The last small stone I threw into the River of Stones was on Tuesday. It’s been a trying week, with many anxious moments, navigating some bumps in Eric’s mother’s recovery. A friend reminded me yesterday that facing a serious health issue with Eric’s mother triggers the trauma of Eric’s death, so the intensity of reaction makes sense. And that’s on top of how much I love her and am just not ready to lose her yet.
So the three stones I have to offer today are all underlined by simple gratitude — that Eric’s mother is recovering, that I have the privileged position in my life right now to be going on vacation in Paris, and that I’m able to take a moment each day and fully appreciate something. Which I have done every day, I just haven’t gotten to the writing-it-down step.
Wednesday evening the sunset lit the western horizon, which is lined with a small mountain, tall white pines, a silo, open field, and then more trees in the distance, with a pale silver.
Yesterday I was up and out to a meeting at dawn, and watched the light, then color, come into the day.
This morning, as I drove down the road to go for a ski, a cardinal flitted past the car, flashing red on a bright, white morning.
My next small stone will most likely be from Paris. A bientôt!
Grace Mattern 