RENDEZVOUS

From Steve

In the morning we write occasionally, and we use prompts. We open the book to a page, read the page, and see what it brings up.

Today’s reading was about Percy, the dog, who is getting up in the years, and had a rendezvous with a neighboring dog, which, luckily did not produce doggy children, but Percy was pretty elated about his experience. Debbie and I both wrote about Rendezvous and here’s my take:

Birds do it. Bees do it. Even ordinary fleas do it let’s do it. Let’s do it. Let’s fall in love.

Apple TV has a series called Shrinking which busts through all the taboos that our culture has about sex. They talk about sex, they talk about what they want. The main protagonist is a black lady named __—— who is recently divorced and is looking for safe dick.

You get the flavor of this bawdy comedy. Everything was casual, and shocking. As if the Puritan culture of America had suddenly become more French.

In my childhood, growing up in the south we didn’t even whisper about sex. During the 10,000 meals that I shared with my family and relatives the topic never came up. Not once. We didn’t talk about intimacy. My adult children didn’t want to hear (from me) about sex when they were growing up. And they don’t particularly want to hear about it now.

Here’s a little family story from early in our marriage…

Debbie and I busted through this taboo one Thanksgiving. I told her to tell a funny story about us starting new careers becoming sex workers. It was a very funny story.

My kids sat there stunned. Debbie‘s kids giggled a bit and then told even worse jokes. That was the last time that we mentioned sex with the whole family.

SPIDER-MAN

Today I was riding my bike through the fields and woods on Blue iHeron Farm …..64 acres we designed so that a number of households would live on 10 acres and leave the other 54 acres for wildlife.

Going through the trees, I met my first spiderweb right across the face. It was a big one because I’ve been away for a week. A few minutes later, biking under the trees I smashed into another large web. Brushing it off my face. I returned home to sit on the couch for my morning time with Debbie. I chose a medicine card from a deck of 52. The image on the card was THE SPIDER. And the reading comes from Native American theology.

“The most important message from Spider is that you are an infinite being who will continue to weave the patterns of life and living throughout time. Pay attention. Don’t fail to see the expansiveness of the eternal plan.”

I shake with excitement. Could it possibly be true? Infinite time and space to be creative! What joy is this! Currently Creativity in this house. Is centered around leaving for Mexico in December, and building a new tiny house. Wonderful!

Infinite creativity beyond the bodily existence is like the first bite of creamy vanilla ice cream. 

One of our greatest fears is scarcity. Not enough time! Or love. Or positivity. Or good health. Or kindness. Or self care and self love.

Could it be that after I drop this body I transition into infinite space and time where the creative spirit continues to grow ah!!! Life is a grand mystery!

Later in the afternoon as I work in the yard, I bump into two more large spiderwebs, they want to make sure that I got the message. 💥

DOG SONGS AT SADIE’S PLACE

Back again! It is finally Fall. I love Fall. For me, the best season of all. I love the small moments when without planning it, some tiny movement or color or sound captures me. All of me focused and singular. I love that moment of disappearing into the wholeness and then sometime later, maybe a minute or five minutes…who can say how long…realizing I have been captured. And there is a sense of timelessness in the capture.

BooBoo loves to nap and cuddle. She’s always ready for a good hike along the Blue Ridge Parkway or Mountain-to-Sea trail. And she is quite content to curl up on the bed near the table where my paints and brushes are scattered. A perfect creativity companion, she likes the music I like and will sometimes thump her tail in rhythmic participation. And she’s also comfortable with my silence. I get lost for hours in this dreamland. Turning colors into patterns. Blissful.

Mary Oliver loves dogs. She even has an entire book of poetry called Dog Songs. Steve chose one about Percy for our morning writing prompt. “Rendezvous.” I listen to the poem and catch myself smiling. This is not unusual. I smile a lot. But this was one of those smiles that had emerged without my acknowledgment. Nudged me into reverie. There’s some kind of chemistry that happens when a stored memory and the physical body run into each other and tah-dah, the deep smile which releases the body-memory. Pure joy!

I show BooBoo my latest barn quilt. A two-sided twisted chicken. She lifts her head for a moment to appreciate my art. Then promptly returns to napping. She snores a bit and then begins to twitch and make little woofing sounds. She’s dreaming. I imagine she dreams of being a puppy discovering a butterfly. The leaping, falling, delighted curiosity. “What’s This?” “What’s That?”