The Rabbit Patch on Sunday

~ rabbitpatchdiary.com

14192784_317750628572446_4740018478249543914_n

There was no better place for me to be in all the world, than on the rabbit patch, this last Sunday.  My “valley was green” and I knew it.  The kitchen table was laden with good food and the folks sitting around it were the dearest treasures of my heart-and that sweet vase of zinnias made the perfect centerpiece for the occasion.

In the presence of love, all else fades.  The flat tire on the car this week, seemed like it never happened on this day and even the the very old farmhouse didn’t seem nearly as shabby.  It is true that “love covers a multitude of sins.”  On this day,  I was wealthy-with no fear of my assets losing value. In fact, the rabbit patch kingdom is growing, I realised.  Lyla sat beside me and spent the most of the time, learning the mechanics of how to use a spoon.  I watched her, so determined.  She would not accept help and would not resort to using her hands.  It is a joyful event when a baby is at the table.  Her dad, Will became part of the family, a few years back-now, I do not recognize when, as he is such a part of us.  It seems like he has always belonged to us.  I call him, my “son -in- heart”. . .Kelsey already feels like family. Tres and Kelsey met a few years ago and I loved her right off.   I loved her even more yesterday, when she wanted to pick grapes after dinner .  I was glad she took enjoyment in such things.  It says a lot about her, I think.  Mama and daddy were there too.  Mama told stories and said sweet things while daddy worried that I don’t have a spare tire at the moment.. . so all was well as it could be at Sunday dinner.

September itself,  lent its’ blessing by way of a cool breeze that blew through the open windows.  The sunlight was muted and cast dappled faint shade beneath the pecan trees.  Butterflies  were out and about on their mission to find the last roses of late summer.  They looked like live confetti,  I thought.

I am older now, and like everybody before me, I spent the first half of my life looking for what it took to make my life a happy one.  Nothing I ever bought-or even made payments on lasted for long.  Things have a temporary value and are liable to to break or get lost somehow.  Whether “rust corrupts them or thieves break in and steal them” is insignificant-things are just debris collected in youth, I realise now.

This past Sunday, I saw what authenticity looks like.  It was in the faces around the kitchen table-from the ones that had worried over me in the past to the one trying to use a spoon-and all those in between .  After dinner, in the yard around the farmhouse, I watched mama showing Lyla a butterfly.  The men were looking at the tire that had gone flat and deciding its’ fate.  Kelsey and Tres were walking  out to the grapevine by the time shadows fell long and low.  

This was the grand conclusion of our time well-spent.  It was as good a time as I have ever had. . . and it all happened on the rabbit patch- on Sunday.

32 thoughts on “The Rabbit Patch on Sunday”

  1. Here I am again, stumblin over words to tell you how much I love your story telling. I feel like I stepped back into a gentler time, into a movie scene, watching a family. So very wonderful. ☀️

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

      1. Aw. Aren’t you just sweet? I’m glad to know you, too. There’s something about the idea of standing knee high in gratitude while taking in all the beauty that surrounds us. My husband use to tease me about being a city girl- my town had 2,300 and his was smaller. Backroads are just as much a part of me as eating breakfast. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Oh my goodness. That’s too short of a time. My only reference is my uncle got sick. They gave him 3 months, but he made it 11 days. Either one is not fair. 😦

        I’ve thought a lot about it since I read that post. Kind of a tricky subject sometimes, you know? Don’t want to pry, but don’t want to not say anything. Anyway, glad I did.

        Liked by 1 person

      13. I love that movie. I was born in Iowa and went to kindergarten there. Spent my weeks of summers there with my grandparents. That movie reminds me of down- home folks, you know?

        You describe your Rabbit Patch so well. It’s easy to “see” it. You have a way with words for sure. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  2. I could close my eyes and “see” your family around the table….and it was good.
    I also smiled about your dad worrying about your tires. My dad is 83 and he still asks if our tires are good. That must be a dad thing.
    It sounds like it was the best type of Sunday possible.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. I love the ‘after party’ feeling you conveyed, when everyone has sat around together for a while, then go off for an explore or to re-acquaint themselves with a place, or with each other. Make plans, chat a bit and be calm.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

I love comments

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.