Kissing The Rain

There is much tension in the world, pushing people to dig deep and search for moments of comfort and peace or retreat.

I could hear the frustration in a lady’s voice flowing in a phone call as she described all the spinning plates she was juggling and how every organisation she contacted to complete online forms or emails was asking her to ring them a few days later to check the information had been received. Quite understandably she lost patience with one set-up when she was asked what their system’s acknowledgement message had said because nothing had come through. Upon being asked to repeat the whole process online for the third time, she dug her heels in and requested a person take down the information by hand, while she stayed on the phone. She insisted and the conversation shifted as the other person realised that it was simply one person asking another for help, as she was at the end of her tether. Tenderness came into play laced with some much-needed empathy. One spinning plate was put to bed.

Tim asked where we needed to be this coming weekend and my reply of, ‘Nowhere’ made him smile. Now the front room decoration is complete, our new sofa was delivered this week. It arrived in two parts and one would not fit through any of our internal doors (even when Tim removed them) so the company offered to take it back to the warehouse. We declined this suggestion and they offered us the name and number of an upholsterer/dismantler service. Who knew there was such a thing? The unwieldy sofa part was left to rest at the end of the kitchen. We rang the service and discovered this happens often and two days later, two highly entertaining, competent chaps turned up and we have a newly built sofa, fully formed and installed in our front room. Joy was mixed with relief. This weekend we can re-arrange our front room, re-hang pictures and artwork, re-fill the bookcases and spring clean the rest of the house where all sorts have been stored for the last few weeks. More joy.

We have ordered the final bag of slate pieces to go around the raised bed now the original load has settled in our front garden. The slate is arriving today. Timing is everything but the Spring sunshine has been glorious and the birds are singing, so that will also be a joy to do.

A dear friend over on the East side of England shared pictures of the abundance growing in the allotments she tends with her hubby. In one photo, there was the clear shape of a pixie-hatted elf nestled in a tree trunk, and in another, an Apple tree she had grown from seed was bursting into leaf. Pure joy.

I returned home from an evening family meeting this week just as the sun had set and the sky was a warm rosy pink and gold. There was a hush everywhere as I travelled through a sleepy little village and the birds were circling in the sky.

At one crematorium the sweeping driveway is lined with Cherry trees and they are full of blossom. When my paternal Granny passed away, she had asked the local vicar if her ashes could be buried under a Cherry tree he was having planted at the front of his church. Across the rolling green between the houses and the local shops, as you look across at the church, there are three Cherry trees, and the middle one stands tall and abundant. That is where my Granny rests. A gentle, gracious soul when she was here on Earth.

Tim and I have realised that the new colour on the front room walls is like the golden petals of sunflowers. Our special flower. 💛

Here is an excerpt from this week’s Thoughtful Tuesday, entitled Tenderness.

Here is the link to the full post here.

Tenderness Thoughtful Tuesday 8 April 2025

My love to you all, till next week. 🌻