One morning on my way to work, I was driving the “scenic” route. It is a narrow, hilly, curvy, two-lane road through a neighborhood. As I rounded a turn, there was a woman and her dog in the middle of the street. The dog was on a leash and she had obviously been walking him. They were stopped and she was frantically looking toward the other side of the road.
It was a busy, heavy traffic morning (as usual) driving to work in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. A yellow school bus pulled in front of me. I was dismayed. It is hard to see around them and it is also difficult to see the traffic lights above them. Before long, we were stopped at a traffic light near the Vulcan statue.
It has been hard to enjoy spring this year. Covid is still with us. The brutal attack on Ukraine brings a sense of sadness and horror dampening thoughts for world harmony. Pictures of families torn apart are heartbreaking. Seeing towns with buildings destroyed is hideous. This is such a waste. Do I still hope for the promise of spring?
The world right now is not what I would wish it to be. I will be the first to admit that the last two years have been challenging, scary, disheartening, and maddening. Yet, I am alive. I have survived and endured. I hope for a better future and am glad to say, “Welcome!”to the new year.
I have many nostalgic Thanksgiving memories. When I was a child, I always watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. Daddy would go out and mow over all the leaves in our yard and then come back in and fall asleep in his chair. Mother stayed busy in the kitchen cooking our Thanksgiving dinner . . . which was always eaten in the middle of the day.
When I was growing up, we had a decorative brass scale sitting on an end table next to the couch in the living room. The antique scale fascinated me with its intricate details etched into the brass. There were rubber grapes in the round trays on each side. No matter how much I wanted them to, the trays rarely hung evenly. I was always looking for balance. But, of course, unless you put the exact same weight on both sides there was really no way for the trays to balance—especially since these items were not chosen specifically for their weight.
In my own life I may often forgo “fun” for more serious activities. It just seems more natural for me to do that. But, when I am involved in a leadership role, for example as a handbell director, I make having fun one of the top priorities. (Of course, that would be having fun while they are in fact working very hard. But I have learned how to mix the fun with work, sometimes even disguising the work as fun.)
I was never so heartbroken about a celebrity as when I heard the news of Anthony Bourdain’s death in 2018. I was shocked, saddened, and still feel a deep loss. Of course, I never met him. I had only seen him on the TV shows he wrote and hosted. It was there I saw someone deeply in love with life, people, all cultures, food . . . and, I saw someone who experienced life as I did not. He jumped right in to taste new foods and to visit places all over the globe. He did this with an abandon I could watch and admire. I wished I had that drive and fearlessness.
I grew up with the idea that I should always be doing something or accomplishing a task. Life was filled with projects, to do lists, or always working toward a larger goal striving for something better. Recently I have come to decide that merely enjoying the passage of time may be what life is really about. Perhaps all I need to do today is breathe.
To survive we need food, water, air, and shelter. While art may not be vital to fulfill our basic needs, it makes life better. Having art in your life brings joy and keeps you in touch with creation. Art is everywhere and often costs nothing to enjoy.
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