When I was a kid on August first my father used to announce that our summer was almost over. I hated to hear that, what I wanted to hear was that each day was here and we didn't have to go to school. What I loved about the summer was that we didn't have to look ahead, or behind, we just took another step to the ocean or the movies or where ever our feet carried us. June 21st is the longest day of the year, the summer solstice and marks the official beginning of summer..As an adult I hope to keep that sense of the wonder so that each day no matter how long it is can feel like an arrival.
Each step is an arrival. Forget about past walking,
don't think about future walking. One step, another step.
No long ago, no now, no east or west. One step equals totality.
Fayan Wenyi
from Water Shining Beyond the Fields by John Brandi
Ah, Catherine, lovely as always. What a joy even if this time around it is a countdown to the lessening of daylight. Thanks for keeping me on your list.
Leigh
Dear Catherine,
My mom died early in the morning of June 11. I am in Ireland still, where she died peacefully in a hospice that she had come to call Glacamora (from Brigadoon). She was diagnosed with cancer a year ago and swore us all to secrecy. I am writing you this news here because yesterday I cleaned out her closets which was a journey through my past into my present through my mother's clothes. This morning I read your blog for yesterday and was comforted and inspired as I so often am by your words and images. Thank you and much love. minna
This post touched me particularly as well, Catherine. I recall what you describe about a child's summer so vividly. That sense of endless time, each day presenting wondrous simple possibilities. Thank you for bringing me back to that memory with your poetic words and objects. xo, Deborah