Sitting - from M

I have never been a good sitter. More a squirmer, wiggler, fidgeter, pacer, putzer.  I never sat still. When I watched TV, I knitted or did crossword puzzles. When I went to the movies I sat on one leg, then the other, or left early.  When I watched my children play volleyball, I paced. When I waited for food at restaurants, I made origami frogs out of napkins. Now I spend 99% of my time sitting or lying down, interrupted only by moving between the two. I can't talk so I spend a lot of time looking and listening. For these I am grateful.

Enough of that.  Here's the good news. ALS sucks but it has also given me many gifts. Two of them are looking and listening - more. I have seen and heard things I probably never would have before ALS grounded me.

The path a breeze takes across a tree.
The path a butterfly takes when it's just playing.
The pattern branches and stems make when the wind blows.
Leaves can float upward.
How many bird voices I can hear.  I wish I knew who was singing. My father did.
The cars whooshing down the street sound like the ocean.
How nervous the wrens are and how chilled the cardinals are.
Leaf blowers are auditory bullies.
Walkers who hold hands talk more.
How much the sound of a little plane's motor changes on the short trip over my house.
The free fall journey a leaf makes on the way down.
The hummingbirds will come if I am very still. 
How many little flying things are in my yard.
The gurgle of the little pond fountain never repeats.
One dog barks, then two, then three.
The rare thud of a pine cone hitting the ground.
You can watch the sun go behind the tree with your eyes closed.


I wish I had discovered these earlier.