the way in

I went to see a dear friend today and she reminded me, as she always does, that the little struggles which sometimes threaten to overwhelm me are just that - little. No less a struggle, of course, but when kept in perspective with the great wide world and the endlessly expansive universe, hardly worth losing your head over. I am so grateful for her presence in my life, she has taken me by the hand so many times and shown me how to save myself. And every time, it seems a little harder to get lost.
Now that I'm awake again, the world seems literally buzzing with potential. Quiet, determined potential. Like the hundreds of tiny buds on our peach tree, which has for many years been my anchor. Its branches are reaching higher this year than they ever have, and it is fit to burst with impending blossom. Just to add to its mighty promise, there are three egg sacks on its branches that have been laid by praying mantis, the little holy men of the insect world, harbingers of good things and prophets of positivity. Amen to that.

whatever the weather

You might be wondering, as am I, what happened to the whole month known as September. I vaguely recall a couple of positively beautiful days that had me singing "Spring oh sweet Spring" and taking a lot of time - literally - to smell the roses. But then those days vanished, blown by the wind that clearly misread the calendar and thought it was still August. Maybe it couldn't see straight for the 10,000 tonnes of topsoil it brought with it from the region formerly known as a dustbowl (when it still had dust). Then there were several days of coldness and wetness, which I was pretty sure would not last since my birthday was just around the corner and it's October for pity's sake! Apparently with each of these annual milestones I grow more clueless about the weather.

So, last birthday I clearly recall an early morning swim at Nambucca Heads. This year the idea of swimming in anything other than hot springs was out of the question. But we did see sun, and a bit of rain, and hundreds of the most beautiful roses ever to raise their lovely heads, at a not-so-little garden not so far from here. I came home to admire my own beautiful bunch of roses, eat chocolate cake and marvel at my good fortune - my Elsa, my Freya, my Rosa and my Randal to keep me company and make it the kind of Happy Birthday you just won't find in any greeting card.

Now it's almost halfway through October, and I have three more days of work before my 58 weeks of maternity leave starts. Whatever the bureau has to say, the forecast from Friday is for blue skies.