It’s the first part of the song, the first bird of the group. And it always made me think about a lovely small potted pear tree with a bird sitting nicely nested in it, like all the imagery surrounding the song. Apparently partridges don’t roost in trees, pear or otherwise. They stay on the ground. Because, of course, this needed explanation, the Greeks had a myth. Daedalus, of the Icarus flying too close to the sun myth, had a nephew named Perdix. Perdix was smart, very smart, and creative. He is credited with inventing the compass and the saw. Daedalus, who was very intelligent himself, was jealous of his nephew, and pushed him off a ledge. Athena, who liked ingenuity, changed Perdix into a bird so he would survive. Obviously, he became the partridge. Because of that, the partridge is afraid of heights and remains close to the ground at all times. And understandably so.
Now, being so afraid of heights you never perch in a tree is not a good thing. But being grounded is. So on this first day of Christmas, I will think about that partridge and being grounded.
Being grounded to me is having both feet firmly placed and having my balance, metaphorically speaking. It is knowing where my center is and being able to let the world blow around me without knocking me off kilter. Do I always succeed? Or course not, especially when larger or even small unexpected winds blow. But having a sense of where the ground is can help me find my feet faster. Breathing, a cup of tea, a hug from a friend can all be ways to remember to ground myself. Putting my feet in sand or grass can help, if I am lucky enough to have access to either in a Buffalo winter. Drinking a glass of water, connecting with a friend, working on a project can all help me regain that balance and keep my feet from sliding when the winds hit.
But there is another sort of being grounded that this makes me think of. It’s remembering that so little of what I do is actually important. Yes, I need to clean the bathroom and I need to make that dip and I need to dust the shelves— but none of that is near as important as slowing down and being present. Friends won’t care about the dust, and will forgive an unwashed floor (I hope!). They don’t care that I have 3 snacks out instead of the 6 I had planned. What is important isn’t how hard I can work and how much I can overextend to create the ‘perfect’ evening. What is important is being present and loving those who are around me.
So on this first day of Christmas, I will remember that Partridge and I will work to keep to the ground as much as I can.
(an aside: Perdix’s name became the word for partridge. Some people believe when the song entered English, the French Perdix was heard as ‘pear tree’, which is how was roosted.)