Remembrance

It's funny how things can jump out at you at odd times. Things that have been right in front of you (literally) for years but that you failed to notice until some random moment when your guard is down.

A lot has changed since Sheila Varnum passed away in April. The house is under renovation with new tenants expected to move in on August 1st. I have made a lot of changes down in the pottery, moving things around and putting up display shelving. People who used to travel through frequently don't do so these days. The energy is different but that was to be expected.

And still, pieces of the past pop up.

When I was working at Rowantrees, Sheila told me about something that employees used to do in decades past.

This rocky ledge can be seen from the window next to my wheel. It was usually the first thing to appear from under the snow cover when spring melting was underway. Employees came to think of it as a harbinger of spring and would make bets on when it would make its appearance.

That practice declined and disappeared for a long time until one day in late winter when Sheila and I decided to make a bet on the ledge. I would have forgotten all about that episode if I hadn't seen this on the wall right in front of her old wheel:

I don't recall what year we made this particular bet, but that's my handwriting.

I think Sheila won.