he hears the engine of our son’s car as it arrives i hear nothing, every.single.time
i know the lyrics of songs i’ve never consciously even heard while walking through a store
and my selected music refreshes and feeds my soul like parched soil now blessed with frequent rain
he cannot hold a tune but loves tuning a motor until it sings and knows sight unseen what kind of engine drove past
(i don’t even understand how an engine works)
we are different, yes but are also the same both with our own melodies that beckon our ear
and our relationship involves choosing to value differences like these
celebrating the uniqueness of our beloved, even the things we do not understand
supporting each other’s passions not because we are naturally necessarily interested—but because we are very interested in the individual that holds them
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Our list of differences goes on and on but what makes us work is embracing each other’s uniqueness and the things we both bring to our life together that would not exist without the other!
a couple of years back storm clouds appeared and in a very short space of time unusually large quantities of water dumped from the sky, sudden
parts of the land were overcome and places that had looked the same as long as residents’ memories recalled became far too saturated
and gravity swiftly won
soil, rocks and trees slid down hills covering over roads and paths
and reminded the humans they can build and create but that nature is mightier still
sometimes people experience this too, personalities that have always appeared ‘stable’ are suddenly drenched by circumstantial storms and are weighted down, down, down until burdens prevail and damage occurs
and that person may not be ‘themselves’ for some time…
awkwardly scooping at mud, despondent frantically searching for pathways not apparent
so just assure them this is okay
that like a landscape they just need some time they will find themselves again
and if this is you please be patient because you will find yourself, too
-weathering storms is a part of life and even landslides grow flowers with time
i made the wedding late all 150 guests waiting by only realising when i began to dress myself at last
that while i brought the dresses for the bride and all the bridesmaids i neglected to bring mine
the day before this, as i sat in automatic car wash (after the rehearsal) my husband rang to say the police had called to inform that shortly before i had filled my car and just driven away stealing petrol up the road distracted
there are quite simply days like these and we might as well laugh (at least in hindsight) at those moments when minds that often support us well glitch
and things that others whose thoughts are currently flowing free might roll their eyes and mutter “well there they go again”
but, hey, my promise to you is this: if your behavior is suddenly peculiar unusual or odd I will not think of you as……less
instead i will wonder what stress, what tiredness, what thing you just might now carry that’s now producing this
Heather Pound 