Another Lesson
Well, I’m back from Marathon and I’ve gone from having my day intensely planned to having no plans at all. The day once again stretches out before me, empty waiting for me to fill it with whatever strikes my fancy. I could mow. I could edge. I could read a book. I did sleep in because it felt nice to be in my own bed. But for now, it’s just me and my writing and a nice cup of coffee.
This was my fourth trip to Marathon and the songwriter’s festival, and I think I saw it for the first time outside the veil of grief that overlaid the first three. Not all the songs and singers were to my taste, of course, but maybe my taste needs to change and maybe I need a new perspective. And that was the new thing for me this year, because previously, I was pretty closed in and dismissive because having your wife die is a fairly massive change and who’s really up for changing everything you hold dear including your taste in music.
But this is my new Gaudalupian Period, the time after my mountain climb, the time after scaling the high peak. It wasn’t forty years in the desert, but it was a hard climb after a hard time, and I survived both. Now I’m open for new things, and if I’ve learned anything in life it’s that I don’t know everything or even anything. So, I talked to a couple of the songwriters about their music and their writing, and they talked back and I’ll take that talk and see if I can do anything with it. Because that’s how you grow, and I may be old, but I can still embrace the present while there are a few tomorrows still to be had.