Laundry Line Divine

The Orleans County Fair is full of wonders

We are very comfortable with our German family here in Munchen.
I have wandered far and wide since I last posted…from Harvard Yard to Monte San Savino in Tuscany, through the Alps to Munich. I am on quite an adventure.

I am struck by this kindness of this soft planet upon which I walk.

Today we are off to the center of this city to see what we shall see.
Those piggies are from Vermont and who can blame them for the comfort they offer one another?
As I woke in the windy morning after a rain filled night here in Munich, the warm quiet solace of this home struck me with awe. This is where Ben shall spend a few months of his life, here with this open hearted family.
If I trace the chain of gratitude for all that conspired to bring me, bring us all, to this moment, I find myself grateful for things that once broke my heart.

But the breaking was a breaking open to deeper love.
The fear was of the unknown, of being out of control. Not ever fear for my animal life. Fear for my percieved life, but what emerged is a new life, a wider view and a bigger presence by virtue of being loved and loving many.

How can I thank you for being here with me?
How can I thank the Infinite for gifting me with this and every breath to follow?
How can I offer my gratitude for the challenges and vistas I have lived through to be here now?

I will spend my life living these questions.
In utter and complete thanks, I inhale in to the day.

The Mystery of the Moment

To the mind there is such a thing as news
whereas to the inner knowing, it is all in the middle of it’s happening.

To doubters, this is a pain.
To believers, it’s gospel.
To the lover and the visionary,
it is life as it’s being lived.

Rumi

All my love to you each.
I will post more photos and art once I figure out the mechanics.
The paper trail of this journey is luscious.

Love, S

Hi everyone.
I am sitting here at a cafe table in Harvard Square, which, if you read the flags on the light posts, is wifi empowered. Slow, but yes.
There is guy playing “Here Comes the Sun” as I breathe deeply and hope this post will make it’s big hearted way to you today. Down the street to my right, there is a guy mumbling “Teddy Bear’s Picnic” in to another microphone. Hmmm. Life is good. And if you don’t get much of a visual boost, you will at least know I am piping in here with a few things hanging on the Line.

My family and I have been in the Northeast Kingdom for this past week visiting friends at the Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, Vermont. We got to see and delight in Cheri and Doug Safford’s treats at Red Sky Trading in Glover. I will dedicate a whole post about Cheri and her sunbeam smile when I have complete confidence in my wififififitness. Until then, let me tell you that JNB dreams of her chocolate covered doughnuts. Cheri and Doug are harvesters of local glories and if you ever drive north on Route 116, look for this sign:

Ben says the Cheri’s food is her art. I agree. So would you if you tasted her Bread and Butter pickles or Doug’s Blackberry Jam. We always stop in there for refreshments and inspiration on our way to Bread and Puppet Circus.

Bread and Puppet creates magic in the fields

So now, maybe it is the sun in my eyes, or Ben sitting here with his new Converse on, or the strains of guitar coming over on the fuming breezes of this sidewalk…I am eternally nostalgic for this kid. He is about to embark on a 3 month stay in Munich. He just said, “Momma, did I tell you I am more excited than you can even believe? I don’t know if I have completely expressed that.”

Last night I sat with his big bony body on my lap. It was cold on the porch of the Wildflower and we were singing Beatles songs with a bunch of hootenannying pals. This big kid still fits under my chin. “I once had a boy…or should I say, he once had me?” Now he just strode off in search of pizza for his quarter hourly feeding. Thank Goddess he knows how to forage for himself.

So, yes, teary and excited for this Grand Adventure, as my friend Robert says. This Grand Adventure. I am so glad you are on this with me.

I pledge to you that if I can post along the way from Monte San Savino to Munich then home, I will. If the wififififitness of Tuscany foils me, trust I will be spending my time painting and collecting paper scraps and all the things I take in on any given day.

Now I am at a phone booth at Logan with this computer plugged in for a juice break.
All is well.

John O’Donohue writes about the openings that happen when you travel. Catherine giving a squalling child one of her Mardi Gras beads…like that? Or JNB and his big heart opening as we see Ben off on Swiss International.
He will meet us in Florence where David- our exchange student son and his family will welcome us to the beauty of Tuscany.

I will carry you with me.
All my love, S