Happy Wednesday Peeps!
It is our time to chat, learn from each other and play with ideas in today’s pastures.
Even as I write that cheery greeting Solomon helps me remember some of you (and sometimes me too) may be in an inner space that says, “If you only knew how miserable I am or difficult things are for some of us …”
You may be in a mess of some kind. You may be sitting in a hospital with a loved one or providing home care to a family member who is either ill or aging, or you may be the one who is sick and worried. You may be going through a divorce or moving away from home or stuck at a job that provides money but no soul. You may be grieving the loss of a loved one or a job or a dream.
We know that moods change and we are often under construction causing us to feel all kinds of unwanted emotions and think all kinds of undesirable thoughts.
Sometimes we feel like throwing up our hands and saying, “I am so done with this!”
That is when we are most likely to throw out the muddy, disgusting, “bathwater “and in our haste almost throw out “the baby” too.
Suddenly SJ calls out to Solomon “What? What is Ms. Margie talking about? Lovely is our baby and we would never put her in dirty water or throw her out with the water. How disgusting. “
Solomon, quietly amused by how SJ is now defending Lovey, gently said, Just listen and let Ms. Margie tell her story.”
Most of you, like SJ, have little to no idea what “Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater” literally means. But not-that-long-ago our ancestors did not have much water available and whole families took turns bathing in the same water. And many of them were farmers. Babies were bathed last because of their dirty bottoms etc. (or so I have read).
Just thinking about that might raise our current gratitude meter!
So I turned to SJ and read him the meaning from the internet: “don’t discard something valuable along with other things that are inessential or undesirable.”
SJ agreed, “this is for grown-up peeps who tend to forget to look for what is valuable in the messes of life. Little ol’ sheep like me don’t have this problem. We cannot read or save anything.”
True. But for people, life is a combination of desirable and undesirable features and lessons. Life is a “both and adventure.” Speaking of “both and” … let’s look under the rat’s nest … another way of saying the same thing.
Under the Rat’s Nest . . .
As you know, things are in flux here at TSJ. And it is likely to be that way for awhile. It is providing me all kinds of opportunities to examine life as I have known it and sort through the whole of Tom’s life as represented by pictures, personal “reasures,”, previous mortgages and bank statements, divorce papers, family heirlooms etc. . . . as well as my own.
Above the garage is a storage area and it seems that some boxes stored up there have been in attics in years past. Some of these were Tom’s family history which came from his mother’s estate as well as his own collection.
Some boxes were frankly “gross.”. When Joe was home he brought the boxes down the ladder. And three of them were so disgusting it was indeed tempting to just pitch them in a dumpster. Especially when we opened the first box and were greeted by a huge rat’s nest.
But I could not discard them. I have been trying to gather things I think our beloved Tom’s children and grandchildren will appreciate in years to come. I do not want to take a chance of “throwing the baby out with the bath water.”
My nephew, Zach, happend to be by my side. I discarded the rat’s nest and saw things were chewed and moldy.
But wait! There was an envelope with the date of 1864 on it.
It was written by Tom’s grandfather who served in the civil war. . . twice. And Tom was very proud of his grandfather’s story.
Zach was able to decipher most of the letter. We were humbled.
It sounded so much like things Tom would say. It was interesting, informative, sad, and funny. And he was not happy he had written four letters home and had not yet received one himself.
Life and death, war and camaraderie, fatigue and fun, loyalty, love and determination were all embedded in those words. We peeps are more connected on life’s journey (both past and present) than many of us realize.
So glad we did not “throw the baby out” with the rat’s nest…or muddy water... or my own fatigue and desire for this part to be over.
Because of Tom, I have precious stepchildren and grandchildren…all who deserve to know their heritage. That keeps me going when I am tired. And my two sons have a profound love for “pops” and their brother and sister and have gladly helped in this process of discovering the value of family (in our case blended), of love, and life lessons that get passed on each day.
What is the “baby” in your muddy waters of life? Or what is under the rat’s nest (messes) of your life?
Happy shepherding!
Margie and Solomon
