Writing and Mowing

May 4, 2019   

Yesterday, we attended our weekly Friday morning writing class, and I was amazed – astonished, really – by the writing that was done by these very ordinary classmates of ours, all in their 70s or above, and all quite willing to share the deepest and most personal stories in their writing. At the end of the 20-minute writing period, we all were able to share what we had written, as usual, and I just sat back and was pleasantly overwhelmed by what I was hearing. These are all women, except for me, and they all – including Cia – spoke so honestly of heartaches and joys and fears and pleasures that lived in their memories of their various homes. Several women were in tears as they read, and there was a feeling of utter attentiveness around the table as we listened to our classmates. I found the entire 90 minutes to be truly amazing – and inspiring.                       

I mowed the lawn for the first time yesterday afternoon, just cruising around the front yard behind my big old machine, which amazingly does a wonderful job of trimming the grass and giving the lawn a good look for the month of May. Delycia has done a wonderful job of feeding the lawn every spring and fall, and so there is a richness, even a lushness, to the grass in the front yard, which made it feel like I was walking on a soft carpet as I followed the lawnmower around the yard.

Just before lunch today, we went for a 40 minute hill-walk, up and down the “heartbreak hills” in Mystic near the library, and I was very pleased with the way my old body handled it. I walked along, striding right beside Delycia, who is one of the fastest walkers I have ever known. As usual, we talked some, but we also had some minutes of quiet, time to huff and puff deeply as we went up hills, and time to enjoy the scenery and some good thoughts inside.

… ready for our walk