2006-08-18

After Morning Offering, Jim and Gary went to attend to their many lawns while I spent the morning poring over Chapter One of The Choice 101. I rewrote until I was satisfied, working on the Love section especially. I shall read that over one more time to be sure that’s where I want it, and then it’s on to writing about Light.

The guys got back in time for a late lunch, triumphant at having mown everybody’s lawns before the onset of predicted rains. In the event, it did not rain until the night, although the skies certainly were lowering and moody. Jim and I had time to stretch, always a signal blessing for our aging bodies.

Then he was off to do his weekly maintenance routine and errands while I once again tackled old e-mail up in my bower office. By gardening time I had just managed to respond to the last old e-mail! I would have done a victory dance except that several people have already responded to those letters I just sent out, so my Inbox is still not empty! But the whole older generation of e-mails is now answered. It has taken me the week! Once in a while I really like to get caught up.

It was incredibly humid today! Just walking out into the yard to weed at the end of the working day started water pouring off my body. Fortunately my old gardening tees make excellent hankies! I mopped the glow out of my eyes and weeded away. What a treasure trove of sticks and other debris I found in the corner by the potting shed door! I suppose that spot is where the wind drives any loose bits of yard waste. I sat in one spot the whole time and pulled out buckets of debris. Soon that corner shall be all cleaned, which will be very satisfying to me.

Jim, meanwhile, had brought back the last of the arbor vitae trees we will use to shield us from our neighbor’s shenanigans. The gentleman who owns the property got our special permission to build on to their house in our direction about three years ago, so that only twelve feet separated the two houses. At the time we had a good hedge and wanted to be accommodating to him. His property has been a construction site ever since, messy and untrimmed. We have no idea when they will actually finish the remodeling. As I understand it from talking with neighbors who have known this family all their lives, it is a boon that they are not moved in yet! Having them living here is worse. The family seems to be somewhat unfortunately choice.

These charmers cut down our mature, dense, lovely, ten-foot living hedge of forsythia all along their boundary line, perhaps forty feet of bushes, claiming that the hedge was at least two inches over their property line. And when that hedge was cut down, they installed a rough gravel driveway all along where it had been. So we now have the lovely, near view of their walls and windows, their driveway and their cars, all without any privacy hedge.

Jim has, through the summer, at some expense, started planting arbor vitae trees along our property line – being sure we are on our side of it - in order to rebuild the privacy hedge we very much need, thanks to our neighbor’s thoughtlessness concerning our needs. It will be good to get those trees planted, which Jim will do tomorrow.

This whole episode is good catalyst for me, as we came here to planet Earth, or as the Elk used to call it, P-sub-3, to work on finding the springs of unconditional love within our hearts. I find it quite challenging to love our neighbor unconditionally! I am, however, working on it and attempting to remember to give thanks for the good catalyst.

Jim and I had a quiet and most enjoyable evening after our whirlpool bath, welcoming Romi and including Gary in the mix when he got back from his girlfriend’s. We enjoyed Amy Goodman’s news, some good conversation, supper and the Gaia Meditation, with Romi offering the ending prayer. We watched the new episodes of Stargate from then until bed time.

Gary’s girlfriend is moving to North Carolina. Tomorrow she leaves with her Mom to spend time finding and renting an apartment there, where she has gotten a job as an art teacher in the public schools. She will come back only to pack and leave by September 11th. I sympathize with Gary’s mixed feelings as he says good-bye to her. He is, of course, delighted that she got her job exactly where she hoped to do so. On the other hand, he feels his life is here, so he will be saying farewell. It’s a sad moment for them both.