My husband came into my office and noticed that my calendar was still on August. My excuse was that it had been a fairly frantic time.
It is now November and I looked back at what happened these past months. We had bid on a short trip to NYC and won, so we had to use it or lose it.
I was still a little unsteady on my new knee, but we did the wheelchair thing at the airport and managed to get on the plane okay. We got to meet our daughter for a special dinner at Bar 65 and see Beautiful, a musical about Carole King.
When we got back, we found out that a dear long-time friend had died while we were gone. The funeral was moving and did justice to the wonderful woman I was proud to call a friend.
We had booked a Mediterranean cruise, that we'd already paid for. See the map above. We visited a lot of cities, and I still can't keep them straight in my head. Maybe when I sort through the pictures and put the album together it will all become clearer.
Somewhere in this mix two of our granddaughters had birthdays. Frankly, just writing all of this down is making me tired. So why have I clumped all this together? Because they are all journeys. We all take trips, for business or pleasure, and they have one thing in common. They give us a new way to look at our lives and our world.
I learned that I was stronger than I thought.
I learned that sometimes you can mix business with pleasure and create a wonderful memory.
I learned that death is not goodbye forever. I knew that, but it is good to remember. I have seen friends go on their last journey, but I know I will see them again.
I remembered that some cultures prefer white as the color of mourning. I think I prefer that as well. Black is the absence of light, white is the embodiment of light. I like to think my friends and family who have died are surrounded with light.
And then there are grandchildren growing every year, stronger and more beautiful, reminding me of their journey into adulthood and beyond.
It is my wish to journey through this life aware and grateful for both the light and dark moments that life uses to teach us about our connections to one another and the amazing beauty of this world and hope of the light in the next.