Hummingbirds and Butterflies

September 7, 2013



My vacation is really over today. It's Saturday and I have to work. All day. Ten long hours. I was really getting used to being at home. Getting up late, going to the gym in the morning, doing errands, going out to dinner, cleaning my house and catching up on all the little stuff at a leisurely pace. It was wonderful and relaxing. Of course as soon as I got home that sense of sadness started to creep in again.


Where was Monica to get my fruit in the morning and Alyson to plan my day? All the friends in and out to make me laugh and remind me of how lucky I am in their friendship. Oh no. I couldn't get down again like I was before we left for the Vineyard.


So I had a good talk with myself. Yes, I talk to myself a lot. Monica can attest to that as we had the two upstairs bedrooms and she would hear me having conversations with inanimate objects. I told her not to pay attention to me. I was just thinking things through out loud.


That's when I saw the hummingbird in my yard. We had always tried to get them to come to our feeder and they never did. This year I found the old feeder and was about to throw it out but decided to give it one last try. I made simple syrup and hung it off the deck. And Sunday as I was unpacking I looked out the window and there it was. A delicate beautiful hummingbird. I wanted to get a picture of it but was afraid to move. And just as quickly it was gone. I've seen it lots of times this past week and yesterday as I was filling all the feeders along came a gorgeous dark blue butterfly. So fleeting and elusive. Just like life. One minute and your whole life can change.


So since I am healthy and still semi coherent I am going to try to enjoy every minute of my life. I know that is a lofty goal but a worthwhile one. And along the way I will try to remember that everything is not always what it seems. People have burdens that we may never imagine.