It had been one of the first days that we'd officially had the means to call Salem our new hometown, and we decided to take a walk, during the dim time of day, to fill our lungs with the scent of fall and our eyes with the beauty of the dimmet sky. We walked for over an hour, throughout "The Avenues", which is the name that locals have for our tiny neighborhood- all avenues, not a "Road" to be found. We looked at the homes and compared our tiny and bare yard to the various garden habits of the neighbors. We strolled along cobbled walks and cement ones, narrow street crossings and wide, and we enjoyed thoroughly the fact that we now live in a town that was built during our nation's colonial times.
The spires on the churches- so tall, so stately! The wood and stone facades of the oldest homes, the bricks of the newer homes, and the turrets and gingerbread of the 'younger' Victorian homes in our neighborhood- all were a wonder to our eyes. And, then, it grew darker, the air became still and quite chilled. We came to our quiet and wonderful Cape Coop. La Principessa looked up as we headed to the side alley near our property and said "Oh- this is the reason for our walk tonight!" and there, up in the night, was a breathtaking, gorgeous, violet and blue sky view. Now, I, Mommy, know much better than my Kiddle, the heart of the reason for our dimmet perambulations- it is to be together, to share things in each others companionable presence- and, for me, to soak up the experience of watching my sweet daughter experience everything around us. But, for her, how lucky- to now feel so safe that she takes this companionable time for granted- the singular wonder of this night's sky is what we should notice tonight. And that is the heart of the beauty of this place and time, clouded to Kiddle's view, perhaps, but not to me, not to my heart. I know the true beauty that is clouded from view by a nice walk in an interesting neighborhood, underneath a purpling night sky. It is that my daughter feels happy and safe, and we are together, and we have love. And here is what we saw, right above our heads.
Inspiring, and in-spiring. The heart that wrote this surely knows contentment: the place where we judge the meaning of Dorothy Day's writing
ReplyDeleteThank you for your excellent comment on my blog.
I hope you will take the time to read and give thought to my response. I am sincere in discussing the issues of the faith and reason with you.
Want to walk a little further together down this road?
Fr. Tim Moyle
How lovely your sky---like the sapphire skies at evening in this city so far from my birth. I thought at first the deeps of the blue were a product of the city lights, as we noticed it first in the airport parking lot, the night before Fourth of July, many years ago.
ReplyDeleteBut it lingers, it surprises, it reappears with the regularity of a rising moon, that blue of jewels.
How lovely an evening walk with such a boon companion, and how lovely a word---dimmet.
I think you're going to love living there.
I DO use the word dimmet a lot, don't I? Always fond of that word- so expressive!
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