Equinox Thoughts

It’s been a weird summer.  In fact, it’s been a weird summer regarding the word “weird,” so maybe in the interest of accuracy I should say it’s been an unusual summer for me.

Although I am long retired, I generally fall into the habits of a working teacher during the summer, with emphasis on rest, fitness (more hiking and swimming), and extra time for writing.

But this summer I chose to get my kitchen remodeled, and it’s not done yet!  It seems there’s only a few days of work left, but when will those days occur?  I don’t know, gosh darn it.  We’re so close, and yet. . .  well, anyway. . .

I inherited this house from my mother, and it still had the original 65-year-old kitchen.  It was a narrow galley design with low-hanging overhead cabinets that made the whole kitchen/family room area appear rather dark.  But in 1959, this kitchen was an innovation because the cook (aka Mom) was not sequestered in a back room away from family and guests.  No, she could lean over the stove and cutting board (like a truck-stop fry cook) and theoretically enjoy visiting with those in the family room while she prepared the meal.

This idea of integrating kitchen with family room persists, but now the long narrow counter has been replaced with an island, and the overhead cabinets with a side pantry.  The result is a large, well-lighted, and airy room.  I’m thrilled with the new design, and eager to move everything back in there. If only they’d finish. . .

In the meantime my feline companions and I have been living and eating in my library/dining/living room.  My refrigerator has been moved in here, and without a stove, I’v been dining primarily on salads.  And okay—dark chocolate.  I wash my produce and my dishes in the narrow little sink of the guest bathroom.  Gosh, it’s been such fun.  Like camping.  (Eye roll.)

I keep saying to friends that this has ben taxing and time consuming, but it’s all first world problems.  I am blessed to have the resources to hire a contractor and his myriad sub-contractors to come over here and disrupt my days.  I chose this.  It is a great benefit to me.  So it seems ungrateful to complain, but maybe just a little.  I mean, we’re going on 12 weeks here!—and the whole project has made my summer. . . unusual.  

Oh, there’s something else too.  Five weeks ago, I went hiking above Folsom Lake with friends.  It was a beautiful day, an exhilarating hike with wonderful company.  It wasn’t a long hike, round trip around 4 or 5 miles.  We were on our way back, maybe a mile to the parking lot when I tripped on a tree root and fell on my face.  I could tell right away that a bone in my left hand was probably broken.  It was extremely painful to move, and stiffened up immediately.  Luckily it was only a broken pinky finger.  But I also hit my forehead and cheekbone.  They did a CAT scan at the hospital and told me my hard head turned out to be an asset—no concussion, no brain bleeds.  I did have quite a shiner on my right eye the next day.  I looked like I’d had a bad night at Fight Club with my bandaged hand and my black eye.

The bruises on my face faded quickly, but my broken finger continues to need babying. First I had a big cast with something the orthopedist’s staff called an outrigger—a long looping piece of metal to hold my broken pinky in a “naturally curled position.”  It made life very inconvenient.  I couldn’t drive or type or swim or shower and it made most everything else a little bit harder too.

Yet again I am blessed—because the break wasn’t so bad, I only had to wear the cast for three weeks.  Now I have a velcro brace that again separates and secures the broken pinky when I’m out and about, but the brace may be removed when I’m home and still.  It’s been a big relief.  I can resume most tasks, though I must type slowly and I haven’t started driving at all yet.  But here again good fortune!—since I have many friends who have stepped up to drive me to doctor appointments, errands, and fun gatherings.  Life is good.  It’s also scary, frustrating, annoying, tedious, and exhausting.  My house has been filled with strangers off and on for the past two and a half months!  My days have also been filled with friends to help me!  This has been joyous—but also tiring.

I’m telling you all this to confess that I have done little writing this summer.  I don’t believe in writer’s block.  Just pick up a pen and press it to paper, for goodness sake.  However, this practice doesn’t always result in post-worthy work!  With all the unusual distractions of this summer, writing has been hard.

So I will probably be posting a few more re-runs this fall and winter.  I hope you enjoy an old favorite or encounter something new and enjoyable for you.

This weekend is the Equinox.  I look forward to finding a bit of balance, even as the days grow shorter.  Certainly soon we will get a reprieve from our 100 plus degree heat waves:  hoping for more temperate weather; hoping for more temperate politics.  May we all say a prayer or send out some energy for a kinder, more peaceful world.

Right after I broke my finger, I went out into the darkness one night to put some garbage in the cans that are now in my back yard.  Usually they are stored in my garage, but as I said this has been an unusual summer.  The garage was full f construction tools and yet-to-be-installed appliances so the garbage cans were in the yard.

After depositing the garbage, I looked up and scanned the sky.  The Persiad showers were a bit past peak, but I was ever hopeful, still looking for a meteor.  In past years I’ve seen a few, but nothing this year.  There’s just too much light in my neighborhood to get a good look at the stars.  

Then I turned and spread across the northern sky was the Big Dipper.  I hadn’t seen it so clearly for a long time, but there it was, the very embodiment of reliability itself.  Solid, friendly, eager to be of service.  It seemed an omen to me.

But as I swiveled round to return to the house, out of the corner of my eye—was that—?  Was it?  A shooting star?  A meteor?  Oh, the Universe was playing with me.  Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t—I’ll never know.  But my omen of certainty was now balanced by a hint of wildness, mystery.  It’s all beautiful, it’s all good.

Happy Equinox, Happy Autumn! 

Photo by Christian Joudrey on Unsplash