Leave it to Baby to exit this world on an exciting Eclipse Day. Talk about a grand departure! I remember well the day I drove to the pet store. It was 40 years ago and our youngest enrolled in kindergarten. The house seemed too quiet all of a sudden. I needed a friend. I remember praying before I shopped for a bird. Not a fragile parakeet this time, but I asked for a strong bird whose sounds would fill up our empty rooms. I chose a young cockatiel and the family named him Baby. Baby was a little too loud, but funny to have around especially when Tom came home from his job with the phone company. He wore a pager back then and got in the habit of turning it off, back on and off again before setting it down by his wallet and keys. Baby echoed the pager call perfectly and made us laugh every time. I figured Baby, such a perky bird, would last a long time, but never expected him to hit the typical 15-20 year mark let alone 40! I should have kept his papers.
We’re smack in the middle of summer but I will pause and count my blessings this season. Our arid Arizona days have turned into monsoon rains and we are refreshed. Triple digits are put on hold for a while and cooler desert mornings allow me longer hours of yard work, especially after the messy, wild storms. We’ve always grown hollyhocks, but for some reason, they went dormant the last two years. I remember Tom on his sickbed reminding me to water the seeds he planted near the fence and, like a crazy lady, I watered what seemed like empty dirt all last year. Was he confused, maybe? Come spring I saw the fluffy, green leaves sprout all along the fence line. I got excited when the different colored flowers opened. You never know what you're going to get! As I watered, I thought of the Scripture verse about “calling forth that which is not as though it was.” Hmm, I should apply that one to several areas of my life! I spent last week with family in Tucson.