Playing for Time

***

“As The Nest Turns,” featuring David and Darleen Dove, is progressing as soap operas do. Things happen every day, most of them outside our awareness, but the next morning everything still looks the same, with little progress detected. I’ve posted several nest photos but all of them have been “stock” and not taken by us, including the one above, so I must tell you that we STILL don’t know for sure if there’s one baby in the nest or two. We’re starting to suspect there’s only one, based on brief shrouded sightings, but I got a little too inquisitive this morning, prompting a squawk from whomever was on the nest, so I’ve been warned. The parents’ schedule has completely changed since the hatching and they’re very much the hover type. Helicopter progenitors, what can ya’ do? Wait and see, as with all the rest of life, that’s what.

For the clean-freaks hanging on my every word, noticeable headway has been made in the Mantry. We hauled a few big chunks out the other day, promptly delivered them to the new “Goods Recycler” in town, heaved a sigh of relief, treated ourselves to milkshakes, and haven’t touched the room since. No need to get all obsessive about stuff, amirite? It obviously keeps.

Our focused baby vigil makes me smile. Birds. We’re watching birds, caring about the welfare of tiny feathered beings, feeling almost like surrogate grandparents. What is it about achieving level 70+ in the life cycle that causes some people to a grow a new awareness of other life around us? The birds, the bees, the flowers, the leaves, all things that have surrounded us since our birth, are suddenly new and fascinating! Maybe in this ol’ lady’s case it’s because TV mostly sucks, the daily news is unacceptable, and the actual humans who pass in and out of my life are few and far between. So… flora and fauna it is! In conjunction with the foregoing, I’m also developing a great tolerance for sitting on my balcony and contemplating whatever’s within my range of vision. In my “don’t stop ’til you drop” days, I couldn’t have seen myself ever loving a sit-around life, but a grocery list of events in the interim managed to convince me that stopping to appreciate the scenery isn’t a sin. Doing ONLY that, however, does border on the wicked, so I’m once again walking every day, as a counterbalance, yay me.

Balance is key to most of life, as it turns out. While I’m experiencing a new appreciation for the natural beauty that surrounds me, I won’t be wallpapering our loft in florals or buying a parakeet, so no worries I’m still me under these wrinkles.

I hope you’ll be motivated to MOVE today, and to keep your eyes open to everything around you. Earth still has her charms.