Taking My Old Body To Sing

The beginning of last week was great!
I did stuff.
I even did more stuff!
And then my body said, “No.”

Somewhere towards the end of the week fatigue whacked me over the head, and I’ve been trying to sleep/rest enough to replenish.
I’m glad I did all the stuff last week 😀
Just might have been a bit more than my recuperating self was expecting! 😆

So, the boys are in varying stages of recovery from the “virus-that-has-no-name”. And my Babe started coughing Friday morning, and stayed in bed for a couple of days. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to have caught what we had. Or he just heals really quick…

Today was a new day. Yay!
I still needed to sit and rest.
But I also managed the washing, and my share of the cleaning/dishes. Double yay!

In my sit-down-before-I-fall-down time I read some Mary Oliver.
Then I put my headphones on, closed my eyes, and listened to a CD I picked up a few weeks ago ($1 at a charity shop!)

Here are two poems that sang to me.
And two songs that spoke to my (weary) heart.

I Worried
Mary Oliver

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.

How Would You Live Then?
Mary Oliver

What if a hundred rose-breasted grosbeaks
     flew in circles around your head? What if
the mockingbird came into the house with you and
     became your advisor? What if
the bees filled your walls with honey and all
     you needed to do was ask them and they would fill
the bowl? What if the brook slid downhill just
     past your bedroom window so you could listen
to its slow prayers as you fell asleep? What if
     the stars began to shout their names, or to run
this way and that way above the clouds? What if
     you painted a picture of a tree, and the leaves
began to rustle, and a bird cheerfully sang
     from its painted branches? What if you suddenly saw
that the silver of water was brighter than the silver 
     of money? What if you finally saw
that the sunflowers, turning toward the sun all day
     and every day – who knows how, but they do it – were
more precious, more meaningful than gold?

Published in: on June 2, 2025 at 10:08 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Freckles And Wildflowers

So, Betty White died the other day.
I mostly remember her from The Golden Girls, and from her internet presence over these later years. She seemed like someone who it would have been fun to know, a role model for living (and aging) joyously. As I’ve read a couple of times lately – it says something about your life and legacy that you could die at 99 years of age and people are still saying it was too soon…
If I look at her age, and others who are in their mid to late 90s, I can literally think of myself as middle aged! It’s a time of life when you start to ponder your own mortality, though – especially when your health is not great. I’ve been reading an anthology of Mary Oliver‘s poems, and it has been interesting to read some of what she was writing when she was around my age. The two anthologies written around the age I am now are “Dream Work” and “House of Light“; they each contain one of her more well known poems. Maybe getting closer to death triggers a greater introspection; maybe it’s because there are often big life changes in these years. Or maybe some people are just more naturally thinkers…

I want this year to count, and I am aware that I have less time to do that with each passing day. Probably a good idea to get on with things then! 😀

Here is a song that I enjoyed listening to. It does come across a bit as focusing on those who have health and families to enjoy in their old age, but the sentiment is still applicable to those who are struggling with brokenness. Yes, you are still beautiful, and you can still learn how to be settled in your own skin!
May your path this year be paved with wildflowers, and your heart be soothed by oceans ❤

Published in: on January 3, 2022 at 10:22 pm  Leave a Comment  
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