Day #197 - Blow Hard

Today I went to Farmington to help my Mother-in-Law plant her annual flowers. I have started doing this each year for Mother's Day since it seems you can never plant flowers safely to avoid a surprise freeze until that time. Joleen's Birthday is in April, so helping with this project seemed like a good idea instead of coming up with a gift she may not need or want; besides I like planting flowers.

For the actual Mother's Day we went to Travis' brother's house for dinner (man can that guy grill a juicy chicken breast - yum) and as Joleen and I were planning when to plant, Joleen mentioned she would like to 'turn' the dirt this year. Eric immediately volunteered to handle it and his son Austin also 'volunteered' to help. I showed up at 8:30 a.m. as planned and there were Eric and Austin already spreading the most beautiful black dirt around the flower beds. It was gorgeous and so fresh looking - I cannot believe what a difference it made.

The wind was very strong today and made the job less enjoyable. Every once in a while I would bend over and my shirt would fly up to my shoulders...nice. The fresh dirt would blow around once in awhile making me glad for my sunglasses, I had to ask "what?" just about every time Joleen said anything to me because the wind would just whip her words away into the sky and, more than once, I found myself chasing a plastic flower container that would settle just in time for me to get within reaching distance only to blow away again when I bent to retrieve it.

Joleen made her way back and forth between us and eventually had to leave for a luncheon. Eric had to go get more dirt and take Austin home and soon I was alone. I had 5 more flowers to plant and I laid down on the grass in front of the flower bed to relax for a minute and stretch my legs after all the lunging and not-bending-at-the-knees I'd been doing all morning.

As I lay on the ground and felt the sun, glowing orange behind my eyes and seeping into my skin, I wondered briefly if Joleen's neighbor, who was also working in his yard, thought I might be stroking out just laying there like that and then I just let my mind go for a jaunt. I thought about the wind and how irritating it picked today to blow so gustily and then I remembered about "the woman who made friends with the wind".

I have mentioned Byron Katie before and I am on my second listen of her book "Loving What Is". She talks about the wind where she lives and how it blows all the time and she loves it. Other people have actually left the area because of the wind and wonder how she can stand it. Katie says she loves it because she loves what IS. Such a simple concept. Nothing I could do would have changed the wind today, but by thinking how irritating it was, all I did was cause myself grief.

Once I got to this point I did my best to still my mind and make peace with the wind (really with myself). I listened to the trees, I felt my hair float around my face, I felt the wind cool my skin where the sun would have been hot on it's own and felt the mist (sounds better then sweat) on my forehead float away. It was a lovely break and an easy way to appreciate what is.

I Am Grateful,
HB

Diva Quote: "A weed is no more than a flower in disguise"