#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream
Monarch in the Meadow Milkweed
Sunday morning, I wake and write and send my weekly Aim for Astonishing writing prompt, and that is my ritual. I sat with my coffee for a long time, developing the prompt and I felt very satisfied when I hit send. My daughter came in and talked, with her coffee, before I was done, and she was chatty, so we had to catch up on life since yesterday. We have this quiet time together now, sweet and easy. This warming up time, this preparation. And then I offered a walk to our friend’s dock with the dogs and a swim around the island. She doubted, at first, but only for a moment. We set off through the woods with the dogs. We met a family, and the mother thanked us for wearing our masks. They had on their masks and said we were the first people they met in the woods this morning that were wearing them. This seemed like a perfect time to talk about giving birth, my own experiences with my three children. How with my daughters, both completely natural, I managed contractions with self-hypnosis and deep relaxation. We crossed the meadow under a blue sky, and it was cool, but pleasant. By then, we were done with childbirth, and talking about politics and the loss of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and out of the corner of my eye I saw this: a monarch butterfly nibbling on the under-leaf of a milkweed plant. I gasped and stopped, and we spent a good few moments watching the beauty open and close her bright stained glass wings. So, then I knew we could feel hopeful again, about our country. It was a sign. And we walked on, crossed the street and went down the stone path. I didn’t hesitate–the only way in the cool weather is to go right in without stopping. My daughter said she would probably not go far. I swam quickly from shore, swift strokes in the cold until I felt the water become pleasant and I felt vigorously chilled. I swam around the island, and saw Charlie swimming as I came around the other side. And my daughter behind me too, who decided to swim around the island after all. It was a chilling delight and we dressed quickly on the dock, feeling very full of energy and zest. Walked home a different way through the woods by the river, feeling very enlivened. My son was in the yard with his dog and I was happy to see him and have some time to catch up with all his news, while the dogs played and the sunflowers swayed in the garden, tall and wide open.
