SOL 18: A Mockingbird’s Ode to Spring

Posted on March 27th, 2018

Abelia blooms after this morning’s spring shower

We woke up to a welcome sound this morning–rain running off our roof! Here in West Texas it is a glorious sound. It measured only 0.77 inches, but it was enough to wash the dust off and make our plants’ leaves glisten.

As I was out snapping pics of raindrops on our plants, a mockingbird landed in the oak tree and serenaded me with his Ode to Spring Showers. I quickly switched my phone to video so that I could share his glorious song with you all.

Enjoy!

“…remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” Atticus told Jem.

“Your father’s right.” Miss Maudie added. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. …they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
To Kill a Mockingbird

SOL 18: A Quiet Life Lived Earnestly

Posted on March 26th, 2018

“…strive earnestly to live quietly and to attend to your own matters, and to work with your hands..” I Thessalonians 4:11

Today is one of those days that I feel as if I’ve accomplished a great deal simply by checking most the items off my To Do list (work out, do laundry, go to water store, bake bread—yes, again). Each thing on the list by itself signals a mundane existence, yet each one is important to the quality of our empty nesters’ life.

At times, I really miss those crazy busy days as a wife, mom, and teacher. To-do lists a page long, reading over student essays late into the night while doing laundry and baking cookies (that son #2 forgot he promised to bring). Now that I think about it, I don’t miss all that as much as I thought.

It’s harder some days than others, though, to live so quietly after years of rushing through each day and being actively involved in so many lives. However, today’s tedium was broken by the opportunity to sit on my patio with a good book and a cup of tea while being serenaded by finches, sparrows, and dove flocking around our bird feeders.

So even though today was totally boring by most standards and lacked an obvious inspiration for today’s slice, I end it with the satisfaction that we can eat fresh bread and wear clean clothes tomorrow. I am taking solace in a remark my older son made last week about being content with “a quiet life lived earnestly.”