Thursday, July 27, 2023

Love Letter Revealed

Is my memory failing me, or is it true, that what I stumbled upon today is something I never seen before?  It certainly feels like the latter. 

With a summer storm brewing over the lake and the cabin to myself for a few hours, I settled in for a comfortable afternoon of reading on the deck, in the company of two hummingbirds flitting about, mere inches from where I lay. After pausing to chat with them, I thought about how fulfilling it would be to write a blogpost, but I was lacking inspiration. About an hour later, I wandered inside and stopped in front the shelf which holds photos of Mike, Kelly, and the frozen lake message of "I ❤️ Kelly" (which had been created here during their last weekend together in early March 2011). As I stood there, breathing in the essence of these photos that have been prominently displayed in this spot for 12 years, I impulsively picked up the plastic frame of the lake photo and for some reason turned it around, where I noticed a small folded-up piece of paper tucked inside, with a ❤️ on the front. After sliding it out of the frame, I unfolded the paper and was shocked to see what I was holding. It was a drawing showing the outlines of their two hands overlapping, surrounded by hearts, and in the top right corner, the date 03/06/11. March 6th -  their last full day together on this earth.

The question remains - who had the honour of finding this love letter, and who had the beautiful idea of laying it to rest where I found it? Was this something I had put there for safekeeping many years ago but completely forgot about, or had someone else placed it there? In the end, it really doesn't matter, because today, regardless of how it got there, this love letter flooded me with a powerful dose of love energy, straight from their hearts to mine.                                                        


Monday, May 8, 2023

Winning the Lottery of Life

 
 
Never in my life had I dreamed I would have the extraordinary experience of spending three months weaving my life around being with my family in Spain. When our older daughter and her husband invited my husband and I to visit them abroad, I felt as if I had won the lottery of life. 
Having the chance to leisurely interact with this rich culture, under sunny skies and warm temperatures, with access to an outdoor pool for swimming laps, and most importantly, being here with my family - it all feels quite surreal.

Exploring various parts of the country with my husband, interspersed with living with my daughter and her family in their home, the bonus of overlapping a few days of my younger daughter’s visit here, as well as spending a couple of weeks later this month, on my own in a small town nearby. How did I get so lucky? 

This week has been all about caring for my grandchildren here in southern Spain - driving them to school and their various activities, playing in the pool, assisting with homework, enjoying simple meals, and having beautiful conversations, while their parents are enjoying some time together in Paris. Meanwhile, my husband and our other daughter embarked on their 790 km Camino hike a few days ago, trekking across northern Spain for the next five weeks.

Father and daughter, husband and wife, Oma and grandchildren. Witnessing my family's immersion in this wonderful flow of enriching experiences with each other expands my heart near bursting, every minute, of every day.