When I walked outside to walk the dogs…
The wind was blowing.
A neighbor was cutting the lawn.
Two contractors were making concrete.
A fire engine could be heard in the distance.
Another neighbor was picking up his toddler off the road.
A landscaper was shoveling mulch.
The sun was shining.
A plane was flying overhead.
Cars drove by.
Birds were chirping.
A dad was walking his son home from the pool and he said ‘Hi’ to me and I nodded and said ‘Hi’ back as I typed this.
When I walked outside to walk the dogs…
I walked into multiple things already underway.
I became a part of the symphony.
Amongst it all.
Of it.
In it.
The beautiful chaos.
And I smiled remembering our walk in the morning.
Just the three of us, seemingly with the world to ourselves.
Legs...
Fox...
4:15AM.
Sometimes, I’ll say the word ‘Fox’ to get the dogs moving. Today was one of those mornings. Remnants of rain dripped off the ole sycamores as we worked our way to the corner. ‘Let’s go see the fox’ I said…and they pulled this way and that. Two bunnies looked up from their nap and hopped away. I watched them as the dogs found a favorable spot to sniff. Out to our right, a fox trotted down the sidewalk and it took a few seconds for our brains to register it. Finn immediately lurched forward, crying his fox alert and Chewie did his Chewie thing, pulling and biting his leash and whipping his head back and forth. It’s quite the sight. Unbothered, the fox made his way by and as he crossed the street he turned back to look at us. You know me. I started talking to him. He sat down and appeared to listen as I promised him an egg and did my best to keep my guys settled. We worked our way home and I could see him following us, so I ushered the dogs into the backyard and ran into the house for the egg. When I returned to the front yard, I didn’t see him anywhere, so I left it by the front tree. A promise is a promise.
Happy Tuesday.
Father's Day...
Another grey, rainy day. Father’s Day has come and gone and I’m in need of a shower. The house is sleeping alongside all of its occupants…except for me. I never did get a chance to see Dad yesterday, but we had a short call in the morning after mom texted ‘Dads up if you want to call’. So I did being the good son that I am. I asked him how he was feeling. ‘I’m OK’ he answered but his voice suggested otherwise. You see, his friend slipped and fell in the basement and broke his back. An MRI says the cancer running thru his bones likely caused it and he will never walk again and he’s just done. Done with all of it. In some ways I feel dad is too and I can’t blame him. That friend of Dads has the same flavor of cancer running thru his bones that Dad does.
It’s raining again. And Fathers Day has come and gone. There’s coffee and a lucky fox on my chest. The birds are chirping outside. My laptop fan reminds me it’s Monday and work beckons.
Home...
'When Bob had returned from Maine, he'd found the apartment below his with it's door open, and he'd stopped to look at the place where Adriana and Preppy Boy had lived out their marriage. The landlord was fixing a faucet and he nodded to Bob, but the glimpse Bob had -- a space empty of curtains, couches, rugs, whatever it is that people make a life around -- struck him with its gone-ness. Dust bunnies had been swept into the center of the living room, and the twilight that showed through the windows was indifferent, stark. The blank walls seemed to say wearily to Bob: Sorry. You thought this was a home. But it was just this, all along'
~ Elizabeth Strout, The Burgess Boys
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A slow, grey Saturday. I've been reading all morning and the words seem to be hitting all of the right places. There's coffee alongside. Ollie's YouTubing in the back room. Liam is showering. Sara is sleeping. Mady is on her way home from a week away at the beach. The dogs are sleeping back to back on the floor close by, breathing heavily. The tired ceiling fan is doing its best to keep the air moving, while the sound of the dryer in the basement reminds me of the clothes I'll need to fold soon. There will be multiple baseball games later today, but for now, the sights and sounds of this place we call home fill me up. Another round of coffee is calling.