The View from Here

One of my favorite CDs is by a string trio (Mark O'Connor, Yo-Yo Ma, and Edgar Meyer). It's one of the few CDs the boys and I can agree on, so we listen to it often. Many of the songs are so beautiful I probably shouldn't listen to them while driving because I can't not close my eyes to focus on them better. One of my favorites on the CD is by far not the prettiest song on the CD. For most of the song, it's organized chaos. All of the instruments are playing their own melodies, and they don't come together in harmony very often. Then the counter says 3:43 and suddenly the three come together in a final measure that ties the entire song up and always makes me smile. I love this ending so much. Once or twice I have tried to fast forward through the piece and just listen to the end, but it isn't the same. I have to muddle through the chaos of the first 3 minutes and 42 seconds to really appreciate the beautiful unison finish.

It kind of reminds me of this road I like to travel. It's just an ordinary East Tennessee road, winding and hilly, lined with smallish homes and tacky lawn ornaments. But just as you reach the highest hill, suddenly there is a clearing in the trees and you can see forever from way up there. It catches me by surprise every time, even though I've driven that road more times than I can count. It's really beautiful. Now, the view isn't exactly post-card magnificent. I think you can see a McDonald's and a ball field and a busy road. It's not a view that would normally stop traffic. The thing that makes it so spectacular is the fact that it comes as such a surprise at the end of an otherwise boring road.

Today was one of those kinds of days. It was unexpectedly beautiful following what has been a rather blah week. I've been running ragged this week, trying just to get from point A to point B on time. My favorite kinds of days are the ones when my calendar has nothing written in the big white square ("pajama days" as the boys and I call them), and we haven't had a single one in weeks. This morning I had to work at 9:00, and so I had to be out of bed before 7:00 to get there on time. That didn't set this up to be a very good day. But we walked out the door on time, and that was satisfying. It was cool outside today, and that was lovely. And I took the boys to the park where they made a new friend and played hard, and that was what we all needed. The baby took a nice long nap this afternoon (still napping, in fact), so the big boys and I got to do our school work and practice the cello and piano uninterrupted, and that was such a relief. There are some days that you look forward to for weeks or even months, and the pressure for them to live up to your expectations often ruins the greatness of the day. Today was not one of those. This morning I was sitting on the precipice of a wonderful break in our chaos, and I didn't even see it coming. Tomorrow I'm at 0:00 again, but for today, I was at 3:43. The view is breathtaking.