Charlotte

I had a visitor yesterday.

Ordinarily she would be an unwelcome one but this time she didn't bother me at all since she never came in. I didn't even know she was there until I opened the curtains and looked outside. I don't know much about spiders, so I can't say for sure if my visitor was a she or a he but but my daughter said we should call her Charlotte and I don't think she'd mind.

When I opened the curtain I saw the spider web covering most of the bottom half of the glass door. The photographer in me couldn't resist grabbing my camera and taking some pictures. Moving furniture around to minimize reflections, crouching and then lying down on the floor to find the best angles (because a good photographer will do whatever it takes to get the shot) I took a dozen or so photos. My subject didn't seem at all self-conscious.

Sometimes nature amazes me.



So delicate

So intricate



Functional

Beautiful



Just a spider doing what spiders do. Nothing special.



Is this web a trap...

...or is it a home?

The answer is


Yes.



This morning I opened the curtain, thinking I would take more pictures in the morning light.

The web was gone.

Without a trace.

It must have taken a great deal of Charlotte's time and energy to construct something so large and so detailed. I wonder where it went. But school and jobs and appointments won't wait for me to spin any more webs in my mind and it's time to face the day .


I'm glad I took those pictures when I had the chance. Now I have evidence that it did, indeed, exist.

What if I hadn't taken the pictures... or even taken the time to notice Charlotte?


What is

valuable

beautiful

useful...?



Is something more precious because it lasts a long time or

is it more precious because it is so fleeting?



The answer is


Yes

Like Home

I've been thinking a lot about As The World Turns and Guiding light this week. The last episode of ATWT airs today and today marks one year since the GL's finale. It's still a little hard to believe that next week we will be without both of these American institutions that have given us so much for generations.

Last week I listened to a DayplayerDish podcast with Tina Sloan and JIll Lorie Hurst and called in to join in the discussion about these shows and the changes in the industry. Tina mentioned a story she'd just written about Lillian and Buzz, one year later. She said she was imagining sitting there in Company with Beth and Buzz and thought, "We can't go back there again."

That's when I realized why these shows have meant so much to so many for so long and why it is that those of us who haven't watched in years, maybe even decades, will feel the loss of As The World Turns along with viewers who never missed an episode.

It's like going home again.

When I go back home to Texas I see that so many things have changed. But I'll see the familiar among the new and I'll know it's still home.

I've been watching ABC soaps for decades but I tuned in to ATWT about a year ago and Dr. Bob Hughes was still there in Memorial Hospital, right where he belonged.I saw many new faces but some had familiar names like Hughes and Snyder. As long as Nancy and Lisa and Susan and Kim were there with Dr. Bob, it was still my Oakdale.

It is like going home again.

You know the town, the places, the names.

You know it's never going to be the same, but you still want to visit now and then.

You may not visit often, but it's comforting to know you could if you wanted to. If you needed to.

It made you happy just knowing it was still there.

In a fast moving world where changes often come before we're ready for them shows like As the World Turns and Guiding Light have been a constant as generations have followed the stories of generations on TV. During the past year Guiding Light fans have taken some comfort in being able to watch classic episodes on YouTube and Hulu.com, but the announcement has come that these will no longer be available after October 21, 2010. Watch them while you can. (edited to add: So far, these classic episodes are still available)

I think it is appropriate that this week has also brought us Tina Sloan's new book, "Changing Shoes" that talks about dealing with changes in life.  Thanks, Tina. We need this now.

A Little While

Today I've been preoccupied with things I can't change.

So many people I love are

hurting

worried

feeling lost.

I've carried them with me in my heart all day

hurting for them

hoping for them

praying for them

wishing I could help.

Some are far away and I can't get to them.

I know if we had the time

just to sit for a while

to listen

to hug

to hold a hand

I could help lift a burden

    if only for a little while

bring out a smile


    if only for a little while

share a giggle or two

    if only for a little while.



I want to fix it

    once and for all.

But sometimes

    even a little while counts.