Dreaming the World

A damp, cloudy, cold morning in which “gloomy” seems the right descriptor for the weather’s mood. Much needed rain is forecast for tonight and tomorrow, followed by sun and relative warmth for the weekend. Many of our trees are in full leaf and the lilacs are on the edge of blooming. The redbud is adorned with buds, awaiting just the right moment to open.

Over at the beach the osprey nest remains empty. We miss their flights and ceaseless chatter, while being reassured by last week’s survey which suggests our local osprey population is having a very good year. Here at the house, the feeder is active and the trees seem to be filled with mixed flocks of songbirds, to our great delight. I am reminded that very local conditions are often a poor predictor for what may be happening at the population level, a basic tenant of ecology.

We continue to pack a few boxes each day, while leaving the most fragile objects and most of the acoustic instruments for the movers to manage. Nori’s pheromone dispenser apparently stopped working for a few days and her anxiety and distress increased along with the growing stacks of boxes. When we discovered and corrected the issue she soon became more relaxed.

One of the twins and his partner bought a house and moved earlier this year, then last week the other twin and his wife bought a house and will move next month. They were all here on Sunday, celebrating Mothers’ Day, and moving out most of the rest of their art that was stored in our basement. June promises to be a wild ride for all of us. We will end up a three minute drive from one couple and a bit more than an hour drive from the other, and we are all excited to be settling near one another. Our other kids and their families still live much further away, which means we see them too little.

I had a long, sweet, deep, and dear conversation with a former student yesterday, one of those chats that reminds one that sometimes all the craziness that goes with teaching is the price one pays for lifelong connections. Tomorrow night I get to meet with three more! I feel so lucky!

I’m reading Kate & Frida : a novel of friendship, food, and books, by Kim Fay. The book takes place in the early 1990’s and is constructed as a series of letters between two twenty-somethings who accidently become pen palls and confidants. Both young women are writers, struggling to understand what they are called to do in such a difficult historical moment, one filled with danger and immense human cruelty and suffering. The book was published last year and brilliantly tackles the enormous questions and feelings of our own historical moment. It was on the librarians” recommended table”, which this month is all about food novels. I almost didn’t pick it up and am sure glad I did!

Wherever you are, I hope that this week brings you moments of peace, creativity, and love.