Simple reflections on a Rocking Chair…

The time has arrived in this household to recycle the over stuffed recliners in the living area. They are no longer comfortable due to their lack of proper spine support … a requirement now with these aging bodies. I have one hardwood rocking chair acquired from my next door neighbor some years ago, but needed another chair to replace my own marshmallow recliner. I remembered an old friend, a rocking chair I purchased when I was expecting my second child. It has been stationed in the screened in porch for decades now.

I went out to look at it and realized that the wood looked parched and dry, in need of a coat of lacquer or something. I softly pulled it onto the front porch to get a better look at it and to clean it with a damp cloth. My oh my, ….

The rocker is now close to 40 years old. I purchased it as an unfinished piece from a Sears and Roebuck catalogue. I remember it arriving in pieces in a box. I had to sand each piece of the rocker by hand, glue the pieces together and put on only one coat of stain to treat the wood and give it a bit of color. I was alone at the time, with a 4-year old daughter in tow and 8 months pregnant. Bearing a child from a failed marriage where neither of us were wanted.

This rocker symbolizes my motherhood, and now my aging. It is one of only a few items I have held in possession for this long length of Life and living…. It has Witnessed the quietness and care of my children, provided comfort and remedy to our tears. Solace in loneliness and playful observance to laughter and tickle fights.

It is a rich metaphor in that it Rocks my World in the form of perpetual motion…rhythmical in the face of Change and the Turning of age and awareness of Self under the stars of a night sky.

It will hold a place of Honor in my home because the rocking motion quiets my soul. It holds the power to provide me with moments of “This-ness”, making me aware of simply Being while I rock. Periods of Time that embrace the resonance of All That Is. Time becomes suspended and all things are held in Balance. A powerful tool with powerful Medicine and provides Blessings, many Blessings…