Well, the end of April has caught me in a rare state – the plight of few words.
My last asparagus harvest has begun, with Purple Passion popping out of the wet soil. Forget the blue light special, the Araucanas must think Fleur-de-Lys Farm is having a Blue-Egg Special because they’re popping out the eggs right now. Chartreuse bouquets of skunk cabbage blanket the stream banks and goldfinches dart around the meadow after a long winter’s migration. When the rains came I plunged into YouTube, even signed up for a user name, just to hear my nephew Andre’s guitar solo, “Marie,” a piece inspired by my mother, his Nonna. If you’d like to treat yourself, google YouTube, type in Andre Harner in the Search box, and click on “Marie” to put a song in your step.
I’ll be moving in with my mother (in State College) at the end of June, so amid the egg cartons and asparagus bunches, life is unsettled. They’re getting to know me at the State Store … loading up the Scion with empty boxes for moving. I went to a recent party where favors for all of the women were “WrinkleFree Brow Patch System” packets … at-home facelifts in a box … but they just made my brow furrows even deeper. Where is that yellow brick road?
It is paved with blessings: family, friendships, laughter, kind words. A stray named Jack, a surprise pot of pansies, and sights set on May: Celso’s graduation from Kutztown University with his family visiting from Dracena, Brasil, Marina’s return from Vesalius College for a few weeks, and niece Alicia’s wedding (first of the Cousin Camp Crew to tie the marriage knot) in Connecticut. Even my baby Richard, now 19, will be dressed up, wearing a Jerry Garcia tie and his Nonno’s dinner jacket.
Laurie Lynch
Written in Slate: Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand – and melting like a snowflake.
– Maie Beyon Ray
