The Barn

There it stood tall and gray, covered with cracked barn wood. It touched the sky. I had never seen anything like it or more wonderful. A huge door stretched high. My big brother Jon, pulled the door open and swung it wide. We crept inside and explored. There was a roomy place, for what we didn’t know. I immediately pictured a horse or pony for me in that spot. It was dusty, still and filled with possibility. I wondered what had lived there.

A fenced-in chicken coop with wooden nesting boxes, now empty and silent, completed the back of this barn. Beside it was an open shelter with an ancient metal bowl. We decided it gave water to a cow. It stood empty, full of dust and rust. A large sturdy manger completed the space. It was so tall that my three-year-old self could barely peek over it. I imagined it filled to the brim with fragrant hay to feed the long-gone bovine. A slanted ramp made entry possible for this cow.

My brother looked above us, was that a hay loft? Could we access it? I certainly couldn’t, I was too small. My brother, quick and lithe, scrambled up there. I looked longingly after but couldn’t follow. Ever industrious he scooted down, found a hammer, nails and some old boards. He pounded in the boards, standing on the lowest to complete the upper and wow, ACCESS!

Oh the joy of such a space. Nine years later, my father would build a board fence corral, to house a horse I cared for while her owner attended college. He cut that huge barn door in half and made a split door so I could open the top and keep a horse inside, although she preferred to stay outside. Four years later my father enlarged the corral with posts and wire for the horse I had so longed for. My very own precious gelding, a high school graduation gift that I found and requested, instead of a car. But that is a story for another time.

As I think of this story from so long ago, I also think of my brother. He, always so strong and sure nearly succumbed to Covid a few weeks ago. He is much better now and on the mend. When I think of how close we came to the unimaginable pain of loss, I think of the pain of those who did lose loved ones. My heart bleeds for them. We hope and pray and carry on as best we can. We find joy in family, friends, and creating beauty where we can. And we  look for better days. 

HARD LESSONS

I was trying to think of something to blog about this month and you can see that I’ve let nearly the whole month tick by without writing.

A memory blazed its way into my brain. I was a busy high school student, with a job, homework, and other interests. The last thing on my “to do list” was practicing the piano for my weekly lesson. Sometimes I’d sit down at the piano at 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. and, of course, the rest of the family was NOT PLEASED! It makes me laugh to think about it. No, I never was even a good pianist, although I could chord and accompany fiddle tunes for my sons. I did that by ear, not by note, as my piano teacher tried to stop my bent for playing by ear.

I am sure I was a terrible disappointment to her. I think at this particular lesson she had had enough of my faulty playing. She had been more than patient with me. And I, as usual, failed to meet her expectations.

She sat beside me on the piano bench and said, “You know, you will never be good at anything, because you like to do too many things.”

I was shocked and sad. Then I thought Wait a minute, I’m going to prove her wrong!” I did not respond to her words, but they NEVER left me. I set out to be the best I could be in each of my interests. Those interests gave me great joy and satisfaction over the years, art, music, particularly singing, horses, gymnastics. Later my partner and I had a very successful gymnastics school in Sandpoint. I had a bent for drama and, as an adult, was involved in children’s theater. I found joy in all of my interests. I still have many interests, too many other things to mention in this blog.

I truly am sorry I did not manage my time effectively enough to practice well for my piano teacher. I finally quit piano lessons. I am pretty sure she was relieved.

Right now I want to be good at writing. And it, like everything else, takes time to develop the right skills. I now have many experiences under my belt and memories to share.

The beauty of written expression calls to me. I love beautifully crafted sentences whether I or someone else has written them. Oh, the joy and power of well-crafted words! Don’t we all want to inspire? Whether it is poetry or prose. I can’t get enough of the written word, and hopefully, I will leave behind some of my own well-crafted words for others to enjoy!

Here is a poem I’d like to share this month. I looked at the crescent moon last October and saw a dark line of geese float across it. It was too beautiful to miss, so I headed inside and wrote the following:

 

Crescent Moon

 

A crescent moon

hangs in the dim turquoise

sky.

 

Night has come, and

geese fly in shadowy lines,

calling to one another as they

float across the bright lunar glow.

 

They hurry to water seeking

a safe sleeping place

on a lake or pond

far from predators.

 

Sleep safely

feathered friends.

 

Sandra Mason

October 11, 2021

 

 

Here it is, nearly the end of January and I have not yet written my blog. January, with its gray days, has been difficult this year. I decided to introduce a bit of light humor. Sometimes my musings take me to odd places and this is the result.

 

ODE TO THE EYEBROW

Dear eyebrow,

You used to be so

lush and thick.

I thought that you were

just the trick,

always there

so nice and slick.

I plucked and

thinned you,

tried to train you. 

You would not cooperate,

and now I fear

that you decide

to disappear.

***

What is it with eyebrows?

As men age their eyebrows get

bushy and unruly, wildly going where

no eyebrow hairs should go.

They angle outward

and upward

in spectacular manner.

While women’s brows

take a different tack,

they simply refuse

to grow back.

 

Thinner thinner

they become

until there’s just

a single one.

