#5 Driving Miss Lore

Last week was rainy and cold and I began to feel like the kids in Dr. Seuss's book  "The Cat in the Hat".  I knew Lore was feeling the same.The floors had been swept. The laundry was done. No ironing to do. Breakfast, naps and lunch had been had. We were b.o.r.e.d. She was cranky from looking at me ...and that happens sometimes. Cabin fever. Housebound. 

                                    The sun did not shine

                                    it was too wet to play

                                    So we sat in the house 

                                    on that cold,cold wet day.

                                    I sat there with Lore.

                                    We sat there, we two

                                    And I said "How I wish

                                    we had something to do.

                                   So all we could do 

                                   was sit, sit,                

                                                   sit,

                                                        sit.

                         

                                    And we did not like it....

                                    not one little bit.

                                     So, I thought....

                                     I know it is wet

                                     and the sun is not sunny,

                                     But we can have lots of good fun

                                     that is funny!

                                    I Know! Let's go for a RIDE!

                                    Come on! Let's get out of the house!

                                    So , off we went. 

                                    Just we two.

                                 

                                    

I had googled "Scenic drives in and around Houston" and got "Good luck" back as an answer. :|

But I'd been to the Houston Arboretum before and knew that was  a pretty place ....the parkways are nice too.

 We took some back roads that wound thru the city streets to avoid the hectic freeway. Lore is sharp about 'Road Rules'. She always keeps her eyes on the road and tells me abut something if I don't see it. As soon as we made the turn and entered the Arboretum compound, Lore turned and looked at me with surprise. She waved her hand and made a "woosh" sound to indicate the change in scenery and tall trees. It was raining slightly, so we didn't get out of the car, but we parked for a bit and talked. Then we took a slow ride around the 2 mile picnic area at the parkway. Whenever I saw some sort of spring flower blooming , I stopped the car and picked her a sample. In no time at all, the button holes in her sweater were full of flowers and she had a small bouquet in her hand. I told her the name of each one and she admired the color or shape or the way the clusters were formed. On the way home we stopped to get a frozen yogurt and sat in the warm car while we ate it.

The bouquet of flowers went into a small vase beside her chair when we got home. 

Mother Lore has a great appreciation for nature. She contemplates the flowers that are brought to her. At the kitchen table we had a iris flower and an iris bud. We watched the bud for days until it opened. I showed her the furry part that is called a "beard" on the inner parts of the petals. Then the next day... it was withered and gone. 

Srila Prabhupada speaks of this life as fragile. Like a drop of water tottering on a lotus leaf. Have you ever seen that? Lotus leaves are cup shaped and floppy and move easily with a breeze. Water that collects in the cup rolls this way and that with the slightest breeze.. At some point the leaf tips and the drop of water rolls off. It is a very delicate balance.