RUN WILD

 MAGGIE AND HER KOI

Voice journal from  July 10, 2016
5:44 PM

When Maggie May got older people would look at her and say oh she's so slow and hobbling. It's so sad she can't run anymore (yes, people actually said this). As I'm walking through the woods right now I'm thinking I'm glad I gave her the chance to run wild and free and crazy off leash and through the woods with wild abandon even if possibly it did aggravate her hips or make some things worse in old age... because it was what she was born to do... it was what she was. I don't think she was sad she couldn't run anymore. I think when she stood & looked across the golf course or at the woods, she was remembering all those incredible times that she flew through the woods and swam for hours. And I like to think she felt it was better to have done that and have those incredible memories embedded into her being than having just lived a safe half life. I hope the memories were good enough. And I hope that when I am 90, and maybe can't be on trails anymore, that the thoughts and memories I have of my hikes and adventures and saying yes to life will bring a smile to my face and be enough... and that I'll be happy with the memories and know I lived a full and not half life.

MAGGIE IN HER LAST YEAR

FATHER FIGURE

I'm seeing all the annual dad posts & it's hard because my father was mostly absent. I guess this is why I had to develop resilience & self sufficiency, although at times I wish I wasn't so much that way. I know my dad did the best he could under his difficult growing up circumstances. He fought many demons. When he was about 6, his mother took him & his twin brother to a boys school in Philadelphia. My grandma was raising them alone after their dad died prior to their birth. The school offered a scholarship for their education. But they didn't tell the boys what was going on, & my dad remembered being in a fenced yard & then seeing his mother & grandmother walking away outside just leaving them there. It was not a happy place for him. He did the best he could as a father who didn't know how or wasn't able to father.  But I did have a wonderful male mentor growing up who showed such love & patience to me & to his own daughter who had Down's Syndrome. Homer nurtured my art, took me for my first plane ride in his little plane & was at my wedding. Happy Father's Day to all the amazing men who fill these roles & shoes... they are truly extraordinary.

STARS

Sirius, in the constellation Canis Major (the Big Dog), will rise above the southeast horizon this week. If you have a moment, and a clear evening, take a look south...

My grandpa was an avid amateur astronomer. As an organic farmer, (and before computers) he paid close attention to the signs in nature and would take me up the mountain to point out the stars and talk about their meaning and lore. He passed his love of stars and nature on to me. I wish he was still around to see the results of his taking time out of his day and sharing that love and knowledge. But when I walk outside at night, in places where I can see all those millions of stars in the sky, I like to think he knows...

That gift he gave of himself and his heart is priceless & has lasted my lifetime.... and those are the very best kind of gifts to give, and receive. 

If you like this fine art print, you can find it in my art shop here:

https://society6.com/product/look-how-they-shine-for-you-wf3_print#s6-3466630p4a1v45