Caterpillar Nibbles grew (happily munching tomato leaves in his cage), stuff in the garage shrank (Goodwill here we come-AGAIN!), and Andrea (Official Web-Site of Andrea Bocelli) made me cry like a baby-a sobbing baby.
I don't even try to stop myself anymore, I just let the tears flow...except that at one point I did cover my red eyes with sunglasses so that I wouldn't embarrass my teenager when he got in the car. And later, when I was talking to my lovely and wise older daughter on the phone about home schooling, I had a piph (completely unrelated to educational matters): the wordless and intense music of Andrea Bocelli was touching the deepest part of me, the part that sometimes accidentally gets neglected in the busyness of a life with children.
Not much of an ephiphany, I realize...and yet profound for me since in lives past I've used unhealthier means (ill-timed and ill-chosen relationships mostly) to fulfill these cavernous places within myself. And in that nether-world I loved the sad sad songs that made me sadder...that touched pain so familiar it was comforting. How lovely not to need to do that now because of my beautiful and stable (albeit chaotic) life and the constant self-evaluation-cum-self-evolution that began in earnest close to thirty years ago (criminy...it's strange to have things in my life that go back that far). I can now let Andrea Bocelli and others with powerfully angelic voices stroke my soul AND leave me intact...better even than before. Fulfilled, satisfied...and ready to parent with better energy than when I was depleted. So today, a heartfelt thank you to Andrea Bocelli and his beautiful music, to my children--without whom my lifequest would be incomplete, to my friends and family who accept and love me as I am, and to my remarkable husband--without whom my life would still be rocking and reeling like Odysseus' ship as it sailed between Scylla and Charybdis.
On a lighter note, here are a couple of pictures related to our tomato-growing, insect-loving project:
New friend found on a tomato plant (who flew away after the shot, the rascal). What is she?
An egg from a Hawk Moth?? Or is it really just a hand?
Is this the beginning (or ending) of a coccoon? Close up it appears to be a wasp...