Rumi

The poet Rumi died December 17, 1273.


The Breeze at Dawn

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you
Don't go back to sleep.

You must ask for what you really want
Don't go back to sleep.

People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.

Don't go back to sleep.



Some Kiss We Want

There is some kiss we want with
our whole lives, the touch of
spirit on the body. Seawater
begs the pearl to break its shell.

And the lily, how passionately
it needs some wild darling!

At night, I open the window and ask
the moon to come and press its
face against mine. Breathe into
me.

Close the language-door and
open the love window. The moon
won't use the door, only the window.

Monday

Because of the storm-caused power outage in my office's neighborhood, I got Friday off with pay, without having to take vacation time. I had a good long weekend, with a nice mix of rest and productivity.

Now I have to scoot in to the office slightly ahead of my usual schedule to be sure all my time is entered before the cut-off, so my just-before-Christmas paycheck is not shorted.

I would, of course, much rather stay home, but the day should be pleasantly busy.

Then I have a few more chores to do before I go pick up _storyteller_ and his sister at the airport this evening: get the garbage out, clean the tub and toilet, get some more laundry done, finish clearing out the car, get the laundry put away.

The nice thing is that the chores are feeling far less onerous than they used to -- even when I do them alone.

Definitely a lot of psychological shifts going on right now, and all for the better.

A Toilet is Still A Toilet

It's true: household chores, in general, are less onerous these days.

But cleaning the toilet and scrubbing the tub are not what I want to be doing right now.

Or any "now," come to think of it.

Best get it over with.

*sigh

Wii! -- Father, Lee and Me, part 1

A week ago Friday, I got a call at the office from my father.

My father is not exactly an early adopter, but he is something of a technophile, and he enjoys new gadgets. And while not wrapped around my daughter's little finger to the extent that my mother is, he does dote on her. So he has decided that he wants to get her a Nintendo Wii for Christmas.

Can you believe I hadn't even heard of the Wii until that moment?

My dad explained what it was and the scarcity of them. He had made something of a quest of finding one, including going to the local Fred Meyer very early that morning to stand in line before the store opened, on the chance that a delivery might take place. The delivery did not happen, but he was assured that it would be there at Saturday morning's opening.

My dad has just finished a month of chemo therapy for prostate cancer, and now has a few dozen radioactive seeds embedded in and around that portion of his anatomy. He is in fairly good spirits, but his stamina is not what it once was, and the various physical side effects of the seeds have made it hard for him to sleep.

Would I, he asked, be willing to get in line at Fred Meyer at 6am the next morning so he could give my daughter a Wii for Christmas?

I love my daughter, I truly do --- but I have never been one to buy into Hot Toy Mania and stand in lines for hours so my darling will have a particular gift under the tree. If it was just my daughter who wanted the Wii, I would have told her we would wait until after Christmas, when they would be readily available.

But this was my father asking. My father who almost never asks favors.
He didn't make a big deal of it. That's not his style.
But the fact that he asked, that he felt the need to ask, spoke volumes.

I said yes, I would do it.

Then I emailed _storyteller_ and told him that I would be getting up at 5am the next morning -- Saturday -- driving across the lake, and standing in line at O-dark-ridiculous to try to get hold of a Wii, and that while I would certainly welcome his company he was under no obligation to join me. This was Above and Beyond the call of duty.

"Of course I'll go with you," was his response. "It will be an adventure."

To Be Continued. . .

[And yes, the tub and toilet have been cleaned. And it went so quickly, I went ahead and did the dishes too!]

Wii Quest - Part 2

_storyteller_ and I were parked out front of the Fred Meyer at 5:45am. It was a clear, cold morning, and while there were a few cars scattered around the very large parking lot, there was no line in front of the door. I congratulated myself on beating the rush, and we decided there was no point in standing out in the cold if there was no competition.

I left the car running with the iPod plugged into the radio playing Christmas music. _storyteller_ and I told stories and enjoyed the opportunity for extended conversation. Every so often another car would pull into the lot. Most parked near us, but those who got out were employees who soon vanished through the employee door with their coffee cups. A few cars roared past us, and while we wondered what in the world people were doing drag racing through the Fred Meyer parking lot at 6:30am, we didn't dwell on it.

( In which our heroes learn the value of accurate intelligence )