Layers of Why

Cumulus--it just came to me out of the blue, so to speak, when I was setting up this blog. I needed to think of a name for it before I could go any further; it was my lunch break at work; I had about 20 minutes; I felt rushed. I let a few words and phrases float around in my brain. "Cumulus" appeared and I liked the look and sound of it. When I thought of its definitions, I liked the layers of meaning:

1) a heap--impression of a somewhat untidy pile of things (images, thoughts, non sequiturs)

2) a big, fluffy cloud--cumulus clouds build up into towering giants in the sky during monsoon season in Tucson, where I've been living for the past 10 years, signaling rainstorms--a powerful blessing--on the horizon; in Pittsfield, MA, where I'm about to move, cumulus clouds usually signify fair weather, a "nice" day, the opposite of Tucson's herald--the contrast, the paradox, satisfies me

3) the cells surrounding a developing egg in a follicle--an impending birth, hidden, protected from the elements, still private

The other words that come from the same root are also provocative: accumulate, and cumulative. Again, gathering; increasing; coming together. It's also possible that "encumber" comes from this root--moving across the country brings LOTS of encumbrances with it! Right now I'm avoiding getting started on taking down all my personal life from the walls of this house so that painters can erase all my imprints and make it a blank slate for strangers to come look at and want to buy. So far I've taken down a "river" of rocks that I attached to blue hanger wire and tacked to the guest bathroom wall (it looked better than that description sounds). Apparently that was so traumatic that I've been unable to continue the process since yesterday morning when that feat was accomplished.

My husband is singing sad songs in the living room while I type this on his PC laptop in his study. My Mac doesn't get along well with Blogger, so I moved in here to do some fine-tuning on the layout. And as long as I was here, I figured I write today's post so I'll have no other reason to avoid the tasks I must do. I must do. I'm happy to move back east and north to my homeland. The desert has been a soul burden for 10 years, as much as I appreciate its divine beauty. I'm a North-Country woman. So my soul rejoices in this, our impending move. But the dislocation...

I must do now.