3-24-13 RMB One Squirrel, Four Lizards and a Garter Snake

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

My stolen shoe reappeared at my bedroom door. My sister must have found it. Misty (the dog) is not so forthcoming with her conquests.

I think a lot. I listen and watch. For what…about what, I don’t always know. There are answers somewhere waiting to be found to all the questions we have and some we don’t know to ask.

Lately, I have been thinking about these letters…a lot.  Today I wondered about the last two. Send them? Don’t send them? Re-write them?

I walked alone for two hours at our Lake Murray Regional Park. I walk there often…take the boys there most Saturdays. Sometimes we see lizards, sometimes bunnies or squirrels. I haven’t seen any animal life in a long time. Maybe I just wasn’t being alert to them.

Today I saw a squirrel, four lizards and a garter snake. They were all near me. One lizard walked along the path with me for a few feet. None have ever done that before. They see you and freeze or dash away. The squirrel hopped along the shrubbery near me. Normally when they see you and hop away, “quick like a bunny.” (that’s one of my favorite phrases) The snake was the most unusual. This is the first time I have seen a snake there. I have been walking there over ten years.

This snake did not slither along with me. It flat out crossed the path in front of me…slowly, not phased by my footsteps. It willed me to stop. I stopped. I wanted to make sure anyone biking by saw him so they didn’t run over him as he crossed our paved path. He was big, about 3 feet long. That’s the closest I have ever been to a snake that size, so he was big to me. I decided he was a him. (If he is a her, no offense intended)

When something happens out of the ordinary, I take it as a response, an answer. We get these answers all the time, but rarely notice them. It’s like the universe is screaming at us and we are deaf. Interpreting them can be challenging even if we do take notice. I think this one was pretty clear. I have support, at least from my inner circle and now from four lizards, a squirrel and one big snake. The letters will stay.

Good night Rita Mae Brown,

Loraine