As predicted, married life becomes a bit more...well...predictable...busy, ordinary, and rote after so long together. Lately, Paul and I have been suffering the staleness of our own complacency, the draught of distance, and the pitfalls of our own pride. So it's only natural, when the air needs freshening to open that memory box, search those scrapbook pages for inspiration, and look to those behaviors and places that got us to where we are today.
On a whim, Paul grabbed me by the hand, loaded us into Pepe the Little Burro (his Ford pickup), and drove us to our old stomping grounds. Like the days of old, we walked the oak paths, watched squirrels collecting dinner and cleaning house, counted butterflies, and watched the sun set on one of the most beautiful natural and lightly-man-assisted resources of Yolo County. We spent several good, long hours in the UC Davis Arboretum and had us some lovely adventures...
Picking wild blackberries...
And later turning them into pies...
Paused at the newest natural art instillation made from a fallen Blue Oak...
Climbed a tree just to remember what "young and free" felt like...
And contemplated how far we've come.
- You have to choose a good one.
- Roots grow strongest when you give it lots of nourishment, attention, and space.
- It needs sunlight.
- Weeds and other noxious notions choke trees and can bring down the strongest of them.
- Occasionally, you need to prune the branches to allow fresh light and new ideas in.
- When treated right, even trees can bloom and produce new life.
2 comments:
Oh Keira, I am so glad we are blogging buddies again! I know how you feel. Justin and I have been through some peaks and valleys, to be sure, in our marriage over the course of the last twelve years.
I often think of Adam and Eve when it comes to gaining perspective on whatever valley or peak I find myself in. They were living the fat life in the Garden of Eden and things were all gravy. Then they got kicked out and life suddenly was so hard. They had to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow and deal with the noxious weeds of life. And yet, through their trials they learned some valuable lessons. That it's the bitter things in life that help us to appreciate the sweet. The sorrow that gives perspective to joy. And the despair that reminds us of the promise of hope. The peaks and valleys of married life are there to help us grow if we let them, just like you said. I'm so glad you and Paul had a chance to sneak away and recharge your batteries and reconnect outside of the humdrum of life....and I will be VERY excited when a little Domer makes the scene! :) Good luck over these next few crazy weeks. If you need someone to commiserate with, I'm your gal! ;)
Sarah, you wisdom belies your years. Thank you for the inspiration, guidance (whether you realized it or not), and the gift of hope that keeps us all in this terribly difficult but richly rewarding experience called "marriage." Perspective has always been a powerful tool for me, one I need to access more often. Thank you for the wishes of luck - it's such a blessing to know that we have the love and support of good folk such as yourself. I'm ready for the moving business to be over so that I can regain some of that powerful perspective-stuff and get my life in order again. I feel so out of touch with friends and family as of late, quite narcissistic and self-consumed I must say. Survival has been the theme as of late, but I know "the best is yet to come" and I look forward to sharing it with you, sweet lady! Thank you, again, for the wisdom that comes with experience I have yet to gain and for your love and support. This family is blessed to have you in their fold! <3
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