I spent this father's day completely by myself, but that's okay. I did what I could to reach out the fathers in my life. I managed to speak to my own father on the phone. My stepdad was out of the house when I called my mom, but I sent him some direct messages to say hello. And I texted the Mr while he's still out of town. I didn't get to do what I'd normally do, like try to go out to brunch or get something going on the grill for the Man, but I suppose in his absence I still did something I ought to have done, namely mowed the lawn so he didn't have to as soon as he comes back. Now, if I get around to edging, we'll really have something.
While I talked to my mom, she once again referenced a conversation that for the life of me I can't remember having with her. I wonder whether there was an email or a text that went astray, or a sentence or two that I glossed over reading, and that's why this feels like I missed a step. She and I don't always follow the same philosophies about the natural world, but picking up this conversation mid-stream, I think she and I are experiencing the same sort of thing. She said that she keeps hearing tales of people having the most amazing experiences getting close to animals, as if they're moving in and cozying up to humans more than before. Without going into any theories why this feels like it is happening more often, I must say that I am witnessing it on a small scale, and I am inclined to believe it. I've written about the wild things that have come up on my windowsill, not five feet from where I sit most often in Park West. Stella the crow and a nosy little squirrel have been very interested in catching my attention. My mom has had an increase in the number of birds wanting her attention as well. She has a little cardinal who keeps coming up to her window and making noise against it. Even Mr S-P has sent me pictures of the wild cockatoos that have sat on the balcony railing where he has been having his coffee every morning. Apparently it isn't just me feeling like a Disney princess, with a variety of woodland creatures coming up to say hello. (Now, if they start making us dresses or wear cloaks and boots as a spooky dance partner, that will be a whole other blog post.)
I had a great talk with my dad this afternoon, and we got caught up. I haven't gotten to see him for a year, since we went out to retrieve the hot tub and a truck full of household goods (like the yellow Chinese rug that appears in two thirds of my photos these days). Since I was there last, tragedy visited their nuclear family. Their darling Yorkie came down with an illness that took her away from them rather suddenly, and the pain of her loss is not completely healed. But I heard something wonderful today. At their cabin in the north of Georgia, where they spend most of their time these days, they now have an "honorary dog." While they sit out on their porch, nearly every day, a yellow Labrador comes up to say hello to them. She sometimes comes inside to lie down, and have some quiet attention. She expects a dog biscuit for her efforts to walk over, but other than that, she is very low maintenance. After she visits for a while (I'm guessing maybe an hour or so?) she takes her leave and heads back to her home. That made me so happy to hear that there's a neighborhood dog who makes sure they have canine company every day. What a sweet girl.
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