Percy

I never met a Percy I didn’t like. It isn’t a common name, but I do meet men who answer to it from time to time. My most significant Percy is my Great Uncle, my Grandpa’s brother. I don’t think I ever heard him speak a whole sentence, and yet his presence was strong, and delightful. There was always a twinkle in his eye, as he greeted our visits to his farm, when I was a child. His wife, my Great Aunt Goldie, would always have a freshly baked batch of Chelsea Buns to offer us, when we visited. I have no great insights into the day to day challenges they faced in their lives, but I do know that I was always welcome there, I always felt as if I belonged. I never questioned that feeling of belonging back then, in my Mom’s family, it was like oxygen, it was just there. I didn’t work for it. I didn’t have to manufacture it. It existed naturally from the way people lived. I miss that in this big shiny ugly edifice of a world we live in, or maybe I just miss being a child in a world protected by my Mom.

A quiet day here. Talk continues, communication takes place, no further decisions or action are on the table, tension levels are low. The incredible cold has slunk off outside the windows, and the temperature has risen to -9, it has been snowing off and on since noon.

I slept soundly for six hours again last night, to my great relief, and also managed 25 minutes on the elliptical machine. Meals are regular, no indulgences indulged in, routines are forming, day by day. My crocheting continues to be a source of peace, I do enjoy it, and right now there is a gentleness in the repetitive nature of the stitches.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

-28°C
Date: 6:00 AM EST Sunday 7 January 2018
Condition:Clear
Pressure: 103.5 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: -28.3°C
Dew point: -31.5°C
Humidity: 75%
Wind: NNE 5 km/h
Wind Chill: -34
Visibility: 24 km

The temperature will increase by 22C over the course of less than eight hours.

Quote

“Holding forgiveness hostage to some act or condition was associated with psychological distress and depression.”
– in a study published by National Institute of Health in 2011

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Stubblejumpers Cafe

Then all is as well as can be expected, and that’s worth being grateful for. -Kate

Joan Lansberry

It sounds like a reasonably pleasant day, I’m glad to hear this!

Sandy

I’m glad it’s a relatively calm day and you’re eating and sleeping well. And crocheting! In my family it was my Aunt Clara and Uncle Bill who welcomed us to their home in the country. She fed us homemade biscuits with soft butter that was always on the table and never in the fridge, which I loved. Uncle Bill smelled of pipe smoke and Aunt Clara of baking spices. I read an article once about how the brain stores memories. When we remember something significant to us the brain retrieves how we felt, smells, our mood, details etc. Everything is store away for us to retireive it.

Birdie

I am glad you had a Percy and a Goldie in your life. It’s such a simple thing to love and be loved yet it means more than anything.

Teri

In my mind you’re speaking of the magic of “family”. Your being accepted wasn’t a matter of where people lived but rather the connection that comes with being part of an extended family.

Okay, and maybe some of it was part of it being a simpler time, when people were more easily welcomed in and became family, with or without the blood connection. (In my experience, Canada stayed at this level a good 20 to 30 years longer than many areas of the US, though some pockets of open people can still be found in the US to this day.)

WendyNC

Maggie, it’s good to read that there is an external return to some sort of normalcy for you. I’m sure we all hope that ongoing dialogue will be productive so that the elephant in the living room can become increasingly smaller.

Bex Crowell

oxo

Still the Lucky Few

So happy that you are finding some moments of peace at this critical stage. It’s good to see how you are noting them and treasuring them! I wish you more of them as the days and weeks unfold.