Today was an early morning for me, to get a much needed oil change for my Jeep. It’s about a month past due and I found a nice local mechanic to take us in.
Quick to be done, I then went on an unscheduled 140 mile drive around the countryside, where I saw goats, cows, horses, big houses, small churches, creeks, a river, people tidying up communal grounds, people practicing some type of sword play game, lots of kids on baseball fields, and tonnes of people eating out.
I felt like I was let into a secret society. Who were those people? And goats? We have goat farms?
I kept wondering if all of that was a weekend thing or if the world was just showing off today.
And though the entire experience was lovely and inspiring, I am not going to seek out the answer to my weekend wondering. Because, my plan for tomorrow is an in-house breakfast, and a look around my shelves for spots to put my Mum’s books.
Not surprising, my Mum’s literature taste aligns well with mine: Vikram Seth, Edward Rutherford, Marco Polo … Watership Down, Jane Eyre, various Bibles.
In the last few years, my Mum was reading a novel a week. Some of them epic. Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy is almost 1,000 pages long. That is one of my favourites.
I have about 300 books in my reading room, of my own making. I inherited about 70 when she had to go. And though some will be similar, it is my honour to merge her special collection with mine.
Also, tomorrow, May 14th, is Mother’s Day and my Mum’s birthday. And the first for both without her.
So, I’m going to be mindful of me, and my parents. Speak little and unplug a lot. And take comfort in absorbing the stillness, to allow the day to guide me, instead of me it.
Happy Saturday.