Saturday Ramblings

Rather a quiet day here in this neck of the woods. Lazy morning, then after breakfast the day began in earnest. The weather said, rain after noon time, which gave me plenty of time to do a load of wash and hang it up before the rains came. Well, the weather wasn't exactly right. The clothes had been out on the line about an hour when I heard very loud and close thunder, saw lots of lightening and the sky turned black as night. Looked like we were heading for a "right blow" as they say where I came from. I grabbed some pictures of the storm clouds rolling in and realized rather quickly, there wasn't much time left before the rain. The wind came and that was the first clue that rain was minutes behind.
Got the last piece off the line just as huge drops of rain began to fall. I had one more load of clothes in the washer yet but it was just Emery's shirts and I prefer to iron them when they are still damp so that wasn't any big deal.
While I was watching the clouds roll in, first dark and solid, with a wind cloud as its escort. The sky changing by the second, soon the sky filled with dark gray swirling clouds like an angry dark sea.
The rain was torrential but brief. Behind the rain was cool air. a blessing. I scrubbed the stove, did some other jobs around the place, and ironed 8 shirts in front of the open window where the breeze freely kissed me with its tender coolness. The whole time I ironed, I thought about the changing sky this morning and how life is so much like that, constant change. My life certainly is like that at this stage of life. For years it just hummed along with chores and child raising. All so full of pleasure but so different from this time in my life. Its not a bad thing in my mind, its just a time of some readjusting and redefining my role in life.
With those thoughts and the sky before me, iron in hand, memories of Melissa ironing stacks of boys shirts, her dads shirts and cape dresses came to mind. She was so faithful at the task. Now there is lots less to iron. She would have appreciated if that had been the case when the ironing was her chore.

In my life now, there are fewer chores, more hours to just pursue pleasures. But there has to be some sort of balance for me. I was thinking about my quilting, there are more quilts going than people to give them to. I wonder what the ladies way back in time would think about me, buying fabric for pleasure with no need in mind. Now by need I mean, we don't NEED to have quilts by the dozen on our beds to keep us warm. Its purely pleasure. I like the warmth of a quilt on my bed and the look, but not more than one. If I wasn't sewing, what would I be doing ? Would I have time to help someone more ? Would I have time to visit an elder in a nursing home or help a young mother with her children ? Would I have more time to cook meals for others with a need of some sort ? Would I have more time to contribute to the needs of mankind ?
All the pretties I make have been for pleasure and there is great value in accomplishing such things, don't get me wrong, but.....in the end, these things will be either in someone's trunk, sold at an estate sale. Spending more time reaching out to people, well that goes places we never fully understand.
Kind deeds can change a persons whole life. Maybe I am just being a bit ultraistic here, and honestly this is my thinking and in no means a sermon being preached to change anyone else.
I just have to think about where I am going in life, what my reason is for doing things. Do I craft so I can say, "oh gosh I am too busy to do this or that "
Is it something to hide behind, because I am timid as to stepping out of my comfort zone, or lazy ?
I have to really examine this in myself. Look deep inside and see what is MY Personal truth.
Would Mother Teresa ever spent her time quilting blankets to give the poor, or would she had taken the $8 she would spend on a yard of fabric and buy a durable warm blanket from wal-mart ? Oh I know that answer. But then are we all called to be mother Teresa's ? Yeah, I know that answer too.
Think of it, say I step out of this comfort zone, ask the boy next doors parents if he could come hiking with Emery and I tomorrow. He is 11 and really on the verge of choosing a direction in life with friends. You can see the signs that don't look so good. So we take him backpacking and he loves it, he feels good about himself, learns to love nature, his health, he chooses to be in the big outdoors rather than skateboarding all over town aimlessly. You see what a life impact one thing can be on a person ?
I am getting tired of my apathy.
Must have been some wild energy in those storm clouds.

Looking out the front door

walked through the house and saw this out the back door

And finally the rain came