What are the things I’m looking for?

Writing progress. New recipes. Family bonding. Freedom from bondage. The ability and wisdom to rest. Quotes in books. Eggs.

Yes, every day now I check the laying boxes in the chicken coop for eggs. It may be a little early yet, as the chickens are just nearing the 4-month mark. My hopes are up, so I check.

I walk to the coop slowly most days after lunch, with a plate of cucumber peelings, apple cores, celery leaves, and watermelon rinds. For a few moments, I’m not hurrying through my day. I carefully open the door of the coop and try not to scare the nervous birds. I stand by the coop and watch them start the curious inspection of what’s for lunch. Then I close the door and move around to the laying boxes in back to check for eggs.

Waiting on our chickens to lay is one way I’m training patience into myself. If fast is to hurry to the end of my life, I will work on slow till the day I die. With my kids, I practice diving slowly into good books and stories, asking questions, rereading at times, not worrying how long it takes. We are still slowly making our way through summer memory work, and I slowly slog away at my blog. Story circle slows us down, and therapy slows me down. Sundays have slow on offer, and the summer heat hinders hurry.

Let me learn slow so I can find what I’m looking for. An egg one day, and time to let Story crack it the next.