#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream

Morning Swan, Charles River

Charlie and I walked in the rain to the river and there, amidst the pelting splatter of raindrops, was a single swan swimming down the middle of the Charles. It was a spectacular sight; a cheerful omen for me in the drab morning weather. This isn’t the Gulf of Mexico, it’s a different habitat suddenly. Paradise lost. Regained on every walk, this new day. And then, further on, the mother and father goose in the wetlands of our property where the Charles spills and also the beaver, the baby beaver, who swims in and around the geese into the brook. It’s a rich morning of sightings to revive my spirit. Here is my quiet time, breathing, breathing. For some moments of reverie able to focus and forget all the unknowns chirping and droning. Indoors, Frank agrees with me it’s best to call, not go in person, to the funeral home, and that’s what we do. We cannot have the funeral his mother wanted and planned in the way she wanted and planned it. We’re improvising a plan. Our girls are here all day, the house feels full. Last evening before bed, our son came and sat with us safely outside on the damp, cold deck with the heaters and a fire, keeping our safe distances, sharing about his grandmother. Tonight I run my monthly Aim for Astonishing writing workshop online, a completely nourishing experience. The theme: Grandmothers. I had chosen the theme and planned the workshop the day before my mother-in-law died. When I am outdoors in the morning in this river habitat, in every weather, I am at peace, I am surprised, I am astonished, I am full of hope and appreciative of beauty. I am my best self when I can breathe fresh air and get my feet onto this earth.

Geese in the Golden Wetlands