Please walk.

So we brought mum home yesterday. She is in the loveliest of cardboard boxes while we decide her final resting vessel, they did put the box in an elegant grey wool tote, she would have loved the colour and style of it. We brought her into the grocery store with us (not like we could leave her in the car) and celebrated her homecoming with sushi, I think she would have approved. 

We are having an informal gathering down at the beach in a few weeks, she loved that we lived a few minutes drive away and we were there on her birthday last month. Friends are dropping by with cards and food and we are completely blown away. She would be shocked to see all the cards, for someone who was so private - I hope she can see how loved she was.

Every day we look for the simple things of beauty, today was noticing a rabbit in my vegetable garden. I've lost most of the seedlings I'd planted but I think I may have saved some sunflowers. The deer guards that my mother had erected have been breached and so now with the raccoons, rabbits and deer it's a virtual Disneyland back there. As I am typing I see that there is now a baby rabbit nibbling back there, oh this is not good at all. A mere two weeks and all hell is breaking loose in the backyard.

So here's my expert opinion on grieving, walking every single day is an absolute necessity - non-negotiable. It's a simple walk, only 30 minutes and we vary the route every day. On a busy road today that leads to the university I broke down crying, sweet sister wrapped me in her arms and just held me while cars flew past, an old man was watering his flowers, students on bikes were whizzing by, the sun was shining but I couldn't walk a step further - it was all just too much. So we stopped and I grieved, snot rolling down my face, not a Kleenex to be had, after a few minutes I mopped up my face with my sleeves and we continued down the busy road. What if the answer to grief is to walk and just keep going? If you need to stop for a little rest you rest, but you always need to keep walking. 

Haven't heard from Joanna Gaines yet but we are thinking of adding a mini camper to the mix (if we find one for $1), have you seen those Boler campers? They are adorable, someone told me Trillium trailers are the same thing. This would be the perfect accompaniment to the Spinster Sisters Series, home makeovers plus weekend camping - come on now, I'd watch the show.

Here's to the weekend with hopefully no rain, guests are still coming and going and there's a rhythm to the days, to everything there is a season. Hugs friends.