Judy Price is Writing

As I have been in a natural setting for the past week, it seems appropriate that the first post on my return would refer to this respite. 

A good friend has a family cottage there, which she has been frequenting since she was a child, and now I have gratefully been included in this experience.

It was not only a cooler locale than the city, but also more heavenly, with the moon and stars shining bigger and brighter than ever!

This particular lake is healthy, as evidenced by minnows swimming at my feet, aquatic plants hosting ‘mating wheels’ of electric blue damselflies, and a variety of ducks and loons swimming and diving around me.

Being immersed in nature, my spirit felt free as I connected with everything.

Simply a magical experience!

Back in the city on a rainy day, which more easily elicits a rather melancholy and nostalgic mood, I am finding the real possibility that I am experiencing withdrawal.

Here I am without the delicious desserts my friend prepared and we both enjoyed, the daily afternoon margaritas or more likely bottle of wine that we shared, the companionship of being with a friend, and most of all nature.

It’s clear to me that I must decide where to relocate so that I will never need to experience withdrawal from nature again.

Minnows swimming at my feet

'Electric blue' Northern Bluet Damselfly mating wheel

 

Eleven months ago today my mother died in my presence.  I felt her spirit leave her body.  Her eyes stayed closed.  She was at peace.

When I visited her graveside on her birthday, after my return from England, I felt at peace seeing the plaque completed with her year of death in addition to my father’s.

Perhaps my sense of inner contentment relates to the knowledge deep within my soul that my parents are reunited and live in a spiritual dimension now. 

When in England I observed many signs of life everywhere; of my Mom and my Dad.

I’ve already written about the Seven Sisters, and climbing them one month ago today, acknowledging one of my mother’s seven sisters as I reached the crest of each of the seven cliffs. 

On the 16th of May, the day after the ten month anniversary of my mother’s death, I was on a hike which encompassed twelve miles of the 1066 Country Walk, retracing William the Conqueror’s footsteps beginning at Pevensey Castle during the Norman invasion.

PevenseyCastle,1066Country

I have previously written about my father’s ties to the Normans and Dover.

On the 1066 walk, in the long grass to my left, I noticed two pairs of ears topping the blades of green. 

I exclaimed ‘these must be rabbits’, and one of the English hikers remarked that it must be ‘hares‘, and that he had never seen one on this particular walk before. 

In fact he acknowledged that he had not ever seen two hares at one time on any hike!!

I readied my camera and gingerly approached the direction of the pointed ears, when suddenly the pair bounded in sync before me so quickly that I had no time to react.

I stood and watched in amazement and awe as these magnificent creatures ran together in unison in a wide circle around us all and made their exit into places inaccessible by us, mere human mortals.

I have never seen a ‘hare’ before.  Jack rabbits, rabbits and tiny bunnies, yes, but never a ‘hare’ and now I have seen a pair of them.

I felt their presence then.

The next day in Brighton, as my hiking group sat in a restaurant on the pier, I received a text message from my eldest daughter telling me about the dream from which she had just awakened.

My mother had visited her in the form of one of her seven sisters, and gave her a most wonderfully warm, solid, strong hug as she told her she wanted to get her ‘hair’ done.

I replied to my daughter recounting my experience with the pair of ‘hares‘ on my 1066 hike the day before, and that I had climbed the Seven Sisters the day before that.

Yes, signs of life are everywhere . . .

As I mentioned in my last post, today is the two week mark of my return from England.

My thoughts are with my Dad and the day I spent in Dover.

Thanks to my friend who drove to Eastbourne in the morning to get me, and then to Dover, Deal, and delivered me back again that same night, I was able to enjoy the experience of being in the place where my paternal ancestry lived.

However, I know I need to follow what my father’s advice would be regarding my ‘platonic’ friendship with this man.

As much as I like his company, I feel no ‘chemistry’ as he does, and to be fair, I can no longer enjoy the friendship as I once did when I was ‘unaware’ of his attraction to me.

Another loss, yet I believe it is a necessary one for both of us.   I thank my friend for what he has brought to my life, and I wish him well in his life and love. 

That day in England, I walked the Dover pier where my first ‘sign’ that my father was with me appeared before my feet.

Ladybug on Dover pier

The ‘ladybug’ has a special significance for my daughters and me regarding my Dad.  It not only brings ‘luck’, but also carries a message of his ‘presence’.

The ferries frequenting Calais, Boulogne and other French and British ports of call were captured by my lens as I stood on the pier.

The morning fog lifted by early afternoon, enabling me to see the country 22 miles from where I stood at the Dover cliffs.

France is home to the Normans, of whom my father and I in turn descend, who invaded England, changing the course of history, including my own. 

I have not stood on that French ground yet; however, now I have seen it.

I acquired a piece of ‘chalk’ from the cliffs, as well as a perfect lone ‘snail’ shell which appeared intact at my feet while I stood there.

Snail shells are mostly made from calcium carbonate, the same as the ‘chalk’ which form the white cliffs of Dover. 

Thank you . . .

White Cliffs of Dover