Swarming Season

The door opens into darkness. I turn the corner and flip on a light. There's a towel lining the bathroom door. Wha?!? Drop the bags off my shoulders. Is it a leak? Is it too loud and this is a sound muffler? I slowly open the door and turn on the light.


AAAaaaaaeeeieeeesshhhooooootttt!

There are swarms of winged things all over the floor by the towel, lining the wall, on my floor, in my sink, in the shower! I flip off the light and shut the door. Ooofph!

Darn. I need to use the bathroom but I'm afraid to with all that--that---WHAT are they?!? Wwweeeeelllll..... as you can see by the photo, I did some research on the internet. (Isn't the internet handy?) And ....drum roll please....they're termites. Dry wood termites.

My apartment manager tells me it's normal and that it's swarming season. Especially for the termites with wings. I'm supposed to look around for a tiny hole and spray the wood with Windex and then put scotch tape over the hole and she'll have a maintenance guy put putty over it.

At work I ask, "Other than eating wood, can termites do any harm?"

The woman sitting next to me sarcastically says "You mean other than falling through your bathroom floor because they've eaten their way through? No."

Hmmmm.....falling through the floor. How would that feel? And would it the whole toilet go? Or would it happen when you're just standing there? And what would my neighbors downstairs think?

And yet, you have to give these termites credit. They knew just how to pick the right apartment complex. Eat a good meal for a few years and then every once in awhile they'll run into scotch tape and get a hit of the ole Windex.

We humans will live with it too. Because it takes too much energy to deal with it. In the end, if you think about it, whether you're a termite or a human the compromise is better than a tent.

The Fall

This morning was a wake up call. It wasn't expected, it wasn't from anyone I knew, but it was profound and revealed itself in a nice way--like a soft blanket being pulled down toward your feet slowly.

Early this morning while stretching in the park with a friend an elderly, well dressed man shuffled across the grass and proceeded to tip over in slow motion.

The back of his hands were blue and mottled and they were extraordinarily soft. And as I grabbed those hands and held him steady we talked. It was then it dawned upon both of us that he needed more help than just getting up off the ground. My friend mouthed "Alzheimers" and we took him to a bench to assess the situation. It forced us to slow down.

And later that morning his eyes lit up and his face filled with joy as a young woman with red hair grabbed his hands and said "Dad!" That image is so clear. It replays in my mind throughout the day at moments where life issues that had been making me anxious and upset flit through my mind and then those things, those things that were so important are no longer issues.

It was truly a Blessing, because I remember...I remember all the things that do matter. How at the end of life the things we want aren't so much the things we want today.

I remember. As the gentleman forgets--and I'm sure he's already forgotten the both of us--I continue to remember and hope it's long lasting.