Last night as I set out at 10:00 to pick Katie up from a Back to School movie night in the next town over I noticed an unusual sight. Fog dropped in or floated up or whatever fog does...creeps in on little cat's feet....at the baseball field. It was eerie and beautiful.
On the way home I stopped at the ballpark to try to take a few pictures with my phone.
The pictures are not exactly what I was seeing. The glare of the lights made big blobs of light. They took away from the fog.
But that's okay.
It was beautiful and still and unusual and I will remember that.
The other day Katie was really obsessing about her hair. She could not get the sock bun to look right.
She reminded me of myself. Sometimes I obsess about something so little and unimportant that it takes the joy out of whatever I am doing.
I told her of the time I was standing on the Eiffel Tower and was totally freaking out because my camera was doing something weird. There I was, in Paris, with my husband and daughter, in France, ON THE EIFFEL TOWER, and I was upset about my camera. (Fortunately said fit only lasted five minutes. But it was a stressful five minutes.)
Katie got what I was saying.
Lesson learned. Or at least.....lesson taught.
We can't let little upsets mar the big beautiful picture.
Amen.
Fog
The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
Carl Sandburg
That's it!
Encourage one another,
Donna
I like that ... little cats feet. Very evocative.
ReplyDeleteKeeping the big beautiful picture in sight, no matter what the circumstances, that is my goal - help me Lord!
thanks Donna :) It's always a pleasure to pop in here.
You are very right.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Donna!
Sarah P. from Iowa
"Lesson learned. Or at least...lesson taught." Ain't that the truth?! My son entered middle school this year. You've just summed up one of my goals with him over the next few years. Whether he learns them or not, the lessons have to keep being taught. He'll get them eventually. Right?
ReplyDeleteAnd the picture is beautiful, even though not quite what you expected.
My daughter (15) objects loudly when I insist she does her Sat. chores (cleaning her room and bathroom). But then she told me she got a huge tip on Monday because when she was babysitting, she cleaned all the dishes and picked up the entire house before the grateful mom got home. This was a proud mothering moment for me--even if my daughter likes to pretend otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThat same fog crept in to Danada Trails, and to Seven Gables last night. At first, I thought they were spraying insecticide, until I noticed it was JUST in the park. Creepy, cool, and wondrous all at once.
ReplyDeleteIt's SO interesting that you commented on your Eiffel Tower memory. I was just able (FINALLY) to move a ton of our PC pictures onto a Mac hard drive, and was reminiscing through them late yesterday afternoon. The thing that struck me, was that in many of my memories, I was upset about something or other. In some of the cutest pics of the kids, I can recall the moment, and that I was not fully engaging it because of some of other issue.
I'm SO glad you had a chance to share that with Katie. I , too, have shared these insights with my daughter, Grace, and I sometimes see that she's heard me! She will even sometimes say to her friends, "Oh, whatever! Let's not let this ruin the moment!". One of the VERY few times I feel like I've done something right! (Can you tell I'm having mother guilt lately!?!?).
ALWAYS love your poems. I am so grateful that you keep this blog real, and that you don't clog it up with other "stuff".
Happy weekend, Donna!
Mary. I yam what I yam.
DeleteThank you!
{{{LIKE}}} mary! in fact, I LOVE this. true words, all :-)
ReplyDeleteone of my lifetime favorite poems...
ReplyDeleteLOVE your blog, Donna. Love the poem, love the lesson, loved the pix of Katie yesterday ... lots of love from Alabama!
ReplyDeleteI really love this poem, Donna. You share so much good poetry here.
ReplyDeleteI've never had good luck photographing fog, but then I just have a little P&S.
In total agreement with Mary, this is a very comfortable place to come...very real with a supportive community to boot.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Katie is so lucky to have a mom who will teach these sorts of lessons. Teachable moments sometimes come in on little cat feet, too, don't they? Thanks for sharing this sweet story and poem.
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend!!
Mary Z
I like that Mary....
DeleteTeachable moments sometimes come in on little cat feet.....
That's what I meant.
haha
I'm so much better with all of your help!
Don't beat yourself up over your camera not working yet being in one of the coolest places ever.
ReplyDeleteIt's your CAMERA. And when it's not working, it feels like the end of the world. ha!
haha. It was brand new and I didn't know many of the regular buttons. Imagine that!?
DeleteOK ... now I've got to go look for one of my Carl Sandburg books ... I love, love, love his poetry and writing ..... good reading for the fall! Linda
ReplyDeleteLove this post! And I love this community. I don't always leave a comment, but I check in every day and go away feeling encouraged :)
ReplyDeleteKrista W. in Missouri
Thank you Donna, you reminded me of one of our best family memories...when we visited Connemara, Carl Sandburg's home in Flat Rock, NC. The house is so homey feeling and there are still descendants of Mrs. Sandburg's famous goats living in the barn area. It is 45 acres of beauty now operated by the National Park Service and well worth a visit. There is also a virtual tour of the house on the Carl Sandburg's home web site. It is a most peace-filled place...like here at QL blog. Your message for us today is outstandingly true.
ReplyDeletelove and prayers, jep
I would so love to travel there to visit :-)
DeleteLove this so much. Thank you for sharing your precious moments, and your wisdom.
ReplyDeleteIM so foggy this morning....your fog shots are great Donna, even if they are not what you Pictured....
ReplyDeletecoffee, coffee, coffee...fog clearing.....
good point and lesson learned!
This was just what I needed to read tonight.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you teach lessons that speak right to my heart in big ways.
Thank you for the reminder.