Family Feathers

Artist:  Hulya Ozkok   If a blind, deaf cat were to be lost from home and wandering about in the rain, you can be certain that it would make its way to my house, as all things lost and damaged seem to find the path to my door.   My daughter would be first to sense the overwhelming need of a malnourished, half dead cat making its way here.   As we had just finished a large Easter feast and returned home for lengthy afternoon napping, it was Allie who ran in to inform me of a crazed looking cat attempting to limp down the road, blind and deaf to barking dogs and oncoming traffic.  I stood in the rain and watched my child stare at the wildebeest looking feline who wandered aimlessly past our house in an unsighted world making its way forward with no plan and no hope.  It's sides were sunken, it's eyes were matted and its fur clearly told how it had been lost in the rain and cold for a lengthy period of time.  It was oblivious to the dangers around it and simply continued for

Dear Me,     Should I be blessed to enjoy a long life and one day find I have plenty of time on my hands,  I should read this list and remember the things I didn't have time for now, but should do then. Paint the kitchen Sherwin Williams Windy Blue Go on a Mission Trip Scrapbook old photographs and write down the names of everyone in the pictures Take the Viking Cooking course in Greenwood, MS Send your kids a surprise check in the mail (and no they didn't insert this) Play Barbies Sit at the base of Mt. Whitney and drink Pinot Grigio with my brother Visit the local library Take a train ride anywhere Visit the beach in the winter Be a ridiculously big tipper to those who least expect it Carry silver forks in my purse Always have something nifty to give to a child Sit with strangers in a nursing home Read all the classics Record the stories of those older than me Travel to France and never cross the Atlantic to get there

     My son has embarked on his Senior trip and is currently somewhere in Italy.  Because of the high cost of international calling, we've worked out a plan for him to send text and video messages when he is in a wifi spot.  My last instructions as he boarded the plane were for him to send me a message to let me know he made it safely.   So far, I've received nothing.  While checking my bank account this morning, it became clear to me that he had indeed made it to Italy as my debit card was working it's way across Europe. While I may never get a text message or video message, I can track my son's progress by mapping out the ATM withdrawals along his journey.  It's not the plan I had hoped for, but at least I know he is alive and well.  

  Getting emails from old friends is always nice, but what a surprise to find an email that I sent to myself last year, only to be delivered exactly one year later.  It began "Dear Future Me".  This letter from my past to an older version of me had only one line.... "What have you accomplished over the past year?"   I thought this was rather brilliant as it prompted me to reflect on the year and what I had or had not accomplished.  My children were quick to interrupt my quiet reflections and point out that my one sentence email was lame and lacked details.  You can always count on your children for brutal honesty.  They educated me on how I should have talked about what I was doing a year ago and described what that day was like.  So.... with that being said, my children and I crafted our next letter... "Dear Future Us"   The letter began by explaining that it was close to midnight on a school night and my children should be in bed.  Instead, they