 

 

Encounter at FedEx

 

After several wrong turns I found the FedEx store in downtown Spokane. I took a metered parking spot around the corner from the store. I approached the blinking meter and inserted my credit card, “Card not accepted.” I tried another card, same message. I reinserted the first card, flipping it over, SAME MESSAGE! I tried it with the second card, no success! Giving up I rushed inside to see if I could find someone who would help me. Everyone in the store seemed occupied. I finally approached a young man making copies and explained my situation, and asked. “Can you help me figure out how to use my credit card in that meter?” I pictured a $15.00 parking ticket in my future for a $1.29, meter fee. He reached into his pocket and produced a quarter. “This will give you 12 minutes,” he said. I gratefully accepted the quarter, rushed outside and boom, 13 minutes appeared on the screen. I dug into my purse and pulled out a dollar bill and offered to get change and return his quarter. He smiled, shook his head and said, “If we can’t help our neighbors, we are in pretty sad shape.” His small kindness brightened my day in a big way. I felt the glow of that unexpected kindness for the rest of the day. In fact, it has been three days and I still feel the glow. What a ripple effect small kindnesses have. I have a renewed sense of looking for opportunities to make a difference for others. The gift truly does go on!

 

Glorious Fall!

 

It seems to me that God has painted this Fall in spectacular fashion. What a blessing after a burning summer that killed raspberries on the vine and stunted the garden. Smoke from fires hundreds of miles away kept me shut inside.

 

It is as if this Fall is consolation for lost summer enjoyments, picnics, family outings, ice cream socials. Oh yes, we still have pandemic restrictions, but the beauty of this fall is free to everyone. We can step outside and enjoy our neighbor’s colorful trees, and even enjoy our own.

 

Two days ago I made a wrong turn onto a glorious tree-lined lane on the South Hill. Huge trees lined both sides of the road with a center green area with more trees on each side. It was like a mini-park right in the middle of the street. Two women walked slowly examining giant fallen maple leaves, placing some in their cloth bags for art projects or decorating their porches for fall. I was delighted to see them using cloth bags rather than plastic bags. It made me feel as if we are making some progress in reducing the use of plastic in our community. Small things can add up to big progress.

 

Fall is, hands down, my favorite time of year. The sun shines on lovely colors, the sky is painted in various hues of blue with friendly clouds. It is like there is a pause before cold winter winds and inclement weather descend.

 

I am learning to take time to enjoy small moments of beauty and delight in each one. May we all take a breath, and take the time to thank others for their kindnesses.

 

Self-Conversation 

I sat in the waiting room wishing I had brought my book. Other times I had been there, I never had time to even open my book, so I left it at home. As I looked around the room for something of interest I spotted a thin circle of plastic sitting in the middle of the area rug on the waiting room floor. I studied it for a few moments wondering how it could sit in middle of the floor without anyone noticing it.

“Pick up that piece of trash,” said a voice in my head.

“No!” I responded. “It’s probably full of germs!” My voice warned.

Voice one: “Do the right thing, be a good citizen. Pick it up!”

I noticed a box of Kleenex on the receptionist’s counter.

“You can use a piece of Kleenex to keep from touching it.” Said Voice one.

Voice two replied. “That person across from me will think I’m NUTS!”

Voice one:  Who cares what anyone thinks. Do the right thing! 

I looked at the receptionist’s counter and noted the LARGE container of hand sanitizer.

Voice one: You’ve seen the sanitizer. No more excuses! Pick up the trash, throw it away and USE the sanitizer for Pete’s sake!

I picked up the trash, threw it in the can, used the sanitizer and returned to my seat. The person sitting across the room never once looked up from his phone.

THAT started my reflection. Why am I so worried about what others think? Why not just jump in and do what’s right? Take chances? Make a difference, even if it is something as miniscule as picking up trash that the rest of the world ignores.

How can I apply this to writing?

1.    Whether it is big or small, do the thing that makes you uncomfortable, because it is the right thing.

2.    Have a little faith in yourself. Step out there, do the work of writing and research.

3.    Don’t expect easy. Writing isn’t easy. It takes dedication and hard work.

4.    Don’t just sit there thinking about it, do it!

5.    Start and success will follow.

 

Dog Days of Summer

Until this year I have never given the Dog Days of Summer much thought. That is because although I grew up in a sunny hot climate, I never experienced a true Dog Day. I was a child when air conditioning was rare and certainly not used in our family.

My mother provided cooling by opening all curtains and windows after the sun slipped below the western horizon. In those days, no one locked their houses at night or any time. We would have laughed at the thought of locking the door. We lived in a quiet village of friendly people. Though we were an hour or more from the ocean, we were blessed by breezes coming off the Pacific, which cooled our homes every night. At times we had thick fog that watered redwoods that grew nearby. The fog dissipated as the sun warmed the earth and brilliant blue skies reigned through spring, summer and fall. Our seasonal creek dried up as summer progressed, but not before we had watched pollywogs become frogs and played in the creek to our heart’s content.

Global warming was unheard of in those days. My whole world seemed safe and friendly. It seems that a lot has dried up since that time, the forest, woods, lush fields, unlocked doors. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel as safe or content as I did back then. What I DO feel is a sense of urgency to turn this Global Warming around. What can we do individually to make a difference for us all? There are many things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. Here are three to start.

1.      1.  Consider reducing red meat and dairy in your diet. Red meat has the largest environmental impact. A plant based diet has positive health benefits.

2.     2.  Eat locally produced seasonal fruits and veggies. This saves on transportation cost and fuel.

3.     3. Fly less Zoom meetings are the smart way to save money and still get important work done, with less cost, fatigue and travel frustration. It’s a win/win!

There are many simple things we can do. If you have ideas, please share them. Together we can make a difference.