Finally, a walk with someone who moved to Kentucky whom I greatly miss today:
This morning, I took a trip down
memory lane with one of the smallest of my friends: a rat terrier named
Bear.
Bear is my neighbor's dog, and I walk him when she is elsewhere and can't take him out during the day. Today, I marveled at the beautiful weather, and came to an as-yet unplanted cornfield we like to walk the circumference of, and was reminded of my mom's parents. They had a house near a wooded area, like this field was, and the peaceful atmosphere was very similar. Birds. Small trees. A dog sniffing and romping in the grass, such as the grass was. The warm sun was wonderful.
Now, about fifteen minutes later, it all shifted. Bear and I had gotten done with the field and were walking down a long, gravel lane, heading home. And I was reminded of a house I lived in that had a gravel driveway that seemed to go on forever. Mornings running to catch the bus, praying I wouldn't twist my ankle. The uneven distribution of gravel after a snowplow has been dragging it all winter. A different part of my memory that I was watching like it was a movie.
Finally, we got to a small backstreet area and we were walking down the middle of the road, because cars were parked on either side. Now my mind traveled to Lakeside, a resort town on a lake where people on foot owned the road and cars waited patiently. I've never been the driver there, and don't think I'd want to, because the familiarity comes with being a pedestrian. Bear sniffed at another dog, and kids said hi to him... a place where everyone knows you, even if you are an animal.
Some days, I worry about money, or where things are going at work. Some days, I struggle with doubts about trying to be a good parent. But today, little Bear reminded me by dragging me along his merry way that there are moments when you can truly find peace by remembering peace from your past. And you can live in a moment to the point where time stops, and your only worry is whether you have enough plastic baggies in your pocket to deal with what life hands you...
Honestly? That's a good thing to remember all the time. Live in peace, and carry enough baggies.
Bear is my neighbor's dog, and I walk him when she is elsewhere and can't take him out during the day. Today, I marveled at the beautiful weather, and came to an as-yet unplanted cornfield we like to walk the circumference of, and was reminded of my mom's parents. They had a house near a wooded area, like this field was, and the peaceful atmosphere was very similar. Birds. Small trees. A dog sniffing and romping in the grass, such as the grass was. The warm sun was wonderful.
Now, about fifteen minutes later, it all shifted. Bear and I had gotten done with the field and were walking down a long, gravel lane, heading home. And I was reminded of a house I lived in that had a gravel driveway that seemed to go on forever. Mornings running to catch the bus, praying I wouldn't twist my ankle. The uneven distribution of gravel after a snowplow has been dragging it all winter. A different part of my memory that I was watching like it was a movie.
Finally, we got to a small backstreet area and we were walking down the middle of the road, because cars were parked on either side. Now my mind traveled to Lakeside, a resort town on a lake where people on foot owned the road and cars waited patiently. I've never been the driver there, and don't think I'd want to, because the familiarity comes with being a pedestrian. Bear sniffed at another dog, and kids said hi to him... a place where everyone knows you, even if you are an animal.
Some days, I worry about money, or where things are going at work. Some days, I struggle with doubts about trying to be a good parent. But today, little Bear reminded me by dragging me along his merry way that there are moments when you can truly find peace by remembering peace from your past. And you can live in a moment to the point where time stops, and your only worry is whether you have enough plastic baggies in your pocket to deal with what life hands you...
Honestly? That's a good thing to remember all the time. Live in peace, and carry enough baggies.
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