In Praise of the Ones Who Get Us Out the Door
Jewelweed and Saturday morning Mystery
I was crouching down in the woods on a chilly Saturday morning, aiming my camera at a tiny flower my son had spotted, when I suddenly had the thought: “Where would I be without my kids?”
And I didn’t ask the question in a philosophical sense, although there is an immeasurable wealth of treasure I’ve gathered in these past nine years of being a mother (ten if you count pregnancy, and I DO.)
I asked the question in a literal, physical sense. It suddenly struck me as funny that I was on an impromptu hike with a kindergartener on a Saturday morning (bless the skate park for being located next to a beautiful boardwalk trail). Not “haha” funny, but “Hey! Look at me!” funny.
I realized, with a laugh, that if I didn’t have kids, I’d probably still be in bed, sipping coffee, snuggled under a blanket reading a book. This is, in fact, what I used to do on Saturdays when I was single; it’s what Eric and I did before we had kids. Sunday mornings were even better, a quiet breakfast together flipping through the paper, our feet touching under the table.
Someday, years from now, our mornings will look like that again. Although I miss the quiet sometimes, I’m not sorry to have this hiatus from those mornings. The truth is that I’m a bit of a homebody. I’m content with a cozy couch and a towering stack of books. A little too content, maybe.
I do not think I would have seen and experienced a fraction of the natural world I’ve encountered in the past decade without my children pulling me gently and curiously along. One does not simply stay home on a Saturday morning with two active boys. One goes out exploring. One hikes. One throws rocks into creeks. One certainly spends a lot of time at skate parks, but those skate parks always have some sort of natural treasure nestled up next to them.
And so it was that my son was guiding me down the boardwalk, wanting to know the names of all the plants we passed. (I recently showed him the iPhone photo feature that identifies plants, and he’s hooked, as am I). We passed under the shadows of great Western red cedars, punctuated by little clusters of red hawthorn berries until we came to something we’d never seen before. It was exquisite.
“Mommy, Mommy, what is it?” my son cried. I looked it up.
It was jewelweed. What a name, what a way to proclaim the sacredness of the mundane. A weed that is a jewel. Isn’t that what so many parts of our lives are? Our regular routines, our errands, the same chores, over and over again, all scattered through with treasures, all doorways into communion with the Divine? It took my breath away. (And so did those perfect little dewdrops my phone somehow captured).
My son was on to the next plant (skunk cabbage, ha!), while I stayed crouched down there, awash in gratitude, for this encounter with Mystery, and for the ones who got me out the door to see it. Hallelujah and amen.
A Few Hopeful Things:
-Sunday was World Day of Migrants and Refugees, and I was delighted to write this prayer for Ignatian Solidarity Network, Jesuit Refugee Service, the Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology, Kino Border Initiative, and Magis Americas. All of them are doing great work, and I admire them so much. It’s also always an honor to have my work paired with Kelly Latimore’s luminous icons. I’m praying for a day when every migrant and refugee has their needs met, but until then, I’m supporting these organizations reaching out in love and accompaniment at the border and around the world.
-Did you hear?! My friend Laura has GOOD NEWS about her cancer, and I just want to dance around my living room every time I think about it!
-Some of my friends are in Rome for the Synod, and I’m just so excited for them and hopeful for us to really be a listening church, for voices to be heard that haven’t been heard before, for a new path to be forged.
Crouching down to look for the jewelweed with you,
Cameron
Love this so much!!