One of the undisputed advantages of older age is NOT having to rush first thing in the morning. With two children seven years apart in age, my hectic morning routine lasted for many years. Until school age, both children were up and bright eyed at 5 A.M...but when school was in their lives, they had to be called repeatedly...and with increasing volume. Rush, rush, rush and we were off!
Our house is up in the hills - there was NO school bus service so we needed to be ready to leave the house all together to get Mar and Michael to their respective schools AND ourselves to work...ON TIME. AND school was SIX days a week. Sundays were no better since both children needed to be at their Scouts' doings by 8 AM.
Mornings AFTER the MANY school years and my teaching job have now become sweet, slow-starting, cozy, comfy, relaxed...magical - especially in the spring!
with time to admire and smell the gardenias and notice the rain drops from an early dawn drizzle
and with time to check the new shoots, rubbing the leaves with my fingers to release the scents, of my herbs
with time to delight at the warmth of my antique, Deruta handmade terracotta pots (already prepared and soon to be planted with geraniums)
with time to follow the swollen promise of the Crimson Glory rose buds
to gaze at the dependence that Maurizio built himself with the wood-burning oven (built from the inside-out in an igloo shape) which has given us SUCH immense pleasure over the years
to gaze UP to one of the gorgeous TOWERING cipressi - one of MANY which we planted, quite small, some 35 years ago, wondering at the time if they would ever get big and impressive
time to be enchanted by one of my favorite plants, the striking acero palmare, which just a few days ago was still a mass of tightly closed buds
No furtive glances at the clock but rather relaxed and prolonged listening to the chorus of birds, time to fully appreciate the DEEP blue skies and the soft light filtering in from the windows...and time for sipping several cups of strong Italian cappuccini followed by a slow-paced round or two in the garden to observe the seasonal progress, beauty and marvels of nature.
Time to read the NYT online, to read emails from Mar and friends, to write and read PMs, to check reservation inquiries, to be enthralled by the bucolic view from my "new" study.
Time to also look over an awakening, early morning Foligno , all the way to Montefalco and the hills beyond, imagining how many families are rushing frantically to get their children and themselves off to school and work as I remember those years so vividly. Nostalgia? Perhaps a bit...but I love these leisure, slow-to-start spring, and soon-to-be summer, mornings in the garden
with time to check my lovely lemon and orange trees and to realize that there ARE compensations to getting older!
Comments (1)
Mary, you've created so much beauty around you that it must be really satisfying to have the time to appreciate all that you've done. Your photos are gorgeous, and how I wish I had lemon and orange trees!
Posted by sandrac | April 20, 2009 8:37 PM
Posted on April 20, 2009 20:37