In the Pink? Yes and No

Here is picture of me taken yesterday -- BEFORE I realized there was a long tear in the back of my shorts!

Yesterday while I was planting a new bed under the shade of enormous hapu’u ferns I wiped my muddy battered hands across the fanny of my favorite pink work shorts only to find they had a long tear in them exposing my underwear.  It took me only a moment to assess;  I had been wearing these short regularly now for over three years – bent over, butt to the sky lovingly tending our sweet one acre of heaven.

Today I decided to repair rather than replace my faded, thinning pair of pink work shorts. While cutting out patches for them from an equally thin (and pink) handkerchief, a series of odd metaphors about life and love and loss came to mind.   

You see, recently we got notice that a dear friend had died suddenly – only weeks after announcing his retirement, last week my sister (and only living relative) went to the emergency room in serious condition, and yesterday one of my remaining dear “grandmothers” also died – she was 97. 

So, today, with tears in my eyes, holding the reality of loss in my heart, I realized maybe I would sit quietly and repair my poor old shorts.  Then, I realized that these silly old shorts aptly illustrated LIFE and LOVE and LOSS.  It also reminded me of my skin, which I find is getting thinner as I approach 70, and more easily punctured by brambles, broken stag fern ends and dog toenails.  

Thin – that’s what happens isn’t it? Bodies wear out, damages don’t repair as well as they used to.  And patches on hearts and minds and bodies will only last so long.  So, here is a picture of  my humble wearable metaphor, now repaired and ready for another day, another week, another year – as long as they last – as long as I last.