I did not do much today. I did many things today.
I rose not early, fed my son breakfast, walked two or more miles and noticed the least birds in the sky. I met a friend for lunch and bought several books. I sat in the sun. I fed my son lunch. We walked four or more additional miles. I learned some facts about the quaking aspen. I cooked dinner tonight: mushrooms, onions, rice, steak, red wine. Gin and tonics beforehand. Then I sat down and recorded a poem which had moved around inside my head as Henry and I walked through a forest of aspen.
Is the act of writing a single poem in a day good work? Is it enough? If a man or woman only wrote one poem a day their whole lives, would their life be any less good? I don’t know. I think we are capable of more but then again, if one is capable of writing a single poem that endures beyond their own life cycle, haven’t they succeeded in life? Have they not cheated death? I don’t know.
Henry and I may go to the museum tomorrow in order to stare at the bones of dinosaurs. I hope that someday he enjoys dinosaurs. Nothing would make me happier than evenings of reading books to him about dinosaurs. Yesterday, we went grocery shopping. As I pushed our cart towards the Silver Bullitt, a man pulled up to us, rolled down his window and said,
“It is good to see a parent who enjoys his child. You guys look like you’re having fun.”
We are. Every single day. Maybe that is enough. I know it is enough. Today, I told him about the journey of the monarch butterfly, one of my favorite creatures.
we hatched our first monarch of the season earlier this week and have another monster caterpillar on his way to his own miracle of rebirth. Grew him straight from an egg to the mini-snake he now stands at. I was awed when I was 5 and now I have a near-five year old who is equally awed. Very, very fun.
oh, and I’ve written a few shit poems in my day… I definitely think if you could write one worth reading after you are “gone” you’ve done something special.
How incredible to have a complete stranger take note of how much you are enjoying your days with your child! (Your own flesh and blood!) What a feeling that must have been! That IS enough… to enjoy each day with him, and watch him grow and discover new things. You are very lucky!
What is enough is to end the day knowing that you made the most of that day. And from the sounds of it that is just what you are doing. What precious memories you are making with Henry. He may not remember what you did but he will surely remember the love and affection from his dad!