Then I drove to the carpool dropoff spot to drop The Princess off at 7:05 am and took some really terrible, fuzzy photos which show my poor photography skills in challenging light conditions...
And then I came home and watched the sun rise and the moon set and I thought about stuff.
The week began with me fretting over the fairness of group projects in The Princess's English class and battling with a real estate company as we tried to fire our agent.
I worried over a couple of "C"s The Boy received and I fussed about my dirty house and the piles of laundry and wished we had a bit more money.
As the week progressed, I heard some things which made me sit back and reevaluate my whining.
We found out that a friend has cancer.
We heard about another friend who has been in and out of the hospital the past several months.
We have friends going through divorces.
We know others whose spouse has been cheating on them.
And there are friends whose children have died.
As I sat on the dock this morning and listened to the silence, I contemplated many things...the betrayals of family members, the lies of people we trusted, and revelations that can change our lives. I realized that family is not something defined by blood, but rather by love and loyalty and perseverance.
As I got up to walk back to the house, I saw an Osprey in a tree.
I was struck by his fierceness and his beauty. I thought perhaps, since I was thinking such deep thoughts, that he was an allegory for family. Perhaps his fierceness represented the ferocity of the love I feel for my family and...
Actually, maybe it's just a bird. And maybe I need to get a bit more sleep. And have some coffee...
Still, he was awfully impressive looking.
"Hey there, you pretty thing", I called to him. He looked at me...
And then, from behind me I heard The Boy's bird wolf whistle and then say, "Hello! Buddy's a pretty bird!"
And I laughed. Because he's right. Buddy IS a pretty bird.
And somehow, that just put everything in perspective for me.
Sometimes you just have to be able to laugh at yourself.
Life is short. And while we can't help (or at least I can't) fretting over the little things, we should be grateful for what we have. My family is healthy. My husband has a job. We all love each other. And you know what? In the long run, that's really all that matters.
Buddy the pretty bird. I keep trying to teach him to say, "Do your homework!", but he seems stuck on, "Hello Buddy" and "Buddy is a pretty bird." Oh well.
