It wasn’t her tail that broke.
The title was misleading. I’m sorry. It was a broken leg. As clearly stated in her medical record.
Her name is Emerald. But she was christened Esmeralda in the doorway of her first home. She was born with green boots and bought with love, but sadly her adoptive co-parent turned out to be less than keen.
One day, I walked across the road with my twin nieces and there in the front porch on her way out (little did she know) was the matching duck to my own William (of the blue boots).
My neighbour was thrilled to pack Esmeralda off for a ‘holiday’ and here, in our home, she has stayed.
Not without incident.
Back to duck surgery.
William lost a boot soon after the arrival of the twins so Emerald is in good company. This is all my fault of course - I ought to be a more responsible duck owner, but it’s Christmas and the New Year is almost upon us and I am just too tired, shattered, exhausted, knackered, whacko blotto, to quote my friend Colette...
In friendship. In kindness. In the generosity of spirit and attention.
Are you listening to me?
I am listening.
But do you really hear me?
I am trying.
Samuel Beckett wrote, ‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Fail again. Fail better.’ Beckett seems like he was a kind man, with the best of human interest at heart. There is something about growth, new growth, in the old broken parts of us. We break, and we make something... new? Better? Something, anyway,
Neil Gaiman, another kind man, put it like this ... ‘I hope that in the year to come, you make mistakes, because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing the world... So... make new mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life...’
Or ducks with broken legs... or bodies with broken immune systems... on we go, onwards, ever onwards, the old and the new... gathering extraordinary memories. The tale of William and Esmeralda really all began with my beloved friend Mary sending me Jemima Puddle Duck for my birthday in August - a gift of cheer. Mary thought I would appreciate the graceful lines of a duck in pink wellingtons. Well, I did. I do. And so the family grew...
HAPPY NEW YEAR my dearest readers, thank you for the love, concern and the memories. Happy new year to us all xxx
1 comments:
I love your duck family and, as we know, families come with their injuries and boo-boos. We mend, we heal, we soldier on. I hear you about fatigue. I am totally knackered this winter. But yes, a new year dawns, we must attend, with hopeful hearts, smiling eyes and..........poetry! My friend was telling me about an aged uncle who is crabby over the effects of aging. I told her when I open my eyes every morning, my first thought is: I'm ALIVE! I can see, I can still put my legs over the edge of the bed and so far they hold me up. WHOOPEE! LOL. I know your challenges are harder to deal with than old age.......but you have that same spirit of seeing the positive, and you inspire me, kiddo. Keep shining. And when you feel droopy, share that with us too and we can send in resources!
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