Musing: october daybook

Pied Beauty

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Glory be to God for dappled things—

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;

And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:

Praise him.

FOR TODAY

Outside my (car) window… Pennsylvania farmland.  Misty Appalachian hills.  Mile markers speeding by at 71 mph.  White farmhouse and white silo and once-white barn speeding by, thanks to foreshortening in the distance, at 5 mph.

I am thinking… About Gerard Manley Hopkins’s “Pied Beauty”, the dappled colors of fall, the sprinkling of bitter drops across the sweet surface of my days with a doting toddler—bitter in the realization that someday, probably closer than I imagine, Little Friend will no longer turn to me to hold my hand while she jumps and cavorts with the big kids.  I will drift into the background of her life, watching her as closely as I do now, but as a less active participant.

I am thankful for… Wrap sweaters, rain in the forecast, and my heavenly-scented Votivo candle waiting on my kitchen counter.

From the kitchen…A pile of dirty dishes waiting for my erstwhile kitchen gnomes to come off-strike.

I am wearing… Scarf, leggings, glasses (thanks to contacts irritating my eyes), and flip flops as one last summer-throw-back in early October.

I am going…To Colorado to help a dear friend in need do the things that new moms need help with the most: laundry, cooking, and sleeping.

I am reading… A Wrinkle in Time to discuss with a twelve-year-old friend and because we can never, never underestimate the power of books from our youth.

I am hoping… The a five hour flight to Colorado goes smoothly with a little help from my friends (chocolate bribes, Thumkin, and Signing Time).

I am hearing…The scratchy AM broadcast of the Steelers-Ravens game as Big Friend gets his football fix for the week.

Around the house…Not me.  We were in Harrisburg this weekend, and I’ll be shipping out for Colorado on Tuesday morning.  That leaves my house under the watchful eyes of the cat and an army of dust bunnies.

One of my favorite things… Snack Catchers.  Traveling this weekend to Harrisburg with all the customary toddler accoutrements (bib, lunch box, utensils, booster seat, pack n’ play, car seat), I was reminded how, out of everything I had packed, that the Snack Catchers created the greatest diversion with the least clean up.  (Insert snack, hand off to Little Friend, and relax for  a few minutes until refilling.)

A few plans for the rest of the week…Aside from the laundry, cooking, and sleeping help in Colorado, I’m anticipating curling up in front of my favorite TV shows with a good friend, fresh baked brownies, and a glass of wine (or two).

Here is picture for thought I am sharing…Little Friend making her debut as a flower girl in her Uncle Jon’s wedding this weekend.  Her entrance (running full tilt down the aisle and dumping her petals at the very end) was just one of many highlights for me in a beautiful weekend of rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and reception.

My thanks goes to the Simple Woman’s Daybook for inspiring the format of this post and for prompting me to think carefully about the various elements of a day.