Looking for Perspective

We are definitely in the throes of transition – the house is for sale, we can’t commit to a rental unit until we have a closing date, and so, everything is uncertainty at the moment.

We clutch at hopeful signs only to be disappointed. The couple who spent over an hour during the Open House have now decided to wait a year before moving. The man who showed so much interest was met with resistance from his wife.

Ups and downs.

I try to remember to breathe and be open to the process.

There is peace to be had, but only if I make room for it.

Sigh.

The Moment is Now

Evening light casts a hopeful glow
A gentle summer breeze harmonizes
shadows fascinate, stretching into mystery

My breathing, shallow, betrays the mood
Uncertainty an unforgiving foe –
soul whispers a prayer of longing

A swarm of winged insects dance
 where walnut branches part

undaunted by ensuing dark

My wings, folded in doubt’s wake,
weigh heavily on anticipation –
a learned habit of mine

Sun lingers in this season
of emerald charm, and I am reminded
that time evokes change, and I too

Am but a part of nature’s cycle
and what worry robs me of now
will not find its rhythm in Winter’s chill.

(Image my own)

Monday Mood: cautious

… or maybe the word is precarious.

The ‘for sale’ sign went up on the house Thursday. The ad online activated Friday afternoon. We’d already had a viewing scheduled before the listing went live.

In the meantime, we’ve been scrambling to pack up the excess and make this house presentable. It’s more work than remembered and we are both exhausted.

Another showing tomorrow, video-taping on Thursday, and an Open House on Saturday, and I’m afraid to admit that I feel a cold hovering.

So, yes, I’m feeling cautiously optimistic, and aware of the precariousness of my physical health.

Might need that ladder.

Three Gifts

The decision has been made – it is time for us to move on to the next stage of life.

The house will be sold and we shall look for a smaller, rental apartment. It hasn’t been easy coming to this conclusion, and it won’t be easy making the transition, but excitement is part of the equation.

We will be moving back to the city, closer to family, and doctors, and all conveniences.

Now the purge and pack begins.

Acceptance, wisdom, and openness are at my side: three gifts to guide me.

More

I dream that I am teaching again, and having assigned the class independent work, I am spending time connecting with each student to see if they are grasping the material. It’s my favourite part of teaching, and I wake up wondering if I’ll ever have that feeling again. So rewarding.

It is bittersweet, growing old. Many of life’s goals have been achieved, and yet, the desire for more still exists. At least, it does for me. I’m just not sure what to do about it.

Now That I Matter

The times I waited –
restless and raging
deliberately put on hold
dismissed, degraded, ignored.

Why did I put up with that?
Was I so afraid I’d lose it all?
So uncertain about a future?

How the children came to me
need in their eyes, little arms
begging to be embraced,
and I too blinded to reach out
fixated on the anger, powerless,
immersed myself in distractions
could not respond to their pleading
while my own inner child was doing the same

How I’d let other people’s agendas
override mine – their need to be rescued
or fixed, or to ride on my successes –
boundaries never a strong suit
my own desires so far buried
as to be practically nonexistent

How I’d avoid confrontation
never the top dog – hiding
rather than facing the bullies
in my sight – my loyalty,
my friendship a given
seldom valued by even me

How I took on the discards of others
let men dictate my life –
sorting through their carelessness
like spoon feeding adolescents
Perpetually in mother mode.

I am standing on a threshold
no doubt others will not like
Where I matter now
and love takes precedence
and my inner child shines,
and my priorities are front facing
and loyalty an earned gift
Where men are called to account
and women upheld and valued.

I am proud of who I am,
forgive all the ways I’ve put me down
and chose to radiate  
Love guiding this new light.

(Self portrait by me )

Not Everything Is Defined by Age

As a child, I knew no limits, setting out on adventures with never a fear for how I’d find my way back home.

Now, nestled in my home, I limit myself to certainties, fearful of risks.

Some days, I wonder about that child, and how it would feel to wander freely, and it makes me smile.

The body may be hindered, but the imagination remains forever young.

(Post originally appeared on One Woman’s Quest II, May 2022)

Over It!

One day it’s so mild that I don’t bother with a coat, the next we wake up to snow on the ground. The plants pushing up through the soil seem a little more patient than me – as if they are humouring nature’s fickleness.

I’m ready for clear change.

A pair of finches just flew by, one chasing the other. Another sign of spring. Maybe I just need to follow their lead and ignore the blasted white stuff.

This collage says it all, don’t you think.