Outside my window it's very dark. Cloudy skies were the order of the day. Fog is due to roll in later this evening.
I am reading Startle and Illuminate: Carol Shields on Writing, edited by Anne Giardini and Nicholas Giardini, Carol's daughter and grandson.
I am thinking about time. Here is what Carol Shields (a famous Canadian author) says about it,
"Time is not cruel. Given the good luck of a long healthy life, as most of us have, we have plenty. Plenty of time. We have time to try our new selves. Time to experiment. Time to dream and drift. Time even to waste. Fallow time. Shallow time.
We'll have good years and bad years. And we can afford both. Every hour will not be filled with meaning and accomplishment as the world measures such things but there will be compensating hour so rich, so full, so humanly satisfying that we will become partners with time and not victims of it."
I find her thoughts refreshing. When I think of time flying, it's easy to become anxious about not doing enough or analyzing my productivity. I like the idea of being partners with time as it marches on and not fighting it.
On my walk today I went by the ponds where mallards and wood ducks live. There were plenty of mallards paddling in the water, but very few wood ducks, and I wondered where they might have gone. Then I looked up. At least 15 of them were perched in the trees, something I'd never seen before. I always thought wood ducks were so-named because they lived in wooded areas, but no, they actually nest in trees.
This pretty female wood duck was quite happy perching low to the ground. Her teal feathers are just lovely.
I'm admiring a bouquet of roses brought over by my son this morning. A local rose grower is doing a fundraiser for a young boy, just 8 years old, who is undergoing cancer treatment. Our son and daughter-in-law are close friends of the boy's parents.
In the kitchen I recently made a chicken pot pie, kale and sausage soup, and an apple-pear crisp.
I always make my bed in the morning. I love pulling up the layers of sheet and blankets, smoothing the coverlet, plumping the pillows and walking away, knowing that after my day I'll be slipping into a neat bed.
And that was my day. I hope yours was equally pleasant. Now I'm off to slip into the bed I made this morning.
Love those thoughts on time. You do often feel time is wasting but it’s good to know that’s ok. A very positive post to start my morning :) B x
ReplyDeleteWhat a very nice day!
ReplyDeleteI am a manic bed maker! I practically start before I'm even OUT of bed, pulling the covers tight! An unmade bed makes the whole room look out of control and if I don't make it, it means I'm sick and planning to crawl back in it soon! Those are wonderful reflections on time. It seems as though it goes so much faster the older we grow and so little left of it. We need to maximize that time with joy.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat to see wood ducks. I have only ever seen a few.
ReplyDeleteCarol Shields’ writing is exceptional!
I love wood ducks! I hear you in for rain this weekend. So are we! Such a mess out there.
ReplyDeleteWe are having about the same weather here. I have never seen ducks in trees!
ReplyDeleteI have not done many things today except rest and crocheting and tomorrow we will go out with my husband to relax. But, there are strikes and farmers blocking the road everywhere so we must choose our place if we want to go out. I wish you a good weekend
You had such a pretty nature walk, Lorrie. I also admired those cookies that you made and the pretend food that you stitched up. The little ones will certainly enjoy those “breakfast foods”! How lovely to see snowdrops growing; I only have them on my January Royal Albert teacup. Happy weekend to you.
ReplyDeleteShields' words are beautiful.Thank you for posting them.
ReplyDeletePrayers for the young boy's health and his difficult journey soothed by a surrounding of love
What a special sight you were gifted with, lifting your eyes and finding ducks in the trees! I won't go into the possible deeper meaning of that as it's simply enough that you saw it with your eyes. Thank you for sharing some of the thoughts on time by Shields, an author I'm not familiar with. That's an excellent nugget to think about. I believe I've accepted the gift of living slow at 80 rather than feeling that I must cram in as much as I can. Instead I'm relaxing into each part of my day and trying to appreciate it and dismiss any notion that I should have done more, used to do more. And I'm working on guiltlessly taking time each day for those things that make me happy. Often in the past few years that was a problem for me because housework is something you can't retire from. I think during December when I was recuperating from two outpatient surgical procedures where I was not allowed to bend over or lift anything the least heavy really helped me to come to terms with the importance of enjoying the hours in my day, not waiting for another Christmas, another birthday, another year because each day is a gift unto itself. This doesn't mean that I don't still look forward to them or to interesting projects ahead. I'm just enjoying the journey more than I ever have.
ReplyDeleteLorrie, now you've made me jot down chicken pie on a post it note. It's been far too long since RH and I have made that!
There are nest boxes up in tall trees by Fish Trap Creek and we've seen female Wood Ducks sit there but have yet to spot any ducklings on the creek. It's puzzling.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting thoughts on time and how we spend it. I now have more free time than ever and I often feel like I should be doing something better with it.
ReplyDeleteI would have never thought ducks would be found up in the trees. Good thing you thought to look up.
How thoughtful of your son to bring the bouquet of roses. I do hope the son of their friends will receive successful treatment.
Beautiful thoughts on time. What a treat to see so many wood ducks! I occasionally see them in trees and they always look so out of place! But a treat to see.
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