May 28, 2024

When Birds Nest in the Doorway, Go Out the Window

“Lives sometimes get rearranged by all sorts of things.” Sometimes, that rearrangement includes climbing out the kitchen window by ladder for a few weeks even though the home has two working doors. This may look like eccentric, nonsensical behavior: it’s not. Author Caitlin Shetterly’s family made this intentional choice one Spring two separate bird families nested over each entrance to Shetterly's home. The inconvenience of climbing out the kitchen window seems absurd to outsiders, yet we understand that much of life is filled with unchosen intrusions on our plans and convenience. What control we do retain is how we respond: “Lives sometimes get rearranged by all sorts of things: illness, pandemics, job losses, the unpredictable natural world, family, artistic fervor, hunger, or thirst. And that room can always be made. Instead of diminishing our existence, these changes can actually afford us a deeper sense of how we must participate with other beings.” [Read more ...]