Moving with the Weather - The End

In all this talk about

Mother Earth, how humanity

tears her down in the name of

building her up, another issue rears it’s ugly head ~
Cabin Fever.

In the severest of weather events when whole families are uprooted from home,

depend on the kindness of friends, family and strangers,

live only with what was available at a moments notice ~

cabin fever becomes a much more serious issue

requiring imagination and finesse

despite exhaustion

mentally

emotionally

physically

In the summer of 2003,

she arrived at the fruit stand and frantically said,

“I’ve been out of my house for two weeks,

I’ve lost everything, I need to can.”

A forest fire had forced her family from home

They were staying with her sister and family.

Her children were in school.

She had no idea when they would have a home of their own.

With at least 40 lbs of pears in the trunk of her car, 
she drove away to do her yearly canning.

Doing what was normal.

A respite from the horror of losing everything.

If it’s but a rainy day, I often think of her,

a nameless woman trying to find peace amid chaos.

And so, weeding the garden between rain drops

is doable on such a day.

(I actually did do just that, a few days ago;

found great spot under the “spreading [walnut] tree”

to avoid most of the cloud splashes.)

What else can I create in my 'cabin' without feeling trapped and frustrated?

Of course, there's always creating a clean refrigerator,

which has been put off far too long.

Better yet, I can rest inside my home.

I can do things in my home that

have been neglected far too long.

like books and movies I like to read and watch

Or the writing from a slush pile to develop and

then there’s sketching, drawing or painting.

So many choices when home is your own.

The End.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in 

moments of comfort and convenience, but where 

he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.