Previously Overtaken By Events, here is the report on my Let It Go weekend.
I was just a few miles away, at a house owned by members of my church. They bought a historic (pre-1920) farmhouse, and fixed up the downstairs as meeting space and rooms for overnight guests, while they live upstairs. The house is about the same age as my grandparents’ house in Missouri; it even had a farmer running a hay baler Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
My hosts were away for the weekend, so I was completely alone. A cat would have been nice, but they have allergies. I brought food and art supplies. As I carried my things in, I noticed flamingos in the garden, and later found several décor items in the house ... a nice personal touch. I spent Friday evening sitting around in the silence, made supper for one, and finished the history book I’d brought, “The Scarlet Sisters” by Myra MacPherson. I also started a book my hostess had selected for me, “Same Kind of Different As Me,” by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.
They’d suggested I would like sitting on the front porch in the evening, but in the few minute it took me to decide it was too hot, I got several mosquito bites and decided indoors was best! I noticed a hummingbird feeder was empty and boiled up some sugar water before I went to bed.
I got up about 6:30 Saturday morning, having slept no worse than usual. It was foggy as I drank my coffee and read the Lectionary on the back (screened) porch, where I found another flamingo décor item. I filled three hummingbird feeders between making breakfast and washing up.
(continued from above - don’t want a cat to hop on the keyboard and wipe out everything. I can tell Jake is thinking about it)
Feeding the hummingbirds was a key event, because it occurred to me that, since my hosts were away, the angry birds would have had to go next door if someone hadn’t been there to feed them. Then, I further reasoned, it had to be ME there, because most people wouldn’t have noticed the feeders were empty or taken the initiative to do something about it.
I thought, This ability to observe things that need to be done and take responsibility for them is a God-given ability that manifests His nature. “His eye is on the sparrow,” as the song says. “Que detalle, Senor, has tenido conmigo,” as the other song says, “What personal care you’ve taken with me, Lord.”
From this point, I spent the rest of Saturday morning in free-association with the Bible, and then reviewed my journals from the last year or so (two volumes) with an eye to the themes of “Let it go” and “Que detalle, Senor.” This took me through to lunchtime. (I moved inside when it got too hot on the porch.) Then I took a nap.
After my nap, I went to church, a drive of less than ten minutes in the Silver Bullet, which helpfully started. I went to Confession and made copies of the song page for the Spanish Mass. We had a recent episode of the copier’s not working Sunday morning, so now I’m anxious if I don’t get the copies made in advance. On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store and got a bottle of wine and some Cheez-its. Also some Diet Coke, so as not to drink all the wine too early!
For supper, I had leftover chicken salad, spinach, and a stir-fried zucchini with basil. I had been told to help myself to anything in the kitchen, and I found lemon-infused olive oil, from a shop in Charlotte. I used this to cook all my vegetables. Saturday evening, I finished reading “Same Kind of Different” and then looked in the shelves for something else. I found a biography of Mother Cornelia Connelly, the founder of a religious order with which our parish has a connection. Went to bed 10-ish.
Up at 6:30 again on Sunday. Not being foggy, it was uncomfortably sunny on the porch, but I moved chairs around. After prayers, I started a drawing of the sunflowers, which my hostess had requested. I stayed out there until the temperature got over 90, with breaks to fill the hummingbird feeders again and get my things together to move out. Before I left, I’d fixed the major mistakes in the picture, and I’ll finish it in the next week or so. I’ve been so busy in the last few days that my art supplies are still in the RX-7. At least they’re safe there from babies! I also finished the biography.
During the morning I got a call asking me to lead the Psalm during the Spanish Mass, so got myself over to church promptly at noon. As I picked up my perishable leftovers to put in the church’s refrigerator, Kathleen came scampering up, followed by Frank. They had noticed I was gone! After Mass, James left for Webelos camp, and the rest went to the water park in Monroe ... and then it was Monday!
Your Let It Go weekend gave me some food for thought on these few days I will be away from home, and not able to accomplish anything worthwhile.
I will take my journal and try to update it, and some pictures to color, and a the Kindle so I can read.
Taking a few days off is going to cause some stress for me, as I was making such great progress in the “paring down” of my living quarters. *sigh* Since my carpet shampooer is already at Busdaddy’s I can figure he is waiting until I get there to shampoo the carpet for him in his absence. Oh goody.
Bless you again and again.