Sarah holds the door as her mother shuffles into the club.
Brunch every Sunday after Temple at the Boca Grande Golf and Country club. Father loved golf, a member for years.
A big smile from Cecelia, the hostess, greets us as she escorts us to mothers favorite table. A Mimosa, Mrs. Cohen? Teary-eyed, she remembers past days with Moisha when its placed in front of her.
Your father went far despite Auschwitz, Mother said with a blank gaze. You’re a good girl, Sarah, a good daughter.
***** This week our challenge is to edit our previous story with this prompt or create a new on. Due to time restrictions, I’ve added my edited story from April, 2015.
Although weakened by her chronic arthritis, she managed to make her usual egg, toast and coffee breakfast.
She enjoyed her quiet mornings. She’d never thought she would. Age had greatly slowed her vitality.
Eyeing her window garden, the sun shone brightly on it. She cherished it. Thomas had planted the herbs for her.
He was the sweetest caring grandson. He’d told her to add the herbs to her salads and foods everyday. He’d said they’d help with her arthritic pain. They did.
She’d never been much of a gardener but would hate to disappoint Thomas if they didn’t continue to grow.
Venom flowed through her veins. Hate was a mild word for what she felt for him.
She had him taken to an institution. He would be there for life.
Her mother died shortly before he was placed there. Doctors said her frail body was from malnutrition and improper medical care. At 88, she needed home health care. Instead, her mentally challenged son was her only caretaker.
Why was she angry at him?
It helped soothe her guilt.
Banned from his mothers funeral by her, he raged. The perfect storm for him to be taken away.
It had been weeks since I visited Henrietta. To soothe my guilt, I picked up her favorite sparkling wine. At ninety, she wasn’t a fine wine drinker. Five bucks would do. I purchased her favorite dark chocolates too.
I could see bright lights on in the kitchen. She usually kept them on low.
She’d say, “I have a budget, you know.”
Finally, Henrietta opened the door. She seemed dazed.
The nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the hospital bedside.
“Your son is here,” she said to the old man.
She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened. Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent.
He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man’s limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.
The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man’s hand and offering
him words of love and strength.
Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused.
Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital – the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.
Along towards dawn, the old man died.
The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse.
While she did what she had to do, he waited.
Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.
“Who was that man?” he asked.
The nurse was startled, “He was your father,” she answered.
“No, he wasn’t,” the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my life.”
“Then, why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”
“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed him, I stayed.
“I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His Son was killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him,” the Marine said. “What was this Gentleman’s Name?”
Namaste
I honor the place in you
in which the entire universe dwells.
I honor the place in you
which is of Love, and of Truth,
of Light and of Peace.
When you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me.
We are One.
The following are some questions I’m sure many of you have thought about from time to time.
What should we do with friends in our lives when we make them?
How do you manage your time with friends?
As a woman, should you just have female friends?
Do we want to grow emotionally, spiritually and intellectually with friends?
When are friends no longer friends? And, why?
Have you ever been friends with someone for many years but, one day, they disappear from your life leaving you to wonder:
What happened?
Have you had a friendship for a long, long time but, recently, the beginnings of aging and memory problems has changed the relationship despite your desire to prolong it. Our hearts falter to accept this inevitability. We know that terrible thief ‘Aging’ is breathing down their necks while snickering at you.
We’ve all had friendships that have ended without cause. The waning friendship may have been happening all along, slowly, without your noticing the changes.
Sometimes, a change in geographical location can end a friendship. We believe we’ll continue the friendship from a distance but, despite our denial, it won’t be the same.
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I’d been reading a few posts by Susannah Bianchi @ her blog ‘A Thing Girl’. Her blog is quite interesting. She takes me back to New York memories from time to time which I can relate to. As she says, “I write with a slant”. If you’d like to read the story that inspired this post click on the title: ‘No More Mimi’.
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I read the poem below shortly after a friendship I had had for quite a long time ended because of a move I’d made 27 years ago to another state. I happened upon this poem during that difficult time. I mentioned the title in my comment to Susannah. She hadn’t read it. I decided to post it for her and for anyone who has had a friendship end.
People generally come into your life for a Reason, a Season or a Lifetime.
Understanding this principle can enhance your relationships by helping you better serve others and learn or grow from what they have to offer.
Reason
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it may be they have come to assist you through a difficulty, or to provide you with guidance. They may be in your life to support you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
A difficult person can challenge you to grow in patience, forgiveness, and/or understanding. Some people may test your strength, commitment, willpower, determination, and/or ethics. A positive and supportive person who comes into our life may seem like a blessing and godsend; and they are. In either case, the person has come into your life for the reason needed.
One day, seemingly without any reason, the relationship may come to an end. This may happen over time as you drift apart, or more suddenly. It may be a positive experience such as someone getting married or moving to another city to take a job offer. Or, the relationship may end through negative circumstances that force you to take a stand on an issue.
What we must realize is that a need has been met – for you and for them. Perhaps it was an unknown need, or maybe it was an answer to a prayer. If the relationship has ended, then reflect, give thanks, consider what you learned, think about what you could/would do better next time (even if you felt the relationship was a good one), forgive if needed, hope/wish/pray the best for that person, and then move on in your journey.
Season
Some people come into your life for a SEASON — an extended period of time. Just as there are seasons for planting, growing, and harvesting; in your life, there are seasons when you are prepared to learn, grow, or produce. There are other times in your life when you’re not prepared to grow, learn, or even listen. So, when someone comes into your life at a certain season, it is because the timing is right for what they can offer you.
This person may bring you an experience of great peace, joy, or happiness. They may empower you to do something you have never done before. They may you assurance and strengthen your self-confidence. Accept this, and embrace it. It is real. Yet, maybe for only for a season.
Consider… In life, you may have tasks on a – To Do List – as well as long-term projects that need to be pursued over a period of weeks, months, or years. In the same way, those who come into your life for a short-term Reason, may help you check something off our To Do List. Those who come into your life for a Season will remain for the duration of a more complex long-term purpose.
Lifetime
Some people are in your life for a LIFETIME. These people are, perhaps, the greatest blessing because they stick with you through the Reasons, Seasons, and through your entire lifetime. Lifetime relationships teach you lifetime lessons. These are often qualities, skills, and aspects of your character you must build upon in order to have a solid foundation for yourself and in service to others. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
TODAY THANK A PERSON WHO IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER HAS BEEN PART OF YOUR LIFE
~~- even if in some small way you can make them feel that you are indeed thankful for their presence as well as the beautiful moments that they have given you. ~~~Annonymous~~~
The funeral was exactly the way my grandmother had wanted.
And, why wouldn’t it be?
She pre-paid and planned for it all before she died.
Always the forward-thinking woman, no one was going to be able to leave any details out.
The rose garden was to be her final resting place.
She’d say, “Where else would I want to be?”
“These roses have helped me create beautiful paintings that will live on in the homes of so many, long after I’m gone”.
Her garden was magical. She could grow just about anything.
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Inside the Mind of Isadora 