Of Carpenter Bees, Crandall Special, Hikes with Friends, and a Take/Taken Poem. That's My Hump-Day Contribution

With eyes on the calendar, too much life whipping at me at once, and love for a memory once shared on Mt. Pleasant, I'm opting to fast with the twins once again. I do a modified version of Ramadan, without the prayers, worship, and strict rules (if necessary, I allow myself water). The first day wasn't bad until around 5:30 when I thought, "Oh, my Gosh. I need food."

Will, Jessica, and I hiked around 5 or 6 miles catching up, and the rest of my day was spent in meetings, teaching, or writing. 

I knew the Aeriale Johnson/Matt de la Peña show was airing, and after it showed, 8 p.m., I was going to chow down. In memory of 2015, I made the Crandall special, and loved when the twins called in to share they were breaking fast, too. 

Truth is, I've been so exhausted from work, life, transitions, Covid, and everything...I just felt like I needed a space to recenter. As challenging as Ramadan was for me a few years ago, I remember coming out of it focused, healthy, centered, and purposed. I'm hoping for the same with the next 30 days: exercise, meditation, better eating habits, sleep, and revisiting what our purpose is supposed to be here on Earth.

And I'm not sure if this is religious or not, but the Carpenter bees have returned and I, once again, am waving a white flag. I paid two different companies two different times to do something so they don't invade my house. They come, spit their spat on the yellow paint, mark their territory, lay their eggs, and depart. Then the woodpeckers come pecking at my house slurping all their larvae. My house takes a beating. I read somewhere to greet them with a tennis racket and it takes care of everything. I don't play tennis, but had a racquetball racket and, lo and behold, it did the trick. They like to show game face and come at you, so I did a backhand and Wola! instant success. Stunned. I feel bad, but playing ping pong with bees is the only alternative I have to poisoning them. I like being part of an ecosystem, but the woodpeckers will destroy my home. (by the way, that face I'm making is me blowing smoke off my racket as I found myself successful...albeit guilty).

Meanwhile, I truly appreciate Andy Shoenborn's #verselove prompt for yesterday where the request was to write about things we take, but also about what has been taken from us. I had an idea what to write, but it wasn't working, so I did as he did and used a photo to inspire the writing. The result was a poem called "The Mayor of Walnut Beach." I sent it out into cyberspace and have enjoyed the way it has ricocheted across the Internet. You just never know where a poem might end up.