Morningtime...

I love the early morning time...when it's not searingly hot, there's no traffic, and the plants and flowers all so carefully tended throught the pouring rain and hot summer days have yet to wilt from the heat of the day. I love to walk without the noise of construction, or the glare of the sun, and look at all the flowers and paths and paver patios; hear the birds and crickets sing, and watch the squirrels rounding up acorns; find the park benches tucked under trees for shade, and the surprise water fountain or statue hidden amoung the landscaping.

Taking in all of the detail, unobserved, is almost like peeping or voyeurism. I get a glimpse into these gardeners' lives, can imagine what the person behind each garden might be like based on what they choose to grow, and how they arrange it. Are the lines of a flower bed even and straight, or lilting and curved? Do they include a mosaic and copper lizard climbing up the wall by the front door, or symmetrical baskets of overflowing impatiens on each side of the door?

I love all of the details, both organized and more live-and-let-live, and I love the fact that, finally, at the age of 32, I can appreciate the beauty of chaos. How could I not see it before? The tangled web of coneflowers and black-eyed susans around the tilted mailbox is gorgeous in a wild, carefree way that the neat, even rows of annuals are not.

It is just like the magnet Kyla sent me once, years ago, in a card. It is onmy fridge still and simply states: "One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star. --Nietzsche" Funny how she knew it was the chaos inherent in life that I must learn to make peace with long before I knew.

So, these days are very much a suspended state of tempered chaos, as I juggle the diaper changes, nursing, laundry, grocery shopping, and cooking. Sometimes it seems a challenge just to get a shower. But always there's time to stop and appreciate the chaos of it all. The beauty and peace of the early morning is still there, whether I've had breakfast, or showered, or not.

But for now...it's back to the chaos. :)