When my son decided to go to MSU, I immediately went online and ordered an MSU garden flag. Out of character for me — I’m a minimalist and hardly even decorate the interior of my house, let alone the landscaping — but for this, I would make an exception.
I can see this flag in my periphery whenever I work from home, and it gives me a weird sense of pride. I suspect this is the closest I’ll ever come to understanding love of sports.
This morning, I set up my office for the work day, and my breath stopped: the garden flagholder was empty. My flag was gone.
Blown off its pole in yesterday’s high winds.
I was afraid to go outside and confirm it. But there were branches to clean up, and gutter downspouts to fix, and I couldn’t help but see it out of my periphery.
And my flag was still there.
Buried underneath last season’s leaves, a little weather-worn and creased, but fully intact.
It is now firmly back in its rightful spot, where it will stubbornly wave on for as long as I have anything to say about it.
Shot on Pixel 6 Pro.
Muttering Retreats 