SUMMER IN TAOS

It is unusually hot in Taos. I still haven’t conquered the wild world around the house, although I splurged and bought a weed whacker. PQ tried it for a while this afternoon, but both he and the machine tired quickly in the 90 + degree heat. I accept the out of control foliage around the house in a way that I could never have done before. Everything in our life is different this year. The wildness brings back memories from a long time ago. I sit in the back patio and listen to crickets and softly whooshing leaves. It takes me to childhood under a cottonwood tree while cradled in deep grass in a state of perfect being. Nothing else is necessary when a moment is so perfect.

All is in the moment. Years are inconsequential during a full moment. It could be a hundred years ago, or yesterday or any time at all. The only reality is the sense of Earth functioning at her best and willing to share her being with me, and the company of old friends whose presence makes this

Shadow in Diminishing Shade

moment perfect. I feel at home with all the critters, even the weeds and tall grass.

PQ’s grandchildren are spending their nights and mornings with us this summer. Their dad finally got a permanent job and now has even a second job for several weeks. Their money drought is over. They are good kids, yet it changes our lives. There are two meals a day to plan and more expenses on our already challenged resources, but somehow I have faith that the changes will fall into place. It is obvious that we have to be here in Taos this summer. It is about more than family issues, and out of control gardens. Perhaps it is about truly being here without fantasies of being somewhere else.

Summer is my favorite season, even when it’s hot. My best memories are of summer, partly because there was no school in summer or more accurately, the school of life progressed uninterrupted during summer. The windows and doors are open. There is little difference between indoor and outdoor. The flies and bees buzz in and out because we don’t have a screen door. I remember long ago summers when after dark we went about the house swatting flies so that we could be comfortable indoors. All of that was in a world that I usually don’t think of until something like the long grass and quivering leaves triggers the memory.

PQ thinks I spend too much attention on the past. I always have, even when I was still a kid and didn’t have much past. I get something very valuable from reviewing. I’ve never been content with only now which doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the present. It’s just that I want to enjoy it more than once. Even the bad stuff has more than one lesson to teach. The past is never the same twice. There is always the opportunity to find something we missed on the first round. The earth is round and so is life experience. No-thing really begins separated from an ending and vice versa. Surprises are welcome, not that they ever ask.