my life up here on the hill has helped me learn one of life's lessons.  Not everything has to be done at a rapid-fire pace.  And good things happen when they are meant to happen.  I took a short walk down to the glade on the westside of my hill this afternoon. I looked and looked for familiar flowers that I see this time of year.  And with patience, I found them, clustered in small groups, vibrant with color, small but mighty, facing the frost of the last few mornings, still there and blooming.  Patience.

I looked up at the sky.  Who has time to look up when you are concentrating on getting this job or that task done?  Guilty as charged.  Hanging out the clothes this morning I stopped and really looked at the April sky.  How can any sky be bluer than a spring-kissed one?  Thin clouds added  mystery to the whole picture.  They seemed to say, "Just wait and see what comes next.  You won't believe it."

Patience.  That's all it takes.  Slow down.  Let life come and surprise you.  It is worth the wait.