JE SUIS FATIGUE…now and then

Sitting here debating whether or not to take a nap on this lovely, cool, sunny with the promise of rain afternoon. Je suis fatigue.

I studied French in Jr. High. My sister, Ruth, was 7 years younger than I, and tried to learn it along with me. We learned many words and sentences…but the thing we remembered was “Je suis fatigue… Etes- vous fatigue (I am tired; are you tired)? “Je suis fatigue, etes-vous fatigue?” for hello, good bye, whatever…”our inside joke, as it were. 😉 Even now, at 72, and Ruth has been gone for 18 years, I say it almost every day. This very morning, after mowing the lawn, and digging out dandelions, I finally stopped, took a deep breath… “Je suis fatigue…etes-vous fatigue?” directed at the neighborhood cat overseeing my work who just stared back at me -she apparently doesn’t speak French…HA. Then I chuckled and went searching for another cup of coffee. Life is good in any language and in any company, eh? 😉

“…and He saw that it was good.”

Four Two Twenty Four!

A day I’ll ne’er see again

Unless I live another century…

Now that would be true magic, eh?

The sun was magnificent.

 Life pushed up in every garden;

Swelled in promise on every tree branch.

The soil still damp from the weekend snow.

The glory of it all, as I now understand,

Of digging in the dirt,

Cleaning out the weeds,

Is that despite mankind’s wars,

Despite swarms at borders around the world,

Homeless and beggars on the streets,

Despite the fear of disease, displacement, destruction;

Despite man’s heaps of ugliness, disdain, and despair,

Life, basic and sure and relentless,

presses on, upward and out.

Given enough time, perhaps a century, without interference,

All evidence of man’s failed attempt at total control

Would be covered with green, lush, if tangled, glorious Life.

And perhaps even Eden would return.

One can dream…😉

4/2/24

rJo Herman

APRIL FOOL’S DAY AND BEYOND

How great to begin with a joke and a laugh!

A smile to pull out in the case of a future gaffe.

When/if the rain comes down way too hard

And/or all your early plants freeze out in the yard,

Dig out that chuckle, and give it a spin,

Then pull on your gloves to begin again.

4/1/2024

rJo Herman