What I Say

Deer munched Morning Glory

Deer. They certainly have minds of their own. Several weeks ago, I had a little lost deer in the yard. She’s gone now. Found her way out. Her replacement is a fair-sized buck with one antler. He comes in over the little fence by my next-door neighbor. And he bed’s down right in the front yard. He’s strayed a little bit from that spot. He’s eaten the morning glory bare, which is okay at this time of year because it was getting ready to die back anyway, and what’s the difference?

And I wrote that paragraph yesterday afternoon, thinking it might make for a good story with a little observation at the end this morning. Then I got up and realized the buck didn’t stop here last night. He went somewhere else apparently. I don’t know where and I don’t know why, and I don’t have the energy or desire to try and divine his intentions. It’s best just to say he was here, now he’s not and let it go at that. I’m taking pretty much the same approach to life these days. Because I can really stir myself up if I spend a lot of time trying to figure out why someone did or didn’t do something, and I almost always, come to the wrong conclusion.

So, these days, it’s just, huh, when I encounter the inexplicable, and then I try to get on with my business and not fret. Which isn’t always easy because fretting is something I’m good at. Maybe it’s an old survival instinct. Because when it was life or death you probably really needed to know why people and animals were doing what they were doing and where your enemies stood. These days probably the worst thing that could happen is you’ll end up with a broken heart, and those heal and there’s almost always someone out there who wants to be your friend.

John W. Wilson is the author of the Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale