Never one to say no to anything, nor able to resist a good community effort, I’m tossing my well-intentioned (and precariously balanced) posting and publishing schedule out the window this week to participate in Momalom’s Five for Five. Which, in this round, includes Extraordinary Ordinary’s Just Write and Melissa Camara Wilkin’s Six Word Fridays. I love all these writing exercises, and all these bloggers, so here I am.
Today’s topic is change, which I’m seeing outside, as the buds on the pear trees bloom, and on the baseball diamond, where the weeds grow, and in my living room, as the sound of lawn mowers filter through our open windows on Sunday afternoons. And I should welcome this graduation from cold and fog and perpetual rain, except that I know Oregon springs, and I know the rain will be back. Probably tomorrow.
And so instead, I find myself hitting the rewind button, scrolling through a year’s worth of blog posts to the last time I wrote about spring, just for validation that yes, I do remember how dismal it is, and instead I find this:
The ‘you’ is Toby, a year younger, with more baby teeth and fewer inches and smaller shoes. The ‘me’ is me, because some things never change. And yet he’s there, in springtime, in his favorite tree which is still his favorite tree, doing his favorite thing: pretending. Which just so happened to be my favorite thing when I was a kid in spring.
And still is.
Photo credit: orionpozo
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
Like you. Shaken.
Stirred. Preserved:
they waver on their
stems in a gust
of wind before
falling with the rain
It was that stanza that got me.
TheKitchenWitch recently posted..Change
Thank you, Kitch! I’ve been so busy, this Five for Five is like a new spring for me, reawakening my inspiration for this place (and my joy of reading at all of yours).
I always liked pretending to make soup in the spring. So many interesting petals and berries and leaves to toss in, add some garden-hose water, and stir around with a big stick. Who wants a bowl??
Wow, I’d forgotten all about making spring soup until I read this!
Oh I love poetry. And looking back at old posts. And bringing them around again. And noticing change and then all that hasn’t changed. I’m glad we took the Five for Five plunge, daunting as it is. I needed this rejuvenation. A blog spring, of sorts.
Jen @ Momalom recently posted..Change
So glad you guys revived Five for Five! Thank you!
This is just gorgeous. Maybe strange, but my favorite bit of all is “me is me” – symmetry, poetry, truth. So happy to be reading your words on this soggy day in spring. xox
Thank you Aidan. So glad to be sharing at the Momalom community again. Hope all is well!
I didn’t know who I was clicking on through the Linky and smiled when I landed here. So happy to see a “familiar face” :)
I love that you framed the changes with the things that stayed the same. That pretty much sums it up about life doesn’t it?
Justine recently posted..Five for Five: Three years
Nice to see your familiar face, too! I’ve been focused on some other writing tasks of late, and have missed blog community!
I remember that poem, gorgeous now and then. Spring is my favorite season because so much begins … again. We were here then and again now. The future cycles back on us here in the present, and there’s comfort in knowing it.
Kelly recently posted..The Shift
You’re right. And yet, for some reason, it’s fall that feels like the ‘new start’ season to me. Must be all those school days.
Oh so delightful in every single way. The poem touched a piece of my spring loving-mama heart, too.
Thank you for sharing. I can’t wait to come back for more.
Alita
alita recently posted..One thing that will never change {five for five- day one}
The me is me. I love that. And also loved the stanza beginning with “Like you. Shaken.
Stirred. Preserved:”
So much of change is recognizing that perhaps things are really just the same, but we are adjusting and accepting what is.
Rudri Bhatt Patel @ Being Rudri recently posted..Sharps & Flats
I love this! Sometimes things don’t have to change and it’s nice to see that. As for not fully appreciating the weather because you know it won’t last? I live in Alberta. We had a gorgeous day yesterday, supposed to be again today, BUT, snow still in the forecast for later in the week. Ugh!!
Laurie recently posted..Mid Mom Life Crisis?
Hello mom of three – all boys nonetheless. I just took a photo two weeks ago of my boys climbing trees. Amazing how some things never change, even when they do. Glad to see you over at Momalom!
Cathy recently posted..Five for Five: Change
Yesterday, I looked out at my daughter on the swing, singing. I did that for hours. So interesting what changes, what doesn’t.
Kate recently posted..Five for five: Change
So glad you’re five-for-fiving! :)
Sometimes I can’t bear to look back at the seasons past. Wasn’t my Abigail just a little two-year-old, helping me plant spring seeds? And then wasn’t Owen my toddler, knocking them all over again? Now they’re 8 and 11, and the current toddler hasn’t a chance to upend our garden, as we haven’t attempted one. Where does the time go? And with it, my babies?
Melissa recently posted..five for five: nine faults I am unlikely to change
When I was going through pictures for my 5for5 post, I was stunned at how fast it’s all going by. Stunned.
Tiffany recently posted..Listen!