What is Also There

August 7, 2022

Sunrise, July 30, 2022

This week there has been pain, though not as much as last week with steady improvement (may that continue!). Luckily standing and walking are the two least painful ways of being and I can’t tell you how grateful I am. When something disappears, even briefly, I notice my gratitude for having it flows easily.

What I’ve been noticing this week is what is also there, even with the pain:

Sunrise August 1, 2022

Monday there was a lovely sunrise. Hazy, warm and humid yet my muscles responded to the heat by letting go of a little more. Dragonflies still buzzed about the pond and robins made their cheery calls. My time was short due to physical therapy, but my therapist is a goddess on earth who makes pain melt into the ether.

Indigo bunting singing it’s heart out

Tuesday I was noticing the singers. Those few birds still singing in August when so many others have left their spring voices behind. Indigo buntings, chickadees, robins, field sparrows, cardinals and a lone bell’s vireo. Closing my eyes I hear other sounds like cicada’s, frogs and a few I couldn’t identify.

Wednesday I watched dragonflies for a long time amused by their behavior. One dragonfly was patrolling the territory as they like to do. Then a female came in with her tail in the air, dipping into the water in what I think is either laying eggs or a mating behavior. Every time she appeared, multiple males would appear from seemingly nowhere and the chase was on. They chased each other and they chased the female. If this was a game of tag, the female seemed to avoid being “it”, consistently outrunning the males and still getting the occasional dip in the water. In the midst of the chaos, another species of dragonfly slipped in and that female casually dipped in the water while a male watched nearby with no chasing at all. Curious!

Thursday it rained and I enjoyed a walk in the cool under the clouds. The rain was needed and I enjoyed watching the clouds move over my head.

Friday was as close to 100% humidity as it gets. Everything was damp with dew and I walked along the edges of the pond enjoying the way the light glistens through the dew drops and on the wings of dragonflies. Everything is more beautiful with dew drops.

Dew drops on grass

It’s funny how I never noticed I could be grateful for something as luxurious as collapsing into a comfortable chair when I am tired until I had been unable to sit for two weeks. When sitting is comfortable again, I am going to thoroughly enjoy a nice cuddle with a book!

I’m even grateful my feet are tired from standing up to work all week. Sounds mad perhaps, but I am grateful my body has been able to support me in doing what needed to be done without creating additional pain. My feet have worked hard and they are getting some much needed TLC this weekend.

Small butterfly in the grass

I’m grateful for the people of Kansas, in a vote I honestly thought would go the other way! It has buoyed my hope for our country. It’s one tiny drop in a giant sea, but every change has to start somewhere.

There was a time I wasn’t grateful for birthdays, but age and the loss of loved ones has a way of shifting that perspective. I am so grateful to celebrate my dad’s birthday this weekend, feeling blessed for each additional day and year we get to spend together. My dad has gone way above and beyond the last two weeks, spending a night with me in the ER, running numerous errands on my behalf and generally loving me through my challenges.

Fledgling orchard oriole

This week there has been pain but there has been joy. There has been struggle but there has been beauty. There has been support and love and miracles. It’s easy to see the challenges and not see the rest but this week I’m letting it all in. Perhaps this is the true meaning of “being with life as it is”. All of it.

I have a whole article on pollinators on native plants I want to write, but gratitude won the day this time. Maybe next week!

Viceroy butterfly