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Add snow and sunshine; mix well
You've
heard of the situation that's normal when it's all mixed up.
That's
how it's been lately.
On
a warm afternoon, I picked up a sandwich for a picnic in the park. Five
days later I walked home in the snow at lunchtime. By the following
morning the picnic tables were iced in white, and white-faced cars took
sun baths along the streets.
St.
Patrick's Day arrived in white instead of green.
The
late taste of winter was routine for human travelers in the area but left
worms stranded all along the asphalt.
Instead
of blowing snow, steam rolled across the road.
Then
the trees dropped their white decorations, just as their yellow, red and
orange coloring fell off at the end of the last growing season.
 I
liked the snowcapped transformation while it lasted. I thought the
landscape looked too barren before, without white cover or green.
One
day it was so windy the front porch was swept bare, with only a darkened
area to show where the doormat used to be. I went searching with a
flashlight before I found it.
With
or without welcome mats, a few stray ants have invited themselves inside.
As they take walks on a front door, a window or elsewhere, I wonder if
they want to be indoors or out these days.
I
repeatedly felt the tug of wanderlust myself on a mild weekend but
couldn't decide where to go. Even with longer days, the time for play was
soon past and work wasn’t done either.
Adding
to the unsettled state, gas prices and temperatures have gone up and down,
along with the workers changing the numbers advertised. I bought gas at
the lowest price I remembered since the last purchase, but a few hours
later it was two cents less.
A
clothing item I bought for $15 with Christmas gift money was reduced to $9
and then to $5. If I'd waited I could have had three for the money. Since
I didn't, I bought number two at the lowest price and, using the dollars I
supposedly saved, bought extra sweatshirts, which were on sale just in
time for warmer weather.
Contradiction
has been the unifying theme; fluctuation is the norm; change appears to be
the most reliable reality.
Everyday
personal events have followed a similar pattern.
With
the clamp sprung on another curling iron, I bought a replacement, only to
discover that the new model constantly changed temperature, with a little
help from me. Whenever I moved my hand, there was a good chance I'd
unintentionally move the control dial on the handle at the same time. When
I checked, I found the heat setting as much as eight numbers lower or
higher than at first.
In
another situation, uncertainty was the order of the day. Spoken
announcements were added to clarify a printed outline, but the result was
just the opposite for me. I got more confused because I couldn't tell what
was said.
In
still another setting, I made corrections on a Monday, I thought, but
found the same mistakes there on Friday to be fixed again.
I'd
rather be sure of things, I'd rather have events proceed smoothly, but
even with all the preparation and positive thinking in the world, I wouldn’t
be able to depend absolutely on the things around me or on myself or what
I do.
The
world outside reminds me it's normal for life to have its mix-ups, just as
outward inconsistency is in the nature of the season that brings growth.
[Mary
Krallmann]
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