Living in the Moment

Two nights ago it was the perfect fall evening-warm, but with a hint of autumn in the air. Blue sky-the kind of blue that you only see in autumn when turning leaves have it as their backdrop. Putting homework and dishes aside, we decided to take the dogs for a quick walk, and headed in the direction of the neighborhood park. Once we got there I was immediately struck by the scene before me-a row of trees-maples perhaps-that had already turned. A slight carpet of golden leaves lay on the ground, enough to color the grass with their beauty, and in front of two of the trees were a couple of benches painted the same brilliant blue as the sky. “Rats, I wish I’d brought the camera!” I lamented. “Oh well, I’ll just have to come back tomorrow.” And off we hurried on our walk, and then home to finish our evening.

The next day, however, the Ellensburg wind came up something fierce. By the time I made it back to the park, most of the leaves were off the trees, and to top it off there was a lively soccer game going on and the beautiful blue benches were covered with jackets and water bottles and exhausted players.

The photo op was gone, but more importantly, so too was the moment.

This is the lesson. I should have lingered that first night, and just enjoyed being there in that place and time. Sure a photo would have been nice-but as it stands I have neither a picture nor a very good memory of what I saw. Just a blur really

I think there is something to be said for “living without a camera”. Appreciating the precious moments as they are given to us and not letting them pass by because we think we’ll get another chance at some point.

Incidentally, my Mom and Dad are visiting England, Scotland and Ireland right now. This time they decided to leave their camera at home and just concentrate on seeing the sights without worrying about getting perfect pictures of everything. They plan to buy a lot of postcards. Wise decision.

Speaking of postcards, does anyone know where I can get a good one depicting some maple trees,and some blue benches perhaps…….

I See!

As I was sewing a couple weeks ago, I had taken my glasses off as I prepared to do some top stitching on a bag. When I am doing any type of finishing stitching on a project I like to really be able to see up close-I literally have my brown peepers just inches from my work-and in order to do this I have to take my glasses off. And, as usual when I’m working on something-my studio turns into utter chaos. As I was looking for a clear, safe spot to put my glasses, ( I learned the hard way that a safe place is critical-I sat on a pair of glasses once-they were never quite the same after that) my husband walked in and said, “You really need one of those chains that you wear around your neck to hold your glasses.” Brilliant suggestion! And as usual, I started to look for a vintage one. I found this cute eyeglass chain on Etsy from a shop called mupearls. Not vintage-but beautifully handmade from vintage amber and golden glass beads. I love the way they sparkle-and wearing my new eyeglass chain makes me feel rather glamorous when I work! Now if I could just operate my sewing machine’s foot pedal in my 40’s Cuban heels!

13 Pictures

As I was making chili yesterday, I thought about those picture frames you can get that hold all of a child’s school photographs from kindergarten through grade 12. I remembered thinking when Amy was really little, that 13 years was a long time, and a lot of pictures.

Last June Amy finished middle school-and had I bought one of those picture frames, 9 slots would now be filled. Along with those 9 years come a lot of memories. Amy’s very first day of school, when her brand new teacher forgot to count the children after recess and Amy was left outside for quite a while. She didn't mind-she had fun playing long after everyone else had gone in. She was “found” by a helpful 5th grader who took her back to her classroom and a very embarrassed teacher!

I remember a list of spelling words that came home one year…sailor, anchor, knot, ship, bosom…Bosom?! That made me do a double take! I had visions of lusty barmaids entertaining men who’d been at sea too long. Then I realized Amy’s teacher meant boson!

There was the dear teacher who announced to the class, “Had Lincoln not been assassinated, he would still be alive today!” (2002)

One year at the student talent show and bar-b-que, attended by families, friends and respectable members of the community, the local country music radio station provided the d.j. services. They played music before the show started-while people were getting their lunches and the kids were getting ready to perform. Above the chatter of the crowd I could hear the strains of “Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo.” I could just hear the lunch servers ask, “Would you like milk or tequila with your burger?”

And I smiled remembering the junior high school age kids. They had once fought over who got to sit on my lap when I would help out in Amy's classrooms--now awkwardly holding hands with boyfriends and girlfriends.

Yes, lots of memories…

Yesterday, Amy started high school. Hard to believe that she is only 4 slots away from going off to college! As I made the chili, I must admit I had tears in my eyes. But then again, those were some pretty strong onions I was chopping.