Dear Maria,
A warm holiday greeting to you and the family on this cold,
breezy day. Despite the sunshine, high won’t make it to 40, and our coldest
days of the season so far are on their way. Of course, always warmer for
you—and so then that hotter than hot in August. We gets what we gets.
The family Christmas mob scene was great fun as always. Four
generations, 32 of us. Santa was good
to me, practical things, which I like. Like lined garden gloves. The family is
catching on.
Very little work going on out back. Did make around 1000
hardwood cuttings a couple of weeks ago. Got the almond trees in, so the
orchard area is pretty much complete. Blueberry bushes planted, too.
I still get asked about my daily routine and keeping busy.
Honestly, never think about it. Time is no longer so neatly fragmented into
stages—certainly no bells ringing every 50 minutes or so. If while puttering
about something like the geese catches my eye, then so be it.
The chore can wait while I watch the males rise up on their
tails and thrash the water with their wings. Entertaining to watch the rest of
the flotilla turn in unison toward the posturing combatants. Or maybe it’s the
heron across the way being fussed at by mallards that gives me pause. Or the
bluebirds one morning out in force.
As days glide by, oddly the weeks jet by. Hours are mostly
meaningless. Only the occasional appointment or lunch rendezvous tethers me to
the clock. Bills keep the calendar in play—that, and a countdown to the average
date for the last freeze.
Forgive me for setting aside your questions about current
events. I’ll offer up one apolitical observation on the basis of scant evidence—imagine
that. Trump, if he receives a serious medical exam, will be diagnosed with Type
2 diabetes and an A1C of 12. There, you heard it here first.
One afternoon a few weeks ago, I watched my neighbor tenderly
lift his youngest daughter out of their van and carry her into the house.
Broken leg for that 5-year-old. Several minutes later the 5-year-old neighbor
on the other side was singing her heart out. I didn’t know the song, but it had
the feel of a Disney epic.
Maybe that best gets at the heart of life now—despite difficulties that may arise, singing days prevail.
I trust life tumbles along comfortably for you and your tribe. Best
wishes going forward into 2018.
Yours,
srk
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