May was a very rainy month. I started this blog on May 18 – another very rainy day. The weekend before we spent a long weekend at Jerry and Teresa’s Ocean Grove, New Jersey beach home. We were there with Maura and Paul and Lilly; Meg, Atar and Liam; Jeremy, Amy and Mirinda. It was a special treat to honor Jeremy’s 29th birthday. And though the rain was a factor it was not a negative. Nature offers many faces and as long as she does not overdo the bad weather days I tend to enjoy them all.
We were back to Ocean Grove two weeks later, Memorial Day weekend, for another wonderful visit. This time Jim, Lisa, Meggie and Josh and Khushi and Vaishnavi added to our numbers. And again the rain put in an appearance . It was special to have Liam and Brian – just back from Ireland – join us. Liam is a star player on the Down Syndrome Sports of America soccer team. And Brian is a valuable member of the coaching staff. They had an amazing week in Ireland playing against and training with that country’s team. And though they didn’t win, ( pardon my Grandmotherly bragging ) Liam played with distinction and was even written up in the Irish press.
The house my brothers and I grew up in Laurelton had a porch on its front. It was not that big but it was big enough to play there on good or bad weather days. I can only think of one other house on the street that had a porch and because my parents were very welcoming, ours was a popular bad weather hangout. When the weather was right the porch was also a comfortable place to sit and read and talk.
Rain is capable of being both a positive and a negative. I love the color intensity of nature’s green after a much needed rain, Flowers, plants, grass that had started to lose their vibrancy rebound with vigor after such a rain. The negative only comes when the rain is excessive. Is there a life lesson in that – it is possible to have too much of a good thing – like a yummy desert?
Last summer I planted some flower seeds in the front of our house, in the garden area that houses a cherry tree and a variety of complimentary shrubs. Well the seed went wild treating us to an interesting array of summer and fall flowers. We liked it so much that this year we bought some more, but different seeds. When I was about to spread the seed I realized that there were a variety of different sprouts breaking through the ground. Instead I spread the seed in a mix of patio planters in the backyard and waited to see what the front yard growth would yield. All I can say is “wow”. Right now the larkspur plants are the show stoppers. They are mostly blue/purple, mixed with a few pink and white. There are more plants getting ready to flaunt their beauty and we are excited to see their yield.
Rain has always made me feel very reflective. It can easily interfere with the plans of the day but so often when that happens, how the day turns out is frequently better than what was originally scheduled. Heading to Ocean Grove for Memorial Day Weekend we were all very realistic that the trip home might be a car traveler’s nightmare. Work and school made traveling that day for us mandatory. Well there was rain on Memorial Day, but not all day. We had good beach time and refreshing walks on the boardwalk. We occasionally got a little rain wet but not that bad. The drive home had some spots of traffic but nothing like what we expected. When we hit Virginia the roads were comparatively empty. It was a little eerie. We were back by about six pm- usually a heavy traffic time – we were not complaining – just grateful.
This trip yielded more reflection on rainy days. I love the quote from Dolly Parton: “The way I see it , if you want the rainbow you have to put up with the rain”.
A PS to this blog. About ten days ago I had Mohs surgery on my face for skin cancer. This is a procedure I have undergone several times before but not to the extent of this time. The scar extends from just to the side of my right eye down to my lips. Big, ugly pressure bandage to be worn for 48 hours. Daily care for the wound was simple. Instructions were that in about a month there would be aesthetic improvement at the scar site. During pressure bandage time I mostly hibernated at home. But when the dressing was removed I wanted to get out and about. Except for a slight overdose of pride on my part caused by the unpleasant looking scar, I felt good. We had Khushi’s college graduation to celebrate and Liam’s 20th birthday. Liam and Brian and Atar and Meg had come from Pennsylvania to honor Khushi and because Liam wanted a celebration with his cousins to kick off his birthday festival.
When I left hibernation I experienced three basic reactions and variations on these reactions. A close friend hugged me on greeting but then the whole time we talked she focused on the side of my face that didn’t have the ugly scar. Then there were those who talked to me a lot – without looking at my face. And then there was Liam who looking at me squarely in the face said “Grandma does it hurt?” When I said “yes, but it is getting better” , he replied “that’s good” and except for occasionally checking in on how I was doing, our visit time proceeded as usual. Many reactions have been a variation of Liam’s reaction. But a fair number have fit into the first two categories. I personally am most comfortable with the Liam type reaction.
OctoBlogger 