Day: May 20, 2014

We had a rough winter but we are having a knockout Spring. We have lambs running around, flowers popping up in the garden, new chicks in the barn, Maria has been reborn at Gee’s Bend, I have a spanking new book contract, my daughter has a hotshot job in New York City, and this morning, the first blossoms appeared on our venerable old apple tree.

I am grateful for my life, I have known loss and sorrow, love and joy, I am learning what it means to be a human being, and I am grateful for all of it, eager to embrace tomorrow.

Ma always seemed lost to me, big and confused, I called her the dumbest animal, but she is telling her story now, and I am seeing and hearing it, being a mother has transformed her, given her focus, revealed her intelligence about the things she needs to understand, shown her big heart and endless patience. She is not young, and now, she has twins, and I have never seen her so purposeful and contented.

Last week she came so close to dying, I came so close to putting her down, a committed vet saved her life, and now she is healthier by the day, she seems in her element.

She reminds me every day tell my story, sing my song, as she is doing. We cannot curb or control the sorrows of the world, we can not avoid pain and turmoil, we can only sing joyfully to the world.