senses view: one tree

{see}

{touch}

{taste}

{smell}

{hear}

{and know}

*****

who :: liz . jon

where :: maple tree at owens beach in point defiance park

when :: august 11, 2009

senses view is a collaboration series.

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home.

lake michigan view (photo by jonny) . august 2009

as i settle slowly back into the routine that is my life, my heart feels somewhat heavy as i wrap my mind around being so far across the country from my family yet again. yet, this is home. here. in washington with the tall tall evergreens and the cool august air and the backyard lavender and the tender sighs of millie. this is home. and i know, in my heart, that this distance is what has invited our time to be sweeter and, perhaps, a bit more open and full of light.ness. yes, the time is indeed sweeter. time with my dad and anne was full of laughter and sunsets and good food and late night miniature golf. time with my mom was short...just a few hours...but we had a delightful brunch and did a bit of shopping, and even though she has been through a bit these last few weeks as she has been the caregiver to her significant other after his sudden heart surgery, she still seemed lighter than i have seen in her in a long time, which made my heart happy.

after we said goodbye to my dad and anne when they dropped us off where we were staying in chicago and then again the next day after we said goodbye to my mom in the middle of water tower place, i turned to jon and leaned again his chest and started crying as i found myself inside feelings that seemed like a mixing bowl full of nostalgia and missing. now, as i settle back in, i realize that what i felt toward the end of this trip that seemed like nostalgia was really love.

in this realization, i find myself standing here, in this spot, in this moment, and i take a breath and find my footing. and i see that i am twirling inside the laughter and the listening and the light and the love and the heart that is open in the midst of it all.

yes, this is me.

(moving pictures) postcard from chicago (august 9, 2009)

{front}

{back}

breathe in
breathe out

postcard from chicago (august 8, 2009)

(front)
Windows tiled for miles seen through sunbeamed air you could ring out over the sink.

(back)
unexpected missing
(heart open)
wishing
i knew how
(to tell you)

i just keep going.

postcard from michigan (august 6, 2009)

{front}

{back}

you can look behind you

and own what you see

(all of it)

especially when you find your own reflection

postcard from michigan (august 4, 2009)

{front}
a stack of dusty, tattered-edged rescued postcards wrapped with string that encases whispered missings of long ago...

{back}
a moment to breathe in the quiet
a decision to dance in your life
a belief in you
a bouquet of hope
a smile reflected
a heart open to the world

this is what i wish for you.

postcard from michigan (august 3, 2009)

(front)
Sunshine orange happy susans perfect mountain pose amidst droplets of drink.

(back)
avenue
just
town
quiet
why
hamlet

on the board they went until we ran out of letters and his usual eeyore luck changed as he placed the "x" spelling "ox".

postcard from michigan (august 2, 2009)

(front)
Brown hair in two braids, head tipped back, you can almost hear the laughter as the little girl finds glee standing ankle deep in the midst of the colors and noise and bodies at the beach.

(back)
The rhythm of his breath
The wind winds through oaks
Car whips past, now two
Fan turns turns turns
My foot slips through blue sheets
A voice outside, now two
He turns away from the light
Quiet...
Finding me now
Inhale
Exhale
The rhythm of this life