Saturday, May 14, 2016

A KINDRED SPIRIT




Chapel of the Swallows---Matthias Haker


Folks, this endless font of WORDS has been a bit droughty lately, with all the SPRING thoughts and silent, overnight surges of GREEN which have left our “back forty” looking like the Down-Home kudzu fields in August.   A few home-keepings and repairings and cleanings, and I’m just wandering through the days with what thoughts there are just whispering away like misty tendrils of dreams, before I can get the gloves off or my hands dried to grab a pen.  My brain feels stripped to the echoes some days, like this pale, tumbled wraith of a chapel, as I log in and see that same old post I shared days and weeks ago, with nary another in mind.  

And so I just devour yours, looking my eyes full of wondrous things, soothing my soul and smelling your roses, trading mere crumbs for all your hyacinths, in an uneven exchange for all the bounty.





You know how I love just traipsing around through all the blogs and notes and little sharings on this marvelous menu board we all belong to---well, I have found a wondrous kindred spirit!!   She’s a sampler and a delver and somewhat of the gobbler of happy things that I am.  And she expresses the interest and the joy of finding and the happy gratitude that I, too, feel in the great offerings which you provide. 

From her personal biography on her blog, pretty little rough patches


She's VAL, a new and wonderful friend:


Pretty Little Rough Patches

IN VAL'S WORDS:

 You know how people joke about visiting someone only to have to sit through his/her slide shows of vacations, pets, and family outings?  I'm a person who is thrilled by such things.  Tell me about your best friend from elementary school, your best friend now, the first person who broke your heart, the work you do and the work you want to do, the language you'd love to learn and the lesson you need to learn, the last movie you loved and didn't want to end and the last book you hated too much to finish, the flowers that most remind you of your grandmother, the birthday cake you always bake or buy for your wife, your funniest memory of your grandfather, the dress you'll save forever because you once had a perfect day wearing it, those songs that take you back to high school, that one dog who was your Best Dog EVER, the craziest neighbors you've ever had, and the kindness a stranger showed you the day your child died. 

 Give me your tired, your poor, your fridges covered in magnet-held family pictures and your scrapbooks bursting open with saved mementos. . . .   

Where did you find the piece of driftwood shaped like a seal?!  I love it.    Is that photo you and your sister when you were kids?!    Oh!  Your dog by the fireplace Christmas morning!  Look at his FACE!    Is that sketch of the house that you told me about?    That has to be your mom's photo above your chair--You look just like her.   

                                                              


My seventh-grade English teacher always had us spend one class period a week writing journal entries that we would hand in to her to read.  She said that we could write about absolutely anything and that that there was really nothing she didn't think was interesting.  I remember thinking, when I heard her say that, "Well, yeah, I'm the same way."  I hadn't known it until she articulated it, so that realization stuck in my memory.  And now I live in the Age of the Internet and get to see your slide shows and hear your stories this way, and every day, I find someone--and something--else that interests me.  And I love that.


Keep telling your own stories.  Make time for your friends.  Finish and mail the letter you keep meaning to write.  Offer a piece of gum to the person sharing the elevator with you.  Keep putting yourself out there.  Say thank you.  And remember that even when it's rough, life is good and beautiful and worth the effort.  Ride it out.  Find the silver lining.  Go hug your cat. 
 
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV


And from me, echoing THAT, every word,   Go look in.   You'll love her.
 


Linking today to Jeanne’s BLUE MONDAY.



9 comments:

  1. Hello dear Rachel, You probably think I have given up communicating. Not so...just a few weeks of very little time to be on my computer. Working in my yard and planting gardens, helping my sister who is unable to do much these days, etc. etc. I have missed you and your delightful stories very much. So here I am to catch up with what I have missed.

    Your post today about your busy work in your yard and so on is familiar. I can really understand why your new found soul mate 'Val' has impressed you. After reading her heartfelt post, you were meant to meet each other. Big smile here. I loved what she writes about so much. I will go say hello in a few minutes.

    First I will scroll down to see the posts I haven't visited.

    Wishing you beautiful Spring days and the time to fulfill your heart's desire in your own special way.
    Much love to you dear friend,
    Jeanne

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  2. The way your post started, I thought I was losing another blogger! But you surprised us with a new friend! Can't wait to check out her blog. Thank you!

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  3. What a beautiful post! Oh, I just loved it! Thank you for introducing us to Val. God bless you both!

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  4. Oh my I could have written that post. I once told my history professor in college that I loved history because I wanted to know everything about everybody that had ever lived. (He suggested I take some sociology classes.) I am going to hop on over to Val's blog and say hello.

    We all get busy with life so don't worry about not being on here. I know you will be back when you can be.

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  5. Seems like everyone is busy this spring. Can't really say what, but it is busy. Going from city to farm and back kind of keeps my head in a whirl and it's hard to focus and too much to do.

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  6. A very nice tribute to your special blogging friend. Take a day at a time and make the most of it.

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  7. Hi Rachel, I wanted you to know I finally visited Val's Blog and found her posts delightful. Thank you for the heads up on this terrific Blog and a new friend.

    Thank you for your sweet comment today. I messed up the Linky somehow but I'll do better next week. Getting the hang of hosting Blue Monday and doing the linky thing is a challenge. I won't give up though.

    Have a wonderful week.
    Love, jeanne

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  8. What a lovely post. Thank you for caring.
    Joane at Ivory Pumpkin

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  9. I’m like Val! I love seeing old pictures from other folks families and hearing those stories.

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