oh happy day . Rabbit Trails

Little Drummer Boy and I saw this little long-eared guy in the driveway this week. We’ve been spying him around the neighborhood for several weeks, particularly in the side lawn across the street. When we saw him hop across the concrete, we were glued to the living room glass. I scrambled to get the camera and to keep LDB from bounding out the door to get closer to him. Without any startling movements from us, the rabbit munched for a few minutes on our grass and the dandelions. Then, he hopped to the neighbor’s yard and out of site. Little Drummer Boy raced to the porch to see him again, but he was gone. I’ve been thinking about the little guy ever since.

In trying to narrow down this week’s Oh Happy Day gratitude project report, my mind keeps wandering back to the bunny on the lawn. For some reason, getting to see something so common, but so special, in our own front yard stuck with me. He’s inserted himself into my week quite often. So, I suppose I’m thankful for him and some of the random thoughts he’s inspired–gratitude gifts from the rabbit in our driveway.

I’m thankful for large lots. At least the lots of the houses around our neighborhood. It’s so nice to see green space and the life it inspires and attracts. Spring settles in with a renewed awareness and interest in this greenscape–the buds and blossoming it produces. That life is often contagious. Something about the living relief from pavement and hard edges brings relief to my spirit, a raveling of the edges that may have hardened in my thinking.

I’m thankful for nature’s playfulness displayed right in my own front yard. The newness and continued thriving–the hopping–of bunnies right before my eyes is a welcomed sight. It mimics the jumping and hopping and running so often displayed within my walls and in virtually every available outdoor space as well. It’s a joy to take our cues from the random acts of nature’s flora and fauna and just play. Without wondering why. Without keeping time. Without knowing the score.

I’m thankful for green pastures. They get a bad rep sometimes, but I’m thankful for the ability to see greener pastures. Who knows why the rabbit crossed the road? Why he crossed the concrete to choose one patch of grass over another? But, I’m all for recognizing the difference between green pastures and concrete. A conversation with a friend a few weeks ago reminded me that we sometimes have to discipline ourselves to value the greener pasture, to strive for the higher ground, to seek the better options. Especially when we’ve learned to subsist in the pavement.

I’m thankful for chasing. Little Drummer Boy’s urge to fling open the door and swing back the screen to chase after this wonderful rabbit was automatic. He does it with birds. He does it with dandelion parts. He and Bug and Baby Girl so easily follow after the spectacular. They haven’t learned to restrain themselves or limit themselves or question it. They haven’t learned to worry that they might scare it away. I so envy that full-hearted chase at times.

I’m thankful for weeds. For all their prolificness, they are at least a sign of fertile ground. The rest is all in the cultivating.

I’m thankful for zoom. With the help of technology, I was able to stand in the living room and get a close-up view (and memory) of the bunny gracing us with his presence. It was a perspective I couldn’t have gotten otherwise. There is a similar refreshing opportunity when we choose to reduce the distance between our hearts and the things and people that matter to us. It’s sometimes a scary process, but a special blessing to draw closer. To adjust our focus and see with fresher eyes the situations that are causing frustration or creating impatience. To look past what is meaningless or distracting. To choose to embrace what we love. To choose to lay aside what holds us back.