reverse threading

the path back is the path forward


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what we want to see. [kerri’s blog on not-so-flawed wednesday]

every day he peers through the semi-opaque miniblinds, looking for any sign of his pals in the yard next door. the dachshunds are the object of his seeking shadowy movement through the blinds. we somehow think he even might be focusing through the small holes that each blind has through which the accordion string is threaded.

we can’t see anything but the darker shades of horizontal and vertical lines of the double hung window, maybe the fuzzy shape of a house next door, a chimney, the movement of the squirrel highway wires from the breeze – depending on where you are sitting and your angle on the blinds. but he is determined, our dogga, standing on the bed, staring at the window.

he looks to see what he wants to see.

eh, so, yeah, he might be a tad bit more optimistic than the rest of us here right now.

he looks to see what he wants to see.

we are different – david and i. he is more of a trusting, above-the-ground-birds-eye-view, esoteric thinker. i am more of a detailed, dubious, feet-on-the-ground, thready thinker. we make a good team. he tends to be more like dogga, encouraging me to have a more generous take on things. i tend to push back on him, insistent on connecting the dots or piecing together details of things or people of which i am wary.

i am aware of the shadowy shapes beyond the blind, but simply cannot ascribe to the dachshunds being right outside the window without seeing (or hearing) them there. i have a tendency to think about what’s-the-worst-that-can-happen and plan backwards accordingly. he tends to be way more confident in outlook, less suspecting, with less skepticism.

i do think, however, that we both tend to a bit of our dogga in us. there are times we do both look to see what we want to see.

and right now we want to see a future in this country that actually brings it closer to self-actualizing, a future where concern is for each other – despite any social identifier that makes people different from each other. we want to see a democracy that solidly commits to the equalities as delineated in its constitution and amendments. we want to see a place that celebrates people and lifts all so that each person living in this grand land might have a life of goodness and grace, fairness, security and prosperity. we want to see a nation that values truth, that rejects corruption, that does not normalize grift or the “isms” of hatred.

we are both looking to see it.

after the blinds have been pulled on this administration, after the wizard has been revealed for what he truly is, after so many have fought to maintain this republic, when the curtain comes up on this time, we are both looking to see america, land of the free and home of the brave, embracing every bit of diversity.

including the invisible dachshunds on the other side of the miniblinds.

****

read DAVID’s thoughts this NOT-SO-FLAWED WEDNESDAY

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the miniblinds. [k.s. friday]

one of the first things i love to do in the morning is open the miniblinds. dogga helps me. “open up the house with momma,” i call to him and he tags along. the moments of letting in the world again.

at night i really like closing the blinds, turning on the lamps and happy lights, closing out the world and cozying into our home. but in the morning – and i attribute this to my sweet momma, the person who would flit from room to room singsonging “good morning, sunshine!” – i can’t wait to greet the day.

there have been days when this hasn’t been so. days when the cold from the outside and some despair on the inside have led me to keeping it all closed up, locking it all out. humans, with a gamut of emotion, we all have those times, i suspect. the days when looking out doesn’t seem like a good idea because you can barely get past the membrane of your own heart or the nagging of your mind. but, in the way that time does, the moments tick by and somehow you do the work – even just a little, sometimes just enough – and you move past closed blinds.

an acquaintance – who i hadn’t seen in quite a while – asked me the other day about my children…where they are living, what they are doing these days. i told her that my son was living in chicago and answered that my daughter and her boyfriend had moved to north carolina. she looked at me and said, “oh! that’s right near where you’re from!” i hesitated a beat or two and tilted my head at her. she continued, “well, you’re from new york, right? that’s right near new york!”

i didn’t quite know what to do – i wondered if she had unfolded the usa map in her head as it seemed there was a folded overlap somehow making ny next to nc – but i answered, “why, yes! they are both on the east coast and on the same ocean!” it was kind of her to ask about my family and if, by choice, you haven’t left the midwest much, save for those all-inclusive-mexican-resort places, those states ‘out there’ might be kind of confusing. it’s a big country. and it’s a big world. it can be safer to stay put, yet, like miniblinds, it might filter out the light.

though the pandemic still has its seesawing challenges, i can feel the tug of backroads and adventures. though cleaning out still has its sentimental obstacles, i can feel the urge of less-is-more. though careful budgeting is always a dominant force, i can feel the itch to freshen things in our home and yard (good grief – that dug-up front yard will be a necessity!). though i feel a little tentative, i can feel the impulse to seek out ways to let creativity bubbles float and fly.

i open the blinds carefully and look outside. the rising sun hits my face and the birds are singing. dogga is by my side, triumphant in helping me open up the house. and i think that today i will make a live-life-my-sweet-potato list. things on either side of the miniblinds. opening up, little by little. to light.

*****

that morning someday

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read DAVID’S thoughts this K.S. FRIDAY

THAT MORNING SOMEDAY from BLUEPRINT FOR MY SOUL, THE BEST SO FAR

©️ 1996, 1999 kerri sherwood